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Sauk County

"Discover why so many people have chosen Sauk County, Wisconsin as the place they want to grow their businesses, raise their families, and retire. This is a special place….thriving small towns with thirteen developed business and industrial parks, excellent schools, churches, and hospitals, a low crime rate, aggressive financial institutions, and outstanding year-round recreational opportunities and all within close proximity to the state capitol and Wisconsin’s premier research university." Merlin Zitzner, President Sauk County Development Corporation

The Good Life in Sauk County

Sauk County has grown and prospered over the years because a several key factors – visionary community leaders, a growing workforce with a strong work ethic, an outstanding quality of life, and a strategic location.

Location

Our logistics are a real asset for business, especially for Midwest distribution. Interstate 90/94 is less than 30 minutes from most of our business and industrial parks. Located in south central Wisconsin, Sauk County is less that 250 miles from Chicago and Minneapolis, about 100 miles from Milwaukee, and as close as 25 miles to Madison. Sauk County is within 500 miles of 14 states, and over one-third of all major U.S. markets. Commercial air service is less than an hour away, and business jets can be accommodated at several airports around the county.

In February, 2006, Progressive Farmer Magazine picked Sauk County as the 40th Best Place to Live in Rural America! Counties were ranked by health care, education, climate, pollution, crime, and tax burden. After that, the editorial board of Progressive Farmer looked at intangibles such as quality of life, leisure and cultural activities, and scenery.

Sauk County Demographics

Total Population - 2000

Population Increase

Age Groups - 2000

Effective Buying Income - After Tax Income

Median Household Income - 2004

Median Age (Years)

Ten Largest Municipalities

Labor Force

A key ingredient to any business success is a solid labor force. Sauk County employers regularly emphasize their appreciation for their quality workforce. Here’s what some of them have to say…

"SYSCO Food Services is the leading national distributor in the food service industry. Our continued growth in Sauk County is due to the loyalty and commitment of our most valuable asset, our quality employees."

Gene Bohlmeyer, President & C.E.O.
SYSCO Food Services, Baraboo, WI

"Gerber is successful because of our dedicated, quality-conscious associates. They are committed to continuously searching for ways to increase productivity, improve processes, and efficiently utilize our materials so that we may compete globally."

Mark Setterbo, Plant Manager
Gerber Products, Reedesburg, WI

Civilian Labor Force Data – Residents of Sauk County

Sauk County Workforce Profile

The Sauk County Workforce Profile is a broad overview of Sauk County’s labor market. A variety of labor market information describes the many related key factors that determine how the local workforce functions. These factors include: population and civilian labor force growth; commuting patterns; employment change by industry; largest industries and employers; employment and wage information; wage and income information.

Sauk County Employers

Sauk County is blessed with a very diverse employment base, a real strength in weathering economic upheavals.

Sauk County Industry Employment - 2007 Average

Top 10 Manufactures/Distributors by Employment - 2007

Top 10 Non-Manufacturers by Employment - 2007

Agriculture

picture courtesy of Karl Hakanson

The 2002 US Census of Agriculture showed that approximately 66% of the land area (353,104 acres) in Sauk County was farmed. In 2002, there were 1,673 farms in the county. The number of small farms is increasing, while the number of mid-sized farms in the 180 to 499 acre category is dropping. In 2002, the average size of a farm in Sauk County was 211; the total farm employment was 3,027, with another 1,935 employed in agricultural services and other non-governmental, agriculturally related fields.

In 2002, the market value of agricultural production was $116.64 million. Sales of livestock and livestock products accounted for 83% of market value while crop sales accounted for only 17%. As of March 2005, there were 308 dairy herds in Sauk County, a number that has steadily declined over the years. The remaining herds have tended to get larger and the total number of dairy cows has dropped slightly, now numbering 27,400 animals.

