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In mid-July, Policom
Corporation issued its 2007 Economic Strength
Rankings whereby it ranks 363 Metropolitan Statistical
Areas and 576 Micropolitan Statistical Areas in the
United States. According to Policom, 82 percent of
people live in metro areas (they must include one city
with at least 50,000 population) and 1,092 of 3,142
U.S. counties are included in metro areas.
Micropolitan Statistical Areas have a city with a
population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000
population. Among the 3,142 counties in the United
States, 693 of them are included in micro areas.
About 11% of the nation's population resides in micro
areas.
To measure economic strength, Policom examines
three general areas. The first is the "quality" of the
economy, which is based upon what people earn, as
this influences their "standard of living" more than
anything. The second is how the economy is
behaving, which includes factors like construction and
retail activitiy. The third area takes a look at negative
growth factors like per capital income maintenance
and per capita medical assistance.
How did Wisconsin's metro and micros rank? On the
economic strength ranking of metro areas, here are
the metros in the top 150: Madison (8); Milwaukee-
Waukesha-West Allis (40); Green Bay (50); Wausau
(90); Appleton (109); Sheboygan (118); and, Oshkosh-
Neenah (131). For the micros in the top 200, you
have: Baraboo (7); Watertown-Fort Atkinson (33);
Marshfield-WI Rapids (43); Stevens Point (54);
Manitowoc (66); Whitewater (84); Merrill (120); Beaver
Dam (130); Marinette (147); Monroe (195); and
Menomonie (197).
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The
Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative will be the
highlighted topic at the upcoming "Invest in
Agriculture" conference later this month. Molly Jahn of
the UW-Madison's College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences, will discuss the Wisconsin Bioenergy
Initiative-- including cellulosic ethanol research to be
funded by a new $125 million grant from the US Dept
of Energy. The event will take place August 16 in
Pewaukee at the Country Springs Hotel & Conference
Center.
Other topic areas of the conference will include
biofuels, early-stage investing and manure
management. The event also includes presentations
by a variety of cutting-edge Wisconsin companies. For
more information on the event, you can contact Greg
Lawless at 608.265.2903, via email at
glawless@wisc.edu or by clicking on the link
below.
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While you may have never thought of retiring to
Milwaukee, the folks at AARP think it's a fine idea to do
so. In late July, AARP The Magazine named
Milwaukee as one of the top five great places to live for
seniors. Four of the top five cities probably don't come
to mind when you think of retirement hot spots. For
example, Milwaukee was joined on the list by Atlanta,
Boston and Portland. Chandler, Arizona - a suburb of
Phoenix - was a somewhat predictable choice or at
least region for showing up in the top five.
Urban renewal plans that favor mass transit,
encouraging walking and allowing older people to
downsize while staying in their neighborhoods are the
factors that brought recognition of Milwaukee and the
other four cities. AARP specifically cited Milwaukee
as "an example of urban renewal at its best, (a city
that) features picturesque river walks and affordable
water-front living."
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Our three featured partners for the month are the
State of Wisconsin / Wisconsin Department of
Commerce, We Energies, and AT&T. The State of
Wisconsin, via the Wisconsin
Department of Commerce budget, has provided
Forward Wisconsin with matching funding since our
group's inception in 1984. Commerce remains a
valuable partner, not only with its funding support but
with its strong working relationship with Forward
Wisconsin on business projects.
We
Energies, the state's largest utility, serves more
than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and
Michigan's Upper Peninsula and more than one
million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. They also
serve about 2,500 water customers in Milwaukee's
northern suburbs and about 500 steam customers in
downtown Milwaukee. We Energies is Forward
Wisconsin's largest investor and Jerry Franke,
president of We Energies' real estate arm, WISPARK,
currently serves as our vice-chairman.
AT&T Inc. is one of
the world's largest telecommunications holding
companies and is the largest in the United States.
Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T
companies are recognized as the leading worldwide
providers of IP-based communications services to
business and as leading U.S. providers of high-speed
DSL Internet, local and long-distance voice, and
directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T is
among the largest of Forward Wisconsin's investors.
Kristen Cogswell, director of external affairs, serves on
our board of directors.
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Thank you for your ongoing support.
 Jan Alf, Director
Forward Wisconsin
Email:
jalf@execpc.com
Phone:
262.691.7873
Website:
http://www.forwardwi.com
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