Melissa is an exceptional partner in regional economic development. Her ability to coordinate seamlessly with Alliant Energy ensures that Winnebago and Worth counties are always positioned for growth. She is proactive, deeply knowledgeable, and highly collaborative- bringing her into a project early is a guarantee that things will move forward efficiently and successfully.
— Chad Hansen , Alliant Energy
Community Risk Can Kill a Project Before It Breaks Ground
2 Jul 2026
News
The Risk That Arrives Late—and Costs the Most
In a conventional site selection process, community engagement comes at the end: select the site, announce the project, manage the response. That sequencing made sense when community opposition was rare and permitting was predictable. Neither assumption holds anymore.
Community risk has moved earlier in the process—and for good reason. Opposition that surfaces during public hearings can halt a project that has already cleared land, infrastructure, and incentive hurdles. That is an expensive place to discover a problem.
Click here to read the original article from Area Development.
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