Time

Description

3:00 pm

Prairie du Chien Community & River Tour

Experience the beauty and history of Prairie du Chien on this guided tour of the Mississippi River community and its local businesses. Participants will explore the riverfront while learning about the city’s unique role in Wisconsin’s rural landscape.

The tour highlights how geography, heritage, and local leadership shape Prairie du Chien’s economy and community life, offering a firsthand look at the opportunities and challenges facing rural river communities today.  ️

5:00 pm

Rural Voices

WI Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin Here & Now anchor, Frederica Freyberg will moderate a discussion with a panel of Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin journalists who are engaged in a reporting project to address the information gap that is often experienced by rural residents who are looking for coverage of issues important to them and their communities. 

6:00 pm

Welcome Reception | Enjoy appetizers and drinks

Thursday, April 30 Schedule

Time

Topic & Session

Speaker(s)

7:30 am

Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:45 am

Welcome to Praire du Chien

• Donna Walker, WI Rural Partners President
• Mayor Dave Hemmer, Prairie du Chien (Invited)

9:00 am

The State of the State of Rural Wisconsin - The Big Picture

A fast-moving, high-level snapshot of what’s happening across rural Wisconsin from the state and federal perspective.

This discussion will highlight current priorities, emerging challenges, and opportunities impacting rural communities across the state—from economic development and policy initiatives to federal programs supporting rural growth and infrastructure. Panelists will share what they are seeing across Wisconsin and what rural leaders should be paying attention to in the year ahead.

10:00 am

10:15 am

The State of the State—From the Ground Up Local Perspective

While policies and programs shape the landscape, the real story of rural Wisconsin is happening in its communities.

This moderated conversation will feature local leaders sharing firsthand experiences from across rural Wisconsin. Panelists will discuss the opportunities, challenges, and innovative solutions emerging in their communities—from housing and workforce to downtown revitalization, entrepreneurship, and community development.

The goal of this session is to elevate rural voices, highlight real-world examples, and explore how communities are navigating change and creating momentum.

Moderator:
Donna Walker, President, Wisconsin Rural Partners (WRP)

Invited Panelists

• Mayor or local leader — Prairie du Chien

• Community representative — Hustisford

• Community representative — Weyerhaeuser

• Community representative — Cazenovia

11:15 am

Immigration and Rural Wisconsin

This panel session examines the current role of immigration in shaping rural Wisconsin’s workforce, economy, and culture. Panelists will discuss Wisconsin's immigrant communities contribution to agriculture, manufacturing, and small businesses, while also addressing integration, housing, education, and policy challenges unique to rural areas.

Panelists:

Nancy Hernandez, President, MMAC Hispanic Collaborative

Francis Henn, Economic Recovery Corps Fellow, Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

12:00 pm

Lunch

Top Rural Development Initiatives (TRDI) Presentation

1:15 pm

Rural Wealth Building: Financial Empowerment + Homeownership

Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs)  provide free, professional one-on-one financial counseling to help residents manage debt, improve credit, build savings, and plan for long-term financial stability.

Speakers  Meghan Mietchen, Executive Director, and Rhiannon Tonies, FEC Manager, with the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin will share how the Financial Empowerment Center model works and how it can be implemented in Wisconsin counties. Attendees will learn how rural communities can partner with county human services, community action agencies, and local organizations to expand access to trusted financial counseling for residents.

2:00  pm

Break - Visit Exhibitors

2:00 pm

How Development Affects Local Government Finances

The Wisconsin Policy Forum is examining how different types of development impact local government and school district finances, including both expenditures and key factors determining local revenues such as levy limits, revenue limits, equalization aid, and more. Though the Forum's work focuses on Jefferson County, the general findings and principles in the research will apply to communities around the state and provide data-driven insights to support informed planning and decision-making about community growth across Wisconsin.

Michael Luckey, County Administrator, Jefferson County, Wisconsin