Skirting the southern border with Illinois, the town of Beloit, Wisconsin struggled with the demise of manufacturing jobs, just like the rest of the Rust Belt. Beloit Iron Works, founded in 1858, grew to become America’s largest producer of paper and pulp processing machines, and by the 1980s, more than 7,000 locals worked at the one-million-square-foot foundry. But the tide of international economics turned and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1999. Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from downtown Beloit, discovering the town's revitalization and how one woman has single-handedly infused millions of dollars into the town’s regeneration.
You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel show podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast Directory, Apple Podcast, the NPR One App & Stitcher.com. Twitter: TomCWilmer. Instagram: Thomas.Wilmer. Member of the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Underwriting support provided by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.