B.E.S.T. Conference A Great Success!  

The 8th annual BEST (Building Economic Strength Together) Southwest Wisconsin Regional Economic Development Conference, held at the Baymont Convention Center in Belmont, featured Rebecca Anderson, executive director of HandMade in America, speaking about "Place-Based Economies."  Representatives from the Southwest Wisconsin region as well as eastern Iowa and northern Illinois gathered to hear Anderson's presentation about developing a place-based economy featuring and building on the assets of the region to create a regional identity and developing strong partnerships and creative collaborations to maximize assets and build community and an economy.

The annual conference also featured the presentation of the BEST Regional Awards, a program in its 4th year that recognizes excellence in Building Economic Strength Together.  Paul Ohlrogge, UW Extension Community, Natural Resource and Economic Development educator in Iowa County, chaired the selection committee.  Awards were presented as follows:

• Agribusiness Innovation Award:  to the Regional Dairy Modernization Team, under the leadership of Mr. Kevin Raisbeck and Dr. Kevin Bernhardt
• "Cool" Community Award:  to Darlington, Wisconsin
• Regional Entrepreneur Award:  to Marty Chandler, co-owner of Chandler Realty, Blanchardville Travelnow, and Chandler Insurance in Blanchardville
• Women in Business (2 awards):  to Peggy Biddick, co-owner of Rural Route 1 Popcorn (Livingston/Montfort) and to Kay Helker, owner of Helker Jewelry and Something Different (Platteville)
• Regional Economy Builder award (2 awards):  to ArtsBuild, under the leadership of Heidi Dyas-McBeth and to the R. Kubly Family Foundation of Swiss Colony (Monroe)
• Lifetime Commitment to the Region:  Kathy Kopp, executive director of the Platteville Area Chamber of Commerce
• Regional Ambassador:  Ricky Rolfsmeyer, executive director of Wisconsin Rural Partners
  
  
  

The Conference sponsors included:  Alliant Energy, Blackhawk Technical College, the City of Platteville, the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, the Community Leadership Alliance, First National Bank of Platteville, the Grant county Economic Development Corporation, the Green County Development Corporation, Lafayette Development Corporation, the Monroe Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Platteville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Platteville Area Industrial Development Corporation, the Platteville Business Incubator Inc, the Platteville Journal, Plattevillelife.com/365ink, QueenB Radio, Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative, the Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, UW-Platteville, the UW-Richland Foundation, and USDA Rural Development.

To learn more about the Coalition, and find out how you can get involved, please contact:

•    Barbara Daus, Special Assistant to the Chancellor, UW-Platteville, daus@uwplatt.edu or 608-342-1282

•    Marian Maciej-Hiner, Director of Continuing Education, UW-Platteville, maciejhm@uwplatt.edu or 608-342-1302

Click here to check out the great photos from the 8th Annual

BEST CONFERENCE held at the Baymont Convention Center in Belmont, WI.

Presented by
UW-Platteville Continuing Education
in partnership with SWWRPC and
community partners committed to 
economic development

Regionalism - An Opportunity
by George Krueger, Executive Director
Plstteville Area Industrial Development Corporation, (P.A.I.D.C.)

One of the trends in economic development is an increased emphasis on regional efforts.  We have several opportunities to work on a regional basis to grow our economy in Southwestern Wisconsin and also with the larger region involving Illinois and Iowa.

There are two major reasons for embracing regional efforts.  The first is that a region is a much larger entity with over 200,000 people within an hour of Platteville.  A larger region attracts more attention and has more influence than a small community.  The second is that businesses typically look at the region in which they operate first and look at individual communities second.  So we are much stronger as a region than we are as a community. 

There are several areas where regional efforts can pay off for Platteville:

• Legislative—working together on legislative issues at the State and National level is much more effective when we speak with one voice.  For example, there are Wisconsin representatives going to Washington D.C. with the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce to visit legislators.
• Marketing—the region has a much more to offer when we promote Galena, Dubuque and Platteville together. 
• Workforce—over 7,000 Grant County residents commute out of the county to work.  The workforce is a key aspect of our region to develop and promote.
• Tourism—the tri-state area has lots of marvelous tourist attractions with great natural beauty and plenty to do and see.

