BizNews Greater La Crosse with Vicki Markussen

Several more stores are leaving Valley View mall and headed to Onalaska. The city may be landlocked, but that doesn’t mean redevelopment isn’t happening. Mayor Kim Smith joins to talk about: the last big box store getting filled in the OmniCenter being constantly full Don’t assume that ice is permanent Fundraisers for dogs, and parks Upcoming planning New Businesses going in And the new City Admin...

More than 200 people in greater La Crosse can also call Luxembourg home thanks to dual-citizenship. As a result, they have a coveted passport to tracing their lineage to Luxembourg. In August, 25 students from La Crosse’s newest sister city, Junglinster, visited La Crosse in the first trip of an ongoing summer exchange. We talked to one of their teachers and chaperone, Marc Zimmer, about how Luxem...

Matt Curtis grew up singing. He didn’t know it could make him a lot of money starting in college. Curtis began recording different tracks to Gregorian chants while attending Viterbo. He pursued his signing career at the same time. Some investments took off, and he found himself holding millions of dollars. He moved back home and started to diversify — buying rental property, converting an old chur...

La Crosse's Jackson Plaza, at 19th and Jackson streets, took on a new owner when the tenant, Kat Soper and her husband, with Palm and Pine, took on ownership. There are nearly 20 small, locally owned businesses in the strip mall from candy to Indian food to coffee to vacuum sales and repair, marketing, and a child care center. The group banned together and is hosting a block party Wednesday. Kat t...

What do you do when a customer doesn’t pay you after your custom create a CBD cream to treat neuropathy? You sell it — and fast. Conquer Products in Mabel, Minn., uses its health product manufacturing expertise to now launch its second product — Favor Colostrum powder. You can buy the health superfood on Amazon, which is an entirely different experience. Head of marketing and Favor Colostrum co-fo...

Two guys walked into Features in Wests Salem. They walked out. But the idea they sparked got built in May. Owners Jenn & Jason Slusser join to talk about the opening of the new Features Fieldhouse last spring with the idea that parents can bring their kids to play and practice sports, while they enjoy the restaurant and bowling alley. Hear how Features attracted the La Crosse Showtime basketba...

Filling your own need is often a place where entrepreneurs start a business. That’s what happened with the Anderson family in La Crescent. Kelsey and her husband Raymond had day-jobs, but their love for coffee caused them to start first a coffee trailer and now an actual coffee shop on Walnut Street in downtown La Crescent. Kelsey Anderson joins Bizcast about how Affogato (off-a-GOT-o) Lane Coffee...

You may have a yearning to feel the wind in your hair as co-owner Brody Meier of Harley Davidson La Crosse Area talks about why he and his partner chose to own a Harley franchise and what it is like to be at the 120th Anniversary. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Roush, co-owner of Root Down Yoga, joins to tell his story of a yoga studio with sold-out sessions. Its sense of community draws people, then, as Roush describes, the pandemic changed everything. Hear how his wife, co-owner Mandy’s transformation, sparked this business that created transformation in other lives. It’s closure during the pandemic and its hopeful slow upward path to reestablish...

The Parenting Place’s Michelle Sampson joins, as the organization receives a second year of $400,000 from the City of La Crosse’ ARPA funding to help with the childcare crisis. The nonprofit organization identified what’s pulling workers from centers - leaving many without care for their children so they, in turn, can work. The shortage began as the number of licensed childcare providers decreased...

Apprenticeships used to be for the trades - carpentry, electricians, plumbers. Today there’s  more than 11 career fields available to students. CESA #4 provides many services to more than 26 school districts in Western Wisconsin. Amanda Langrehr, with CESA #4, joins to discuss: The many ways students can explorer careers What fields apprenticeships can be in What’s involved in apprenticeships How...

The first housing endeavor for Nick Roush and wife Mandy was so bad, his mom though he hadn’t seen the inside when he bought it. After spending $60,000 — all on credit cards to fix it — Roush had to tear it down and start over. Roush Rentals has learned a lot in its 25 years of building. It now has 225 successful units. Rouch's philosophy: Find the win-wins for people, the cities he builds in, and...

