Wisconsin’s Top Rural Development Initiatives (TRDI) is an annual recognition program that seeks to discover and highlight the great things happening in rural Wisconsin. This award, sponsored by Wisconsin Rural Partners, Inc. (WRP), fosters and celebrates local collaboration and partnership and promotes sustainable rural community stewardship. Since 1998, more than 150 initiatives have been recognized and profiled as TRDI.

The Wisconsin Rural Partners board of directors is pleased to announce that Capital Access Clinic at UW Eau Claire and Savor the River Valley are this year's recipients of the Top Rural Development Initiative honor.

The Capital Access Clinic (CAC), established in 2021, is an economic development initiative to address challenges accessing capital faced by aspiring and existing small business owners. Through its outreach efforts, the CAC identified a significant need among entrepreneurs for financial knowledge and expertise to support their businesses better. Many small business owners, especially in rural areas, lack the resources to effectively create and understand their own three-year financial projections, which are essential for accessing capital and strategic business planning.

Savor the River Valley is a grassroots food tourism initiative encompassing the River Valley School District, over 300 square miles inside the Lower Wisconsin Riverway valley. It includes over forty farmers, food processors, food retailers, and restaurants

 “Wisconsin Rural Partners applauds all these initiatives nominated for the 2025 TRDI as outstanding examples of the many efforts across the state that improve the lives of citizens in rural Wisconsin,” said Kenyon Kies, WRP president. “They are excellent collaborative models for serving our rural areas.”

The programs will be presented the Top Rural Development Initiative award at the Wisconsin Rural Partners Annual Summit in Fort Atkinson on May 1.

About Wisconsin Rural Partners: Wisconsin Rural Partners is the state’s federally designated rural development council.  Committed to improving the quality of life in rural Wisconsin, WRP is a non-partisan forum for identifying, discussing, and addressing rural issues.  Through collaborations with various partners, including local, county, state, tribal, and federal governments, for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, and rural citizens, WRP fosters and promotes locally-based solutions to rural needs and issues. 

This is the twenty-fifth year WRP recognizes Wisconsin’s Top Rural Development Initiatives.

Additional information about Wisconsin Rural Partners and the Top Rural Development Initiatives can be found at www.wiruralpartners.org. 

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