2026 TOP RURAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES Winner
East End Revitalization Initiative | 2026 Nomination
The East End Revitalization Initiative is a coordinated rural economic development strategy focused on Ellsworth’s eastern commercial corridor, and home to the community’s primary tourism district. In 2025, the Village of Ellsworth was awarded a $1.57 million Agricultural Roads Improvement Program (ARIP) grant from the State of Wisconsin. The award created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reconstruct a key corridor that supports agricultural transportation, local businesses, and regional tourism. The direction of this project did not emerge overnight. It is rooted in years of community-driven planning, including Design Ellsworth (2018), the Village’s updated Comprehensive Plan (2022), and most recently, the Strategic Plan (2025) and Redevelopment Plan (2025). Each of these efforts included extensive public engagement through town halls, surveys, and listening sessions. The East End consistently emerged as a priority for reinvestment and identity-building.
2025 TOP RURAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES Nominees |
Building the Fabric of Rural Workforce, through Employer-Driven Initiatives at Madison College's Rural Campuses | 2026 Nomination
A cornerstone of this approach is the multi-year Lean Six Sigma partnership with Fisher Barton, Inc., which has trained more than 70 employees and generated approximately $18 million in operational savings. At the same time, the College launched Mini Manufacturing World in 2023, a youth-focused initiative that grew from serving 20 students in its first year to a projected 1,200 students across six school districts by 2025–2026. | Community Garden and Food Distribution | 2026 Nomination Prior to Covid, the non-profit organization Friends of Readstown started fundraising for a splash pad in the Village of Readstown. Covid changed a lot of things in our Village including the passing of our President. Insurance rates and water rates went up, we had a change in local government officials and changes in what people needed in general just to get by. With these changes, we came to realize that the splash pad simply wasn't a reality. We got together and planned a local community meeting and potluck and through that meeting our Collaboration was formed. It was decided, by community vote, that monies raised for the Splash Pad would be reallocated to a community garden and food distribution program. It was also decided that the garden would be located next to the Readstown Public Library. Attendees also had the option to sign up for ways that they would like to help make this possible. Some volunteered their time while others donated tools or money. |
Beginning in 2021, Madison College’s rural regional campuses implemented a layered rural workforce strategy designed to strengthen local economies through employer-driven training, youth career exposure, skilled trades expansion, and sustained community engagement. Rather than relying on a single large intervention, the College intentionally built an ecosystem of smaller, interconnected initiatives tailored to the unique needs of rural communities.Creating a hiking/biking trail in the tri-county area | 2026 Nomination To bolster the local economy and improve public health, the WRTO is a community-formed non-profit striving to improve tourism in our area. No longer are we chosen by factories to set down roots, nor is farming a booming economy. As the Driftless region, we can share our beautiful landscape and offer people that come to enjoy canoeing and fishing, another activity, drawing tourists to STAY in the area that is easy on the pocket book while we improve our tourism and economy, | Cumberland Area Trails Alliance Inc. | 2026 Nomination "The Cumberland Area Trails Alliance (CATA) was formed in response to a simple but powerful community question: how can a small rural community leverage its natural assets to improve quality of life, strengthen tourism, and support long-term economic vitality? Located in and around Cumberland, Wisconsin, the Alliance emerged from conversations among local volunteers, outdoor enthusiasts, and community leaders who recognized that while the area possessed exceptional natural beauty—lakes, rolling terrain, and forested landscapes—it lacked a coordinated system to connect residents and visitors to those assets. |
Elevate Vernon Grant | 2026 Nomination In 2025, Vernon County Community Development was awarded $150,000 in SBDG funds to implement a micro granting program throughout the county, awarding grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses to help them take that next step in starting, growing, or reinvigorating their businesses. Based on information gathered through interviews, business visits, and requests for business assistance, three main barriers to business growth in our region were identified: lack of access to capital, lack of specialized business management skills, and capacity limitations. | Fields Best Small Batch Grains | 2026 Nomination Fields Best Small Batch Grains is a several-year-old project of Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI), which was founded as a biodynamic farm community in 1984 outside of East Troy, WI. The goal of the Institute has always been to do on-farm research about regenerative farming and soil health, and to do community-based education around healthy farm and food issues. The Fields Best business grew out of field trials of soil-building grains and cover crops - some of which are very delicious and nutritious but lack established market and processing channels. In particular, MFAI has been the Wisconsin leader in agronomic research around Kernza, a perennial grain that has ten-foot roots. |
