About

Who We Are

The Council of Rural Initiatives (CRI) is a nonprofit, created in 2008 out of the need to provide legs for the ideas and actions endorsed by “The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin” (FOF).  This was the Wisconsin Academy’s 2.5-year statewide study which published a comprehensive report in October 2007.

CRI intends to provide leadership to translate rural passion into civic action.  It:

• Serves as a clearinghouse of information and ideas for decision-makers and the public about rural needs
• Supports and guides rural leaders as they set priorities, build capacity, and establish pilot projects which demonstrate the viability of sustainable rural economies
• Provides numerous opportunities for public education and engagement on key rural issues

The CRI Board determined that CRI will initially focus on three top Future of Farming study priorities:

Sustainability (communities, lands, water, energy, climate, local food system, regional cooperation, etc.)

Rural Labor (especially immigration issues–economic, social and cultural needs–for an essential agriculture workforce)

Rural Health Care (adequate, affordable, accessible oral health care and the necessary workforce to provide it)

Principles
CRI…

• Welcomes all voices to the table
• Operates in a nonpartisan, principled manner
• Cultivates local leadership for local development
• Connects people, ideas, skills, opportunities
• Works for a sustainable rural future

Strategies

• Catalyze and empower rural people to shape their own future.

• Create environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and economically rewarding options for rural communities.

• Gather the resources and build the networks that will help rural communities to develop their own agenda and nourish development.

• Encourage rural residents to embrace diversity in its many forms:  people, cultures, perspectives, agricultural types, sizes and methods.

• Demonstrate that with proper tools and sufficient collaborators, local leaders have potential to lead on issues of urgency to the community.

• Lift up, encourage, and replicate successful models around the state that are addressing priority needs.

• Develop a bipartisan rural agenda for state and local government decision-makers.

• Help Wisconsinites to understand that more than economic viability, sustainability in rural communities is:  Affordable, accessible health care ◊ Quality education ◊  Modern infrastructure, including technology ◊  Embracing diversity; integrating immigrants into community life  ◊  Growing dependence on local foods, clean energy ◊ Preservation of working lands and natural resources  ◊  Community development ◊ Celebration of arts and culture  ◊ Innovation and entrepreneurship ◊  Career opportunities for young people

2010 CRI Board Members

Blane Christman, Christman Dental, LTD, Chippewa Falls
Sandi Cihlar, Dairy Farmer and Rural Health Care Advocate, Mosinee
Paul Dietmann, Director, Farm Center, Division of Agricultural Development, DATCP, Madison
Dale Gallenberg, Dean, College of Ag, Food, and Environmental Sciences, UW-River Falls
Stan Gruszynski, Director, USDA Office of Rural Development, Wisconsin State Office, Stevens Point
Rick Klemme, Dean and Director, Cooperative Extension, UW-Extension, Madison
Karl Klessig, Farmer, Saxon Homestead Farm, LLC, Cleveland
Tom Lyon, Retired Agribusiness Executive, Cambridge
John Rosenow, Managing Partner, Rosenow-Wolfe Dairy, Cochrane
Richard Stadelman, Executive Director, Wisconsin Towns Association, Shawano
Rhonda Strebel, Executive Director, Rural Health Initiative of Shawano County
George Twohig, Attorney, Twohig, Rietbrock, Schneider & Halbach S.C., Chilton

Staff: Wilda G. Nilsestuen, Executive Director