There are four fundamental strategies Northern Wisconsin needs to create a thriving economy, according to Terry Ludeman, retired chief of the Office of Economic Advisors, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development:
1. People: "Surround yourself with a highly skilled workforce, and in fact, be creative. People who have the knowledge they have built up in their jobs and their educational process can help you add value to your products and help you cut corners in production anywhere you can. Workforce skills and the skills of your immediate workforce are extremely important.
2. Infrastructure: "21st Century infrastructure. It may not be highways anymore. When I was driving up here today on the way from Wausau up to this area, I turned the corner at Glidden and I headed to Clam Lake and I took my telephone out of my pocket and I opened it up and ... no network. That's 21st Century infrastructure. If we don't have telecommunications available to people, those creative people can't do the jobs that they want to do in this particular area -- absolutely, extremely important issue."
3. Quality of life: "Community amenities .... The natural resources, the scenery, all the kinds of natural amenities that happen in a community that are extremely important for you."
4. Diversity: "It's why regional becomes so important in the United States, and particularly in Northwest Wisconsin. You can't have really strong economic activity without critical mass. If Glidden is the biggest community in your area, folks, you have to find a way to join two, three of them together, and quit talking about little tiny communities with 600 people and start developing critical mass in the area. Put Glidden together with Butternut and all of a sudden you've got a metropolis."
