Office of Rural Prosperity

CheqBUILT

Mark Barthel — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 10:15:32 +0000

Making—and keeping—homes affordable

Kelly Westlund sees herself as a kind of evangelist, “spreading the good news” about how to make homes affordable—not just today but in the future as well—using the land trust model, which is gaining ground across Wisconsin and throughout the nation.

Now the deputy administrator for Bayfield County, Westlund was a driving force in the creation of the Chequamegon Bay United Impact Land Trust (CheqBUILT), which hopes to have its first affordable homes by the end of the year. And those homes won’t just be affordable for their first buyers; they’ll remain affordable when they are sold again, and again, and again.

As a land trust, CheqBUILT will acquire homes—by buying or building them or through donations—and sell them at affordable prices. The trust also can subsidize the purchase price by helping to cover a gap between the home’s cost and the loan amount a would-be buyer can obtain. CheqBUILT will retain ownership of the land the homes are on, and while buyers can later sell their homes for some profit, there will be restrictions on the sellers’ asking price, ensuring the home will remain affordable for the next buyers into the future.

Meeting a need

“Bayfield County for several years in a row now has identified housing as a top concern,” according to Westlund, with businesses saying, “I can’t attract workers,” because the people they would hire can’t afford to live there. “We established early on that this was a regional issue,” Westlund said of the need for affordable housing in rural Bayfield and Ashland counties.

Several years ago, the county teamed up with the University of Wisconsin Division of Extension to conduct a regional housing study. “It gave us a lot of good information,” Westlund says. In particular, the recreational getaway community has attracted many retired seniors who are now looking to age in place and downsize their housing. “There were no options available to them,” says Westlund, noting that if the kind of housing those seniors were interested in—single-level homes with an attached garage to protect cars from winter conditions—were available, it could have a ripple effect as those seniors’ current homes could be sold to others, including those in the workforce.

The study led to the creation of a housing outreach specialist position. Enter Westlund, who was urged to explore any and all ideas for addressing affordable housing needs. Rather than trying find a silver bullet, she says, “They encouraged me to try for silver buckshot”—meaning a multifaceted solution instead of looking for a single cure-all.

Before Westlund came on board in 2023, the county had identified three areas to focus on:

Comprehensive zoning reform
Support for emerging developers (“We have a hard time attracting the big, well-established companies,” Westlund says)
A “buy-out, buy-in,” or BOBI, approach, which focuses on finding homeowners who are ready to sell and then finding ways to make their homes affordable to potential buyers.

Once Westlund began doing research, she said, “The community land trust model surfaced pretty quickly.” Kellie Pederson, community development director with UW Extension in Bayfield County—who was involved in the effort from the start and is now CheqBUILT’s board president—agreed that a land trust made “a lot of sense,” Westlund added. So they went to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, which had launched its Rural Affordable Workforce Housing Initiative to provide technical assistance and funding to identify innovative strategies that could be replicated, and said, “We want to build a community land trust.” WHEDA provided the funding to hire a community land trust consultant.

In the home stretch

Kelly Westlund

Next steps included raising money to acquire properties and pay staff, and assembling a board of directors reflecting the community—including representatives of the two Tribes in the region, the Red Cliff and the Bad River—along with business leaders, bankers, realtors, and economic development and affordable housing specialists.

“We’re kind of moving at lightning speed.” Westlund said. “We’ve got a lot of irons in the fire.”

There are now about 350 community land trusts across the country, Westlund said, adding CheqBUILT is the fifth in Wisconsin—joining the Madison Area Community Land Trust, Milwaukee Community Land Trust, Door County Housing Partnership, and the CouleeCAP CLT in the La Crosse area, with “about a half dozen right behind us.”

After years of laying the groundwork, Westlund said, “The goal is to have the first two houses in the land trust by the end of this year.”

“It’s going to be incredible,” Westlund said. “It just makes my heart happy.”

“Bayfield County for several years in a row now has identified housing as a top concern.”

Kelly Westlund, Deputy administrator for Bayfield County

The post CheqBUILT appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

Fulfilling food truck fantasies

Mark Barthel — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 22:16:04 +0000

Ike’s Place Coffee brings entrepreneurship to the reservation

On the reservation of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, just north of Bayfield on the shores of Lake Superior, Ike’s Place Coffee is amping up Tribal members and visitors with specialty coffee drinks and breakfast and lunch sandwiches.

Ike’s Place Coffee serving up coffee drinks early in the morning.

How about a caramel apple macchiato along with a burger stacked with egg, cheese, and Ike’s own smoky coffee bacon jam? Or wild rice egg rolls with a maple syrup-sweetened sugar bush latte?

First-time entrepreneur Brittany Gordon opened Ike’s Place Coffee on May 25, 2025. It took two years of planning and some big changes along the way, she says. “It was scary. I didn’t know if I was capable of doing this. It was very overwhelming.”

