Recent News

UW-Stout among national leaders in game design, animation

Monday, April 15, 2019

Once again, University of Wisconsin-Stout has been recognized as a national and regional leader in the fields of game design and animation. Two organizations have released 2019 rankings of the best universities and colleges, and UW-Stout is near the top. In game design, Princeton Review ranked UW-Stout No. 21 in the nation for its undergraduate program and No. 16 in the nation for its Master of Fine Arts in design program. For both programs, UW-Stout was no. 1 in Wisconsin and the only school to make the top 25 in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Princeton Review, an educational services company, surveyed 150 schools...

Marketing Wisconsin, incentives and immigration among recommendations in WMC workforce report

Friday, April 12, 2019

Future Wisconsin Project report includes 30 suggestions for state The Future Wisconsin Project unveiled a report with 30 recommendations for the state to address its workforce challenges, including continuing talent attraction campaigns, incentivizing people to move to the state and fostering more immigration. The project is an initiative of the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Foundation. Kurt Bauer, president and CEO of WMC, said the project is meant to be a mechanism that brings together a range of stakeholders to address pressing issues in the state. Read full article.

Broadband is Available in Dunn County Thanks to Local Cooperatives and Communications Companies

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

West Wisconsin Telcom, Mosaic Telecom, and Ntec are some of the cooperatives working to ensure that Dunn County businesses, residents, students and telecommuters have the broadband speeds they need to succeed. Though broadband has gained in importance over the past decade, they have been investing in building out their networks since the 1980’s. Jim Kusilek from West Wisconsin Telcom noted that they began building fiber from their Elk Lake exchange to AT&T in Eau Claire in 1987 and have installed more than 1,100 miles of fiber since then. Scott Behn of Mosaic Telecom said, “We are all customer-based. If something...

UW-Madison produced more Ph.D. degrees than any other university in 2017

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

UW-Madison leads the country in awarding doctoral degrees, Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced. The National Science Foundation ranks universities based on the number of Ph.D.’s granted. UW-Madison came in first in 2017 with 844 Ph.D.’s, up from second place in 2016. The University of California-Berkeley came in second with 799 doctoral degrees, followed by the University of Texas, the University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana and the University of Michigan, according to Blank. Read full article.

UW-Green Bay To Offer New Water Science Degree In Fall 2019

Monday, April 08, 2019

New Undergraduate Degree Aims To Meet Growing Demand For Workers With Water Science Background Water is a hot-button issue. From an increasing population to aging infrastructure and climate change, its scope is enormous. Earlier this year Gov. Tony Evers called 2019 the "Year of Clean Drinking Water" and announced $70 million for water quality programs — which some say is a good step, but not nearly enough. Read full article.

Dunn County is a Telecommuter Forward! Certified Community Ready for the Future

Friday, April 05, 2019

Telecommuting may be the way of the future and if it is, Dunn County is ready. Thanks to the efforts of the Dunn County EDC, local stakeholders, cooperatives and broadband providers, Dunn County has been named a Telecommuter Forward! certified community. This means that Dunn County has made a concerted effort to promote telecommuting opportunities for existing and new residents. According to Global Workplace Analytics, working from home for non-self-employed people has grown by 140% since 2005. Additionally, approximately 20 to 25 percent of the workforce telecommutes at least part of the time. Of workers who do not telecommute, 80 to...

Wisconsin based organization helps women entrepreneurs start their own business

Thursday, April 04, 2019

FOX CITIES (WLUK) -- The Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation is helping women all across the state, including Northeast Wisconsin start their own businesses. Read full article.

Wisconsin companies invited to take part in global trade venture to France and the United Kingdom in June

Tuesday, April 02, 2019

Madison, WI. – The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is inviting Wisconsin companies seeking to establish or expand their exporting efforts to participate in a global trade venture to France and the United Kingdom from June 15-26. The registration deadline is April 19. The week-long trade venture will include visits to Paris, London and Birmingham, which are markets of particular opportunity for Wisconsin companies. In each city, participating companies will be scheduled for customized business meetings with potential local partners selected specifically for their companies by Wisconsin’s authorized trade representatives in the markets, based on the company’s needs. Read full article.

Explore Value-Added Dairy - Three Learning Opportunities

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Have you thought about processing your own milk, cheese, yogurt or ice cream? How would you go about changing your business model, marketing and making your own product? Three workshop opportunities are available for farmers to explore these options this spring. Adding Value to Your Farm: Exploring On-Farm Dairy Processing will be offered 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 27, at the Best Western, 100 Spring St., River Falls. It will feature the nuts and bolts of early business planning including processing practicalities, building a farm-based dairy business and advice from Wisconsin Farmers Union members who are making and marketing food products...

