A Joint Initiative Between     Heart of Wisconsin     Business & Economic Alliance and     Community Foundation of Greater     South Wood County

Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News January 25, 2008 - Local leaders focus on working together By: Adam Wise, Daily Tribune Staff Leaders from 12 local communities shared ideas Thursday about how they can cooperate to boost the south Wood County-area economy. Bill Clendenning, Wood County Board supervisor, said the Wisconsin Rapids area must regionalize to prosper, but he's not certain that will happen in the immediate future. "I think some city or village has to take the initiative to join with their surrounding municipalities," Clendenning said. Building a thriving Highway 54 corridor, for example, requires the combined efforts and funding of Biron, Grand Rapids and Wisconsin Rapids, he said. Municipal representatives gathered Thursday at Hotel Mead for activities designed to steer community leaders in the right direction, said Kathy Alft, graduate of the Advanced Leadership Institute of the Community Progress Initiative, which hosted the meeting. "We hope this drives people to want to take action," Alft said. Ideas generated when about 100 people participated in small roundtable discussions were catalogued for possible future use. Guest speakers Tim Hanna, Appleton mayor, and Roger Reinert, Duluth, Minn., Common Council president, shared stories of how their communities collaborated with others. Hanna said local fire and police departments have discussed mergers, while Reinert spoke about how Duluth struggled to change with the times as the local industry landscape changed drastically in the past 30 years. The Progress Initiative is a joint effort between the Community Foundation of South Wood County and the Heart of Wisconsin Business and Economic Alliance to help the local economy grow.
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