The Calumet County Business-Education Partnership, working with Inspire Calumet and the county’s Economic Development program are planning a Career Fair to be attended by all 10^th and 12^th grade students who attend high school in Calumet County at Brillion, Chilton, Hilbert, New Holstein, and Stockbridge Schools. The Career Fair is planned for January 27, with a snow date reserved. It will take place at Chilton High School. Students will have an opportunity to attend age-relevant career focused presentations, as well as visit vendor exhibits of local businesses and employers. Details are being developed; watch here for more information.

To celebrate October as Manufacturing Month, several tours of local manufacturing businesses that have joined Inspire are also being coordinated for high school students who have an interest in manufacturing careers.

Wisconsin’s workforce support system is comprised of an array of partners who work diligently with companies and communities to provide services through a “no wrong door” philosophy. This means a company or community partner should be able to reach out to any part of the workforce team with questions and “the team” will facilitate getting the question answered by the appropriate workforce partner(s). Below is a partial list of workforce resource organizations that stand ready to support local companies on workforce needs:

Local Workforce Boards (Calumet County is served by Fox Valley Workforce Development Board - FVWDB) http://www.foxvalleywork.org/index.html

Department of Workforce Development (DWD) https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/, including:

State workforce services also include the following (not available locally):

In addition to the list above, the workforce team includes representatives from local technical colleges (FVTC and MPTC) and the workforce team partners closely with chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, and other community entities to find collaborative solutions to workforce issues. 

If your community or company has unanswered questions about some aspect of workforce development, whether it includes employee training, rules for apprenticeships, resources for small businesses, or anything else, please reach out to one of the organizations listed above. Other service providers will be described in future newsletter articles.

By MaryBeth Matzek, Aug 25, 2021, Insight on Business

Click here to learn more about NEWMA.

Note: NEWMA is a membership organization, and manufacturers that aren’t currently members are encouraged to check them out.

“By creating a more flexible scheduling format, we can better accommodate students participating in our Cooperative Education program,” said Lakeland President Beth Borgen. “Ultimately this creates a richer learning environment while also developing a direct talent pipeline for the area’s employers and significantly reducing or eliminating college debt for our students. This is simply a win-win for all involved.”

The partnership was initially designed with Lakeland’s football players in mind, since their full schedule of practice, games, and classes makes it difficult to work a traditional job, but the program is open to all students. For more information, students should contact a Cooperative Education team member at career@lakeland.edu. The deadline is Aug. 30.

By Ed Byrne, The Brillion News, August 19, 2021

Demolition of the old Bel Brands cold storage warehouse at the corner of Chestnut and Eighth Streets in Hilbert is coming. The preliminary demolition work is already underway, but can’t be seen because it is all being done inside the old white cinderblock building.

“It started with asbestos removal last week, starting with the linoleum floors,” said Dan O’Connell of Cedar Corporation’s engineering department. “It will be a close to a monthlong process. You may not see any actual physical progress on the exterior. It’s all being done on the inside.” That has to be done before any actual exterior or structural demolition can begin.

The timetable is to have the asbestos removal finished by Labor Day, with the building demolition taking place most of September, and then site restoration work completed by the end of October. The site will be placed on the market by the Village of Hilbert, marketed for commercial or highway business development.

The state Department of Natural Resources has been on site inspecting the building – because of the asbestos. “The DNR goes through the building and performs an initial assessment because of all the asbestos in the building, and reviews the plan the contractor has to abate it,” O’Connell said. He said the DNR will check into the project’s progress about once every week or two. “So far, so good,” O’Connell said.

By Ed Byrne, The Brillion News, August 19, 2021

The financially troubled Sunrise I and Sunrise II apartment buildings are moving into private sector ownership and management.

At its meeting on August 10, the Hilbert Village Board voted to accept an offer to purchase the two buildings in the 100 block of South Third Street. The offer was made by Nexgen III LLC. The corporation’s agent is John Melsha of Greenville.

The two buildings, with 20 apartments between them, were designed for low income and handicapped people, but had not carried their weight recently and were in a state of disrepair with no funds to fix them up.

When an offer to purchase fell through last month, the village held an open house the first week in August and gained interest. “We received three offers,” Village President Jim Schmidt said.

Tri County News, August 26,2021

Members of the Chilton Common Council unanimously approved a development agreement with SC Swiderski LLC for a 102-unit multifamily development at the council’s Aug. 17 meeting held at the Public Library.

Mayor Tom Reinl went through the 10-page document and discussed highlights of the agreement, after which council members voted 8-0 to approve it.

Grant funds are available as part of the American Recovery Plan Act and will be distributed by WEDC’s regional partners. East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission is administering the program for Calumet and other counties in the region. 

With Amy Baxter, Editor, Retail Leader

While the COVID-19 pandemic defined consumer behaviors in 2020, travel and a rapid increase in online shopping, the impact still lingers in 2021.

Ray York of the Small Business Development Center serves Calumet County with business assistance to existing and start-up businesses throughout the county. Small Business Development Center services are available at no cost to businesses. Ray’s goal is to provide opportunity to clients by guiding them to make informed decisions to start, expand, or transition their business. He can be reached by phone at 920-946-9379 or email.

Check out the website for more details.

Whether your business is growing or brand-new, writing a business plan is critical to building a profitable venture, especially to attract financing from lenders or investors.

The Entrepreneurial Training Program is eight efficient sessions to help you develop a plan for a thriving, profitable business. In this program, you will learn to identify customers, determine their needs and analyze that information into a feasible plan for starting or growing your business.

Sept. 23, 30; Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28; and Nov. 4, 11, 2021

5:30-8:30 pm | Location: TBD | Learn More

D.J. Bordini Center | Details | Register

Virtual | Details | Register

September 13 and 14, 2021

5:30-7:30 pm

Details | Register