Gordon has been creating custom cakes for friends, family, and Tribal events for three years, so her first concept was to equip a food trailer as a pop-up bakery, offering cupcakes and fudge.

But soon, she pivoted to coffee—not just the standard, everyday brew but espresso drinks with a special flair. “Everybody likes coffee,” Gordon says. “There was a very high demand for it. There was nothing like this in the area for Tribal members.” As work on the trailer progressed, she decided to add food.

“I visited so many coffee places and sampled many types of syrups and sandwiches. It took a lot of testing to come up with my ideas,” she says. “Now, half of our revenue is from food.”

Tackling challenges

Gordon has had plenty of challenges to overcome. A business school student at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University and an employee of the planning department for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, she is also a single mother of four children and a survivor of family trauma. Members of her community—and even some of her own relatives—tried to discourage her from forging ahead on her own.

But she pressed forward anyway. “I figured it was time to build my own plan. I’ve been learning each step of the way. Connecting to resources and with like-minded people is what got me here,” Gordon says.

One of the key resources was Indianpreneurship, a personalized business training program offered by Black River Falls-based Cedar Grove, a state chartered not-for-profit Native community development financial institution, in connection with First Nations Financial. Gordon took a daylong course that taught her the big picture of business planning, complementing what she has learned in her classes.

The program’s added lure: a participant who is a Tribal member can receive a loan of up to $100,000—and if the startup meets certain goals, half of the loan amount will be forgiven.

Brittany Gordon, and her little helper, getting ready to open Ike’s Place food truck.

For Gordon, who grew up with the minimalist financial philosophy of making do with whatever you have, the thought of a sizable loan that would not have to be completely repaid greatly expanded her vision.

“At first, I was going to cut corners. But when I learned that money was available, I thought ‘Wait, I can really do this.’ And I wanted to do it right,” she said.

With financial guidance from the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center, Gordon landed a loan from First Nations Financial and invested some of her own money in order to buy a custom-made trailer. It took a year of planning and another year for the loan to go through and the food truck to be built and delivered.

The Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Great Lakes Intertribal Council joined forces on Gordon’s behalf and provided grants to buy kitchen supplies and electric generators, and helped pay for radio advertisements and billboards to publicize Ike’s Place Coffee.

When the food cart opened for business in May, “my whole community showed up. We had lines of people waiting. Everything I planned actually became real,” Gordon says.

Helpful Resources

WEDC Programs and Resources for Entrepreneurs

Wisconsin Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Wooruwi Business Program

Building dreams

By October, Ike’s Place had four employees and had passed a crucial test: getting approval to forgive half of her loan. The lender team visited the food trailer and confirmed that Gordon had fulfilled her promise to operate a fully staffed mobile kitchen with a complete menu. “Everything I said I would do happened,” she says.

Gordon, who grew up on the Red Cliff reservation, feels that she is paying tribute to her grandparents, Ike and Toddy, who started the Tribe’s pow-wow nearly 50 years ago and also ran a bed-and-breakfast and sold coffee and snacks. Coincidentally, their venture also was called Ike’s Place, she recently learned.

Now, Gordon wants to fire up more Tribal entrepreneurs. She tells them to work on an idea that solves a problem or fills a need, and she advises patience and endurance.

“When I talk to others, I tell them that some days it’s going to feel like it’s completely pointless and it’s not going anywhere. But as long as you check one thing off the list, that’s when you know it’s worth it,” she said.

Ike’s Place Coffee will go on hiatus for the winter, but the food truck will return in the spring and may also have a brick-and-mortar shop on the reservation.

Her message: “Even if you come with all sorts of challenges, it is still possible to accomplish your dreams.”

“Even if you come with all sorts of challenges, it is still possible to accomplish your dreams.”

Brittany Gordon, Entrepreneur

The post Fulfilling food truck fantasies appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

Building a tiny home development in rural Wisconsin

Mark Barthel — Wed, 07 May 2025 18:52:17 +0000

Tiny Timbers Agrihood honors nature and community

Melissa and Shane Jones live in the picturesque community of St. Croix Falls, a city of about 2,200 along the St. Croix River in northwest Wisconsin, a place that’s home to two national parks and all sorts of scenic hiking and cross-country ski trails.

Looking for a way to connect their four children with the more rural experiences of their own youth, the couple bought some property on the city’s outskirts and had a small cabin placed on a plot of prairie surrounded by wildflowers and woods. “It’s a fun place to hang out for a few hours,” Melissa says.

After a few years, they started thinking that the land had space for more than just their little cabin. Maybe others would like to put down roots there and share their love of nature and their care for the environment. Melissa and Shane would create a tiny home community, where dwellers could minimize their environmental footprint and share space as they grew healthy foods, formed friendships, and enjoyed nature.

In early 2022, Melissa and Shane took their proposal to the city. Officials liked the concept, but there was a hitch: St. Croix Falls had no zoning laws on the books to establish tiny home communities. That was the first challenge.

