This past spring, LSBE student Haakan Thorsgard’s presentation, available here, was shared. Thorsgard (pictured left) and students from the University of Wisconsin Superior and the College of St. Scholastica presented their in-depth research of the region’s economic indicators.
Thorsgard is a senior economics major at LSBE and an undergraduate research assistant at the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER). During his time at the BBER, he has worked on numerous projects related to county, state, and international issues, including a comprehensive assessment of the economic impacts of the biofuels industry on Canada’s economy. He graduates this May and plans to continue his education and pursue a J.D. in hopes of working in the area of natural resource and environmental law.
Keynote speakers at the forum, available here, were Neela Mollgaard, Executive Director of Launch Minnesota, and Aaron Hagar, VP Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, with moderator Tamara Lowney, President & CEO of Itasca Economic Development Corporation. They spoke on the topic Driving Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The next REIF forum, anticipated to be in-person, will be at the DECC on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. The featured topic is The Circular Economy. More information about the REIF and its history can be found on the National Bank of Commerce’s website. The bank was the REIF’s founding sponsor, and it continues to be the catalyst behind the biannual event.