CITY ECONOMIC RANKING JUMPS
    According to the Milken Institute Best Performing Cities Index, Eau Claire has upped its employment and economic game in the past year. In 2007, Eau Claire ranked 93rd out of 124 small metro markets across the nation, based on new job establishment, technical growth, and wages and salary. The recently released 2008 rankings jumped Eau Claire to 56th, the top-ranked small or large metro market in the state. Small metro areas Janesville and Appelton followed at 75th and 83rd in the state rankings.
– CW

EAU CLAIRE SEEKS PREVENTATIVE HEALTH CARE MEASURES
    This fall the Eau Claire Health Department released a public report, “Access to Primary and Preventative Health Services.” Data collected in Eau Claire revealed that 7 percent of adults in Eau Claire, or 5,064 individuals, have no health insurance, and 24 percent of the population claims to not have seen a dentist in the past year. Additionally, in 2005 there were 1,326 preventable hospitalizations, which cost more than $15 million. Cost, language, and lack of providers are some of the obstacles faced by those lacking adequate care. The report makes widespread primary and preventative health care a “2010 objective.” As a first step, the city is providing a list of over 35 Eau Claire public health resources. The report and health care provider list can be accessed at www.co.eau-claire.wi.us/health. Click CHIP. – CW

STUDENT CAREER OPTIONS NOW LISTED IN ONLINE DATABASE
    For the past six years, the Economic Development Divison of the city and UW-Eau Claire’s Career Services provided university graduates a print version of the “Chippewa Valley Employer Guide.” A part of the “Come for College, Stay for a Career” project, this provided young talent with a resource for internship or job opportunities in the area. Now the city and university have teamed up to present a fresh, new online directory that aims to keep graduates in the area by giving them even easier access to local opportunities via their best resource, the web. Seventy-five employers are listed in the database and websters can search by area of study and type of work preferred, such as internship, job-shadow, volunteer, full, or part time. Employers interested in joining the online directory listing can contact Dagmar Beckel-Machyckova in Eau Claire’s Economic Development Division at 839-4914 or beckeld@eauclairewi.gov. Adventure through the directory right here. – CH

STOUT ANNOUNCES $12 MILLION RENOVATION TO CAMPUS
    UW-Stout will have a renovated residence hall and a brand new dining facility in the fall semester of 2010. The state building commission recently gave the university the go-ahead for the $12.4 million project that includes 40,000 square feet of Hovlid Hall and the food service facility, which will be connected to Hovlid and Fleming halls. Also connecting the two buildings will be a lobby area and “community hub” with fireplaces and a convenience store. Perhaps the best part about the project is that none of it will be paid for by taxpayers, according to a press release, but by students through room and dining fees. – TK