— A rural development expert with the USDA says infrastructure investments and financial incentives could help attract workers to rural communities in Wisconsin.
“Folks want access to the sorts of things in their communities — particularly rural communities — that they can get in higher population communities,” said Justin Maxson, deputy under secretary for rural development with the United States Department of Agriculture. “Access to quality health care, high-speed broadband, entertainment, high-quality education.”
Maxson was the keynote speaker for yesterday’s “Lighting the Way for Rural Prosperity” event, held in La Crosse by WisPolitics.com and Dairyland Power Cooperative. He said rural areas would benefit the most from long-term infrastructure investments aimed at making these regions more attractive to workers.
At the same time, he said federal resources could be used to support employers offering short-term economic incentives to bring people into rural communities.
“I think it’s a short-term challenge and opportunity that’s going to require both long-term and short-term solutions,” he said.
In response to an audience question about USDA support for the arts and creative industries in rural development, Maxson noted that “not every community is a farm community or mining community.” He pointed to a recent $3 million grant program, the Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge, in which the agency awarded funding to several arts organizations across the country.
“I think arts are a really good example of economic development that are about the assets of the place that local residents can enjoy,” Maxson said. “I think economic diversity matters a lot. I would also say it requires you to support lots of entrepreneurs, because they are usually secondary, tertiary small businesses that come up around the arts economy.”
He said local assets such as a loan fund, entrepreneurial education and financial education can support efforts to foster diversity in rural economies.
Maxson also discussed an initiative from the Biden administration called StrikeForce 2.0, which will provide full-time staffing to help rural communities navigate federal economic development resources. A pilot program is launching this fall in eight states, though the specific states have yet to be selected.
“We would be the staff funnel that helps communities develop strong applications, figure out what applications they should be applying to, and be supportive of those local partnerships,” he said.
— Gundersen Health System has been relying more on telehealth services amid the pandemic as it seeks to broadly improve community health.
Nathan Franklin, director of external affairs for Gundersen Health System, explained the system’s approach to providing care as part of the “Lighting the Way for Rural Prosperity” event yesterday.
Franklin described the system’s three-pronged mission of providing quality health care, improving community health and wellness and reducing the financial burden of health care. He noted telehealth plays a role in that effort by reducing the time involved getting to a health care provider.
“It’s a huge initiative we’re working on; we’ve been working on it for some time,” Franklin said. “There’s always been limitations, and the pandemic kind of blew the door off some of those limitations and made it necessary.”
In 2019, about 0.2 percent of Gundersen’s appointments were done through telehealth. That number jumped to 30 percent during the peak of the pandemic, and has held at about 10 or 15 percent since then, Franklin said.
Aside from telehealth, he said Gundersen has been developing wellness programs, housing initiatives, healthy food programs and other efforts.
“The theme there is a deeper, more holistic approach to our neighbors, and our neighborhoods and communities across our upper Midwest service area,” he said. “It’s not just a patient sitting with a doctor. It’s a patient having the resources to maybe not have to go see that doctor in the first place.”
— Also during the rural prosperity event, Thomas USAF Group President and CEO Thomas Kimsey emphasized the key role that hospitals play in rural communities.
The group manages a portfolio of about $100 million in loans annually, with a focus on the Small Business Administration and United States Department of Agriculture lending space. Thomas USAF Group is currently involved with a project in Lafayette County where a hospital is being replaced with an updated facility.
“A perfect example of how the programs are used, specifically here in Wisconsin, of how you can go into the community, build a new replacement hospital, a new modern hospital that’s so desperately needed in many communities across rural America,” he said.
Without a local hospital that’s able to address the health needs of rural residents, Kimsey said communities quickly start to see an exodus of jobs and young professionals, leading to a decline of the community overall.
“Health care is critical, and unfortunately a tremendous amount of hospitals close across this country,” he said. “We’ve seen a tremendous amount in Georgia, in Texas, you may have seen some here as well. But once that goes, there goes your community.”
— Dane County is providing nearly $5 million in COVID-19 relief grants to 183 local nonprofits to offset costs related to the pandemic.
The grants range from $2,500 to $50,000, and come from the county’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds. A release from the county shows that two-thirds of applying nonprofits reduced their budgets in 2020 and about a third furloughed staff last year.
“Many Dane County nonprofits were part of the frontline response to the pandemic and served our community in unprecedented ways,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “These grants will help local nonprofits recover from the impacts of the pandemic and reinvest in their work.”
Applicants include organizations providing health and human services, sports and recreation groups, nonprofits supporting youth arts programs, environmental groups and others.
See the full list of recipients: https://www.wisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Dane-County-COVID-Relief-grant-announcement.pdf
— Madison-based DotCom Therapy raised $13 million in a recent funding round to address the shortage of mental health resources for children across health care systems.
According to a release, the round was led by New Capital Partners of Alabama with participation from LRVHealth of Massachusetts and OSF Ventures, based in Illinois.
“This funding will fuel our expansion across healthcare systems, where the widespread therapist shortage is overburdening staff, greatly impacting the patients and families they serve,” DotCom Therapy founder Rachel Robinson said in a statement.
The funds will be used to advance the features and functionality of the company’s proprietary technology, grow its customer base of schools across the country and scale its partnerships with providers and payers in the health care industry.
See more at Madison Startups: https://www.madisonstartups.com/dotcom-closes-13m-series-a/
#TOP STORIES#
# Wisconsin crop specialists say farmers seeing mixed corn, soybean yields thanks to inconsistent rain
# Financing strategy behind $66 million Domes restoration plan unrealistic, county officials warn
# Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin participates in Babyscripts $12M capital raise
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Dry stretch helps spur late summer harvest
# CONSTRUCTION
– Milwaukee committee advances $140 million Third Ward tower
# EDUCATION
– Cap Times Idea Fest: Madison educators discuss ways to solve inequities in K-12 schools
# FINANCIAL SERVICES
– AgCountry Farm Credit to merge with FCS of North Dakota
# HEALTH CARE
– ‘We all have to be part of the Solution’: Wisconsin hospitals filling up as COVID-19 cases rise
– State workers not vaccinated against COVID-19 will have to be tested weekly
– Virginia and Wisconsin report measles cases among refugees
# MANAGEMENT
– BMO Harris Bank appoints new regional retail banking exec
# MANUFACTURING
– Eaton Corp. to close Watertown facility, lay off 56 employees
# POLITICS
– GOP strategist Bill McCoshen sells lobbying firm ahead of potential run for Wisconsin governor
# REAL ESTATE
– Hines exec credits streetcar in helping spur its $140M 3rd Ward apartment tower
# SPORTS
– Milwaukee Bucks will have a presence at Ryder Cup
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
Attorney General Josh Kaul: Warns Wisconsinites of increase in ransomware threats
