Excerpted from Wisconsin State Journal
By Judy Newman

Three Madison biotechnology companies are expanding.

Aldevron and Epicentre Technologies, both of which make products used for life sciences research, will move into University Research Park’s accelerator building, 5602 Research Park Blvd.

Exact Sciences, meanwhile, is adding 10,000 square feet at its current location, 441 Charmany Drive, taking over offices and labs that Aldevron had occupied. Exact Sciences’ non-invasive colorectal cancer test, ColoGuard, is in nationwide clinical trials.

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Excerpted from Wisconsin State Journal
By Judy Newman

Twelve south-central Wisconsin companies are on the 2012 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing U.S. companies.

The companies, their locations and products or services are:

• No. 398 — Quincy Bioscience, Madison: Products for memory and mental sharpness
• No. 544 — RevolutionEHR, Madison: Cloud-based management and health records for optometrists
• No. 663 — Facility Gateway, McFarland: Services for data center owners
• No. 1,711 — Midwest Prototyping, Blue Mounds: 3D printing and product prototyping
• No. 1,959 — Forte Research Systems, Madison: Clinical research management systems
• No. ,2210 — SASid Insurance Development, Janesville: Insurance plans for national associations
• No. 3,339 — New Glarus Brewing, New Glarus: Brewery
• No. 3,341 — ABC Supply, Beloit: Wholesale distributor of roofing, siding and windows
• No. 3,763 — Synergy Consortium Services, Madison: Information technology staffing service
• No. 4,635 — InForm Product Development, Sun Prairie: Product development
• No. 4,928 — Trident Contract Management, Fitchburg: IT contract and asset management consultant
• No. 4,969 — Data Dimensions, Janesville: Provides outsourced business services

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Excerpted from Beloit Daily News
By Shaun Zinck

Two Beloit city-owned properties are being considered by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) for “shovel ready” certification.

The certification would give would-be business developers more confidence in locating a business in Beloit because an outside firm would have already inspected the site.

The “Ready-Set-Build” project was proposed by Gov. Scott Walker earlier this year as a way to encourage business owners to build in the state. Wisconsin was one of 25 other states that didn’t have “shovel ready” certification.

A study done in 2010 called “Be Bold” showed that the state had a lack of sites that could be immediately developed. Walker then created “Ready-Set-Build” in order to determine sites that are ready to be developed.

The certification eliminates some worry for would-be developers because sites have already been inspected and are ready for development, said Tom Thieding, communications manager for WEDC.

“Certified sites also increase the comfort level of projects considering a region by removing unknowns about a site, and by accelerating the site due diligence and implementation timeline,” Thieding said.

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Excerpted from Wisconsin State Journal
By Barry Adams

Abbie Jacob remembers the bus tours.

She was in high school here in the late 1990s and had a part-time job waiting and busing tables at the Inn and Pub.

This was before road construction made it tough for visitors to venture downtown, before the recession — when discretionary spending was flush — and almost 15 years before the Meltzer Candy Co. folded up shop and moved operations and its 100 employees to modern facilities in Janesville.

“It was kind of a zoo,” Jacob said of the bus tours.

“They would always stop at the pottery stores, have lunch and then walk up Main Street and do their shopping.”

The last 10 years have not been kind to this village, but officials, business owners and recreational enthusiasts are working together to restore the crowds.

Instead of bus tours, the vision is more broad in this village of just more than 1,200 people on the border of Dane and Jefferson counties.

Restaurants and shops are still seen as key components, but the village is trying to attract those who bike, kayak, canoe, paddleboard and cross-country ski. Koshkonong Creek, Lake Ripley and CamRock County Park provide the opportunities.

“If you get people to come out and use those facilities, it can benefit the village and the downtown businesses,” said Steve Struss, village president and chair of the Economic Development Committee. “We’re definitely looking to reinvent Cambridge to try and appeal to younger people and to become a destination location again.”

The EDC was formed in 2011 with a mission to promote the village and attract new businesses.

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Excerpted from Wisconsin State Journal
By Karen Rivedal

Madison was ranked No. 1 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance today on a new list of the Top 5 best cities for young adults.

The magazine said Madison was an “educated, tech-savvy city” with many recent college graduates who help foster an “entrepreneurial community” for start-up companies.

Its intellectual capital also was bolstered by the presence of UW-Madison and other colleges, along with Epic Systems, a top health care software developer based in Verona.

Rounding out the top fix cities in the country for young adults, according to Kiplinger’s, was Austin, Texas, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Denver, in that order. (Interesting that Madison actually beat perennially top-ranked Austin on this list.)

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