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1. Regional Business Assistance Resource Directory Announced: ReBAR Expertise, equipment, facilities, and training will now be easier for regional businesses to locate and use through the Regional Business Assistance Resource directory. Part of an ongoing effort by public higher education to promote regional growth in business and industry, ReBAR provides seamless access to all the outreach capabilities of UW-Barron County, Chippewa Valley Technical College, UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, and Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College.
Made possible through an EDvantage Grant from UW-Extension, the ReBAR directory contains more than 1,000 listings from all partner institutions in the following categories:
Expertise
Equipment
Meeting Rooms and Labs
Programs and Services
The directory is searchable by information category, subject area, and institution. It can be accessed at http://www.rebardirectory.com.
Representatives from the six partner institutions began work on the development of the directory in September 2006. The first step was customized environmental scan. Information from the scan was used to create an interest/needs assessment of regional business and industry. During the same time an extensive inventory of outreach programs and services of each partner institution was being conducted.The ReBAR directory is the result of all these efforts and is expected to grow.
For more information about the ReBAR directory, call Ann Rupnow at 715-836-4526, or visit http://www.rebardirectory.com.
2. Sustainability 301 Seminar Set for April 4
A lecture in the seventh annual conference on sustainability in the St. Croix Valley, “What We Need is Here,” will be held at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson on April 4.
The session, which begins at 7 p.m., will be led by Professor Kelly Cain, director of the St. Croix Institute for Sustainability Community Development.
“Sustainability 301” will focus on the nuts and bolts of individual action in personal, professional and civic life. The lecture will address a broad spectrum of choices in conservation, technologies, and advocacies that we all have available in our lives that can truly contribute to that which we know is “the right thing to do for the right reasons.”
The lecture is free. For more information, call 715-386-2305.
3. Regional Health Care Cooperative Forum Set for April 18
The potential for forming a regional health care cooperative will be on tap on April 18 St. Croix County Agriculture Service and Education Center in Baldwin.
The session is co-sponsored by the St. Croix Economic Development Corp. and State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls.
Presenting will be Bill Oemichen, president of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives.
The co-op, which launched statewide health cooperative last year for farmers and agri-businesses.
Oemichen will discuss how health care cooperatives could benefit the region, businesses and families; the requirements to establish a regional cooperative; and on how health care cooperatives operate.
To register for the conference, call 800-862-1092 or email Senator Harsdorf. 4. Registration Open for UWRF Summer Youth Program
It's time to register for Discover U, a summer program open to all students entering grades 4-9 in the fall of 2008. Formerly known as College for Kids and Teen University, Discover U classes run July 7-11 and July 14-18 from 9 a.m. to noon.
A step beyond the traditional classroom, each class is tailored to students entering either grades 4-6 or grades 7-9. Subject matter is presented is such a way as to ignite the imagination, expand perspectives and provide a fun, hands-on environment for learning.
Classes meet on the UW-River Falls campus, Monday through Friday, and are taught by university faculty and other specially selected teachers. Costs are $125 for each one-week class.
New classes are introduced each year. This year offerings include digital photography, rocketry, river stewardship, web design and a mock emergency room. The Online Design class is the only one that runs for both weeks.
Course descriptions, program information, online registration and a printable catalog are all available on the web site at www.uwrf.edu/discoveru.
For more information or to request a catalog, call the Outreach Office at 715-425-3256 or send an email to outreach@uwrf.edu.
5. Free Presentation on New Media April 14
Don’t miss the last Community Classroom scheduled for this spring. In “iPods, TiVo and YouTube, Oh My!,” Tracy O’Connell, from the UWRF journalism department, will lead a discussion at the River Falls Public Library on the proliferation of technologies that have changed the way we think, learn and decide.
Outreach and Graduate Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences offer the Community Classroom series each fall and spring. University faculty share their expertise through informal presentations on a variety of topics. All lectures are free, begin at 7 p.m. and are held at the River Falls Public Library lower level on the corner of Main and Union streets.