Linda’s Bakery is a staple, not just in West Salem, but throughout La Crosse County. They have been baking donuts for 50 years this year – and they even took over from someone else. It’s a local family business with all the stories to go with it. The new co-owner, Bob Anderson joins to talk sweets, health craze, online shopping, wholesale baking and forgetting ingredients mid-baking. Here, you'll...

Part 2 of our conversation with La Crosse Parks, Recreation and Forestry director Jay Odegaard and the role his agency plays in beautifying the city and making it a place where people want to live and visit.  Here Odegaard talks about: Special trees with pods are being planted downtown The Pearl Street Walkway should be completed The Hatchery, the former Fish Hatchery and Tourism Bureau building i...

The City of La Crosse plays a key role in helping those who live here, as well as visitors, have more fun. Jay Odegaard, La Crosse's Parks and Rec director joins. He's the man who heads most of that work. We had so much to talk about with Odegaard that this is just part one of that interview. Here, he talks about: Flood cleanup and how it impacted businesses New Northside transient dock Data shows...

Jason Gilman, owner of JBG Planning, LLC, is the project manager for the River Point District near downtown La Crosse. he joins to talk about how it’s taken 30 years to develop what used to be called the old Mobil oil site — the land that is being developed across from Festival Foods on Rose Street. In this podcast, you will hear:  What’s being built How it will get approved What it means for La C...

Ben Skinner and Chris Barton, owners of Paulin's Provision, join. The two grew up on the northside of La Crosse, but went on to work at esteemed restaurants in Minneapolis and Seattle. When COVID hit, however, they came back home and launched a business back in the old neighborhood. They bought the Vogue and named it Paulins Provision, a grocery store named after a family member, where they sell s...

When her business partner’s husband got a job on the West Coast, Tracy Endrizzi found herself owning two businesses in La Crosse — a sassy and snarky gift shop, plus her original art studio for people to make customized gifts and art. Tracy joins, and you’ll learn how she and her partner previously kept reworking how their businesses went together in two small spaces — both knowing something uniqu...

A continuation of an interview with Inland Packaging owner Mark Glendenning. He is a founder of a group called The Upper Mississippi Manufacturing Association (TUMMA) that unites large and small manufacturers to encourage students to experience and pursue professional careers in manufacturing. It’s not just line workers, it’s engineers, human resources, marketing, and more than 11 different profes...

When you have a lot of customers and that industry begins to shrink, listen to how Inland Packaging in La Crosse identified new markets and grew. Owner Mark Glendenning shares the story of how his grandfather came to purchase what was then a business card and stationery business to how his father created a customer-centric culture and began producing labels for its biggest customer - G. Heileman B...

Many local boards are filled with individuals who care about our community — many of them are current or retired business leaders. In today’s spotlight, we focus on a West Salem dad with young kids, who is literally blazing trails by being heavily involved in the Outdoor Recreation Alliance, as it buys a large parcel of land on the outskirts of La Crosse. Stephen Cohen, a financial advisor with Ed...

Every state has regions recognized by the federal government - the Economic Development Agency (EDA) - to help communities plan and to help businesses grow. On this episode, Jon Bingol, the head of Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission for western Wisconsin’s nine counties, joins. Bingol talks about how plans that impact how cities grow, handle hazardous situations and plan, including rec...

The building trades have said for years that they need more workers. Now the shortage is impacting our ability to get service for electrical, plumbing, remodeling and more. The La Crosse Area Builders Association (LABA) is trying something new. On April 18, it is launching “Build My Future,” which is an interactive way for students to engage with their possible career. LABA volunteer Adam Kirschne...

Roxanne Aubrey and Rachel McFarland join BizCast Greater La Crosse to talk about their newest in a series of publications, this one called Demystifying City Governments, which was released Thursday. The Ope! Publishing owners started about two years ago, putting out small magazines named Zines. Their newest series tries to help people engage with their government. Aubrey and McFarland sat down wit...

The Wall Street Journal named La Crosse an emerging market for affordable housing – not based on what it has – but on the conditions for affordability. This didn’t surprise Damon Olson, President of the La Crosse Area Realtors Association and guest. Olson discusses how the housing market is doing – average sale price and how easy or hard it is to buy right now. He also talks about what’s happening...