Bringing the vision to life

Melissa and Shane engineered a vision: Tiny Timbers Agrihood would consist of 16 sites for tiny homes—each no larger than 400 square feet—surrounding a common area with raised garden beds, a community pavilion, an outdoor kitchen, a chicken coop, beehives, and a greenhouse. Residents would bring their own tiny homes, and the agrihood would provide a parking pad, a shed, and connections to city utilities.

Most of the 140-acre site was zoned as residential, but the agrihood didn’t meet that definition. Rural development zoning—which governed operations such as campgrounds—was a better fit, but the definition had to be adjusted to allow for year-round residents and to set some minimum standards for the tiny homes, which fall under the rules governing recreational vehicles due to their size.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rules required a stormwater retention pond to be built. But when backhoes dug into the ground at the chosen spot, it was too thick with clay. To meet DNR standards, engineers called for cutting down two football fields worth of old-growth sugar maple trees to make room for the retention pond. Melissa and Shane nixed that idea. Instead, a different site was chosen with more sandy soil, but it, too, had challenges: it slanted uphill. Moving earth and regrading the land added to the time and cost of preparing the site.

Even so, by June 2023, Tiny Timbers was ready to open. Within 15 months, all of the sites were occupied. Residents include a doctor, teachers, and a therapist; there are single men and women, couples, and a mom with two young children.

It is believed to be the only year-round, rural, tiny home community in Wisconsin.

City water and sewer service was extended to the property and electrical lines, natural gas, and fiber optic internet service were installed. “We built it to regular, residential standards so that if, for example, the development ever had to be transformed to other types of housing in the future, that could be accomplished without redoing everything,” Melissa says.

Residents own their small homes and they don’t have to pay property taxes. The city charges a minimal PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) fee to cover police and fire protection, emergency services, and general city administration, and homeowners pay $495 a month to rent their space and share community amenities.

It is a form of affordable housing for like-minded people.

“Our ultimate vision is to help people live their best life there,” Melissa says.

Take a more in depth look

Read the case study

Watch a video

Inspiring creative housing

Tiny Timbers has now gone through its second winter. The retention pond froze over and residents used a handheld Zamboni to create a skating rink. Shane groomed the trails for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing—until the mild weather melted the snow.

With spring’s arrival, the chickens are “dust-bathing and scratching all over in the orchard,” Melissa says, while migrating birds are “eagerly starting their nests in the boxes the community painted and hung around the pond and garden. The bees have been very active, already collecting pollen from budding maple trees.”

Tiny Timber residents standing by the community garden.

Melissa and Shane hope their tiny home community can serve as a model for other types of creative housing developments. “For example, when a farmer sells to a residential developer, instead of bulldozing the farm, it could instead become the heart of the community, allowing residents to participate and have a deep-rooted connection with where their food comes from,” Melissa says.

In larger agrihoods, often there’s a farmer on site who handles most of the operations, and residents can volunteer to help with the gardening. The farmhouse can even function as a community gathering place, she says.

For now, there are no immediate plans to expand Tiny Timbers, though there’s space available on the property. “We are also still perfecting phase one and taking a little breather. We haven’t crossed that bridge just yet,” Melissa says.

“Our ultimate vision is to help people live their best life there.”

Melissa Jones, Co-founder and Owner, Tiny Timbers Agrihood

The post Building a tiny home development in rural Wisconsin appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

Expanding broadband in rural Wisconsin

Mark Barthel — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:09:38 +0000

In northeast Wisconsin, working together brings results

Door County is one of Wisconsin’s biggest vacation meccas, but because of a lack of high-speed internet, some businesses cannot process credit card payments or sell their goods and services over e-commerce platforms. Telehealth visits are not accessible for many residents. And dead zones—where no cellular coverage is accessible—sometimes prevent even emergency services calls from going through.

Jessica Hatch, Door County Broadband Coordinator (left) and Barbara Koldos, Vice President of Business Development, New North Inc. (right)

“Only about 30%-33% of our population has sufficient broadband,” says Jessica Hatch, Door County broadband coordinator.

Door County’s natural beauty makes internet access difficult. It is a peninsula with a ragged shoreline, tall trees, and limestone bedrock, so installing fiber-optic cable for broadband is costly, and hundreds of cellular towers would be needed.

Picturesque, hilly landscapes—the very reasons people like living in and visiting rural Wisconsin—cause similar challenges in areas across the state.

But New North Inc., the economic development arm for 18 northeastern Wisconsin counties, has created new tools aimed at helping Door County and the entire region—with the potential for even wider impact if their model is replicated elsewhere.

Interactive map

The New North Broadband Overview Map is an interactive tool that communities within the region can employ. By inputting data on population, housing units, business and industrial parks, roads, and infrastructure, business and government leaders can plan economic growth, and as part of that, determine the viability of expanded high-speed internet access.

