Regionalism in Fond du Lac

On Thursday I was to fly into Ripon, WI touring the county of Fond du Lac, addressing their 16 annual county wide economic development meeting. We iced up in Rockford, forcing me to drive to Fond du Lac, missing the tour of the county. And getting to tour agurbs® like Fond du Lac is one of my great pleasures in touring the country. I was sorely disappointed.

Ripon is the birthplace of the Republican Party, which was started by a group of “Freelanders” in the 1850s. The county is home of Mercury Marine, which headquarters a small engine cluster that accounts for 2/3 of all of the small engine manufacturing in the USA within 65 miles of Fond du Lac. With 31% of their jobs in manufacturing, Fond du Lac County has some of the highest wages in NE Wisconsin. And, Wisconsin has taken a lead in creating new manufacturing jobs when compared to other Great Lakes states.

The vision of increased regionalism evident in economic development in Fond du Lac impressed me greatly. A regional effort focused upon the Hwy 41 corridor from Fond du Lac to Green Bay and a 17 county NE Wisconsin economic development effort are steps in the right direction. No longer can agurbs® like Fond du Lac be an island unto themselves, but by working together with other communities the force of development is greatly enhanced.

Of particular interest to me in the NE Wisconsin study was an effort to create more clusters in the region and an emphasis upon entrepreneurial start-ups. Both are high on my radar screen from observing trends as I travel around the country. I particularly liked this quote from their report, “NE Wisconsin must abandon the economic strategy of a cost race to the bottom and embrace the concept of abundance theory—that by collaborating, the pie will increase with everyone getting a larger piece.” Fond du Lac is on the right track!