By Tom Still
EDGERTON, Wis. – At a time of missile launches in the Middle East, grinding war in Ukraine, political assassination in Minnesota and a potentially crushing national debt hanging over the economy, it’s a relief to visit a place where people gather for lunch, sing a patriotic song and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
All at the world’s biggest Culver’s restaurant, no less.
Tuesday at the Edgerton Rotary Club was more than an excuse for a burger, fries and a dish of ice cream just off I-39. It was a chance to talk about Wisconsin’s economy and to suggest it’s not just about seeding prosperity in larger cities, but in the state’s smaller communities, as well.
Edgerton is such a community. With roughly 6,000 citizens, it’s north of Janesville, south of the Madison area and mostly contained in Rock County. The Rotary Club group included school board members, Chamber of Commerce representatives, the publisher of the Edgerton Reporter, the president of the Edgerton Hospital and the mayor, who was sporting a “Tobacco City U.S.A.” T-shirt to mark the region’s upcoming heritage days celebration.
Guests and grandchildren were welcome; so were audience questions. They covered Wisconsin’s tech-based economy, the rise of electronic health records, early stage capital trends, Big Pharma companies just across the border in Illinois, and proposed cuts in National Institutes for Health research grants.
One might expect those themes would surface more readily on a major college campus or a business gathering in a larger city, but this was Edgerton – and these service-minded citizens were quick to recognize they’re part of a larger economy.
My role was to talk about the Wisconsin economy in ways that included its historic manufacturing base, its growing technology sectors, major trade partners and the reality that supply chains don’t begin and end with the largest companies. They extend into most corners of the state.
Long-time residents of Edgerton know such connections can cut both ways. The city lost a major vehicle-related plant in 1980, and it took a while to bounce back. There are still manufacturers in and around the city today, and the Rotarians seemed to recognize the importance of supporting incumbents and while courting newcomers.
There are also tech-based companies nearby, such as SHINE Technologies and NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes in Rock County, as well as national firms such as ABC Supply and Hendricks Holding Company. With Madison not far away, might Edgerton feel a larger “bedroom community” effect?
The region also has colleges to help train workers and to produce young entrepreneurs, such as two southern Wisconsin startup founders who this month were among the winners of the 2025 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
The group was interested to hear that Wisconsin’s leading trading partners start with its closest neighbors – Canada and Mexico – and extend to China, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Japan, basically in that order.
There was some skepticism about how tariffs will play out for a state that ships industrial machinery, electrical machinery, medical and scientific instruments, agricultural commodities, plastics, paper and much more to those nations and others.
Club members also heard that Wisconsin startups have attracted more out-of-state and foreign investment of late, although much work remains to catch the state’s Midwest neighbors when it comes to venture capital.
It was a conversation that could have taken place in many of Wisconsin’s smaller communities, in groups much like the Edgerton Rotary Club. That’s because people in small cities, villages and towns sometimes wonder what the future holds in a world filled with uncertainties. They may worry about economic stagnation, declining populations, job paths to keep young people at home, and maintaining a solid infrastructure.
They hang together, however, through social and civic ties that bind. They absorb new information, ask questions and think about what lies around the corner. It need not involve a service-club pledge or a cheeseburger, but as this Tuesday meeting demonstrated, both can spark some healthy conversation.
Still is president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Email: tstill@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com.
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