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7 Rivers Alliance - July 2015 e-Newsletter         
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Dear Community,

It is an exciting time in the Upper Mississippi Region!  In April, we hosted international delegates from 28 countries.  Last week, the President of the United States visited La Crosse, Wisconsin. Two major events within 90 days. 

The comments from visitors were consistent: “What an amazing region for scenic beauty and quality of life.”  Perhaps this is why Minnesota was recently ranked #1 as the best state for doing business by CNBC?  Read below for more details about this announcement.  As I travel throughout the region, I am consistently impressed with the pockets of excellence that I find. 
 
So, how do we build upon our assets and keep the companies that we have? The June 18th Site Selection Summit focused on business attraction and retention. We had presenters and participants from the tri-state area sharing best practices.  It was a highly successful event that was packed with great information. Event photos and several presentations have been posted on our website for your reference.
 
Next, we will turn our attention to upcoming Fall 2015 events.  We are pleased to partner with Monroe County to host an Empty Storefront Seminar on October 22nd and have started gathering all the research that will be presented on November 4th at our annual meeting/ the State of the Region Report.
 
We look forward to sharing more good news with you in the months to come.

Sincerely,

Lisa Herr,
Executive Director 
June 18th Site Selection Summit Symposium a big success!
Breakfast and networking before a great line-up of speakers. 
Delicious breakfast provided by Cedar Creek Golf Club.
Keynote Speaker: Phil Schneider, discusses best practices for site selection and emerging demographic challenges.
Janet Ady, presents site selection marketing tips and how to better promote your available property.
The Site Selection Summit held on June 18th was a huge success, with over 40 attendees from Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. The room was full of conversations as ideas were shared and networking created a lot of buzz. Janey Ady, CEO of Ady Advantage provided powerful marketing tools and tips on the site selection process. >>>View more photos from the event here
7 Rivers Alliance in the News
Our Executive Director, Lisa Herr was featured in an editorial published by The La Crosse Tribune challenging residents to think of this area as a region without border. This mindset will help attract more businesses and jobs, and recruit and retain people. Lisa also discussed promoting the area’s quality of life and workforce to help attract businesses. To view the full article, click here. 
  
Our Next Event - October 22, 2015
The 7 Rivers Alliance presents the Rural Empty Storefront Conference, a conference that focuses on holistic solutions, national trends, best practices, and success stories that lead to action plans and spark ideas to fill empty storefronts. The conference features national and local speakers that have implemented practices and tactics in their own communities and across the country to address vacant storefronts. 
New Member Profiles
The 7 Rivers Alliance is pleased to welcome the following members in the month of July, 2015: 
Rich in history and community pride, La Crescent, the “Apple Capital of Minnesota” is home to just under 5,000 residents. Beautiful bluffs and the mighty Mississippi River dominate the landscape, providing breathtaking views and a thriving wildlife population. Centered around the La Crescent-Hokah School District, the families of La Crescent have access to wonderful educational and athletic facilities. A handful of thriving local businesses provide dining and shopping options. Community leaders and city personnel have dedicated themselves to making La Crescent a safe and welcoming place to live or visit. >>>More about City of La Crescent, Minnesota
The Greater Tomah Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tomah Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) are two separate organizations under one roof that share a common goal in promoting their incredible community. The Chamber and Visitors Center is the central hub for promoting tourism and business in Tomah. Visitors and locals can stop in anytime for brochures, relocation packets, economic development information and member referrals through member business cards and brochures. >>>More about Greater Tomah Area Chamber of Commerce and Tomah Convention and Visitors Bureau
Since 1868, the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce has united companies to advocate for, inform, and provide marketing opportunities to help businesses grow and to create a pro-business environment. Today, the Chamber empowers approximately 800 members. Recently, the Chamber moved to their new office at 601 7th Street N., La Crosse.  >>>More about La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce
Final Notice - End of .com Emails and .com Website Addresses
The 7 Rivers Alliance launched a new website earlier this year in April, 2015. Along with a new design, the website changed its URL domain from a .com to a .org. The new website can be found here. Along with the new website, the 7 Rivers Alliance staff has been using new emails addresses since. We will be terminating the use of all old staff emails without redirects effective July 15, 2015. If your organization has been in contact with us through our old emails, please update our contact information accordingly. All staff emails are as following:

