Main Streets, like the one found in downtown Mayville, are full of beauty and history, but their value can be overlooked when shops are boarded up and sitting empty. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the state’s lead economic development agency, has a program working to keep Main Streets all across Wisconsin thriving.

They’re offering $10,000 “Main Street Makeover Grants” and “Main Street Bounceback Grants” to help revive Main Streets.

“We’ve all seen those empty blighted buildings and it really stands out as an eyesore in a community, on a Main Street. So, to have them occupied, to have somebody move in there, put in some new furniture and a fresh coat of paint really revitalizes what otherwise could look like a missing tooth on Main Street,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes.

(Adapted from “Main Streets across Wisconsin are getting makeovers,” Feb. 24, 2022, TMJ4 News)