The Startup Chippewa Valley week is a celebration of everything entrepreneurial, highlighting the importance of entrepreneurship and the organizations and people working to develop and shape the valley’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. Held during the month of November, at the heart of Startup Chippewa Valley, is CCEDC’s Honeycomb HATCH21 Pitch Competition. This well attended Shark Tank – like business pitch competition brought some of Wisconsin’s top entrepreneurs to the stage to compete for a cash prize, and a package made up of in-kind services and products. Eight entrepreneurs presented their sweetest business ideas, products, or plans to a panel of judges while over 100 attendees encouraged them and voted for their favorite. Knowing that entrepreneurs are not alone, they have a network of supporters to encourage them and listen to their ideas can make [...]

Chippewa Valley Telecoms will tell you that education, health care, and entertainment are the three biggest drivers of demand for local broadband. Deploying fiber is a complicated and multifaceted process involving construction, planning, and the buildup of community and political support. The pandemic has made faster broadband a need and vital to providing healthcare via telemedicine. The COVID-19 pandemic also led to a massive increase in students, teachers, and school administrators utilizing the internet for education purposes. Finally, the increased amount of employees working at home has also added to the necessity of total coverage of broadband. The pandemic highlights how high-speed internet is critical for students, consumers, businesses, and our local economy. Over the past several years CCEDC has worked with our local Telecom providers in supporting their use of federal, state [...]

On October 20, 2021, the CCEDC hosted the first BEAR Lunch & Learn workshop in the limited Creating Value series, presented by Bob Oliver. This series is focused on helping the entrepreneur, business owner, or professional learn how to best organize their business and prepare for the long term. What do you think gives a business value? Attendees of today's Lunch & Learn were able to find out exactly where business value comes from and why it's far more important than just judging your business by the numbers. Want to get in on the action? We have three workshops remaining in this series. Follow the individual links below to register and reserve your spot! 2 – Business Operating System: https://chippewa-wi.com/event/bear-lunch-learn-business-operating-system/ 3 – The Buzz on Financials: https://chippewa-wi.com/event/bear-lunch-learn-the-buzz-on-financials/ 4 – Transitioning Your Business: https://chippewa-wi.com/event/bear-lunch-learn-transitioning-your-business/

On August 27, 2021, the CCEDC hosted their Annual Meeting at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds, getting the area's economy "Back in the Saddle." Over 200 people were in attendance, namely UW-Stout Chancellor Katherine Frank, WEDA Secretary Rebecca Cooke, Chippewa County Economic Development Chair Lee McMenamin, State Representatives Jesse James and Rob Summerfield, and State Senator Kathleen Bernier. The primary goal of the Annual Meeting is to get people who would not normally interact in a normal setting to network, forge new relationships, and nurture existing partnerships. This was achieved by sitting different industries at the same table, and allowing sufficient time before and during the event for networking and discussion. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers made a special appearance at the event and spoke about the legislative priorities during the pandemic, the importance [...]

As part of our mission, the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation [CCEDC] works hard to ensure that our local legislators have received input from Chippewa County businesses and that they better understand the issues impacting the Chippewa Valley entrepreneurs and small businesses. Recently, the CCEDC was able to do just that by organizing and hosting another Economic Development Round Table Listening Session. The CCEDC partnered with the Wisconsin Economic Development Association [WEDA] and invited Chippewa Valley legislators to the Rumor Mill Pub and Eatery in Chippewa Falls to meet with the CCEDC Advocacy Committee, CCEDC investors, and stakeholders. All Chippewa Valley elected officials were invited to participate in the round table. Senator Kathy Bernier, Representative David Armstrong (75), Representative Jesse James (68), and Representative Rob Summerfield (67) attended and fielded questions ranging from [...]

When Governor Evers (D, WI) announced that $130 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars will be allocated to assist unemployed and underemployed workers find opportunities and return to the workforce, Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation [CCEDC] representatives attended a meeting to learn more about these funding opportunities. Held at the CoLab facility in Eau Claire, CCEDC Board Member Ed Holand and CCEDC President Charlie Walker met with Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation [WEDC] and Amy Pechacek, Department of Workforce Development [DWD] Secretary, where they updated the current economic development conditions and the challenges local businesses face in getting workers back into the workforce. “The federal supplement to the unemployment insurance is definitely having a negative impact on area manufacturers in trying to convince workers to [...]