One example of a way you can get involved in a regional effort is to attend the Wisconsin Way forum on January 31 at the Governor Dodge Convention Center starting at 7:00 pm.  This forum was recruited to Platteville by the legislative committee of the Platteville Area Chamber of Commerce so that Southwestern Wisconsin’s voice would be heard at the State level on new ideas and ways to fund our schools and government.  This is one of a series of public gatherings around the state organized to engage Wisconsin citizens in a constructive, solution-oriented conversation about what we can do to make Wisconsin taxes fairer and reduce the property tax burden without sacrificing the quality of public services that have made Wisconsin a special place to live and work. 

Wisconsin Way is looking for opinions, ideas and answers. . By sharing ideas and concerns and considering different perspectives, there is a belief that we can find solutions that will benefit our families, our schools and our communities.

Register for this forum at www.wisconsinway.org 

Visit the P.A.I.D.C. website.

The RiverLands Economic Activity Partnership Project

Sponsored by Alliant Energy

Presentation PDF

This was a very exciting kickoff to a project that Alliant Energy and the six other partners involved believe will be a big benefit to the tri-state area’s companies and work force in the coming years.

Mark Drabenstott, director of the Rural Policy Research Institute Center for Regional Competitiveness at the University of Missouri-Columbia, was the keynote speaker for the event. Mark is a very dynamic speaker and has quite an extensive history working successfully with regions.

We encourage you, your staff and members of your local business community to learn more about this important venture.

For more information on this event, please go to www.midwestsites.com .

RIVERLANDS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (REAP) Q&A

Date held: Thursday, December 6, 2007
Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Place: Grand River Center
500 Bell Street
Dubuque, IA 52001

Below are some Q&A’s that explain the project in more depth.

Q. What is the RiverLands Economic Activity Partnership Project?

REAP includes an economic assessment, strategic recommendations and plan whose overall purpose is to enhance economic opportunity and prosperity in the RiverLands area. The study will reflect the realities of today and tomorrow’s economic environment. Our intent is to (a) achieve the best possible understanding of the current and future economic environment; (b) employ data and analytical tools to assist local areas in positioning themselves within this dynamic environment; and (c) deploy mechanisms enabling the data and tools to be turned into knowledge and used effectively for local decision making.

Q. How will this project be funded?
A. The US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration has awarded a significant grant to develop economic strategies for three regional studies including the RiverLands Region comprised of northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin and northwest Illinois. Initial matching grants were
funded by three local economic development organizations
and Alliant Energy.

Q. What is the aim of the RiverLands project?
A. Statistics show that 305 of the 310 U.S. counties with the fastest growth in jobs and income have been in metropolitan areas. Thus, in rural areas that lack this kind of critical mass, it is crucial to build partnerships regionally and begin to build the critical mass it takes to compete. The RiverLands project aims to chart an economic development strategy that
can build prosperity throughout the region.

Q. What is the focus of the RiverLands project?
A. The RiverLands project will focus on five key steps for economic growth:
• Defining the region
• Building regional governance
• Mapping the region’s economic assets
• Diagnosing the region’s competitive advantage
• Identifying public investment priorities

Q. Who will lead the study of The RiverLands region?
A. An analytical team, lead by Dr. Mark Drabenstott, will utilize the skills of many organizations. The RiverLands project team will also include the RUPRI Center’s analytical experts: Prof. Ed Feser (University of Illinois), Prof. Geoff Hewings (University of Illinois), Prof. Andy Isserman (University of Illinois), and Prof. Mark Partridge (Ohio State University). The Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development is also a partner in the Economic Development Administration grant.

Q. Who are the other partners involved in conducting the study?
A. Other partners in the project include Alliant Energy, Blackhawk Hills Resource Conservation & Development Area, Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, East Central Intergovernmental Association, Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Board and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.