Why local business leaders helped this Wisconsin woman open a childcare center

Jackson County - After learning that businesses in Jackson County were losing $2.5 million a year due to a lack of local childcare, a group of employers came together to create solutions for families in their area.

When Kassidy Gardner talks about the area she grew up in, you can feel a sense of pride. However, the 24-year-old admits there aren’t a lot of amenities in the unincorporated community of Northfield, in Jackson County. “We have a gas station, a bar with a mini motel, mechanic, a legion, two churches—that’s about it.”

But as she speaks, she beams with fond memories.

“It feels wholesome,” she said. “I’d walk to the gas station, and there was a cafe growing up—I’d come eat breakfast with my family and grandparents after church.”

And now, as she sits in the building that was once that very cafe, she’s surrounded by tiny pots and pans. Not the workings of a short-order kitchen—these are children’s toys, and Kassidy says there’s a new addition in town. It’s a daycare center. And she just opened it...

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Ken Notes: We need more daycare facilities in the region....