If I was the State of Wisconsin and the State of MInnesota really really wanted to run a train to Chicago through my state, then I would make sure they would pay for a major chunk of it because MN would derive the primary benefit -- any WI governor, Dem or Rep would do that.
That's fine, but as MN governor, I'd make darn sure that the train I'm paying for doesn't stop in your state, then.
It's called negotiation and knowing the hand you are dealt and how to play that hand. Swinging through Iowa requires Iowa to play. Traveling through WI without any stops will cause WisDOT to basically hold up any improvement to the tracks. Continuing through WI may mean that MN pays for the equipment and for the slot, while WI pays for things specific to WI, such as railroad crossing upgrades. Lots of things will happened between this story and something actually happening. As a Wisconsin taxpayer, I expect my state government, no matter who runs it, to get the best deal it can get from Minnesota.
It takes two to be intransigent. Wisconsin's trainiacs have done as much to poison the train situation in this state as the talking-point right-wingers on the JSOline comment section.