Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/125252
insight on Economic By Mar yB eth Mat zek development Planning ahead courtesy Dominion Kewaunee County looks to future without largest employer D evastating. That's how Jennifer Brown, executive director of the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corp., describes the decision by Dominion Resources Inc. to close down the Kewaunee Power Station this year. An economic impact study completed earlier this year reported the plant generates $640 million annually in economic activity. Dominion is not only Kewaunee County's largest w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m The Kewaunee Power Station's closure will leave at least 550 people out of work, but the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corp. is seeking ways to help displaced workers find other employment within the county. employer, it also provided jobs to residents from nearby Manitowoc and Brown counties. While Dominion employs 650 people at the plant, an estimated 50 to 100 workers will stay on long-term after this year to help with the plant's decommissioning. Now that news is sinking in that up to 600 people will be out of work within the next few months, Brown and other area economic development leaders are taking action. "We want to be proactive, not reactive to the situation," says Brown, who is leading a group that's looking at the situation and mapping out economic development strategies. The KCEDC received [continued] » M a y 2 013 • Insight | 35