“We created a regional map, so all of the information is uniform,” says Barbara Koldos, vice president of business development at New North.

The mapping tool is the result of monthly meetings held since April 2023 by the New North Broadband Alliance, a group of the regional planning commissions, county representatives, and other partners. Sixteen counties participated in the project, which was funded by the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

Hatch is one of the few designated community broadband coordinators among the counties in New North, and her expertise brought greater understanding of the challenges of expanding broadband service in rural and remote areas, says Delia Kovac, rural initiatives senior manager for WEDC’s Office of Rural Prosperity.

“Jessica’s on-the-ground expertise in Door County has really bolstered the New North Broadband Alliance’s mapping project,” says Kovac. “New North’s collaboration with community partners like Door County is an outstanding example of how agencies can work together effectively to expand broadband.”

New North also initiated a study to analyze the availability of broadband in the region and held workshops to prepare county officials to apply for BEAD grants.

Helpful Resources

Connecting Wisconsin: a Broadband Toolkit for Rural Economic Development

Barbara Koldos
Vice President of Business Development, New North Inc.
[email protected]
Office: 920.336.3860; cell: 920.544.7626

Jessica Hatch
Door County Broadband Coordinator
[email protected]
Office: 920.746.2289; cell: 920.493.2237

Door County digs in

Door County is using the tools to take the next step—creating public-private partnerships to finance broadband expansion, Hatch says. In more than half of Door County’s communities, municipalities and internet service providers are banding together to share costs and, in some cases, apply for grants to bring fiber-optic cable to every home and business.

One key goal is to keep part-time residents there longer. Vacation home owners say they would spend an additional 15 days a year in Door County if they had access to high-speed internet, according to a survey conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2024. That could pour another $18.6 million a year into the local economy, the study says.

“The whole county is united” in pushing for expanded broadband, Hatch says. Residents will gain better access to emergency services, distance learning, and health care, and vacationers will benefit as well.

“If we all succeed, it’s going to help our region and our state succeed, too,” Hatch says.

“If we all succeed, it’s going to help our region and our state succeed, too.”

Jessica Hatch, Broadband Coordinator, Door County

The post Expanding broadband in rural Wisconsin appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

Solving Jefferson County’s housing gap

Mark Barthel — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 16:24:56 +0000

ThriveED revolving loans aim to solve Jefferson County’s housing gap

When Kikkoman, Palermo’s Pizza, Nestle Purina, and Aztalan Bio launched expansions of their operations in Jefferson County in the past year, local authorities cheered at the boosts to the economy and the new jobs that would result—more than 400 in all. “These are high-quality jobs with great employers,” says Deb Reinbold, president of Thrive Economic Development (ThriveED), the nonprofit, public-private organization boosting business growth in the Jefferson County area.

But authorities also worried: where would the new employees live?

A study in late 2022 showed that Jefferson County has a severe housing shortage, with a vacancy rate of less than 2% for apartments and 0.4% for single-family homes. The study projected that if 3,500 to 5,250 market-rate housing units were built, they would be fully occupied within three years.

Besides local job growth, another factor is driving this demand: Residents of nearby Dane and Waukesha counties—where housing costs are high—have been flocking to more affordable Jefferson County (population 86,000 and growing).

The county worked with ThriveED and the Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation to come up with a solution: a revolving loan fund that could fund housing construction.

Strong community support

ThriveED launched the Live Local Development Fund (LLDF) at the end of its May 2023 housing summit, which drew 165 attendees, including developers, community leaders, and interested residents. The new revolving loan fund, which issues loans to developers as gap financing to make housing construction more affordable in Jefferson County, launched with $2 million from the Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation and $1 million from Jefferson County.

“The LLDF was developed in response to a critical need,” says Reinbold, explaining that while Jefferson County housing costs are on par with those in neighboring counties, rental incomes are comparatively lower. “This funding bridges the revenue gap and will make the county more competitive.”

Since the fund began, Ixonia Bank, Fort Community Foundation, and Fort Health Care have joined the initial investors; Jefferson County added $1 million to its contribution when Kikkoman bought property from the county for its new factory. As of August 2024, the LLDF is up to $9.5 million.

Here’s how the revolving loan fund will work:

Developers can borrow up to $25,000 per housing unit at a negotiated interest rate, at or below market rate.
Public, private, and nonprofit developers are eligible.
Interested developers fill out a comprehensive budget document projecting their project’s income and expenses.

The detailed budget lets ThriveED staff analyze the investment and potential return, assess its viability, and determine if there are other funding sources that could also be used. “We’re going to be the last money in the deal,” Reinbold says.

Two $50,000 Capacity Building Grants from WEDC gave the revolving loan fund an early push. One helped ThriveED contract with experts to create the budget and legal documents for developers and investors in the fund—documents that are now being shared with WEDC and will be available to other communities considering creating loan funds of their own. The other grant aims to help fund a pilot project for ThriveED to provide housing development services to municipalities in Dodge and Jefferson counties.

