St. Croix EDC is accepting nominations for its 2020 Business of the Year awards program.

Categories include:
-Emerging Business of the Year (a start-up business that has operated in St. Croix County for five or fewer years);
-Small Business of the Year (29 or fewer employees); and
-Business of the Year (30 or more employees)

Qualifying companies must be involved in manufacturing, distribution, construction, health care, or must be a service provider to other companies. Companies must be operated for profit. (Retail companies are not eligible.)

Individuals may nominate a company in any of the categories or a business may place their company’s name in nomination.

Criteria include:
*Recent Noteworthy Accomplishments: i.e. milestone anniversary, physical plant expansion, new product line, increases in employment,   sales increases, pollution control advances, new training programs, export sales, or any other significant advances.
*Contributions to Enhance the Community:
*Contributions to community projects, service to area youth, education programs, and other efforts to increase the quality of life in the area.

The honorees will be announced in January and recognized at an event in mid-February. The format of the event is yet to be determined.

A nomination form and guidelines can be obtained by clicking here or contacting Nita Dusek at nita@stcroixedc.com or (175) 381-4383. The deadline to submit is Friday, December 18, 2020 at the close of business.

On October 21st, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary September 2020 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 34 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s September rate was estimated at 4.8%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 6.3% and July’s final rate of 7.8%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 2.6%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from August to September decreased in all 72 counties over the month. The rates ranged from 2.6% in Kewaunee to 12.8% in Menominee.

Preliminary unemployment rates declined in all of Wisconsin’s 34 largest municipalities from August to September. Rates ranged from 3.5% in Oshkosh to 8.4% in Milwaukee.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in September include Kewaunee (2.6%), Clark (2.8%), Lafayette (also at 2.8%), Taylor (2.9%), and Calumet (3.1%). Menominee County had the highest rate in September at 12.8%, followed by Forest (10.9%), Iron (8.2%), Milwaukee (7.3%), and Jackson (also at 7.3%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 4.8%, September’s preliminary rate in Dunn is 3.6%, while Polk reported 4.5% and Pierce reported 4.6%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The September 2020 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 6.0%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 7.8% and July’s final rate of 8.2%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 2.5% in September 2019.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in September was estimated at 5.4%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 6.3% and July’s final rate of 7.1%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.4%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in September was estimated at 6.0%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 7.4% and July’s final rate of 7.6%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 3.2%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for September was estimated at 7.9%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 8.4% and July’s final rate of 10.2%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.5%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for September was 67.3%, which is higher than August’s final rate of 65.6% and July’s final rate of 64.9%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 67.0%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in September was estimated at 61.4%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 61.7% and the same as July’s final rate of 61.4%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 63.2%.

September’s estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision within the next few weeks.

An interactive conversation with Demographer Dale Knapp of Forward Analytics, Focusing on Demographic Trends Impacting Businesses in Western Wisconsin was held on Wednesday October 7, 2020. You can view and/or download the recording here until November 7, 2020, the slides from the presentation here, and the information he referred to here.

Dale publishes research and analysis on a variety of economic and public policy issues facing the State of Wisconsin. He has written extensively on Wisconsin school finance, the state economy and demographics, and state fiscal health. Prior to joining the Wisconsin Counties Association and Forward Analytics, Dale spent almost 18 years with the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

Forward Analytics is a Wisconsin-based research organization that provides state and local policymakers with nonpartisan analysis of issues affecting the state. The mission of Forward Analytics is to use the best data available to highlight challenges facing the state, and to assist policymakers in understanding that data so they can make informed policy decisions.

Forward Analytics was created in 2018 and is a division of the Wisconsin Counties Association.

Recent research publications from Forward Analytics include The Rural Challenge, Depopulation and its Economic Consequences; and Economic Activity in a Pandemic: Wisconsin Taxable Sales in March and April.

On October 6th, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced more than $100 million in investments aimed at providing additional economic stabilization for small businesses and communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement includes a second round of WEDC’s We’re All In Grants plus stabilization programs to support the lodging and tourism industry, live music and performance venues, cultural non-profits, and privately-owned movie theaters.

“Small businesses, including the tourism and lodging industries, are the backbone of our Wisconsin communities,” said Gov. Evers. “That’s why we’re investing another $100 million in businesses and communities across our state.”

$50 million is reserved for We’re All In Grants, an economic development grant program launched by Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) this summer. Statewide, more than 26,000 businesses received the grants, but many continue to face economic challenges from the pandemic. We’re All In applications open at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 19th and close at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 2nd. As with the previous round of WEDC grants, the awards will not be made on a first-come, first-served basis. Businesses that received funds under the first round of grants, as well as the Ethnic Minority Emergency Grant program, are also eligible for the second round. Priority will be given to businesses that have not previously received funds from either of the first two programs, those with ethnically diverse ownership, and those in the hardest-hit sectors, such as restaurants and taverns, hair and nail salons and barber shops, and other services. The grants will be administered by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in partnership with WEDC. Learn more about the program and apply at www.revenue.wi.gov.

$20 million of the $100 million is for the state’s lodging industry. The investment provides the lodging industry with emergency resources to navigate a reduction in travel and cover the cost of implementing additional public health best practices as the pandemic continues.

$15 million is included for live music and performance venues. Music venues were among the first small businesses to close and may be among the last to fully re-open.

$10 million will support privately-owned movie theaters, which have not been spared the financial strain felt by movie theater companies.

$10 million is included in additional support for non-profit cultural venues, bringing the total investment to $15 million.

$4 million of additional investments is included for destination marketing organizations and tourism drivers, bringing the state’s total investment to $12 million.

All of the efforts are funded through the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF).

Additional details will follow.