Tourism programs in Winneshiek County are now being merged into WCDI

The Winneshiek County Convention and Visitors Bureau is being dissolved and merged into Winneshiek County Development, Incorporated.

The new arrangement will officially go into operation next Monday, October 1st.  WCDI Executive Director Stephanie Fromm says her agency has been handling tourism duties since early August, with help from the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce and the Decorah Visitor Center.

"It's a different approach than has been taken in the past," she told county supervisors Monday.  While there have been separate economic development and tourism organizations in the past in Winneshiek County, Fromm noted, "a lot of other counties do it (mergers)."

WCDI membership will now also encompass tourism-related efforts. WCDI and the Decorah Chamber will jointly manage the administration of hotel/motel funds collected from taxes on room rentals--a major source of funding for tourism programs.