ThriveED’s goal is to earn the payback within two to three years of each project’s construction, and then loan the money to new projects.

Helpful Resources

Live Local Development Fund Loan Policy

Pro Forma from Thrive ED

Early projects emerge

At least 10 developers have expressed an interest in using the LLDF option as of August 2024, with project size ranging from 60 units to more than 300. No financing has been allocated yet. “It takes time for projects to move forward,” says Reinbold. “Developers have to find a parcel and get approval from the communities.” She expects several to break ground next spring—if not sooner.

She says the revolving fund is essential for the county’s growth. “As Jefferson County continues to attract businesses and jobs, it is essential that we prioritize housing development to meet the needs of current and future residents. The LLDF will play a pivotal role in promoting the development of much-needed housing in the county.”

The model is already causing a ripple effect as ThriveED works with nearby area communities that are working toward creating their own housing loan programs.

Reinbold says the Jefferson County loan program has received strong support from the community. “Additional housing options will help businesses attract and retain talented employees, reduce turnover costs, and maintain a skilled workforce,” she says.

“Additional housing options will help businesses attract and retain talented employees, reduce turnover costs, and maintain a skilled workforce.”

Deb Reinbold, President, Thrive Economic Development

The post Solving Jefferson County’s housing gap appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

Forming a co-op for seeds

John Behn — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 17:58:44 +0000

Driftless Seed Supply aims to give Midwest growers locally produced crop seeds

Farmers form cooperatives to buy and market products such as milk and grains, so why not band together to form a co-op for another basic farm necessity—seeds? Specifically, seeds for growers in the Midwest.

That’s what Dylan Bruce and Cody Egan were thinking when they founded Driftless Seed Supply in 2023.

Bruce, who grew up on a farm, is a former University of Wisconsin-Madison vegetable researcher with a master’s degree in agroecology. His wife, Anna Skye Bruce, earned a doctoral degree in entomology from UW-Madison. The couple made their home in the Driftless area and established a vegetable and flower farm, Circadian Organics, in Ferryville in 2018, with a focus on sustainable production methods that minimize waste.

As their crop production grew and provided community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares to as many as 100 members, the couple began a side business producing seeds for regional companies.

Egan, of Mabel, Minnesota, had been managing the seed catalog production at Seed Savers Exchange, a bank of about 20,000 heirloom and biodiverse seeds available for growers nationwide to swap. Circadian Organics was one of the contract seed producers; that’s how Bruce and Egan met. Egan later started his own contract seed production farm.

Bruce and Egan realized that a seed production organization for Midwest farmers, with high-quality seeds that bear up to Midwest growing conditions, could be beneficial—especially if it were a collaborative effort. So they formed a separate company, Driftless Seed Supply.

Gauging co-op prospects

Negotiating to buy seeds is an “opaque market,” Bruce says. Farmers often don’t know where the seed they purchase has been grown or produced, and individual farmers may be getting less favorable prices than larger operations.

Collective power would let seed growers share knowledge and achieve economies of scale, he says: “Cooperative model governance resonates with us a lot in terms of shared decision-making, shared benefits and responsibilities, and shared risks.” Growers would be able to focus on the types of crops they like to grow, and on a larger scale, Bruce says—and they could draw higher prices for their products.

A $24,000 grant from WEDC is helping Driftless Seed Supply determine if it’s feasible to turn the company into a cooperative. “We wouldn’t have been able to afford to pay for consultants on cooperative businesses without the grant,” Bruce says. “The UW Center for Cooperatives is helpful, but hired consultants have the depth of experience and the time to talk to other growers. With our own farm and our seed business, I don’t have the time or bandwidth to convene growers.” The feasibility study will also provide a sales and market analysis that will project costs, benefits, and target markets.

A final report is due in late summer, and Bruce and Egan have been perusing initial data and getting prepared. “We have bylaws and articles of incorporation ready to go,” Bruce says. A steering committee is currently composed of members from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa. “We’ve already tripled the grower base that we’re working with.”

WEDC’s Cooperative Development Grant Program was created to support the development of new and existing co-ops in Wisconsin, with a goal of fostering those co-ops’ success by supporting planning and exploratory research in advance of making a large investment.

Collective power

Driftless Seed Supply already sells its seeds in locations around Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa and hopes to expand its reach, primarily in grocery co-ops, independent grocery stores, hardware stores, and independent nurseries and garden centers.

Bruce’s favorite crops to grow are vegetables in the squash family, peppers, and tomatoes—crops with deep indigenous roots in America—and radishes. “The delicate little spring radishes we are used to eating turn into big, beautiful, wild-looking hedges covered with white and pink flowers,” he says.

A cooperative focusing on seeds that cater to Midwest farmers would go a long way toward making the seed industry more transparent and more localized, Bruce says.

