REGIONAL NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Grand opening of the $1.5 million community-access
Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen Sunday, July 11, 11-4PM. The Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen, located in Mineral Point, is a community shared food processing and marketing kitchen. The mission of the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen is to help new and existing food entrepreneurs develop and grow exciting new food businesses that showcase the wonderful benefits of local foods. When formally opened, the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen will house all of Hodan Center’s Papa Pat’s Farmhouse Recipes food processing operations for canning jams, jellies, sauces, and pickles, and dry packaging of soup mixes, cookie and muffin mixes, and dip mixes. Up to 30 adults with disabilities will have part time jobs in these operations. The Kitchen will also have its own Farmhouse Catering operations centered in the new 10,000 square foot building. One facet of the Kitchen that may well be unique in the nation? Businesses can hire the Hodan Center food service staff and available 30+ client-employees to take a recipe and produce the desired product that will be ready for store shelves, complete with a label. There will also be a large retail area in the new building that can showcase and sell all products made in the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen. Last but not least, there will be a meeting room in the new building where food related classes can be held.
The emerging technology focus group at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP has launched a new
online legal resource, designed specifically for high-growth entrepreneurs in the Upper Midwest offering critical information relative to launching and growing high impact business.
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Columbia County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) are hosting a
Small Business Fundamentals--Elements of Your Business Plan course beginning in September. Ten classes comprise this course. Classes will be held at the Portage Madison College campus (formerly known as MATC). Contact CCEDC Executive Director Nancy Elsing at 608/742-6161 if you have an interest in attending this course.
Madison Community Foundation has completed its spring grant cycle, with several grants for communities throughout the region, including a grant to the Community Action Coalition of $154,000 that helped 13 food pantries build capacity. The pantries are located in Blue Mounds, Cambridge, Deerfield, Marshall, McFarland, Madison, Middleton, Mount Horeb, Stoughton and Verona, and a $100,000 challenge grant to Clean Wisconsin.
Other grant recipients in the region include:
$75,000 for Dane County Yahara watershed project
$20,000 for Sun Prairie’s Firemen’s Park
$75,000 for Fitchburg Library
$25,000 for McFarland Senior Services
$15,756 for Vermont Creek in Black Earth
$30,000 for Lake Belle Vue restoration in Belleville
