Business Directory
FUN & FRIENDS
Horticulture students win championship at regional competition
Students from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls earned first-place team honors at the Mid-America Collegiate Horticultural Society (MACHS) Conference Horticulture Competition held Oct. 16-17 at Iowa State University. Eight UWRF students competed in four core divisions central to horticultural education and industry readiness: plant judging, woody plant identification, herbaceous plant identification and a general knowledge examination. The UWRF team captured the overall championship based on
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Falcon Futures: From military service to public service, veteran finds new career path at UW-River Falls
Ronald Owen has had to chart a new course more than once in his life. After graduating from St. Croix Central High School in Hammond in 2009, Owen enlisted in the U.S. Navy, working as a Navy corpsman at medical centers in Virginia and California and serving two deployments to Afghanistan. His path then took some twists and turns before he earned his bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in May and began a new career in late August as a geographic information systems
UW-River Falls to celebrate GIS Day with open house
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls will celebrate GIS Day with an open house Nov. 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the UWRF Geographic Information Science (GIS) Lab, Room 301, Kleinpell Fine Arts, 420 E. Cascade Ave., River Falls. The event is free and open to students, staff and community members interested in learning how mapping technologies are used to solve real-world problems. Hosted by the Politics, Geography and International Studies Department, the GIS Day Open House will showcase student
Laser Engrave It Your Way founder Brittany Germain to speak at UW-River Falls Nov. 17
The University Business Collaboration Center (UBCC) at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls will host entrepreneur Brittany Germain, founder and CEO of Laser Engrave It Your Way, as part of the 2026-2027 Innovators Speaker Series on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Germain will speak at 6 p.m. in Room 194 of the Science and Technology Innovation Center (SciTech), 262 E. Cascade Ave. Student projects start with an idea. Sometimes they end with the final grade. That could have been the case for Brittany Germain, but
![UW-River Falls to present comedy, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] {again}”](https://chambermaster.blob.core.windows.net/images/customers/87/members/521/news/175/NewsImage/Shakespeare_photo_(1).jpg)
UW-River Falls to present comedy, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] {again}”
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls Music and Stage and Screen Arts Department will present “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] {again},” a fast-paced comedy by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, Nov. 13-15 and Nov. 19-21 in the Sanford Syse Theatre in Kleinpell Fine Arts, 420 E. Cascade Ave., River Falls. Three performers attempt the nearly impossible: performing all of Shakespeare’s plays in a single evening. The result is a whirlwind of rapid-fire comedy and
Artist Swoon to speak at UW-River Falls Nov. 11
Internationally acclaimed artist Caledonia Curry, known professionally as Swoon, will visit the University of Wisconsin-River Falls as the fall 2026 Wyman Visiting Professor in Art. Swoon will deliver a free public lecture Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 5-7 p.m. in 222 North Hall, 410 S. 3rd St., River Falls. As the visiting guest artist, Curry will be in residence on campus Nov. 9-12. She will present a workshop titled “The Rudiments of Street Art: Block Print, Stencil, Cut Paper and Paste” and collaborate
Falcon Futures: UW-River Falls alum returns to campus to update landscaping project she created 40 years ago
When Tia Lisa Erickson of Osceola attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in the 1980s, she broke ground in a couple ways. She was the first woman to work on the university’s grounds maintenance crew and she created a landscape feature that still stands on the campus mall to this day. Forty years later, Erickson decided to come back and give the landscape an update. “I contacted the department for grounds maintenance asking if I could redo the landscape to make it more of a usable and
UW-River Falls has deep ties to Nobel Prize-winning research in Antarctica
When the news broke Oct. 6 that University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Francis Halzen had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics, a number of current and past faculty and students from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls joined in the celebration. UWRF has longstanding ties to the research recognized for “decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.” “I came to work one day and found out that the principal
UW-River Falls Keyboard Festival offers young pianists opportunities to learn from world-class artists
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls will offer student pianists the chance to learn from accomplished artists and strengthen their musical skills during the UW-River Falls Keyboard Festival, Nov. 13-14 in Abbott Concert Hall in Kleinpell Fine Arts, 420 E. Cascade Ave., River Falls. The event welcomes students in 1st grade through college, parents and teachers to experience engaging workshops, inspiring performances and hands-on learning opportunities that encourage exploration, deepen engagement
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KPT Collaborative founder Kim Peterson to speak at UW-River Falls Oct. 27
The University Business Collaboration Center (UBCC) at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls will host entrepreneur and UWRF alum Kim Peterson, founder of KPT Collaborative, as part of the 2026-2027 Innovators Speaker Series Tuesday, Oct. 27. Peterson will speak at 6 p.m. in room 194 of the Science and Technology Innovation Center (SciTech), 262 E. Cascade Ave. Peterson entered the mortgage business after graduating in 1998. After the 2008 mortgage crash changed the course of her career, she took
Peterson Lecture Series at UW-River Falls presents Steven Hahn on the golden age of pirates
The Edward N. Peterson Lecture Series and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls History and Philosophy Department will present guest speaker Steven Hahn, professor of history at St. Olaf College, for a lecture and Q&A titled, “Golden Age Pirates (1713-1730): From Predators to Gentlemen,” Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Kinnickinnic River Theater in the University Center, 501 Wild Rose Ave., River Falls. The lecture will explore piracy in the Caribbean during the early years of the American
UW-River Falls to offer Halloween carnival and “Haunted Lab” science demonstrations Oct. 20
Two special Halloween-themed events are planned at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Tuesday, Oct. 20, including a Halloween carnival and “Haunted Labs” science demonstrations. Children in 4K through fifth grade are invited to attend the annual “Halloween in the Halls” event from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., hosted by UWRF Residence Life. Instead of trick-or-treating through residence halls, Residence Life will host carnival activities, such as cornhole, apple bobbing, an egg walk, a bouncy house,
UW-River Falls faculty awarded national grant to strengthen mathematics teaching
A new University of Wisconsin-River Falls professional development program is helping middle school mathematics teachers build deeper content knowledge, strengthen classroom instruction and expand opportunities for students to engage in real-world problem solving. UWRF mathematics faculty, Professor Erick Hofacker and Assistant Professor Brooke Krejci, have received a grant for $11,993 from the Mathematical Association of America and the John and Mary Neff Foundation for the project, titled
The Trust Advantage: Digital Credibility Strategies for River Falls-Area Businesses
Small businesses lead on trust — 70% of U.S. adults express confidence in small businesses, making them the most-trusted institution Gallup tracks in 2025, outranking the military, large corporations, and the media. That's a meaningful starting point. But in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro, where clients can compare you to national brands and well-funded competitors in seconds, trust isn't something you earn once. It requires consistent, deliberate maintenance across every digital touchpoint. The
Chamber Insights: Support Your Team With Confidence in Today’s Workplace
At the risk of starting the year off with doom and gloom, this is a topic that’s becoming increasingly important. Whether it’s personal uncertainties leaking into the workplace or your employees have concerns about the business or their place in it, many of them are feeling like they’re operating on unstable ground. This topic, while uncomfortable, is not something to be ignored or swept under the business welcome mat.Yet for business owners, this can feel like one more thing on an exhaustive to-do list.