“As Midwest seed producers, we’re a small bunch compared to other regions. Whether it’s negotiating for contracts or going directly to the market, we’re competing for the same small pieces of pie,” he says. “If we work together, Midwest seed growers can more effectively compete with larger companies from other regions.

“Elevating our region’s seed growers will help farmers, gardeners, and chefs really understand that seed is the core foundation of our food system,” he adds, “and that it’s important to buy local seed. There will be more cooperation and more collaboration among growers.”

Says Bruce: “Agriculture is a very individual situation. We do a lot better when we cooperate.”

Visit the Cooperative Development Grant Program webpage to learn more about the program.

“Elevating our region’s seed growers will help farmers, gardeners, and chefs really understand that seed is the core foundation of our food system and that it’s important to buy local seed.”

- Dylan Bruce, Co-founder, Driftless Seed Supply

The post Forming a co-op for seeds appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

Adding infrastructure spurs development

John Behn — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 17:40:47 +0000

A new water main supports new housing

If there is one thing the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe has desperately needed, it is housing.

A recent study by University of Wisconsin-Extension shows the waiting list for apartments for the tribe more than doubled between 2018 and 2023.

“We are around 300 units short, just within LCO. That’s about half the size of our current housing stock of about 600 apartments,” says Jordan St. Germaine, director of the tribe’s Grants and Planning Department. “After the pandemic, the crisis increased tremendously, and it impacted our workforce. We couldn’t get teachers, police officers, public service workers, or health care workers because it’s so hard to get housing up here. We were struggling.”

Tribal leaders allocated funding from the American Rescue Plan Act—the post-COVID-19 stimulus package—to develop a $7 million, 40-unit apartment building on tribal land. But the property had no water or sewer connections, and installing the infrastructure would cost millions of dollars more, putting too big a squeeze on the tribe’s budget.

A grant from WEDC gave LCO the financial boost it needed to build the water main.

New water and sewers

WEDC provided a $4.6 million Workforce Innovation Grant to install four miles of water pipes, closing a loop that now connects two distribution lines south of the Sevenwinds Casino in Hayward. The grant also paid for sewer lines for the apartment building, says Willard Gougé, Jr., director of public works for the tribe.

The apartment building was completed in fall 2023 and quickly filled, with 153 applicants for the 40 apartments. “Everyone who lives there is working,” Gougé says. “The tribe already offered housing to families with children and those with financial needs, but this is different. These are regular working people.”

A survey shows 5% of the tenants have jobs in law enforcement, 11% in construction, 15% in hospitality, 18% in health care, 18% in government/public administration, and the remaining 33% in child care/youth services, tribal enterprises, housing, and education.

St. Germaine says one resident who moved there from North Dakota is employed by LCO to help with opiate abatement. “We’re really benefiting just from that one person,” she says. “I think (the new apartments) really did help to get some of these important positions filled.”

Future economic development

Housing remains a high priority for LCO. “There’s still a huge homelessness problem here. We have three shelters, and one is completely full,” St. Germaine says. “More housing is needed, but we have to figure it out financially.”

In the meantime, the infrastructure project will also serve a new LCO health clinic, set for completion in early 2025, and will encourage new businesses to open in the area, Gougé says. “The new water main allows for economic development, as the construction lies within an area where the tribe would like to pursue some new developments.”

St. Germaine says the location was strategically chosen. In addition to the new health clinic, within two miles of the water main are Sawyer County’s largest employers, the biggest traffic corridor between Hayward and the reservation, the tribe’s child care center, and its schools.

“We can add housing there and along the highway, and more tribal land could be used for retail shops and tourism opportunities,” St. Germaine says. “It is a great place for tourists to visit, and any funds that help us build housing can make a huge impact.”

“The new water main allows for economic development.”

- Willard Gougé Jr., Director of Public Works, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe

The post Adding infrastructure spurs development appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

The Vernon County Energy District aims for clean, locally generated power

John Behn — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 15:33:41 +0000

Bringing residents together for smarter energy

The Vernon County Energy District is spreading the word about energy: how to conserve, how to go green, and most of all, how to keep it local.

Organized in April 2020, on the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day, the energy district is a “mostly-volunteer nonprofit,” says Alan Buss, president of the organization. Its mission is to educate and empower consumers about their power usage so Vernon County can have “100% locally owned, renewable energy by 2050.”

Facing challenges such as global warming, staying current with new technologies, and the economics of utility industries can be overwhelming, Buss says. “And the question is: What will work in Vernon County? We want to keep the solutions more local.”

Putting power in local hands

The Vernon County Energy District is the first such organization in Wisconsin, Buss says, although there are a few in the state of Iowa. The concept is inspired by the Soil and Water Conservation Districts formed in the 1930s during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. When extended drought parched the fertile land of the Great Plains, residents realized they needed to develop local solutions that applied to their own soil and conditions—which might be different from those in other parts of the country. “Folks benefit when they feel a sense of ownership,” Buss says.