Sauk County is the second largest pork production county in the state and has sizable acres of corn, alfalfa, soybeans, canning crops, potatoes, and small grains. Other products include beef, poultry, fruit, Christmas trees, and honey. Sauk County also boasts several thriving farmers’ markets and a growing agri-tourism industry.

In addition to its many family farms, Sauk County is also home to many agricultural businesses including the headquarters of Foremost Farms, Equity Livestock, Accelerated Genetics, and the Wisconsin Holstein Association. The county also has three cheese plants: Cedar Grove Cheese in Plain, Carr Valley Cheese in LaValle, and Saputo Cheese in Reedsburg. Foremost Farms operates a large butter plant in Reedsburg and Lakeside Foods operates two big vegetable canning and freezing plants, also in Reedsburg.

For additional information, click on a new University of Wisconsin Extension report - “Sauk County Agriculture: Value and Economic Impact.”

The U.S. Forest Service identifies approximately 211,000 acres out of a total 544,640 acres in Sauk County as wooded land. Approximately 95% of the Sauk County forest resource is privately owned. The Baraboo Hills or Bluffs, the largest block of woodland in Sauk County is also considered to be an exceptional resource by ecologists seeking to protect habitat for rare plants, birds, and animals. The Nature Conservancy has named the Baraboo Bluffs one of the earth’s "Last Great Places."

Tax Climate

To learn more about a chronology of Wisconsin Business Taxes and about the major taxes of interest to business click on Tax Climate. Sales tax is Sauk County is 5.5%.

Housing - Single Family

Per Capita Personal Income - 2005

Retail Sales by Store Group ($000)

Transportation

Highway Access and Trucking
Interstate 90/94 cuts across the northeast corner of Sauk County and is the strategic transportation corridor between Minneapolis and Chicago. US Highway 12, State Highways 33 and 23 and County Highway H provide multiple interstate access points. US Highway 12 and State Highway 23 are the main north-south arterials; State Highways 33 and 60 function as the main east-west arterials. US Highway 12 has been upgraded to a four-lane road from Madison north to Sauk City at southeast corner of Sauk County. Portions of USH 12 in Sauk County are currently four-lane and the remainder will be upgraded to four-lane over the next 15 years with construction moving from north to south.

Four major LTL Common Carriers serve Sauk County. They are Mid-States, Roadway, Yellow and Conway. Three full load - over the road companies have their headquarters in and around Sauk County. Those companies are Deppe Transit, Baraboo; Fuchs, Inc.; Sauk City and Skinner Transfer, Reedsburg.

Rail Service
Quality rail service enables Wisconsin industry and business to remain competitive in today's world markets and attracts new industry - and jobs - to this rapidly growing region, long known for its quality of life. The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad Company currently serves Baraboo, North Freedom, Reedsburg, Rock Springs, Spring Green and the Town of Prairie du Sac.

To ensure a future of rail service in Sauk County, the Pink Lady Rail Transit Commission (PLRTC) was formed in 1987. "The purpose of the PLRTC is to take what steps that may be necessary and desirable to insure rail service along the Union Pacific line from Madison to Reedsburg.

Taxi Service
Taxi service is available in Baraboo, Lake Delton, Reedsburg, Prairie du Sac and Sauk City.

Overnight Delivery
Airborne Express, U.S. Express Mail, Federal Express, and UPS provide overnight delivery service for Sauk County.

Air Service

Commercial Airport
Dane County Regional Airport , Madison, WI, is served by six commercial carriers. The airport is less than an hour drive from most locations in Sauk County.

General Aviation Airports
Baraboo/Dells Airport , Baraboo, WI
4,800 ft. lighted asphalt runway
V.O.R. in use

Reedsburg Municipal Airport , Reedsburg, WI
4,840& 2,500 ft. paved, lighted runways
V.O.R. in use
Charter Service

Sauk Prairie Airport , Prairie du Sac, WI
2,940 ft. lighted asphalt runway

Lone Rock-Tri-County Regional Airport, Lone, Rock, WI
5,000 ft. and 1,860 lighted asphalt runways
V.O.R in use

Utilities

Gas
Alliant Energy is the primary supplier of gas for Sauk County.

