Category: Client news

Forward Festival Continues to Grow

Posted on by Taylor Kennedy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 11, 2016

Contact:
Molly Walsh
608-616-0840
molly@forwardfest.org

Forward Festival Continues to Grow


(MADISON, Wis.)—Thousands of entrepreneurs, investors and like-minded professionals are expected to attend the seventh-annual Forward Festival, which has more than 40 events taking place Aug. 18-25 throughout the city, organizers announced today.

“Forward Festival, now with the most events to date, could not thrive without our community’s support of entrepreneurs,” Laura Strong, festival committee member and president of Quintessence Biosciences, said. “That’s why we’ve made the festival as accessible as possible, as all events are open to the public and many are free.”

The festival’s main event is the Forward Technology Conference (Aug. 23), which again is paired with the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s neXXpo and Pressure Chamber events. Amy Africa, e-commerce expert, and Jordan Eisenberg, entrepreneur and venture partner, will be the keynote speakers.

Other highlights of the festival include the Black Entrepreneur’s Summit (Aug. 20), the Badger Startup Summit (Aug. 22 featuring Keith Witek from Tesla) and the inaugural Mini-preneurs event (Aug. 20), which aims to inspire children to start thinking of their dream business.

On Wednesday, Aug. 24 UBER is running an event at this year’s Festival as attendees can request a 15-min. ride with an investor to pitch a startup or business idea.

The Forward Festival is sponsored by local companies including American Family Insurance, MG&E, Neider & Boucher, WEDC, The QTI Group, Urban Land Interests, Associated Bank, M3 Insurance, AlphaTech, Isthmus and Ideas that Evoke.

For a detailed listing of events taking place during the Forward Festival, please visit www.forwardfest.org.

###

Resulting Media Coverage:

Reason for Reform Campaign Highlights New Data Showing the Economic Impact of Immigrants in Wisconsin

Posted on by Allison Wallner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 3, 2016

Contact:
George Klaetsch
608-283-2587
gklaetsch@kpasllc.com

 

Reason for Reform Campaign Highlights New Date Showing the Economic Impact of Immigrants in Wisconsin

Local leaders call for immigration reform in National Day of Action with events across all 50 states

(MADISON, Wis.) — Today, local leaders from Wisconsin came together for a Day of Action to showcase new research on immigration contributions in Wisconsin and highlight the critical need for immigration reform. The event marked the launch of the Reason for Reform campaign, an effort taking place in all 50 states today, sponsored by the Partnership for a New American Economy (NAE).

The Reason for Reform campaign brings together state business, civic, and cultural leaders to urge Congress to take action on immigration reform. Today’s Madison Day of Action event coincides with the release of new research, including data on the foreign-born population in Wisconsin, their tax contributions, their spending power and their role in Wisconsin’s key industries as leaders and job creators. Today, NAE is also launching a new mobile tool that lets users make a video telling their Reason for Reform (reasonforreform.org). Videos will be sent directly to Congress.

“Immigrant workers are talented and critical contributors to our economy, especially here in Wisconsin,” Mayra Medrano, president of the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Dane County, said. “It’s in everyone’s interest that we focus on immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship or legal status.”

The Contributions of New Americans in Wisconsin shows that immigrants make up nearly five percent of the state’s population and contributed $2.1 billion in taxes, or 4.9 percent of the total share in 2014. That same year, immigrants earned $7.6 billion, or roughly five percent of all income earned by Wisconsinites.

Immigrants in Wisconsin contribute to key industries such as manufacturing, higher education and agriculture. They make up almost six percent of all entrepreneurs in the state and play a large role in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, a major component of U.S. economic growth. These and other key statistics on immigrants in Wisconsin can be found in the NAE report at http://www.renewoureconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/nae-wi-report.pdf.

“We must fix our broken immigration system to address the worker shortages of many Wisconsin farms,” John Holevoet, director of government affairs for the Dairy Business Association, said. “Current laws make it all but impossible to fill the numerous jobs up and down the agricultural supply chain.”

More information can be found at www.RenewOurEconomy.org.

About the Partnership for a New American Economy

The Partnership for a New American Economy brings together more than 500 Republican, Democratic and Independent mayors and business leaders who support immigration reforms that will help create jobs for Americans today. The Partnership’s members include mayors of more than 35 million people nationwide and business leaders of companies that generate more than $1.5 trillion and employ more than 4 million people across all sectors of the economy, from Agriculture to Aerospace, Hospitality to High Tech and Media to Manufacturing. Partnership members understand that immigration is essential to maintaining the productive, diverse and flexible workforce that America needs to ensure prosperity over the coming generations. Learn more at www.RenewOurEconomy.org.

 

###

 Resulting Media Coverage:

Local Community Banks Agree to Merge

Posted on by Allison Wallner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2016

Contact:
Mark Schellpfeffer
608-223-5141
mschellpfeffer@mononabank.com

Local Community Banks Agree to Merge

(MONONA, Wis.) – Monona Bankshares, Inc., the holding company for Monona State Bank, announced today that it is expanding its bank and team of experienced bankers by acquiring the holding company for Middleton Community Bank. It will merge the two banks under the name Monona State Bank.

“This merger makes sense because both banks are locally owned and focused on their communities,” Monona State Bank President Paul Hoffmann said. “We’ve always believed that there is ‘strength in neighbors’. We look forward to joining together to offer more services to all of our customers.”

The holding companies of the banks signed a binding agreement on July 28, 2016. The merger requires shareholder and regulatory approval.

The signing of the final closing documents will occur in the fourth quarter of 2016, and integration of the two banks is expected to be completed by the summer of 2017.

After the banks merge, Monona State Bank will employ more than 150 associates in nine locations. It will operate the Middleton Community Bank locations in Middleton, Cross Plains, Belleville, Sauk City and Brooklyn. The combined banks will have $775 million in assets, giving them more opportunities to compete and grow.

Monona State Bank’s headquarters will remain in Monona. The merger allows the banks to stay locally owned and save jobs with no anticipated layoffs.

About Monona State Bank (www.mononabank.com)

Monona State Bank is a locally owned and managed bank that believes “together, we prosper.” Founded in 1991, it is committed to making communities great places to live, work and raise a family. Monona State Bank has grown to about $475 million in assets with two locations in Monona, and one each in Madison and Cottage Grove.

About Middleton Community Bank (www.middletonbank.com)

Middleton Community Bank has about $300 million in assets while serving more than 10,000 accounts since opening in 1995. Its mission is to provide quality products and personal service to customers in Middleton, Belleville, Brooklyn, Cross Plains, Sauk Prairie and surrounding communities in South Central Wisconsin.

###

Resulting Media Coverage: