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Visitors to Coulee Career Fest meet with potential employers about career opportunities

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They used to call it a “job fair,” but a gathering of employers at the Omni Center on Tuesday had a new name for this year’s event…the Coulee Career Fest.

Dozens of employers had exhibits at the Onalaska event, ready to give information to young and old workers exploring career options.

Kevin Ruetten with the Western Wisconsin Workforce Development Board says a wide variety of jobs was represented. “We’re really proud that the over 70 businesses, over 70 employers that are here, they’re representing every sector, from manufacturing, IT, health care, transportation, construction, clerical, office, hospitality,” said Ruetten.

The Holmen School District was among the employers with a booth at Coulee Career Fest on Tuesday, September 17th.

Besides featuring booths from those many employers, the Career Fest also about 70 employers, offered services and advice on finding work from sources such as Wisconsin Job Service and the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce.

Ruetten says the goal of Tuesday’s gathering was to help visitors do more than just find a job.

“We’re really focusing on careers,” said Ruetten, “where they come in and talk to the employers about, I get the job, entry level, professional level, mid level.” He says the visitors find out the next steps to move up within an organization, with a “great income and benefits.”

While many private companies had staff at the Career Fest, there were also booths representing colleges, local government, and Fort McCoy. Organizers estimated that about 350 people attended the event, which Ruetten says is a great improvement over attendance the last couple of years.

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.

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