Cedar Corporation’s Menomonie Location is a Win for Business

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Location, location, location … the old saying that location matters is true for real estate, but also for businesses. Cedar Corporation’s location in Western Wisconsin has contributed to the company’s success and growth over the past four decades. Headquartered in Menomonie, Cedar Corporation employees are an hour to the Twin Cities, making it easy to serve large regional clients. Simultaneously, nearby Eau Claire has grown, creating the need for their engineering, architecture, planning, land surveying, landscape architecture, and environmental services. While Cedar Corporation could have located in one of those cities, the founders wanted to be based in Menomonie –...

Vets Plus, Inc. Acquires Dairy Industry’s Merrick’s, Inc.

Friday, February 08, 2019

The acquisition of well-known dairy industry supplier Merrick's expands the Vet Plus portfolio and adds to its production capacity. Vets Plus, Inc., a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of animal health and nutrition products, announced that it has acquired Merrick’s Inc., maker of boluses, tablets, powders and electrolytes serving the production animal industry. The new entity, known as Merrick’s Animal Health, LLC, acquired Merrick’s assets effective December 14, 2018. It will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vets Plus, Inc., the Menomonie-based company founded in 1990 by Rajiv Lall. Vets Plus is an innovation leader in the global animal health industry, employing over 200 people at...

New center will focus on health in local community

Wednesday, February 06, 2019

MENOMONIE — Creating a healthier community one person at a time is the focus of an initiative to start a health and well-being center at University of Wisconsin-Stout. Read full article.

Menomonie district to offer CVTC Academy courses in 2019

Monday, February 04, 2019

Menomonie students will have the opportunity to earn free college credits this summer in a new partnership between the Menomonie School District and Chippewa Valley Technical College. Menomonie students will have the chance to take free dual-credit classes through the CVTC Academies program, beginning in June 2019, in topics like IT software development, culinary arts and health technology. CVTC has partnered with school districts in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties, and is expanding its partnership with the Menomonie School District. Read full article.

Is your company ‘Best for Vets’?

Friday, February 01, 2019

Do you work for — or know about — a company that goes the extra mile to recruit and support veterans? Make sure they get the credit they deserve! Military Times just launched our latest Best for Vets: Employers survey, which evaluates companies based on their culture, policies for military-connected employees and resources they devote to hiring veterans. The survey is open to for-profit companies, nonprofit organizations and government agencies — but only the best will make the cut and be named “Best for Vets”. Read full article.

Cheese, beer, ice roads: These are 18 of the 'most Wisconsin' stories of 2018

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Many things define life in Wisconsin. We love cheese, beer and the Packers. We'll do just about anything to get outdoors. Sometimes turkeys take over our towns, and we create highways on frozen lakes. Here is a (subjective) list of the most Wisconsin things that we wrote about this year. Read full article.

Q&A with Wendy Baumann about Invest in Wisconsin

Monday, January 28, 2019

Invest in Wisconsin (IIW) partners deliver affordable business, community facility and consumer auto loan products throughout the state. IIW ensures impartial access to capital, which helps to reduce disparities and accelerate social and economic impact in minority and low-income communities. Wendy Baumann, president and chief visionary officer of Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), shares how IIW provides resources to assist businesses in the state. Read full article.

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES DRIVE DOWNTOWN GROWTH

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Shelley Nystrom started her soy wax candle business in earnest 14 years ago, crafting her wares in her kitchen and garage and selling them at craft fairs and farmers markets. Eco-friendly candles were just beginning to take off, and people quickly grew excited about Nystrom’s products, leading her to rent a space in Oshkosh in which she eventually opened a small retail space for her company, Eco Candle Co., before opening a second store in Neenah. When Nystrom grew tired of landlords raising her rent, she looked into buying a building in downtown Appleton, assuming she wouldn’t be able to afford it. She was pleasantly...

Conagra’s Menomonie Plant Continues to Thrive

Friday, December 21, 2018

Pride. That one word describes the culture of Conagra’s Menomonie plant - pride in the quality of their raw ingredients, pride in the products they create, in the talent of their people, in the community and in their heritage. The Dunn County Conagra plant has existed on that same site for over 100 years and as Plant Manager Jeff Stevens put it, “We owe it to those that have gone before us and those who will be here long after to do what we can to ensure this plant will remain strong and be here to celebrate our 150th Anniversary...

