Staff members Char Vrieze and Cory Neely attended the 2026 Cooperation Works! Spring Member Meeting, held in Baltimore, Maryland, April 26–29. Day one opened with networking and an exploration of the Baltimore cooperative ecosystem through a panel led by Kate…

Minnesota Cooperative Summit CoMinnesota‘s 2nd annual Minnesota Cooperative Summit is set for July 28-29 at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. Register soon…the inaugural summit held in Morris, MN sold out early last year.…

At CDS, we live and breathe Cooperative Principle 5–Education, Training, and Information–as part of our enduring commitment to helping people learn about co-ops. This includes everyone from existing co-ops to startups to simply the “co-op curious.” This year, CDS staff…

CDS was privileged to participate in two 2026 Co-op Days at the Capitol events organized by Cooperative Network, first in Wisconsin and most recently in Minnesota. Cory Neeley represented CDS in Madison this past February. Jody Emerson – Eau Claire,…

In partnership with our friends at the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC), CDS is exploring cooperative childcare solutions in the Upper Midwest. Access to affordable childcare is a known challenge in rural communities, and the barriers are vast:…

The 23rd annual Senior Housing Cooperative Conference is set for May 20-21, 2026 at the Doubletree Hotel at Hilton of Mpls/Bloomington. Stay tuned for details! Conference planning has begun in earnest, so please feel free to contact Vicky Chaput, vchaput@cdsus.coop, with…