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A Word from the CEO

It’s graduation season, the time of hopes, dreams and the future.

I remember late May 1982 when I walked across the stage at Melrose-Mindoro High School, one of 52 young men and women with a freshly minted high school diploma in hand. The promise of life was ahead. I was young, strong and optimistic.

One of our class theme songs playing during a slide show of our class journey was “Time” by the Alan Parsons Project. Indeed time does keep flowing like a river. Since then I’ve watched my two children cross the high school and college graduation stages and if the good Lord is willing, my grandchildren will join them in a few years.

One of my favorite artists is Bob Seger, whose album “Against the Wind” hit No. 1 in 1980. The title track has great lyrics, speaking about the battle of life and what I believe is one of the best phrases ever written: “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.”

Recently I spoke about careers to a group of high school students from Independence. As I was doing some research on the job market I did some economic comparisons to the days of malaise when I was in high school.

In June 1982 the national unemployment rate was 9.5%; the teenage unemployment rate was 23%. The nation was in the midst of a recession which peaked in November and December 1982, when the nationwide unemployment rate was 10.8%. That’s the highest since the Great Depression and even higher that the peak of the Great Recession which was 10% in October 2009.

The economic term stagflation became all too familiar as our country grappled with high inflation, high unemployment and slow economic growth. Across rural America there was a farm crisis with falling land prices, dropping commodity prices and debt that led to many foreclosures. Energy prices soared. Lines of vehicles formed at gas stations as there were shortages.

In July 1979 President Jimmy Carter delivered these words as part of what is known as his “Malaise Speech.”

“The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation.”

I’m glad that I didn’t know it then. My wife Sherry and I married in September 1982. Yes, times were tough but I pulled some strings to get a part-time job while enrolled in college. Within a year I started working for the La Crosse Tribune and got to learn first-hand about deadlines and commitments, what to leave in and what to leave out.

Some will argue that we still have a crisis of confidence in our country and we are less unified than ever. It sure seems that way at times.

But I have faith in your young people, just as my parents did 37 years ago. This year’s high school graduates didn’t experience 9/11. They were in first or second grade during the Great Recession. They are entering a job market with 3.6% unemployment -- 13% teenage unemployment, prime interest at 2.5% and 2.2% inflation.

Today’s graduates will be welcome in nearly any job field they select. Across the board -- from laborers to carpenters, truck drivers to teachers -- the opportunities abound for an excellent job.

But the message I shared with today’s students is the same that 2019 me who knows now would have told my 1982 self that didn’t know then.

Find your purpose and pursue it with passion. You can drift through life or set your own course.  It’s OK to not know now what you’ll know later. There’s always room in life for excellence and for people who make a difference.

Bob Seger was wrong about one thing.The years rolled quickly by.

But I am older.

And still running against the wind.


The River Valley Media Group and The 7 Rivers Alliance have joined together to launch a regional program to recognize rising stars, celebrate their achievements and encourage them to remain in the region.  
Honorees are chosen through an independent judging process, not by the quantity of nominations received.  Nominees must be younger than 40 on Aug. 1 and work in the 7 Rivers Region, which includes the following Wisconsin counties: La Crosse, Vernon, Monroe, Jackson, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Juneau, Crawford and Pepin; the following Minnesota counties: Winona, Houston and Fillmore; and the following Iowa counties: Winneshiek or Allamakee.  The nomination deadline is Friday, July 19th.  
The Rising Stars Under 40 Event is coming up in October this year! The 7 Rivers Alliance Team invites you to think of some worthy nominations to be recognized at a local banquet put on exclusively for these Rising Stars! The specific date for the event is still being determined, but nominations are now open for the event! 
 
Nonminate!
WISE Plan gets national attention

The 7 Rivers Alliance WISE Plan was mentioned recently in the Joint Economic Committee in Congress. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's opening address uses the 7 Rivers Alliance as an example for how Census data helped to draft the WISE Plan. We are honored to receive this recognition on the national level and congratulations to everyone involved in drafting the WISE Plan in our area! 
 