After 70 Years, Market & Johnson is Proud to Call Western Wisconsin Home

Tuesday, December 04, 2018

Since 1948, Market & Johnson (M&J) has been serving western Wisconsin as the region's’ premier construction management and general contracting firm. Having built or managed the construction of hundreds of properties throughout the area, their work can be seen in civic and municipal buildings, healthcare and manufacturing facilities, mixed-use and commercial projects, and more than 100 local schools. They have had seventy years of success because of their people, the quality of their work, and ties to the local community. Ultimately though, their strategic advantage lies in their workforce. Market & Johnson employs over 350 construction experts, most of whom...

Fulton's Workshop is the intersection of industry and art

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

A mistake that’s easy to make is to frame business as one thing and art as its antithesis, the former a matter of efficiency and profit and the latter looser, but a new wing at the Dunn County Heritage Museum in Menomonie, shows the two are twined. The 15,000 square foot wing, called Holtby Hall, houses the museum called Fulton’s Workshop, which celebrates industrial arts. Industrial arts is descriptor from way back that still succinctly conveys the art in industry. Just as business can be bolstered by an artist’s touch, creativity can be parlayed into profit, and Fulton’s Workshop shows...

Local students explore careers at Manufacturing Day

Monday, November 26, 2018

On their way to visit the Chippewa Valley Technical College Manufacturing Education Center in Eau Claire on Manufacturing Day, students from River Falls and Ellsworth high school stopped for a couple of other tours. “We were able to top at Schmitt Prototypes and Prototype Solutions in Menomonie on our way,” said Julie Winegar, tech ed teacher at Ellsworth High School. “It was great for them to see that manufacturing is not a dirty job and is pretty high tech. And at Prototype Solutions they work with Marvel Comics and make pieces of Iron Man suits for theme parks.” “We stopped at the...

UW System: A $24 billion impact on Wisconsin's economy

Friday, November 23, 2018

Janell Topczewski entered UW-Parkside as the third person in her family to attend the university. Janell’s brother Joseph graduated from UW-Parkside in 2007 and is now a chemistry professor at the University of Minnesota. Her brother Jeremy graduated in 2011 and is an art teacher in the Racine Unified School District. Janell also graduated in 2011 and recently joined CNH Industrial Capital as a credit analyst, after serving in various roles with Racine County Economic Development Corporation for seven years. Even though UW-Parkside is the youngest university in the UW System — celebrating 50 years of serving the region this year —...

Walker, Evers explain plans for job creation, economic development in Wisconsin

Thursday, November 22, 2018

MADISON, Wis. - Job creation and the economy are key issues heading into the Nov. 6 election in Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker appeared at an event for the state's biggest business lobbying group, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, focused on Wisconsin's business climate. "My belief is, if you're an able-bodied working-age adult in this state, my expectation is you work at least 30 hours a week and that you're able to pass a drug test before you get assistance," Walker said in his keynote address. His Democratic challenger, Tony Evers, sat down Tuesday for an interview with News 3. Evers said Walker's job plans focus too...

65 ways to get started with downtown revitalization

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Join the WEDC Connect Communities program (if you are not already) or consider joining the Main Street program if you’ve been participating in Connect Communities for a while and are ready to take the next step. Hold a downtown stakeholder meeting. Show PowerPoint presentations or videos available from Wisconsin Main Street or ask a member of the staff to make a presentation. Then figure out the strengths and weaknesses of your downtown and set some goals. Beat the streets … know your constituents and keep them informed! Learn the needs of your downtown businesses by communicating with them on a regular basis. React with appropriate projects. Publish a newsletter to keep primary stakeholders and...

WEDC accepting applications for Entrepreneurship Support Program

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

MADISON, WI. – The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is now accepting applications from nonprofit and community-based organizations for a grant program designed to advance the statewide climate for entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship Support Program provides financial assistance of between $10,000 and $100,000 for projects that promote entrepreneurship and provide Wisconsin entrepreneurs with key resources, including training, mentorship, and business development and financial services. Launched in 2016, the initiative has provided nearly $1 million in grants to 17 organizations statewide to help fund activities such as prototyping assistance, legal services, and outreach to underserved entrepreneurs. Those grants have enabled organizations to provide services to...

Wisconsin school districts encouraged to apply for Fab Labs Grants

Monday, November 19, 2018

MADISON, WI. – The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is now accepting applications for the fourth year of its Fabrication Laboratories (Fab Labs) Grant Program, which provides funding to help public schools build or expand fab labs. The grant program supports hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education by assisting public school districts with equipment purchases for instructional and educational purposes in fab labs. Fab labs are high-tech workshops with the latest equipment, including computer-controlled manufacturing components such as 3D printers, laser engravers and computer numerical control routers. WEDC’s investment in the program puts fab labs within reach for schools...

UW System: A $24 billion impact on Wisconsin's economy

Friday, November 23, 2018

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