State business idea contest set for Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE — A statewide contest where collegiate entrepreneurs compete to see who has the best business idea is coming to Eau Claire this week.

The Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at downtown coworking space CoLab, 312 S. Barstow St.

“Our goal is to seed new entrepreneurs as well as their potential startups,” Arjun Sanga, president of event sponsor WiSys, said in a news release. “The competition is an opportunity for the students to refine their ideas, gain expertise and network.”

To get a spot in the statewide tournament, teams of UW System student entrepreneurs had to first compete in local qualifying conditions or an at-large round.

Student teams from UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stout, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls and UW-Green Bay are slated to compete at the tournament, according to the event’s agenda.

The team with the first-place idea will get $2,500, followed by $1,500 for second place and $750 for third.

The public is invited to attend the tournament, but people are asked to register by Wednesday. Register online at wisys.org/bigidea.

Local company in running for MOY awards

EAU CLAIRE — A Minnesota company’s manufacturing plant in Eau Claire is among finalists for an award from Wisconsin’s state chamber of commerce.

Business group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce announced last week that Minnesota Wire’s Eau Claire plant is among the medium-sized workplaces in the running for a Manufacturer of the Year award.

Minnesota Wire was among the seven companies with workforces between 100 and 249 employees that are competing in the medium category for the awards.

Winners of the awards will be announced on May 19 at a celebration at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.

Food Ready Space fills at business incubator

RIVER FALLS — Seven small local food businesses quickly called dibs on all spaces available in a commercial-grade kitchen that was recently opened to help entrepreneurs in River Falls.

St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center opened its 3,000-square-foot Food Ready Space in February and announced last week that it is already full.

Tenants are donut company Holy Donuts, bakeries Simply Sourdough and Rising Bread Co., ready-to-eat meal business Mindful Fork, sandwich and soup food truck Anytizers, immune health products maker Bug and Mini Co., and smoked products startup Blue Haze.

The tenants signed two- to four-year leases, giving them each a 225-square-foot production area and space in the kitchen to install their own stove tops and ovens.

The incubation center chose to create the food production space because state and local laws require most food products to be made in commercial-grade kitchens, which can be too costly for small food business owners to make on their own.

“We did see a gap and a need for this in the area and we helped fill it,” innovation center Director Sheri Marnell said in a news release.

Located at 1091 Sutherland Ave., the center opened in 2018 to provide workspaces, management guidance and technical assistance to new business owners. There are a total of 29 businesses currently working from the facility, amount to an occupancy rate of 96%.

• EAU CLAIRE — Kristy Schneider recently earned her Wisconsin registration as an architect and was promoted to that position at Ayres Associates’ office in Eau Claire, the architectural and engineering firm announced in a news release. Schneider holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design from UW-Stout and a master’s degree in architecture from UW-Milwaukee.

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