A study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategies helped fuel the decision to form the energy district. The study, based on 2016 figures, said that of the $19.1 billion spent on energy in Wisconsin each year, $14.4 billion leaves the state to pay for fossil fuels produced elsewhere. Adding renewable energy sources, transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs), updating to more energy-efficient appliances, and reducing energy use could decrease harmful emissions, create jobs, and boost Wisconsin’s economy, the report said.

The Vernon County Energy District drafted a comprehensive energy plan in 2022. Its goals include:

Converting home heating from natural gas and propane to electric heat pumps
Weatherizing homes
Transitioning to EVs and electric outdoor power equipment such as mowers
Installing more EV chargers
Developing community shared solar projects
Seeking utility rate structures that promote using energy during non-peak times

Eight utility companies serve Vernon County’s 30,000 residents. The energy district is forging ties with utilities, local government leaders, residents, and businesses.

“We are definitely seeing a shift,” Buss says. Nearly a dozen residents made a group purchase of heat pumps last winter, and more electric vehicles are evident on area highways.

State grants offer assistance

Alan Buss, president of the Vernon County Energy District

The Vernon County Energy District provides home energy assessments to area residents, businesses, municipalities, and schools, with the help of a grant from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. It can equip buildings with energy monitors to track usage on each circuit. The district’s team of volunteers also offers educational presentations and energy coaching, and informs consumers about tax credits and rebates.

A grant from WEDC’s new Thrive Rural Wisconsin program is allocating up to $25,000 to the energy district, along with two years of technical assistance in planning and grant writing. “We’re really excited to be working with them. They are helping us to develop a financial and business plan for the organization. It will take us to the next level of business planning, growth, and stability, and let us grow through the next five years,” Buss says.

The energy district is also working directly with local communities on proposals such as establishing a microgrid in La Farge that can be used during emergencies and installing solar panels and battery storage in Viola. Both villages were hard hit by floods that resulted in lengthy power outages in 2018.

Finding ways to improve the environment and the economy are important goals, says Buss, and at the same time, “we’re helping folks keep more money in their pockets.”

“The question is: What will work in Vernon County? We want to keep the solutions more local.”

- Alan Buss, President of the Vernon County Energy District

The post The Vernon County Energy District aims for clean, locally generated power appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

Pastoral escapes

John Behn — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:53:05 +0000

Red Clover Ranch offers retreats in the Driftless

Annie Coleman had dreamed for years about opening a retreat center in rural Wisconsin—a place in the heart of nature where people could gather and spend a weekend relaxing, eating locally produced food, and letting their creativity flow.

Coleman was drawn to the Driftless region, with its ridges and valleys and abundant flora and fauna. In 2009, she found her rustic haven in Soldiers Grove: 79 acres of woodlands and verdant fields, with a classic red barn built in the early 1900s and an old farmhouse, situated about a mile from the Kickapoo River. She named the property Red Clover Ranch.

Creating a rural oasis

Coleman owns a boutique real estate firm in Chicago; she also plays guitar and sings in a band. She grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, but Wisconsin was her second home throughout her childhood. Her grandparents owned and operated the Golden Horse Ranch near Westfield from the 1940s through the 1990s. The dude ranch hosted families for weeklong, all-inclusive getaways that included horseback riding, swimming, fishing, tennis, archery, and talent shows. Coleman spent idyllic summers there.

“The Golden Horse Ranch was a place that nurtured real community and lifelong friendships,” she says. It’s the type of atmosphere she wants to achieve at her updated rural sanctuary.

For the first few years, Red Clover Ranch was Coleman’s personal retreat and part-time home. Little by little, she began to renovate the buildings and infrastructure. Finding funding for the project was a challenge, but eventually, she secured several streams of small financing, including a loan from the Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission.

Coleman had two septic systems installed, as well as a new electrical system with electric heat pumps for heating and cooling. She had the barn restored, rebuilding the interior with wood stained to match the original, and hung mid-century globe lights recovered from a church in Westby. She laid a sprung floor in the main level, refurbished the hayloft, added a commercial kitchen, and built on a screened porch with a brick oven.

“I was adamant about keeping the barn,” she says. “I remember these barns from my youth, and I’ve always thought they were so beautiful architecturally—and so practical. They’re worth saving.”

Coleman added five guest cabins that can sleep a total of 19 people, and a Japanese- and Scandinavian-influenced bathhouse that contains two bathrooms, an outdoor shower, a sauna, a summer kitchen, and a lounge.

At first, the ranch was a space for Coleman’s artist and musician friends to gather and create. Spring 2024 was the Red Clover Ranch’s second season open to the public.

Coleman wants Red Clover to be a place that brings people together, rural and urban dwellers alike: “Creativity, community, and nature are a powerful trio. They create a lot of magic for people.”

