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This Weeks Articles for 8/14/2025 ...

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MRRPC Launches Small Business Development Grant Program: Turning Ideas into Action

The Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission (MRRPC) is proud to announce the Small Business Development Grant - Business Plan and Pitch Contest, a program designed to help entrepreneurs transform their ideas into thriving businesses.

In partnership with the UW-La Crosse Small Business Development Center and the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) - La Crosse Office, and with $18,000 in funding from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), MRRPC is offering training, resources, and support to strengthen the regional economy through entrepreneurship.

Program Highlights:

Business Plan Contest: Open to new or existing businesses in the MRRPC nine-county region. Participants will develop a detailed business plan (up to 24 pages, not including cover page) covering areas such as executive summary, company description, market analysis, organizational structure, products and services, marketing strategy, financial projections, and supporting materials.

Prizes Totaling $12,000!

1st Place: $5,000
2nd Place: $3,000
3rd Place: $2,000
4th Place: $1,000
5th Place: $500
6th Place: $250
7th Place: $250

Pitch Contest: The top seven business plan winners will advance to pitch their idea in a 5-7 minute presentation to a panel of judges for a share of an additional $6,000 in funding.

Eligibility:

Entrepreneurs in the idea stage or startup stage
Existing businesses seeking expansion, operational improvements, or new market opportunities
Located within MRRPC’s nine-county region

All applications must be submitted by:
February 13th at 12:00 PM to jon@mrrpc.com.

Contact:

Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission
811 Monitor Street, Suite 201
La Crosse, WI 54603
Phone: 608.785.9396
Email: jon@mrrpc.com Website: www.mrrpc.com

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The Biggest Surprise I Came Across While Hiking This Incredible Trail in Wisconsin

Perrot State Park near Trempealeau, Wisconsin, has several wonderful trails. Along them, you`ll have the opportunity to learn much about the region`s natural and human history.

Perrot State Park spans more than 1,250 acres along the soaring Mississippi River bluffs northwest of Trempealeau, Wisconsin. The park was established in 1918 after John A. Latsch, a wealthy businessman from Winona, Minnesota, donated more than 1,000 acres to the state. Latsch was an avid outdoorsman who believed that the public should have access to as much of the ruggedly beautiful Driftless Area as possible....

...I went to Perrot State Park with the expectation of hiking the moderately challenging, 3.1-mile Brady`s Bluff and Riverview Trail Loop to experience these features of the park. I was surprised, however, to learn just how much more significant history is packed into Perrot`s relatively small acreage. Along the Riverview Trail section of the hike, for example, you`ll find several effigy and conical mounds built by Woodland peoples more than 1,000 years ago. People from this culture also used the park`s unique rock formations as shelter from the elements. A sandstone shelter located along the Black Walnut Nature Trail, which you can access from the Riverview Trail near the park`s nature center, is one such example. Researchers speculate that this shelter was large enough to house a family during winter...

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TANK CREEK BRIDGE UPDATE

Great River State Trail

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - On May 15, 2025, a fire occurred on the bridge over Tank Creek located on the Great River State Trail. The fire was extinguished by the Trempealeau, Onalaska and Holmen fire departments. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Based on the severe damage to the bridge, it was closed immediately for all use.

The department is working to prioritize the resources needed for the design and construction of the replacement of this bridge structure.

The estimated timeline for reconstruction is 2028, pending available funding and resources. Periodic updates on the project will be made to the Great River State Trail webpage as progress is made.

Thank you for your patience as we work to restore this section of the trail.

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Ken Notes: Several elected officials, groups, and individuals are working on getting this done sooner. If you are interested in helping please call me at 608.334.2174.

Jackson County Business Survey

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Ken Notes: If you have an interest in Business or Economic Development in Jackson County please take just a few minutes to fill out this survey.

Regional Economic Development Entities

Mississippi River Regional Planning Commision	SouthWest NorthWest State	Coulee Regional Business Center	THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI MANUFACTURING ALLIANCE
	Vernon Co. Economic Development	La Crosse Area Development Corporation	SBDC La Crosse
Economic Development	Community Development	Economic Development	Economic Development

Trempealeau County Economic Development	The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC)	Vernon Economic Development Association	Workforce Connections, Inc.
The Pierce County EDC	Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council	Job and Business Development (JBD) Program
Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority	USDA Rural Development Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Economic Development	Economic Development

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Wisconsin state budget allocates $5 million to talent recruitment grant program to attract out-of-state households

MADISON – A $5 million allocation in the newly signed state budget will fund a talent recruitment grant program to attract new out-of-state households to move to Wisconsin.

The budget provision directs the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the agency responsible for economic and workforce development, to establish a program to award grants for talent recruitment programs to incentivize households from outside the state to move to Wisconsin and help address specific workforce shortages.

For the 2025-26 fiscal year, the budget included $5 million in talent recruitment grants for WEDC to disperse. Up to $500,000 in grant money can be awarded for talent recruitment programming in a single municipality in a fiscal year.

Ken Notes: MRRPC heard from MakeMyMove, a firm contracting with WEDC to facilitate this program. Their presentation is at the link. If your community is interested in participating please contact your WEDC representative or:

Scott McCauley

Make My Move

Sr. Sales Executive
Cell: 317.902.2121

scott@makemymove.com

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Hardie featured at August 20th author talk

The McIntosh Memorial Library, in partnership with Vernon County Over 50, invites the community to a special author talk featuring journalist-turned-farmer Chris Hardie on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 2:15 p.m. in the library lobby. The McIntosh Memorial Library is located on the campus of Western Technical College at 205 S Rock Ave., in Viroqua.