Electric
Alliant Energy provides electric power to Baraboo, Lake Delton, Spring Green, West Baraboo, and the majority of the unincorporated areas of Sauk County. Three municipalities, Prairie du Sac, Sauk City and Reedsburg, have their own electric utility companies. Reedsburg and Prairie du Sac purchase their power from Wisconsin Public Power, Inc. and Sauk City purchases its power from Alliant Energy.

Solid Waste

On April 5, 2005, the Sauk County Landfill site was permanently closed, thus ending over 30 years of County involvement in the disposal of solid waste.  Sauk County is currently investigating the feasibility of continuing such programs as Clean Sweep.  Waste generators looking for a place to dispose of solid waste are urged to contact one of the three privately owned transfer station serving Sauk County.  Contact Violia Waste Services (608) 356-3911, Town & Country Sanitation (608) 375-5856 or Waste Management (608) 355-3100 for further details on transfer station facility locations, hours of operation and fees.

Telephone
Verizon Communications provides local telephone service to Lake Delton, Plain, Prairie du Sac, Reedsburg, Sauk City, and Spring Green as well as most of the unincorporated area of Sauk County. CenturyTel provides local telephone service to Baraboo and West Baraboo. The Reedsburg Utility Commission also provides telephone and cable service in Reedsburg.

Digital switching, Wats Lines, 800 Numbers, Cellular Service, Customer Calling Features, and Facsimile are available in most communities.

Fiber Optics
The Reedsburg Utility Commission provides high-speed Internet access services with bandwidth rates ranging from 128kbps to 10mbps, offered in increments of 128kps within the City of Reedsburg.

Charter Communications provides high-speed residential and commercial fiber optic service to the cities of Baraboo and Reedsburg, the villages of Lake Delton , Plain, Prairie du Sac, Rock Springs, Sauk City, Spring Green and West Baraboo, and the towns of Greenfield, Roxbury and Spring Green. Charter offers single fiber connection for data, Internet, video and internal communications with speeds from 5-100 Mbps and beyond, including local access.

Education

K-12

Sauk County K-12 public and private schools enjoy an excellent reputation throughout the state. The County is served by six school districts:

Baraboo School District
Reedsburg School District
River Valley School District (Spring Green & Plain)
Sauk Prairie School District (Prairie du Sac & Sauk City)
Wisconsin Dells School District (Lake Delton & Wisconsin Dells)
Weston School District (NW Sauk County)

Madison Area Technical College (MATC) – Reedsburg Campus
Enrollment: Over 3,000 students are served annually (320 FTEs)
MATC Reedsburg provides technical and workplace skills training. The college awards associate degrees, technical diplomas, certificates and apprenticeships, and offers classes that transfer to four-year degree programs. Programs are offered in accounting, administrative assistance, business mid-management, business software applications, childcare education, farm and production management, nursing and supervisory management. The college offers apprenticeships in electrical and machine maintenance, and tool & die. MATC – Reedsburg also offers customized labor training for area businesses.

Madison Area Technical College (MATC) – Truax and Downtown Madison Campuses
Founded in 1912 to teach vocational skills, today MATC is a nationally ranked community college. It is one of the largest of the Wisconsin Technical College System's 16 colleges and serves approximately 44,000 individuals, or about one in 12 district residents, annually. It provides a comprehensive curriculum of technical, liberal arts and sciences, adult basic education and continuing education, as well as customized employee training. The college awards associate degrees, technical diplomas and certificates and offers classes that transfer to four-year degree programs.

MATC is one of only three technical colleges in the state to offer a wide selection of liberal studies classes that transfer to four-year colleges and universities. MATC is the single largest source of students transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the UW System and is one of the state's leading providers of customized training for employers.

