Sun Prairie Mayor John Murray and Economic Development Director Neil Stechschulte to Present at League of Wisconsin Municipalities Conference (City of Sun Prairie Office of Economic Development)

Mayor John Murray and Economic Development Director Neil Stechschulte have been invited to participate in a panel discussion on the creation and implementation of economic development plans at 113th Annual Conference of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities on October 19th - 21st.  Joining them on the panel will be Gary Becker, Partner with Vierbicher Associates and Director of the Local Government Institute of Wisconsin.  Panelists will discuss their past efforts, successes, and what they would do differently, as well as whether or not economic development plans should change during a slower economy.

Click here for more information on the 113th Annual Conference of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.

DWD Secretary Baumbach & WEDC CEO Paul Jadin Visit Madison-Kipp Corporation in Sun Prairie (VIDEO from WisEye.org)

Baumbach and WEDC CEO Paul Jadin Visit Madison-Kipp Corporation

Link to the WisEye.org Video: http://www.wiseye.org/videoplayer/vp.html?sid=6045

Blogger's Note: Thanks to Secretary Baumbach and WEDC CEO Paul Jadin for coming out to Sun Prairie. And a sign of the times that this video is available through WisEye.org the same day as the event.

UPDATE: Click here for the full article in the Sun Prairie Star.

Frontier Communications to Celebrate 1-Year Anniversary, Make Announcement on Sun Prairie Operations (Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce)

Frontier Communications is hosting a Ribbon Cutting and Community Cook-out on Tuesday, June 28th to celebrate Sun Prairie's New Assignments Facility and the company's one year anniversary of becoming the new communications provider in Wisconsin and 13 other states. Program begins at 11:30 am with brief remarks by Mayor John Murray, Frontier Sr. VP Rhonda Lutzke and others. Come on out for grilled brats and facility tours, 100 Communications Drive. RSVP to by June 24th to Amber at 837-1149 or amber.m.bryan@ftr.com.

Click here for more information on Frontier Communications.

UPDATE: Click here for more information from Channel3000.com.

Mayoral Priorities Outlined (Sun Prairie Star)

Mayoral Priorities Outlined (Submitted to the Star by Mayor John Murray)

Link to Full Article: http://www.sunprairiestar.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=7550

Excerpt from the Article:

"A focused economic development strategy. Sun Prairie is competing against other cities and regions for job growth and retention. I have proposed beefing up our Community Development Authority into a more robust marketing and economic development entity. By working with the Chamber, the Business Improvement District and other business and civic groups, we can retain and grow our local jobs and increase tax base."

Blogger's Note: Obviously excited to have the Mayor list this as a priority. Mayor Murray was the public sector co-chair for the Ad Hoc Committee that developed our current Strategic Business Development Plan in 2008-2009. This plan identified preliminary target sectors in two groups:

Immediate Sectors

• Finance and Insurance
• Information Technology
• Light Manufacturing
• Warehousing & Distribution
• Food & Beverage Processing

Emerging Sectors

• Healthcare
• Biotechnology
• Agricultural Technology
• Renewable Energy
• Continuing Education
• Hospitality & Tourism

My guess is we're going to start with that document and try to focus it even further. Marketing and retaining these sectors will probably be up for discussion with the Council at their upcoming Strategic Planning discussion, as well as what sort of resources the City may need to allocate to this effort. Sounds like a good move to me.