Executive Director
Lisa Herr
Old Email Address: Lisa@7riversalliance.com
New Email Address: Lisa@7riversalliance.org

Digital Marketing Assistant
Eli Moua
Old Email Address: Eli@7riversalliance.com
New Email Address: Eli@7riversalliance.org

Office Intern
Julie Miller
New Email Address: Julie@7riversalliance.org
ECO DEVO - Ice Cream Social July 8th
Come build your own ice cream sundae at the next ECO DEVO Meeting on July 8, 2015 from 1:00pm - 3:00pm at the Halfway Creek Park, West (B) Shelter in Holmen, WI. This meeting will focus on the results of the site selection summit and the implementation of the Golden shovel project. If you would like to join us for this meeting, please RSVP at: Info@7riversalliance.org.
Save November 4th, 2015!
Annual Meeting and State of the Region Report
Radisson Hotel - La Crosse
November 4, 2015
11:30AM-1:00PM

SEVEN Magazine

SEVEN is an exciting, new publication that was released June 26th, 2015! This monthly newsprint magazine explores the community, culture and arts throughout the Seven Rivers Region. The inaugural issue highlights the Driftless Music Festival in Viroqua, Kinstone Circle in Fountain City, Dave Rogers of Dave's Guitar Shop in La Crosse, and other intimate stories about the lifestyle of Seven Rivers locals. SEVEN is available at 400 locations including stores, restaurants, fitness centers, health clinics, and more. SEVEN is also available online with updates on social media. For more information about SEVEN, click here.

Minnesota Named 'America's Top State for Business'


Minnesota is America’s Top State for Business in 2015, according to a new report released today by CNBC. Minnesota moved into the top spot this year, after placing 6th in 2014, and 15th in 2013. CNBC’s annual study scores all 50 states on 60 measures of competitiveness, separated into 10 categories. These categories include workforce, economy, infrastructure and transportation, education, cost of living, cost of doing business, access to capital, innovation, business friendliness and quality of life. To view the full report, click here.
 

Minnesota Business Leaders React to Top Ranking


Minnesota received a great honor from CNBC in its 2015 ranking of “America’s Top States for Business”. Hear reactions from Minnesota's top business leaders on this exciting distinction. 

“This recognition is a point of pride for all Minnesotans and confirms our commitment to call Minnesota our headquarters state for more than a century. The combination of innovation and livability are truly unmatched anywhere else in the country, and it is great to see others noticing that on a national scale.”

- US Bank CEO Richard Davis


“This is national recognition of Minnesota’s vibrant and diverse business community. It leverages our talented workforce, an amazing quality of life, and a great higher education system. Minnesota’s dynamic economy benefits our company, our employees, and our communities.”
 
- Andersen Corporation CEO Jay Lund


"The focus on workforce as a key factor is right, other things matter... Taxes, cost, etc. So while poor tax policy can negate workforce advantage, "perfect" policy can't fix it if it isn't there."

- Ecolab Chairman and CEO Doug Baker

Planners Seek to Divide Up Town of Onalaska, WI

 

Officials in the village of Holmen and city of Onalaska are considering a contract that would predetermine future boundary lines between the municipalities. Holmen Village Administrator Scott Heinig and Onalaska Land Use and Development Director Brea Grace presented a cooperative boundary plan agreement that would divide the town of Onalaska, setting which areas each municipality could annex in years to come. According to Heinig and Grace, partnering on the plan would avoid future legal battles. To view the full article, click here.

Iowa Gets New Database

 

Business Record recently interviewed Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) Director Paul Trombino about how the DOT works with the Iowa Economic Development Authority in using databases to help make freight shipping easier and cheaper. Trombino discussed about how the idea came from the supply chain design and how he thought it would be best to apply it to the state of Iowa. The result of the database has shown the sufficient amount of data of the product movement relating to trucks, rails, and how the movements move from one mode to another. Trombino shares that the data Iowa has collected is robust and ultimately the database has helped Iowa make better decisions as they make transportation improvements. To view the full interview, click here.
Copyright © 2015. 7 Rivers Alliance. All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
601 Seventh Street North
Suite 400
La Crosse, WI 54601

Contact Us:
Phone: 608-787-8777
Email: Info@7riversalliance.org

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