Practitioners sometimes say economic development is a religion.
Proposed by the area Roman Catholic Diocese, the shrine would include a church, a visitors center, a guidance center for catechism teachers, a convent, and several smaller chapels and grottos on 80 acres. Built with the intention of providing a place for spiritual tranquillity and renewal, the shrine's price tag has sparked some controversy. But the shrine also appears to fit a growing tourism niche in religious pilgrimages that could have significant economic spillover, according to local newspaper accounts. The good news in Eau Claire is that wages are going up faster than just about anywhere. The bad news is they're still not good enough to get them off the bottom of the wage ladder among the state's metropolitan areas.