Fomer Governor Thompson Calls Klapmeier's Plans 'Exciting'

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson visited the new Kestrel plant in Superior last Friday, and the airplane factory was the first stop on his tour of the city.

Thompson is running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. At the plant, he said that policies he hopes to put in place as a member of the U.S. Senate could help companies like Kestrel grow. "The idea of building a brand new airplane in Superior that will be sold across the sate, across this country, and internationally is very exciting," Thompson said.

While there are only a few employees at Kestrel right now, Kestrel Aircraft CEO Alan Klapmeier has plans to grow that workforce to sevearl hundred in the next couple of years. "We're pleased to have Governor Thompson here today," Kapmeier said. Television station KQDS reports that Klampeier plans to break ground on the first of three new buildings later this summer.

But Klapmeier told the former governor that he could move more quickly if there were fewer federal impediments to getting a small business established. Thompson said that was something he wanted to address in Washington. "There's so many things that Washington has done to strangle the economy, expecially small upstart businesses like Kestrel," he said. "I want to change that."

FMI: www.kestrel.aero