Success Stories

Halfway between Park Falls and Ashland is the rural community of Mellen, population 698. Nestled between the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and nearby Copper Falls State Park, this small community is humming with activity on an early Monday morning in March. Students are… [Read More]

Whether we like it or not, orange barrel season is right around the corner in Wisconsin. Roads across the state will soon come under construction and orange barrels will pop up like bulbs in the garden. Depending on the type of project, communities can prepare in advance for… [Read More]

What began as an organic produce pool of farmers in the Coulee region of southwest Wisconsin has grown to become a member of the Top 100 Agricultural Cooperatives, and the largest organic marketing cooperative when farmers wanted something different than the market had to offer… [Read More]

In May 2021, a groundbreaking was held at the Waupun Wastewater Treatment Facility to mark the start of construction on a new Advanced Biological Nutrient Recovery (ABNR) system. Roughly 140 days later, attendees of the 2023 Algae Biomass Summit, the largest gathering of… [Read More]

With three months until the business was closing, the employees at Bemis Manufacturing were up against the clock. The owner of the wood manufacturing business was reaching retirement and needed to sell, a move that would close a 100-year-old operation and threaten the workforce… [Read More]

The forecast called for rain and a high of 56 degrees the day construction workers broke ground at the Lakes Country Public Library expansion site in Lakewood, Wisconsin. Book lovers would say it was ideal weather to curl up with a soft blanket, cup of coffee, and a good book… [Read More]

In 2016, Bobbie Grubb’s manufactured housing community in Wisconsin converted to a cooperative-owned model, a move that would afford residents the power to control what happens in their community for the first time. Manufactured communities, or mobile home communities, provide… [Read More]

In 2015, Lovefood Farm launched their farm off one rented acre with a small Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Saturday farmers market and a neighborhood farmstand. Lovefood spent a few years at the Farley Center Farm Incubator, which allowed them to eventually purchase 30… [Read More]

Nestled on a hill two and a half miles from the shores of Lake Superior stands a 1920s mail order barn from Sears Roebuck & Company. Constructed with Western Fir, this big, red barn offers a hayloft with panoramic views of Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands. That big, red… [Read More]

Between fresh snowbanks and snow-covered farm fields on Mill Creek Drive in Marshfield are rows of greenhouses with a large sign out front that says, “Flowers Make People Happy” on it. It’s a quiet winter day in December but inside is a warm, welcoming display of thriving flora… [Read More]