Economic development leaders from across Wisconsin recently gathered

Economic development leaders from across Wisconsin recently gathered

Economic development leaders and community advocates from across Wisconsin gathered on Thursday, in Kenosha for the annual Community and Economic Development Awards ceremony. Hosted by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association during its Fall Best Practices Conference, the event honored four impactful initiatives that are driving workforce development, urban revitalization, and business growth across the state.

In the Business Retention and Expansion category, the top honor went to the City of Marshfield for its partnership with the Weinbrenner Shoe Company. To keep the nearly 90-year-old employee-owned manufacturer from relocating out of state, Marshfield collaborated with local and regional partners on a $14.5 million investment to build a modern 70,000-square-foot facility at the Mill Creek Business Park.

The award for Economic Development Initiative was presented to the Appleton International Airport Terminal Expansion and Renovation. Driven by a doubling of passenger growth over the past decade, the $92 million, 47,000-square-foot project expanded route capacity and introduced state-of-the-art accessibility and sustainability features, including a Net Zero Energy goal.

In Real Estate Redevelopment and Re-use, the New Richmond Community Library project was recognized for transforming a vacant former middle school site into a $50 million downtown anchor. Through an innovative public-private partnership between the City of New Richmond and Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions, the project introduced a 30,872-square-foot library along with 78 market-rate housing units.

Rounding out the honors, the Talent Attraction, Development, and Retention award was bestowed upon the Rock Internship and Externship Programs in Rock County. Led by the Rock County Economic Development Agency alongside local education and workforce partners, the programs offer high school seniors six-week paid career internships and provide teachers with one-week industry externships.

Adam Hess has been involved in radio broadcasting since 1990, with many of those years spent on the air at WRCO FM in Richland Center. Currently, Adam hosts the Weekend Wake-up and Prime Mover Saturdays on WRCO FM, jumps in and helps out with news duties, handles Social Media duties for WRCO and WRCE, and is the Director of Technology at a Southwest Wisconsin School District. Reach him at adam.hess@civicmedia.us.