UW Baraboo/Sauk County

Fall 2007 Enrollment: 719 (461 FTE)
Average Class Size: Approximately 2 4
UW-Baraboo/Sauk County offers freshman/sophomore-level university instruction leading to an Associate of Arts degree. As a freshman/sophomore campus of the UW System they offer a wide variety of liberal studies and pre-professional university degree courses, allowing students to begin virtually any major. After building an academic foundation at UW-Baraboo/Sauk County, students can continue their work towards a bachelor's degree at a UW baccalaureate campus or another college of their choice. Students can also earn a bachelor's degreee at UW Baraboo/Sauk County through collaborative degree programs with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Most students live in or near Baraboo and commute to the campus. Please contact the Office of Student Services at 608-356-8351, ext 245 to request more information or to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor.

UW-Baraboo/Sauk County has a continuing education program that offers a variety of non-credit seminars, workshops and short courses. The programs range from computer applications and communications courses to theater and art field trips. For more information on what is available at your campus or to receive a free brochure, please contact Continuing Education Extension at 608-0356-8351, ext. 234.

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Enrollment: 41,466
UW-Madison is the flagship research campus of the University of Wisconsin system. The world-class university offers 137 undergraduate programs, 157 Masters degree programs and 133 Doctoral degree programs. UW-Madison also has professional degree programs in law, medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine.

Health Care

Reedsburg Area Medical Center
Reedsburg Area Medical Center is an independent, nonprofit organization that is locally controlled. The modern facility has of 25 acute care beds,17 one day surgery beds, and in partnership with Reedsburg Area Senior Life Center, a 50 bed long term care and 24 apartment assisted living facility.

RAMC offers the most progressive techniques in medicine and state-of-the-art technology, while retaining warm, personalized care for each patient. The Emergency Department is staffed 24-hours a day with specially trained emergency room physicians. The Urgent Care Center is open weekday evenings, weekends and most holidays.

St. Clare Hospital – SSM Health Care

St.Clare Hospital, located in Baraboo, WI, is a leader in rural health care in south central Wisconsin. The hospital is a member of SSM Health Care, a St. Louis-based not-for-profit health system of hospitals and other health-related entities health care system. In the fall of 2002 – SSM Health Care (SSMHC) became the first health care organization in the country to be named a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) winner. St. Clare was also the winner of the 2000 Wisconsin Forward Award - Governor's Award of Excellence.

In Wisconsin, SSMHC sponsors St. Clare Hospital and Health Services and St. Clare Meadows Care Center in Baraboo and St. Marys Hospital Medical Center and St. Marys Care Center in Madison. St. Clare Health Services, Baraboo, WI, includes a 100-bed acute care hospital, a 100-bed long-term care facility with a 20-bed assisted living wing, and a health care foundation. The hospital has a state of the art full-time emergency department and an urgent care clinic. Other services include a dialysis center and urgent care clinic in neighboring Lake Delton, WI.

The hospital has the benefit of more than 100 physicians who serve on its active and consulting medical staff. St. Clare offers acute care services as well as a wide range of other services including chemical dependency treatment, mental health services for older adults, occupational health, home health and hospice care; innovative ambulatory care programs, day surgery, and hemodialysis.

Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital & Clinics
Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital & Clinics (SPMH & C) is located in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin and operates four primary care clinics in Lodi, Black Earth, Plain, and Spring Green. The hospital facility features 36 acute care beds and a full array of outpatient departments. The hospital has a full-time emergency department as well as an urgent care clinic.

Founded in 1956, SPMHC has continually challenged itself to surpass the expectations of a small rural hospital. Through careful planning, physician recruitment, investments in technology and good medicine, SPMHC has gained a regional reputation for excellence in orthopedics, general surgery, and gynecology.

Sauk Prairie Memorial hospital combines personalized care with the latest in medical technology. The hospital is a three-time award winner of "100 Top Hospitals: Benchmarks for Success" award for clinical effectiveness and operational efficiency from the Solucient Leadership Institute (formerly HCIA-Sachs).

