Cranberry group plans expansion of museum, gift shop in Warrens

La Crosse Tribune, Mar 22, 2001 by Cahalan, Steve

WARRENS, Wis. - The Wisconsin Cranberry Research and Education Foundation is taking over operation of the Cranberry Expo museum and gift shop east of Warrens, and hopes to build a much larger facility next year near the Interstate 94 interchange.

The changes will be detailed during an open house from 10 a.m. to noon March 28 at the Cranberry Expo. The museum and gift shop, on Hwy. EW four miles east of Warrens, will be open daily from April 1 to Oct. 31, as it has been in previous years.

The foundation was started by the Wisconsin Cranberry Growers Association in 1999. It accepts tax-deductible donations that go toward cranberry research and education projects.

Peggy Anderson, who has been the expo's executive director, and her family opened the facility in 1989. It has been operated for the past few years by the nonprofit Cranberry Museum Inc. Anderson is a member of that group's board.

On Feb. 15, the foundation's board agreed to assume operation of the Cranberry Expo. The board's action was the first step in the foundation receiving a gift of the museum and gift shop from Cranberry Museum Inc.

Foundation President Greg Fanning, who grows cranberries near Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., said Tuesday his board hopes to break ground in April 2002 on a new Cranberry Expo facility that would be more than double the size of the current 12,000-square-foot building.

The new building could cover 25,000 to 30,000 square feet, although those figures are very preliminary, he said. He did not have a cost estimate.

"I would hope that by the fall of next year, the new facility would be open for business, at least on a limited basis," Fanning said. He hopes it eventually will be open year-round.

The foundation prefers to build the new Cranberry Expo near the interstate interchange in Warrens to take advantage of increased traffic and exposure and to complement existing business at that location, Fanning said.

But the project could go to another Community, he acknowledged.

"We're soliciting the community (Warrens) to see if anyone is inclined to donate a site, for example, or in-kind contributions like expertise, engineering or earthwork," to assist with the project, Fanning said.

"It is our intention to keep the facility in the Warrens area, but in order to be successful, we will need the support of that entire community," he said. The foundation is considering combining the planned new museum and gift shop with a cranberry research station, WCGA and Wisconsin Cranberry Board offices and University of Wisconsin Extension offices, all in one location, Fanning said. WCGA and Wisconsin Cranberry Board offices now are in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. The foundation has been looking for sites for a research station since December 1999, when it received its tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service.

Fanning said he hopes a new executive director for the Cranberry Expo is hired before it opens for the season April 1.

Anderson did not apply for the position, which was advertised in newspapers. But she said she plans to remain active with the museum and gift shop.

She said she is looking forward to the foundation taking over operation of the Cranberry Expo, and to a larger facility near the I-94 interchange.

"Our board wanted the museum to get better and grow," Anderson said.

CRANBERRY EXPO

* WHAT: A cranberry museum and gift shop at 28388 Hwy. EW, four miles east of Warrens, Wis. it opened in 1989 to educate people about cranberries and to promote the product.

* NEW OPERATOR: The Wisconsin Cranberry Research and Education Foundation has agreed to assume operation of the Cranberry Expo, which will be open daily from April 1 through Oct. 31. It plans to build a much larger facility, and prefers to do that near the Interstate 94 interchange in Warrens.

* MORE INFO: Call (608) 378-4878 or check the Cranberry Expo's Web site at www.cranberryexpo.com.