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 August 21, 2004 Daily Tribune Editorial A year ago, the Wisconsin Rapids area was reeling from the news that Stora Enso North America planned to eliminate a massive number of local jobs. The figure that stuck in our minds was 1,050, even though that included job cuts in Kimberly and paper mills outside of Wisconsin. Closer to home, the company said it would slash 490 jobs - white- and blue-collar - at mills in Wisconsin Rapids, Biron, Whiting and Stevens Point by mid-2005. That announcement came on Aug. 26, 2003. Many have gone home from work since then to tell their families they no longer have jobs, and to begin uncertain journeys toward new lives. Many more are yet to receive their layoff notices. Beyond those who lost jobs - or feared they will - were the rest of us who worried whether people would slow down on spending, whether businesses would go belly up, and whether Wisconsin Rapids' fate was to become a dwindling town that once was thriving. Amid all that, the Daily Tribune "Our View" issued a call to the community on Aug. 27 that read: "This period of difficulty is a good time to take stock of the local economy and its future and for the community to take control of its own fate. Residents should envision what they want to be doing five or 10 years from now - what kind of job, what recreational pursuits, what their neighborhoods should look like, what kind of shopping outlets they would patronize, what quality of schools to expect." The editorial called for a "broad and frank discussion about how fast the community wants to grow, in what direction, and with what type of progress." In truth, some of those discussions already had begun among local business leaders. The newspaper hoped to push those discussions forward when it started a year-long series called "Building Our Economy" in January. The series provides stories every Saturday about challenges and progress in the local economy, and it included reader surveys in print and online to determine what kind of new businesses were most desired. Today's edition of the Daily Tribune includes another significant project in the "Building Our Economy" series - a look at how far the community has come economically since Stora Enso announced those layoffs, and how far it yet has to go. We are happy to report encouraging signs, even as we note that no giant manufacturer has swept into town to hire displaced workers and replace their lost wages and benefits - nor can we expect that to happen. In the past several months, the talk about Rapids' future has gathered steam and spread from boardrooms to dining rooms, from the chamber to churches and from speeches to conversations. Most of the credit goes to the Community Progress Initiative, which was launched in April by the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance and the Community Foundation of South Wood County. Both organizations realized they could work together to capture wealth and expertise and direct it toward economic development and a revival of community spirit. Without that initiative, we would not be experiencing this kind of positive thinking among a diverse group of people, or hearing upbeat language on the streets, or seeing literally hundreds of people gather to talk creatively about building their communities. And the initiative would not be making this kind of progress if it weren't for the people of the Wisconsin Rapids area who refuse to give up on their town. A year after the Stora Enso announcement, the "broad and frank discussion" and bold visions for the future are taking form, and that's the big news this time.
		Copyright © 2005, Community Progress Initiative, South Wood County & Town of Rome