What does it take to make a community a desirable place in which to live? And how do we attract new residents?

At a recent well-attended forum, dynamic speaker Rebecca Ryan listed several factors in which Green County ranks high. These include strong education and cultural arts, and top-notch medical facilities. Let's take a closer look at why these are key to Green County's future.

Health care is a sector of the economy that has expanded and will continue to do so. The Monroe Clinic Hospital is one of the 100 top ranked hospitals in the U.S. -- actually one of the top 20 in its size category. This is a tremendous tribute to everyone affiliated with this facility -- from the administrative, professional and technical staff to its many volunteers.

This outstanding facility is slated for expansion and will play an even more significant role in our regional economy. The quality of a medical facility depends on quality of its personnel, and it is in our interest to continue to attract the best people we possibly can, and to have them reside in Green County rather than commute from someplace else.

So how do we attract people who will want to reside here and staff the hospital and business places in our county? Our friends who sell real estate remind us that the first question asked by prospective homebuyers is, "What's the school system like?" It's quite obvious that a prospective medical practitioner or mid-level executive for the Swiss Colony with a professional spouse will accept nothing less than the best.

The school districts of Green County are committed to excellence and it is heartening to hear people say that they have moved here because of a good school system. But there is a cloud on the horizon. The current funding formula drives districts, regardless of how prudent the fiscal management, to periodic referendum. This creates uncertainty and can be divisive. The state funding formula desperately needs to be fixed -- and soon.

Institutes such as Blackhawk Technical College fill a crucial role in our educational system. We need skilled people in a variety of fields including mechanics, construction, heating and cooling, computer technology and many more. Our medical facilities need people who know how to draw blood, take X-rays, perform lab tests, and other things essential to caring for people.

Some years ago, a local kid from Monticello, Dick Feller, attended welding school. The enterprising lad returned to Monroe, started his own shop, and established the groundwork for Monroe Trucks, Inc., now a major local employer and contributor to our county's economic base. Our technical colleges as a crucial part of our educational system merit our full support.

Although many people have benefited from it, few people are aware of one of the most far-sighted pieces of legislation in our nation's history. I refer to the Morrill Act, more generally known as "The Land Grant Act" of 1865. This legislation provided for a public educational institution in every state that would provide instruction in "agriculture and the mechanic arts," and would orient its research toward problems and issues relevant to the broader society. The University of Wisconsin has its origin in that legislation and has evolved as a world-class institution with a proud history of research that has benefited the state and mankind in general.

As the University of Wisconsin is a large institution with a big budget, it is all too often a tempting whipping boy for politicians in a counter-productive effort to "cut costs." What is too often overlooked is that a large part of UW's budget is comprised of grants and contracts obtained from out-of-state sources by top-notch UW researchers. Budget cutting that results in loss of key faculty results in loss of funding sources for the UW.

Also too often overlooked is the tremendous contribution of the UW system to state and regional economic development. California's Governor Schwarzenegger, hardly a flaming liberal, recognizes the potential of the U. of California being a leader in stem cell research and its broader economic implications for California. The UW currently has some of the world's leaders in stem cell research. We cannot afford to let California pirate away Wisconsin's premier talent.

Let's take a look at UW's close-to-home contributions. Green County is rooted in the dairy industry. The UW College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has a long history of pioneering research in dairy livestock and food science.

We can cite even more everyday contributions of the big U. The Smith Lever Act of 1915 established the Cooperative Extension Service that provided for an office in every county in the nation, geared to bringing the fruits of its respective Land Grant University to the people. This is the origin of our Green County UW Extension Office that hosts programs in agriculture, community development, family living and 4-H and youth development.

The work of our county's Extension personnel is seen in leadership of the recent Farm Technology Days, the "Future Forward! Green County" initiative, the Artsbuild program, and the recent county 4-H F.A.R.E. (see Times, Oct. 15), and many other activities. But my larger point is that the University of Wisconsin yields benefits and programs that reach everyone in one way or another and is, among other things, an engine of economic development.

We native Schweitzers are sometimes accused of being a bit tight with a buck, penurious, parsimonious -- you choose the adjective. I have always maintained that this charge is unjustified and would rather say "financially prudent." We are quite willing to part with some dough -- it's just that we have to see some return to it. And whether personal, professional, or to the community at large it's hard to think of a greater return to anything than education.

We all want economic development in the best sense of the word. And education, access to culture and the arts, including our traditional ethnic music and customs, and our major employers including our award-winning medical facilities, are key to Green County's future economic development.

We have it. We need to build on it.

-- John J. Waelti is a native of Monroe Township. He is former Professor of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota; and Professor Emeritus, New Mexico State University. He qualifies as one of Rebecca Ryan's "Boomerangers." He can be reached at jjwaelti@tds.net.