2026 Wisconsin Rural Summit Agenda | April 29 & 30, 2026 |
Wednesday, April 29 Schedule |
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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 |
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.
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“Rural Voices” hosted by WI Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin6:00 pm | Welcome Reception | Enjoy appetizers and drinks plus visit Exhibitors |
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Thursday, April 30 Schedule |
Time |
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7:30 am | Registration & Continental Breakfast |
Visit Exhibitors
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8:45 am | Welcome to Praire du Chien |
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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. | Moderator: Melissa Hunt, President & CEO, Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA) Panelists:
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10:00 am | Break - Visit Exhibitors |
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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: Anne Katz, Executive Director of
Create Wisconsin
Panelists:
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11:15 am | Immigration and Rural Wisconsin This panel examines the critical role of immigration in shaping rural Wisconsin’s workforce, economy, and community vitality. Panelists will discuss how immigrant populations are driving statewide growth and supporting key industries. The session will move beyond the data to explore tangible, regional strategies for community integration, focusing on the infrastructure needed- such as legal support, banking access, and - to foster genuinely welcoming rural environments. Panelists will frame immigration’s civic, economic, and municipal finance implications as common-ground issues that move past partisan political narratives to support the future sustainability of rural Wisconsin’s communities. | Moderator: Marie Barry, Director of Community Economic & Workforce Development, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative Panelists:
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12:00 pm | Lunch | Top Rural Development Initiatives (TRDI) Presentation |
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1:15 pm | Rural Wealth Building: Financial Empowerment + Homeownership Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs) provide free, professional one-on-one financial counseling that helps residents manage debt, improve credit, build savings, access safe and affordable banking options, and plan for long-term financial stability. Through trained counselors and a structured coaching process, FECs help individuals create action plans around budgeting, debt reduction, credit and wealth building. The model has been implemented in communities across the country and has helped clients reduce debt by hundreds of millions of dollars while increasing savings and improving credit outcomes. Speakers Heather Nunez, Local Government Manager with Jefferson County, WI, and Rhiannon Tonies, FEC Manager with the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, will explain what a Financial Empowerment Center is and how the model works. They will outline the steps required to establish an FEC in a community, including key partnerships, staffing, and program structure. The presentation will also highlight available resources and technical assistance for communities interested in launching an FEC, along with the measurable outcomes used to track success. |
Speakers:
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2:00 pm | Break - Visit Exhibitors |
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2:15 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. | Speakers:
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3:15 pm | Thank you! Looking forward to 2027 |
CONTACT US
Wisconsin Rural Partners
601 Sawyer Terrace #5184
Madison, WI 53705