Insight on Business

June 2015

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12 | I NSIGH T • J u n e 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m of the community, it will be what the community chooses to make it." e new venue will also serve as an exhibition space for local artists and other events, including dance, yoga and spoken word. Geall, an Appleton native, recently completed RiverHeath's first phase — the 31-unit Evergreen building. If the crowdfunding campaign is successful, he plans to open the Timber Mill eater by New Year's Eve 2015 if the campaign is successful. For additional information, see the Timber Mill website: timbermilltheater.com. » THE NORTHWOODS Florence, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto Counties Absolutely fab lab e Florence County School District will soon be home to an MIT‐ chartered fab lab in the Florence school system, the second K‐12 lab in Wisconsin. School officials hope to have the lab ready for students in September when the new school year begins. e lab will be the center of a new program to provide the latest in technology and manufacturing skills needed for the workforce, as well as spark opportunities to create new companies in the region that could harness the skills and technology the fab lab makes available. "e implications are big for the county and the surrounding region," says Wendy Gehlhoff, director of Florence County Economic Development and part of the team that prepared the application for the lab. "In the fab lab, we're training the workers of tomorrow, giving them the high-tech skills they need to secure jobs right here in Florence and our neighboring counties." Fab lab, short for fabrication laboratory, is an initiative started by the MIT Center for Bits & Atoms in 2001. Growing slowly for the first decade, the number of labs has increased at a faster pace in the past four years as 3D printers, laser engravers and other CNC equipment have become more affordable. ere are about 100 fab labs in North America. Wisconsin is home to seven of the labs, trailing only Massachusetts — the home of MIT — which has 10. e Department of Workforce Development Office of Skills Development awarded $45,372 to cover a portion of the startup costs for the lab, including creating curriculum and programming that will provide certificates for high-demand, mid‐level manufacturing jobs. Florence County school officials will work with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and five local manufacturers to develop the curriculum for the lab. While the lab will be based in the schools, those who helped secure the lab say it will be more than the students who benefit. "e opportunity here is to add an additional leg to the economic stool by creating a new technology‐ based enterprise zone right here in the Northwoods," says Don Sidlowski, founder of the Northwoods Broadband & Economic Development Coalition. "Startup companies can use the labs to get off the ground, and then open their business in an incubator, an existing rental space or even from home. People want to come here for the quality of life, but where are the jobs? Well, this is the paradigm shi of our age. Technology is the great equalizer. It could literally transform the economy." » THE LAKESHORE Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Sheboygan Counties Calling all the single ladies e single men of Sheboygan County may just hold the key to heading off a regional labor shortage. A surplus of single millennial men is the latest asset Sheboygan County 920 751 4200 MCMGRP.COM Values. Culture. Relationships. Want to share your success with some of your best customers or clients during the Mile of Music Festival? Group Music- Maker Badges or Corporate Outings are available – contact Mike Van Thull: mike@mileofmusic.com or call 920-750-5014

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