See Congresswoman Maloney's statement below (about 20 min. into the video):

Congresswoman Maloney's Statement

Wisconsin Infant Toddler Policy Project (WITPP)

Wisconsin was awarded a planning grant from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative to develop a policy agenda to expand the availability of high-quality infant and toddler child care.  Wisconsin is one of 11 states working on this critical initiative.  The Wisconsin Infant Toddler Policy Project known as WITPP, is aimed at finding innovative strategies to inform the work of developing a state-wide blueprint for action that expands high-quality infant toddler child care.  This project is not just TALKING about issues… but creating an action plan for WALKING forward child care services that expand Wisconsin’s impact by 25% by 2023. 

A survey for parents to provide input and feedback on what they consider to be the most important needs related to infant and toddler care has been developed. The survey aims at capturing responses that are representative of Wisconsin's diverse families.

English Survey
Spanish Survey
Hmong Survey

Learn More
Coulee Region Job Fair 2019
Registration is "live" for the Coulee Region Job Fair 2019 at the Omni Center in Onalaska on 9/19/19!
Register Now
Inspire Update

The Inspire 7 Rivers team has taken initiative to grow its network of employers and students. Inspire is a way to link together education and industry to help students and job seekers achieve their goals and address communities’ workforce development needs. Inspire 7 Rivers has launched in school districts throughout the region and will be active in all Wisconsin districts in the region by the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. 
 

The Inspire program is now up to over 100 employers and 100 coaches that collaborate with over 1,000 active students in the area.

Our team continues to communicate about the benefits of the program to local organizations. If you or any employer is interested in learning more please email Jeff at Jeff@7riversalliance.org
 
Regional News

Wisconsin’s family funds provide substantial alternative source for startup capital

Entrepreneurs, inventors and small business founders traditionally look to banks, angel investors and venture capital firms to secure startup funds. Many might not be aware of an alternative funding source category: the family fund. In Wisconsin, there are several family funds taking an interest in supporting the state’s diverse and growing startup community.

A family fund, or family office, is a pool of assets managed on behalf of a family that has achieved significant wealth and wants to keep much of its portfolio in one place. The fund’s administrators handle taxes, legal and administrative duties, as well as investments, on behalf of the owners. In the past, these funds followed a more traditional investment route that equaled buying into well-established businesses, but many are now looking at the innovation and energy of startups as a financial opportunity.

Formed on behalf of a family or a group of families that wish to pool assets together, these funds are often made up of publicly traded securities alongside direct investments into startups, private equity holdings in more established companies, and direct ownership of real estate. A policy, created by the family, establishes the type of investments allowed and allocation of funds.

Read More

Tackling Housing Challenges in the Region

After years of development, construction of the Garden Terrace Apartments on Kane Street in La Crosse is nearly complete.

The 50-unit complex will include low income housing, and 15 apartments set aside for homeless veterans, “We’re reinvesting back in the neighborhood. We’re encouraging people to live on the north side,” community development administrator Caroline Gregerson said

The project is able to be done in part thanks to the funding through a Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Work is set to wrap up at the end of June and residents should be able to move in on July 1.

Website

57 iconic places in the La Crosse area

Stunning photos and descriptions of some of the best places to visit throughout the Coulee Region! Update your summer travel plans to include some of these awesome sites!

Click the link below to learn more!

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Minnesota adds 3,600 Jobs in April

Minnesota gained 3,600 seasonally adjusted jobs in April, according to figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

Minnesota annual job gains were up 14,434 or 0.5 percent since last April, however, the first four months of 2019 have only netted 700 additional jobs.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.3 percent, an increase of one tenth of a percent from last month. In so doing, the number of unemployed Minnesotan’s topped 100,000 for the first time since August 2017. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6 percent.

Read More
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