Green County Leaders | 2026 Nomination Green County Leaders (GCL) is an educational program where individuals practice leadership skills, deepen their understanding of community issues, and prepare for leadership roles. This creates a network of active and visionary individuals who leverage their experience and expertise to benefit their community and local community-based organizations. The program began in 2002 and since then, 23 cohorts of participants have graduated. Each program year consists of 10 full-day sessions, occurring monthly from September to May. Participants gather in various communities around Green County, spending the sessions meeting with community leaders, hearing from speakers, engaging in leadership discussions and activities, and touring locations. Each session focuses on a different theme revolving around leadership and community, with sessions building foundationally upon one another to increase participants’ skills. | Market on River | 2026 Nomination The Market on River is a community-driven local foods initiative launched by Wisconsin Farmers Union to strengthen market access for family farmers while revitalizing downtown economic activity. Established in Chippewa Falls, WFU's home since 1930, Market on River (MOR) was designed as more than a traditional farmers market — it is a year-round gathering space that connects producers, consumers, and community through education, entrepreneurship, and shared space. Since its founding, MOR has provided an accessible, welcoming venue for small and beginning farmers, food entrepreneurs, and artisans to sell their products directly to consumers. The market emphasizes fair pricing, producer visibility, and relationship-building, helping farmers retain a greater share of the food dollar while fostering strong community connections. |
Marquette County John Muir Nature and History mobile app | 2026 Nominations This initiative began in 2016 and has grown over the years to encompass more highlights of Marquette County and accommodate more visitor activities in the county. The John Muir Nature and History Route is a mobile app that features 22 sites to visit in Marquette County, all with accompanying QR codes. Visitors can access information about each site at the location with QR code signage or can go directly to the app to choose which locations they want to visit. The information about the site includes history, natural features and more. Plus, the app includes various walking tours, information about saunter sites in the county, auto tours and links to other tours like the Barn Quilt and Mural Trail in Marquette County. https://muirboyhoodhome.stqry.app/ Access the app at this address. | OCEDC Rural Startup & Entrepreneurship Support Initiative | 2026 Nominations The OCEDC Rural Startup & Entrepreneurship Support Initiative was launched to address the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs in rural Oneida County, where access to capital, technical assistance, workforce, and peer networks can be limited. Recognizing that small businesses and startups are critical drivers of rural economic vitality, OCEDC developed a hands-on, locally driven approach to support entrepreneurs from concept through early growth. Rather than operating as a single program, the initiative functions as a flexible support system that adapts to each entrepreneur’s needs. OCEDC provides one-on-one coaching, guidance on business planning and regulatory requirements, connections to financing and grant opportunities, and coordination with local governments, lenders, and regional partners. This personalized approach ensures that rural startups receive timely, practical assistance that is often unavailable through traditional business support models. |
Orion Initiative at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health | 2026 Nomination In 2024, The Richland Hospital and Clinics (TRHC) began a partnership with the Orion Initiative at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The partnership’s purpose was to co-design an innovative solution to close the longstanding gap in access to specialty rheumatology care for rural residents such as those in Richland County. Prior to this effort, patients requiring rheumatology services routinely faced long drives for out-of-town appointments, extended wait times and fragmented care outside the community. These barriers disproportionately affected older adults, working families and patients with chronic conditions that required ongoing management. Through this collaboration, the Specialty Training at Rural Sites-Rheumatology (STARS-R) project was created. TRHC collaborated directly with the UW academic medical community to co-design and implement this first-of-its-kind pilot program focused on bringing rheumatology care closer to home using a model designed specifically for use by rural physicians. | RWHC Rural Maternal Health Initiative | 2026 Nomination The Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) has long served as a driving force behind innovation and sustainability in rural health care. For more than four decades, the Cooperative has strengthened small and mid-sized hospitals across Wisconsin through shared services, advocacy, workforce development, and clinical collaboration. In 2024–2026, RWHC launched a focused maternal health initiative that stands out as one of the state’s top rural developments: the creation of a Maternal Services Work Group (MSWG) and the hiring of a full-time Maternal Services Coordinator. Across rural America, maternity care is disappearing at an alarming rate. Low birth volumes, workforce shortages, financial pressures, and regulatory demands have forced many rural hospitals to close labor and delivery units. When obstetric services vanish, families must travel long distances for prenatal visits and childbirth, increasing health risks and emotional and financial strain. The loss of local maternity care also weakens community vitality, as young families reconsider living and working in areas without accessible maternal services. |
Thrive Rural Wisconsin | 2026 Nomination Thrive Rural Wisconsin is a statewide, capacity-building initiative led by the Office of Rural Prosperity, which is part of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). The work of the office is designed to help rural communities and Tribal nations translate local priorities into implementable, fundable projects. Through a blend of hands-on technical assistance, project management, and targeted capacity-building grants, the program addresses one of the most persistent barriers to rural development in Wisconsin: limited ocal capacity to plan, compete for, and manage complex economic development initiatives. The program is funded through a grant from Resource Rural and does not use state tax resources. The first cohort of 10 communities is finishing this year and a second cohort of 10 communities was just announced. |