Visit the UWRF Outreach web site or contact the Outreach office by email for more information. 6. St. Croix Watershed Basin Conference
Don’t forget the 9th annual conference on “Protecting the St. Croix River” will be held April 15 on the UW-River Falls campus.
The richness, beauty and diversity of the St. Croix River and its basin make protecting it a high priority. At this daylong workshop, participants will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the designation of the St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers as a National Scenic Riverway, and discuss ways to reduce and manage damaging nutrients and sediments in the St. Croix River Basin.
The event is sponsored by the St. Croix Basin Water Resources Planning Team and UWRF. For more information, including registration forms and fees, visit the web site.
7. Green Communities Energy Conference on May 20
UWRF will host a regional conference to explore a variety of topics related to energy on Tuesday, May 20. Please plan on attending this one-day conference, featuring Richard Heinberg, author and Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, and Alexis Karolides from the Rocky Mountain Institute.
The conference will be especially of interest to municipalities, businesses and public sector agencies such as schools, hospitals and libraries that use large amounts of energy. Visit the web site for more information.
8. Free Education Fairs Available for St. Croix Valley Employers
With the help of the Twin Cities Adult Education Alliance, west-central Wisconsin business owners can provide their employees with access to information on continuing education opportunities in the Twin Cities metro area. As a member of the alliance, UW-River Falls works with local businesses to set up a free education fair with representatives from the 25 member schools.
TCAEA is made up of leading, metro-area educational institutions that offer continuing education programs for working adults. Members are accredited through the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. All TCAEA members provide career-related, undergraduate or graduate, adult-friendly programs.
Education fairs are provided at no cost to the company and may be customized to meet your employees’ needs. Participating employees are also eligible to receive a TCAEA scholarship toward tuition at one of the TCAEA member institutions.
Visit the web site for more information or contact Deb Wulf, UWRF, by email or by phone, 715-425-3256, to schedule an education fair for your employees.
9. Save the Date: ‘Green’ Tourism Luncheon May 14
Sustainability issues for the hospitality and tourism industry in the St. Croix Valley will be explored over a noon luncheon on May 14.
Sponsored by the St. Croix Valley Regional Tourism Alliance, “Greening the Tourism Industry in the St. Croix Valley” is from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at Stillwater’s Water Street Inn.
The luncheon will explore such topics as making your business sustainable, tourism state certification programs, and marketing and promoting your green business to visitors.
Presenters include Gayle Sandahl Junnila, metro regional manager for Explore Minnesota Tourism; Sarah Pischer, tourism development specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Tourism; Professor Kelly Cain, director of the UWRF St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development and the UWRF Wildlife, Recreation and Nature Tourism certificate program; and Washington County natural resource specialist Rusty Schmitt.
The cost of the luncheon is $20.
Look to next month’s BizNews for registration information.
10. Wisconsin Small Business Sustainability Conference
The Alliance for Sustainability's Wisconsin Sustainable Business Conference will provide small business owners and managers the opportunity to learn about sustainable business practices, hear practical examples of what can be done within a business, and leave with the ability to begin exploring their own goals and initiatives.
Additionally, the conference, April 24-26, will address the new and changing roles communities can play in setting the stage for a healthier, more sustainable local economy. Conference attendees have the additional opportunity participate in a post conference event on April 26 designed to explore the current eco-municipality movement taking place in Wisconsin.
The conference fee is $150. For more information on attendance, exhibitor space and sponsorship opportunities contact Jennifer Fanucci by email or call 715-682-1189.
7. Key Business Contacts
Don't know where to start to find help on business matters?
Try these contacts:
UW-RF BizNews is produced by the College of Business
& Economics, Outreach and Graduate Studies, Career
and Counseling Services, and the Office of Public Affairs.
Questions, comments or suggestions about this BizNews
E-mail? Contact Mark.A.Kinders@uwrf.edu.
