Focus on Calumet Newsletter

Focus on Calumet

A periodic update on economic development opportunities in Calumet County

and the region for businesses, entrepreneurs, and communities.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Ascension Program Offers Opportunities

Tri-County News , January 3, 2019: As the Calumet County youth apprentice coordinator, Dawn Grenzer credits growth in the Youth Apprenticeship Program for helping to bridge the gap between business and industry employers with job openings to fill and school districts with students eager to gain knowledge and work experience as apprentices.

Grenzer said the YA Program is run by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development with nearly 800 students currently participating statewide. The YA Program, which has been in place for 25 years, offers students a wide variety of career paths, including Health Science, Finance, Marketing, Information Technology, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Construction, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) that they can explore while they earn up to three elective high school credits.

Youth Apprenticeship Program participants include (front, from left) Mentor Mariah Wipperman, Kassie Roehrig and Gabby Konen, both youth apprentices; and (back) mentors Doris Miller, Cassy Duesterbeck, Nancy Mueller, and Lindsey Delongchamp. Photo credit Tri-County News.

Note: Youth Apprenticeship efforts are relatively new in Calumet County and offer great opportunities for local businesses and students to explore future employment relationships. As noted, there are many opportunities besides health care to get involved with the Youth Apprenticeship program.

WEDA Releases 2019-2020 Legislative Agenda

The Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA) is dedicated to developing and advocating for programs and policies that help create a strong statewide business climate to promote local business growth and economic opportunities for all Wisconsin citizens. WEDA has released its legislative agenda for the upcoming legislative session in a four-page report . The Legislative Agenda provides a broad policy vision for advancing economic prosperity in Wisconsin with specific legislative priorities in four issue categories: Effective Financial Incentives; Advance Workforce Development; Competitive Business Climate; and Robust Infrastructur e.

Included in the Effective Financial Incentives category is a six-point proposal, including a recommendation to increase from 12 percent to 18 percent the limit on the amount of taxable property permitted to be within a municipality’s existing TID or TIDs at the time a new TID is created. Other priorities include closing the “Dark Store” property tax loophole; retaining WEDC; creating a talent attraction incentive program that offers grants to offset housing costs; and supporting a reliable and reasonable funding source for the state’s transportation infrastructure.

Kiel’s Economic Development Work Unfolding

Tri-County News : Kiel continues to grow at a successful rate compared to many neighboring communities. The Kiel City Administrator Jamie Aulik shared those insights connected to economic growth and development at the December meeting of the City of Kiel’s Economic Development Committee.

He told the committee that net new construction showed that Kiel had the second highest growth rate of communities in Calumet or Manitowoc County. Efforts are ongoing to help Kiel continue in that capacity as a growth leader.

Lulloff/Kwik Trip Lot Update

The city administrator briefed the committee on the progress of potential development at the combined location of the former Kiel Kwik Trip and Lulloff Hardware.

At this time, the city is seeking grant funding to assist with a site assessment on the two properties. The assessment would evaluate the conditions of the soils on the site to determine if any potential contamination exists. Both are still privately owned.

Something to Think About for the Coming New Year: You're Not Too Old to Be an Entrepreneur

Peter Daisyme, December 26, 2018, Entrepreneur.com : Worried that your graying hair is a sign that you've missed your chance? Don't fret -- you're not over the entrepreneurial hill yet.

The media is filled with stories of young entrepreneurs who have made it big. Mark Zuckerberg was only 19 years old when he founded Facebook. Evan Spiegel’s Snapchat app already had 1 million users when he was 22. And, of course, both of these founders became billionaires. Look a little closer, though, and you'll see clearly that these founders are laudable exceptions to an entirely different rule.

That rule has to do with worrying that you're too old to be an “entrepreneur" -- something that may be on your mind this time of year with the approaching new year. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and IRS, researchers from MIT and Northwestern University found that 2.7 million entrepreneurs started businesses between 2007 and 2014. And their average age? 42. If that’s not surprising enough, the researchers also learned that the entrepreneurs with the highest-growth businesses were even older : 45 on average.

April 10 Career and Job Fair to be held in Chilton

Upcoming Events

Dream Management - Helping Employees Realize Dreams, Not Just Promotions

How do you motivate your employees? How

do you motivate yourself? How do you put employees' dreams into motion?

In the workshop "Dream Management - Helping Employees Realize Dreams, Not Just Promotions," you will learn how to keep your employees motivated by finding out what is important to them and what makes them tick.

By the end of this workshop, you will have the tools to:

Keep employees motivated at work
Keep employees happy while pushing them to their limit
Encourage employees to dream big
Become a dream manager

This one-day workshop is available as part of the Supervisory Leadership Certificate Program or for professional development for personal growth. To see the full schedule of programs and workshops, see our website .

Our workshops are designed for people who supervise others. The concepts and skills taught are also relevant to all who work with people in a team environment.

Whether you own your own business, or work in an office, at an agency, in a health care facility, or manufacturing plant, you will find the workshops applicable in your environment.

Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2019 | 8:30 am - 3:30 pm

Location: Advance Business & Manufacturing Center, 2701 Larsen Road, Green Bay

Cost: $200 (includes materials, lunch, and refreshments.

Feasibility of International Trade

Examines critical steps and decisions needed to determine the feasibility of international trade initiatives. Introduces market research, organizational readiness, cost analysis, and risk analysis to determine if a concept fits a company's strategic direction and improves its bottom line. Develops strategies to mitigate identified risks.

Date: January 22 - March 12, 2019 | 5:30-8:20 pm

Location: Fox Valley Technical College - Chilton Regional Center

Cost: $637.45

For more information or to register

Free Small Business Counseling Available

Once a month, a counselor with the Green Bay Small Business Development Center meets with entrepreneurs and existing business owners at the Calumet County Courthouse in Chilton; he is also available to meet with Calumet County entrepreneurs and businesses on a periodic basis at other locations in the county or his office as schedules permit. These free, individual business counseling sessions are held to help answer questions and put businesses and entrepreneurs in a better position to make the best decisions for themselves and their businesses.

To schedule an appointment with the business counselor, contac t Mary Kohrell using the information provided below. The next regularly scheduled session will be held on January 15.

WWBIC - Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation Classes

The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation - offers classes statewide for new entrepreneurs, seasoned business owners and anyone looking to improve their financial health. Click here to see a list of classes held at the Appleton WWBIC location.

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