Hardie’s appearance was printed in the Aug. 7 issue of the Viola Epitaph-News. According to the story:

Hardie will discuss his book Back Home: Country Tales Through the Seasons, a thoughtful and often humorous collection of essays chronicling his return to the family farm in Jackson County. After leaving the farm in the early 1980s to pursue journalism, Chris and his wife, Sherry, found themselves drawn back to the land – raising Scottish Highland cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, and more...

...The public is welcome to attend the Aug. 20 event in Viroqua.

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Ken Notes: Chris send us a chapter to run in MRRPCNotes!!!

Highway 35 bridge construction between Holmen and Trempealeau pushed back to 2029

TREMPEALEAU, Wis. (WKBT) — The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has pushed back construction on three deteriorating bridges along Highway 35 between Holmen and Trempealeau until 2029, delaying the project by two years from its original 2027 timeline.

The project involves replacing the Tank Creek Bridge, the East Channel Black River Bridge and the West Channel Black River Bridge. The existing structures are deteriorating and require replacement along with updates to pavement, pavement markings, guardrail and other necessary infrastructure improvements.

The delay comes after the Wisconsin DOT previously revised its construction approach following significant community pushback over the original plan to close both lanes of traffic during repairs. The department now plans to keep one lane open at a time during construction to address concerns about emergency response times and economic impact on local communities.

An informational meeting on the project is set for August 19 at 6 p.m. That`s held at the Trempealeau Village Hall community room, 24455 3rd Street...

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The Great River Road

MAP		Discover Wisconsin Great River Road Video

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City of Viroqua and VARC partner to bring new childcare center to the Northpointe Development building

VIROQUA, Wis. — The Northpointe housing development nearing completion in downtown Viroqua includes a space for a daycare center. City of Viroqua staff have been searching for a provider to fill that space and this week the city and the Vernon Area Rehab Center (VARC) are announced a new partnership to bring expanded, high-quality childcare to the community. through the development of Bumble & Bloom Early Learning Center, a licensed childcare center set to open this winter in Viroqua.

Bumble & Bloom will provide full-time care, Monday through Friday, for children ages 6 weeks to 6 years in a nurturing and inclusive environment. Once fully operational, the center is expected to serve approximately 65 children and will offer a play-based curriculum grounded in early learning, emotional wellbeing, and school readiness...

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UWL students show research skills at Summer Symposium

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) - Nearly 50 students put their hard work on display at UW-La Crosse’s annual Summer Research Symposium.

The event concludes ten weeks of research the students have done over the summer from several programs.

UWL College of Science and Health associate dean Whitney George explains why summer research is critical for students.

“During the school year, students are in and out of the classroom. They’ve got coursework and homework they have to work on, and a lot of them have jobs, too. What we can do over the summer is students can devote thirty to forty hours a week working on research, similar to a job. It allows them to be really focused and intentive with the project that they’re working on so they can make a lot of progress,” says George....

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Wisconsin Dairy Farms Open Barns for Twilight Meetings

A unique partnership between dairy producers and the organizations representing Wisconsin’s cities and counties has brought together rural community members for farm tours, critical conversations and ice cream for more than twenty years.”...

...Each ACE Twilight Meeting will kick off with a tour of the host dairy at 6:00 p.m. It will offering attendees an insider’s perspective on how animals are cared for, housed and fed, as well as a look at the milking facilities, barns and technologies dairy producers use.

Ice cream will be served at 7:00 p.m. Following ice cream, open dialogue about community issues such as wind and solar energy, water quality, conservation, roadways and transportation, educational opportunities and more. Meetings will conclude at 8:30 p.m.

Lindstrom Valley Farms – Monday, August 25

Nestled in the bluffs of Buffalo County in west central Wisconsin, the fifth-generation farm milks 1,600 cows and raises alfalfa and corn to feed their cows and youngstock. Owners Randy and Becky Lindstrom and children Deric, Nora and Andrew adopt modern technologies and innovation while honoring the tradition of sustainability and care of land and animals that has driven the farm since it was founded by Randy’s great-great-grandfather Andrew Lindstrom when he came to Wisconsin from Sweden. The dairy is located at W2184 County Rd. K, Durand, Wis...

Chapman Farms Dairy LLC – Tuesday, August 26

Three generations of the Chapman family work together on the dairy farm that was started in 1888. They milk 1,110 cows three times a day with a focus on cow comfort and raising high quality forage and grain on their crop acres. The farm is owned and operated by Gail, David & Sienna Chapman and Duane, John & Peter Chapman. The dairy is located at 21509 Gladeview Ave., Tomah, Wis...

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Tourism Resources and Events in Our Region

Monroe County Events Calendar	Crawford County Events Calendar Visitor Guide	Vernon County Events Calendar Visitor Guide
La Crosse County Events Calendar Visitor Guide	Trempealeau County Events Calendar Visitor Guide	Buffalo County Events Calendar
Pepin County Events Calendar Visitor Guide	Pierce County Events Calendar	Jackson County Events Calendar Visitor Guide

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Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission (MRRPC)

Working together to make the Mississippi River Region a great place to live and work.

The Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission provides planning and economic development services to improve the region`s environment, economy and quality of life. We serve a nine county region, providing studies and planning services, resources and data to help with your grant applications or reporting needs, and business loans.