UniverCity Polk County

Located in northwestern Wisconsin, Polk County is just over an hour away from the Twin Cities. It features over 400 lakes and is home to the St. Croix River, which make it an ideal location for people seeking lake cabins and outdoor recreation. Polk County is also at a crossroads of emerging opportunity and vitality. Through its partnership with UniverCity Year from 2021-24, Polk County wants to develop a unique identity and brand for the area that includes a logo, mission and vision statement, and community engagement tools. Read the 2023 report for project highlights.

  1. “Creating campaign messages to rebrand Polk County, Book 1 and Book 2.” Journalism & Mass Communication 445: Creative Campaign Messages. Doug McLeod.
  2. “Developing a community engagement methodology for the Polk County rebranding initiative.” Urban & Regional Planning 721: Methods of Planning Analysis. Carey McAndrews.
  3. “Planning a Polk County community branding program via SWOT analysis.” Urban & Regional Planning 721: Methods of Planning Analysis. Carey McAndrews.
  4. “Rebranding Polk County: Multimedia tools to reach diverse audiences.” Journalism & Mass Communication 411: Multimedia Design. Kathleen Culver.
  5. “Exploring digital tools to collect Polk County community input.” Interdisciplinary Engineering 303: Applied Leadership Competencies in Engineering. Angela Kita and Greg Harrington.