Senator Howard Marklein was recently presented with an “Outstanding Legislator Award” by the Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA). This is the fourth time Sen. Marklein has been named an “Outstanding Legislator” by WCA during his time in the State Senate.

Chelsea Shanks and Collin Driscoll, Government Affairs Associates for WCA, presented this award to Senator Marklein for his exceptional work supporting county governments and the citizens they represent during the 2025-26 Legislative Session.

“I am honored to receive the ‘WCA Outstanding Legislator Award’ for the fourth time since I was elected to the State Senate,” Marklein said. “I am glad to be someone our county governments and residents can count on in the Legislature and I will continue to advocate for our counties in the future.”

Sen. Marklein received the “Outstanding Legislator Award” for his work in the 2025-27 bipartisan state budget to support Wisconsin’s counties. In the budget, he led efforts to provide additional resources for counties to operate their circuit court systems and invest more money into local roads through increases to Routine Maintenance Agreements, General Transportation Aids, the Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP), and the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program (ARIP). He also worked to ensure people in a mental health crisis can receive the appropriate care close to home and provided funding to meet the state’s obligations for County Conservation staff for the first time ever.