Recreation/Tourism

Sauk County enjoys one of the most beautiful locations in all of Wisconsin. The County is crowned by the Baraboo Bluffs, designated as a "National Natural Landmark" by the U.S. Department of Interior. Sauk County has three state parks, Devil’s Lake, Mirror Lake and Natural Bridge and is bordered by Lake Wisconsin and the Wisconsin River. People come from all over the nation to camp, hike, fish, boat, ski and golf in Sauk County. And then…..some people are lucky to live here year-round.

The three state parks in Sauk County attract over 1.5 million visitors per year. In 2006, 3.1 million visitors came to the the Dells which straddles four county boundaries. In 2006, according to the State Department of Tourism, Sauk County ranked third in the state in total tourism expenditures, ranking only behind Milwaukee and Dane Counties. Approximately 20% jobs in Sauk County are directly related to the the hospitality industry.

Here’s just a sampling of the multitude of intriguing recreational, educational, and cultural attractions that really set Sauk County apart. Start your loop tour in the northeast corner of the county at the I90/94 and USH 12 interchange. Just to the north you are about to enter "The Dells." Hold onto your hats because if you’re looking for excitement, chills and thrills, you’ve come to right spot - "The Waterpark Capital of the World." A huge assortment of indoor and outdoor water parks, amusement parks, boat rides, and eateries will vie for your attention. From Lake Delton take USH 12 south to Baraboo.

Leaving Lake Delton on your way to Baraboo, pay a visit to The International Crane Foundation, Ho-Chunk Casino, and the Mid-Continent Railway in North Freedom.

When you arrive in Baraboo, be sure to spend a few hours at the fascinating Circus World Museum, original home of the Ringling Brothers Circus.

Also, don’t miss downtown Baraboo with it’s wonderful collection of galleries and restaurants and the Al. Ringling Theater, a scaled–down replica of the great opera hall at the Palace of Versailles. From Baraboo, take STH 113 south to Merrimac.

As you travel south to Merrimac, take a short detour through Devil's Lake State Park. When you arrive in Merrimac take a ride on the historic Colsac III Ferry at Merrimac across Lake Wisconsin. This ride is so much fun that we recommend you do it twice. Come back into Sauk County and continue on to Prairie du Sac and Sauk City on STH 78.

Prairie du Sac and Sauk City are the best places to view the famous Bald Eagles that populate Sauk County in the wintertime. Another fun stop is the Wollersheim Winery, just across the Wisconsin River from Prairie du Sac. Take USH 60 from Sauk City to Spring Green.

In Spring Green you can visit Taliesen, home of Frank Lloyd Wright, or attend an outdoor performance of Shakespeare at the American Player’s Theater. From Spring Green take STH 23 north to Plain.

In Plain, stops at St. Luke’s Catholic Church and St. Anne’s Shrine and Grotto provide a quiet interlude. Don’t forget to visit Cedar Grove Cheese in Plain to see what a family-run specialty cheese factory is all about. Continue on STH 23 to Reedsburg.

When you arrive in Reedsburg you will want to visit the Pioneer Log Village and take a bike ride on the 400 State Trail. Reedsburg is also a haven for those who like to browse through antique shops and galleries. Take CTH H northeast to I90/94 to complete your trip.

Sauk County Government

Thirty-one County Supervisors that are elected to two-year terms of office serve Sauk County. The County Seat is located in Baraboo. Click on Sauk County Government to go directly to the Sauk County Web site.

Contacts:

Kathy Schauf
Sauk County Administrative Coordinator
Sauk County West Square - Room #134
505 Broadway
Baraboo, WI 53913
Phone: 608-355-3274
e-mail: kschauf@co.sauk.wi.us

Marty Krueger
County Board Chairperson
Sauk County West Square - Room #140
505 Broadway
Baraboo, WI 53913
Phone: 608-355-3292
e-mail: mkrueger@co.sauk.wi.us

Updated: September 6, 2007

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