Governor Walker announces $177,000 transportation grant to village of Minong

February 14, 2012

Award to Link Snacks, Inc. will directly create 50 new jobs in northwest Wisconsin

Governor Scott Walker announced today that a Transportation Economic Assistance (TEA) grant has been awarded to the village of Minong. The $177,316 award represents the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s contribution toward helping Link Snacks, Inc. expand its manufacturing facility in Minong. The project will directly create 50 new jobs in Washburn County.

"This state-sponsored project is moving Wisconsin’s economy forward," said Governor Scott Walker. "We are proud to partner with the village of Minong to improve transportation access to Link Snacks’ growing operations, which will foster job growth in northwestern Wisconsin."

The $177,316 TEA grant covers half of the $354,632 total cost to reconstruct Railroad Street in the village of Minong. Currently, this village street is unpaved and too narrow to safely accommodate the employee and truck traffic to Link Snacks’ expanding facility. The new design includes a 32 foot wide paved street, with two 15 foot travel lanes. The village of Minong is covering the other half of the cost. In addition to the 50 new direct jobs being added by Link Snacks, the reconstruction project will indirectly support another 44 jobs, for a total of 94 jobs associated with this TEA grant award.

Link Snacks, Inc. is investing more than $2.2 million in building and equipment improvements at its Minong location, which got its start back in the 1880s. The company makes 100 meat snack products. Currently, Link Snacks employs 295 people in Minong, a village with a population of 527.

Since it was created in 1987, the TEA grant program has invested more than $85 million in 314 projects benefiting 340 businesses and creating 72,874 jobs in Wisconsin.

For more information, contact:
Don Uelmen, WisDOT TEA Program manager
(608) 266-3488, don.uelmen@wi.dot.gov