Study finds Madison area needs national partnerships to thrive

By Judy Newman

The Madison area is in a lot better shape economically than most other metropolitan areas of the U.S., but to propel the region into a top-echelon position it will take a lot more collaboration, education, investment and promotion, according to a new study.

That could include forming entrepreneurial partnerships with groups as far away as Ann Arbor, Michigan or Pittsburgh, creating a food distribution center that would serve several states, or becoming a hub for industrial hemp.

One of the most important steps will be to find a way to make broadband available to everyone in the region, the study says.

The Madison area has the most diverse economy in the nation and is among leaders in the growth of technology jobs but it is far behind “top U.S. investment hubs such as Austin, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina, or Portland, Oregon,” according to Advance Now 2.0.

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Summit looks at creating jobs, expanding diversity

By Judy Newman | Wisconsin State Journal




A unified effort to boost the economy of the eight-county Madison region is starting to make headway, but there’s still a long way to go to diversify the workforce, speakers told a conference on Friday.

The first Madison Region’s Economic Development, Diversity and Leadership Summit — a combined effort of the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) and the Urban League of Greater Madison — drew about 400 people to Monona Terrace for the daylong event.  

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Tuning into Austin

By Brennan Nardi
Madison Magazine

The night before I flew to Austin to research this article, I was in the second row of the Orpheum Theatre’s balcony, rocking out to Garbage. The band’s lead singer Shirley Manson hails from Scotland, but the rest of these bona fide rock stars—Butch Vig, Steve Marker and Duke Erikson—are from Madison and their ’90s smash hits—like “Queer,” “Stupid Girl” and “Only Happy When it Rains”—were recorded at the band’s now-defunct Smart Studios on East Washington Avenue.

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The time is now

By Neil Heinen
Madison Magazine

Madison is a pretty wonderful place to live. Even a well-delivered dose of opened-eyed reality does not diminish that fact. But we’ve been slow to acknowledge that our enviable quality of life will not by itself ensure our economic stability, to say nothing of growth.

To read the full story, please click here, or if the story has been removed, contact Alexia Alvey for more information.