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BEAR ’25: Wisconsin’s Statewide Pitch Showcase Tackles Mid-Stage Capital Gap- Connecting Scaling Businesses with Growth-Ready Investment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 15, 2025 BEAR ’25: Wisconsin’s Statewide Pitch Showcase Tackles Mid-Stage Capital Gap-  Connecting Scaling Businesses with Growth-Ready Investment Holcombe, WI – Positioned at the forefront of Wisconsin’s growing startup success story, the Chippewa Economic Development Corporation’s BEAR ’25 (Business Expansion and Retention Pitch Showcase) took place this week in Holcombe, bringing together second-stage companies and the investors, lenders, and business champions ready to fuel their next phase of growth. As a statewide initiative, BEAR was designed to address a persistent challenge: the lack of accessible capital for companies that have moved beyond early traction but need resources to scale sustainably. According to a recent report from the Wisconsin Technology Council, more startups across the state are entering a growth-ready phase, reflecting a shift from ideation to execution. However, this [...]

BEAR ’25: Wisconsin’s Statewide Pitch Showcase Tackles Mid-Stage Capital Gap- Connecting Scaling Businesses with Growth-Ready Investment2025-09-08T16:48:49-05:00

Sarah Kowal Blogging for CEDC-From Founder to Capital Connector: A Western Wisconsin Entrepreneur Comes Full Circle with BEAR ’25

When I was building WeatherVane Creamery (note: website intentionally frozen in time), I was trying to do more than just open a vibrant Wisconsin-themed deli in River Falls- I was painting a vision. I wanted people to see what I saw: a vital, community-centered, proudly Wisconsin space that could become something special right now, not “someday.”   And thankfully, people did see it. I built an advisory board of experts, restaurateurs, and dairy industry insiders. I crowdfunded. I launched investor dinners. I had the American Cheese Society's stamp of approval. I got a ton of media coverage. It was alive and moving, being the scrappy Western Wisconsin founder working tirelessly to rally Cheeseheads.   What I didn’t have… was a clear investor path. Ask any rural founder in these parts, and they’ll likely tell you a [...]

Sarah Kowal Blogging for CEDC-From Founder to Capital Connector: A Western Wisconsin Entrepreneur Comes Full Circle with BEAR ’252025-07-31T16:47:34-05:00

Our Favorite Week in May

Spring has sprung and Wisconsin is in bloom. You might not know, but May is a very busy month. For instance, May is American Cheese Month, Beef Month, Correct Your Posture Month, International Drum Month, National Asparagus Month, National Motorcycle Awareness Month, National Returning Youth Month, Sturge-Weber Syndrome Awareness, National Mental Health Awareness Month, National Wildfire Awareness Month, National Brain Cancer and Brain Tumor Awareness Month, Date Your Mate Month... you get the point! There are myriad reasons for festivities, with specific weeks in May set aside for celebration, such as National Small Business Week. However, our most cherished week in May is Economic Development Week (May 6-10, 2024), when communities throughout Wisconsin honor the efforts of professional economic developers in enhancing the economic vitality and quality of life. This week serves as [...]

Our Favorite Week in May2024-05-10T13:09:01-05:00

Chippewa Communities Benefit from Fiber-optic Broadband

Not everyone agrees with the phrase “build it and they will come,” but most people who work to grow the local economy agreed that health care, emergency services, educational institutions, and housing are all essential to attracting businesses and growing jobs in a community. Just as important as sewer, water, and roads-most everyone also agrees that broadband is an essential infrastructure component for economic growth. In other words, building-out broadband does not create certainty in business expansion wins, it is merely necessary to be able to be on the short list for a location. The Chippewa Economic Development Corporation has spent the last several years pushing the importance of broadband expansion in the Chippewa Valley. CEDC has worked with Bloomer Telephone in the past by conducting a business roundtable, hosting elected officials, and [...]

Chippewa Communities Benefit from Fiber-optic Broadband2022-12-21T17:10:27-06:00

CEDC Hosts Local Developer Summit

Recently, the Chippewa Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) hosted a Developers Update Summit, where we invited state and regional developers to familiarize themselves with the many opportunities that Chippewa County has to offer. The event also provided a sneak peek to CEDC investors regarding current industrial, commercial, and residential developments that are in-progress or soon to be announced. Besides giving attendees an update on the Chippewa Crossing project, Wangard Partners Inc. utilized the event to stay abreast of other development projects that are happening and provided insight as well as next steps, which the community can take into consideration to leverage its assets. Understanding how the community is investing in its roads, utility and high-speed broadband internet infrastructure, and workforce pipeline development helps site selectors, brokers, and developers with their due diligence in making [...]

CEDC Hosts Local Developer Summit2022-05-02T15:47:09-05:00

Economics and the Earth

As an Economic Development Organization (EDO), we like to take care of the Earth while ensuring a future for the Chippewa Valley. That's why the CEDC works hard with both government and business to create the most sustainable economic development possible. Climate change will continue to affect the state of affairs in the world, and we hope to mitigate that early by taking action now. Here are some ways that individuals and businesses can ensure an economic future as well as maintain the beauty of the Earth: Collaborate with other individuals or businesses to reuse or recycle by-products. Purchase goods locally to reduce both transportation time and cost. Instead of disposing of unwanted/surplus items, pass them on to another member of the community.

Economics and the Earth2022-04-26T08:32:23-05:00

Northside Elevator Expands to Stanley, Wisconsin

Northside Elevator, based out of Loyal, Wisconsin (WI), has recently announced their selection of the Stanley's West Industrial Park in Chippewa County as the location for their next facility. The company, for the past year and a half, has been working with the Chippewa Economic Development Corporation (CEDC), CN Railroad, and the City of Stanley, WI on due diligence for the facility. The phased project calls for Northside to build a new $20 million master-planned facility complex containing several warehouses, office space, a fertilizer plant tower system, and a corn drying bin. Located on over 55 acres of land and adjacent to the CN Railroad, the facility will have abundant rail spurs and truck transportation egress ease to serve their customers in the Chippewa Valley. The company is expanding in response from their customers [...]

Northside Elevator Expands to Stanley, Wisconsin2022-04-28T15:40:41-05:00

Environmental Health & Safety Update

While OSHA does have the ability to set workplace safety standards, the United States Supreme Court recently found that their Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) went too far and beyond the organization’s scope, and that it is a “significant encroachment in the lives and health of employees.” OSHA was created to set workplace safety standards and not to set broad public health measures. However, the ruling leaves entrepreneurs and small businesses wondering how they can protect their workers and ensure a safe workplace in the wake of the pandemic. Anticipating a ruling one way or the other, CEDC hosted a BEAR Lunch & Learn to highlight the importance of OSHA and the EPA’s impact on small businesses. As a part of CEDC’s Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR) program, these lunches are [...]

Environmental Health & Safety Update2022-01-19T14:10:43-06:00
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