“Creativity, community, and nature are a powerful trio. They create a lot of magic for people.”

- Annie Coleman, Founder and Owner, Red Clover Ranch, Soldiers Grove

Fostering a sense of community

Red Clover Ranch hosts weddings, corporate retreats and events, and friend and family gatherings. Coleman stages all-inclusive art and nature weekends, with programs led by florist Elizabeth Cronin, perhaps best known as a judge on the “Full Bloom” TV series, and Leslie Baum, a painter and art instructor in the Museum at the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as workshops with local experts on subjects such as forestry, stargazing, and writing. Resident chef Dani Lind uses a farm-to-table approach, with local farmers providing the vast majority of the food on the menu.

“We want people to get to know the Driftless—to take in its beauty and to get to know interesting people here,” Coleman says.

Erin Rasmussen, founder and owner of American Wine Project in Mineral Point, has collaborated with Coleman and Lind on various events. She says it takes a special commitment to work with a wide range of local farmers and producers instead of depending on a single, major distributor, but the dollars spent with local businesses stay in the community and benefit all of its residents.

Rasmussen says the ranch is in a stunning valley, and when people visit, they can see why that matters. “You feel like you’re in on a secret. You want to protect the land,” she says.

“What I see Red Clover Ranch doing is choosing to highlight avenues for people to understand the wealth of beauty in the region. Annie fell in love with the property, and everybody who goes there falls in love with it, too. What Annie’s doing is contagious,” Rasmussen says.

“You feel like you’re in on a secret. You want to protect the land.”

- Erin Rasmussen, Founder, Owner, and Winemaker, American Wine Project, Mineral Point

The post Pastoral escapes appeared first on Office of Rural Prosperity.

Collaboration helps plug housing shortage in western Wisconsin

Mark Barthel — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 20:42:54 +0000

Collaboration helps plug housing shortage in western Wisconsin

Bringing affordable housing to small towns

River Falls is known for its historic Main Street and its arts and cultural events, its rugged bike trails, and trout fishing in the Kinnickinnic River—but one thing the city of nearly 17,000 falls short on is housing.

A 2018 study found that River Falls—about 30 minutes east of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area—would need more than 1,500 new housing units by 2030, including at least 400 units of subsidized housing. River Falls’ population was rapidly expanding, gaining nearly 20% more residents from 2000 to 2010 and another 4% from 2010 to 2017.

“We needed workforce housing. It’s very hard for people to find housing, and hard to be able to afford to live here,” said Peter Kilde, executive director of the West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency (West CAP). The median income was $76,000 in the 13-county area and less than that in River Falls itself, the study said.

Teaming up for green, affordable apartments

West CAP took on the housing challenge, teaming with Gerrard Corporation, a family-owned development group based in La Crosse. Their goal: Build a 50-unit apartment building in downtown River Falls with affordable rents and load it with energy-saving features. They began construction of the two-story, U-shaped structure in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding, and a year later, 1300 Residences opened.

Ten of the units are for people who earn only 30% of the area’s $76,000 median income, 20 apartments are set aside for people earning 50% of the median income, and the rest are for those who earn 60-80% of the median income.

“It’s on Main Street, near the campus and the business area, so it’s walkable. The city reduced the speed limit in front of the building and put up a bus stop … even though we don’t have any buses yet,” Kilde said.

The project really “breaks ground” in its energy savings, Kilde says. Its roof is covered with solar panels; its walls are filled with high insulation materials; and its heat pump system runs on ambient energy collected from the air. “About 70% of the energy used is developed right there on that small site,” Kilde says. Residents do not have electricity or natural gas bills to pay. “That means a lot to those on a fixed income,” he says.

The $11.5 million development depended on a combination of loans and tax incentives from state and federal sources, Kilde says. All of the building’s apartments are occupied, and there’s a waiting list for future vacancies.

Expanding to nearby communities

Kilde is hoping that the River Falls project serves as a model for more affordable housing around the state. West CAP and Gerrard also teamed up to build the 50-unit Beebe Lofts apartments for residents age 55 and up in New Richmond. The project, which rejuvenated a rundown downtown building, received a 2023 award from the Wisconsin Economic Development Association as well as national recognition with the 2022 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award.

In addition, West CAP and Gerrard built Dakota Meadows in New Richmond, a 50-unit, partially solar-powered, affordable housing project that opened in 2022. They are building a similar 60-unit housing development using geothermal heat in Eau Claire and plan to start construction of a 50-unit affordable housing building (with the goal of being a net-zero energy project) in Ellsworth in 2024.

Kilde says projects such as these need commitments from local communities and a desire to turn words into action. “People want this kind of housing. They want affordable housing that is recognized as a community asset, not a liability,” he says.

“People want this kind of housing. They want affordable housing that is recognized as a community asset, not a liability.”

- Peter Kilde, Executive Director, West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency

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