Female business owners populate Crosby-Ironton

BY SHEILA HELMBERGER

The communities of Crosby and Ironton have seen a lot of changes in the past 10 years. Thanks to the inception of the popular mountain bike trails, tourism is thriving. Where windows were once boarded, and storefronts were dark, today most are open and Main Street is a busy place again. More than a dozen of the businesses in Crosby and Ironton are owned by women, from bars and retail stores to counseling services and outfitters.

Meet a few of the women who are part of such a popular destination.

CROSBY-IRONTON COURIER

Lori Laborde is a 1983 Crosby-Ironton graduate. Proud to call Crosby her hometown, she is excited about the growth in the downtown district and the lakes, trails and beauty the area has to offer.

“The Crosby-Ironton Courier is 113 years old and continues to record the area’s history one week at a time,” says LaBorde. The C-I Courier is available over the counter in Deerwood, Crosby, Emily and Ironton. An online version of the C-I Courier offers each page of the paper as a PDF for easy viewing. It is not a search engine style. Residents and visitors can stay connected with the Cuyuna Range with an online or mailed version of the C-I Courier.

Cuyuna Outfitters

Sarah Katzenberger and Julie McGinnis were friends before they became business partners. A day at the beach with their kids led to a conversation about what they would like to see open next in their community. Surprised to learn the two outdoors enthusiasts were thinking the same thing, they decided to make it happen. “When the building became available it built from there,” says Sarah. Cuyuna Outfitters opened the retail part of their business in 2022. “The timing was perfect. The pandemic had just ended, and everybody wanted to be outside.”

The two women have expanded their business to offer the popular rental and delivery of kayaks, paddle boards, canoes and glass bottom kayaks, perfect for area lakes and the crystal clear waters of the mine pits.

Hair Refinery

The Hair Refinery salon has been in Crosby for 30 years. Four years ago, the business changed hands when Jamie Welle bought the building on Crosby’s Main Street. Today she operates Jamie’s Beauty Bar inside Hair Refinery.

When Jamie purchased the building, she brought along stylists Krissy Vanvickle, who worked with her at Regis in Brainerd, and Lindsay Ecklund.

The trio offer a full line of services at Hair Refinery including cuts, colors, foils, waxing, lashes and other treatments. Product lines for various hair products can be found at the store. The trio looks forward to the busy tourist season.

HAIR-FORCE ONE

Kristen Anderson started her salon, HairForce One, 13 years ago in Brainerd. This year she is enjoying a warm welcome while she settles into her new space on Main

Anderson, left, and Brittany Gordon are at Hair-Force One on Main Street in Crosby.

Street in Crosby. “There is a lot of foot traffic here,” she says, “I love the tourism and I love the people.”

Kristen, and Brittany, another stylist at the salon, offer customers most hair services. Kristen is pleased with her decision to relocate. “This is a booming little town,” she said.

Mixed Company

Johnna Johnson, below, leaned on her years as Cuyuna Lakes Chamber Director and her love of coffee to convince her husband to invest in her. She had a working knowledge of the changes and progress the area was about to experience, and it quickly became a now-or-never type of situation.

When a former shop closed its doors, she went alone to their auction and told herself if she was able to leave with an espresso machine for $1,000 or less, it would be the nudge she needed to open her place. She bid furiously and others told her it was the toss of her ponytail that scared off the gentleman bidding against her.

This year, Mixed Company celebrates its 11th anniversary. “We didn’t know what to call ourselves,” she laughs. “We wanted to maintain a local feel while ‘mixing’ in the tourists.” The popularity of Mixed Company proves she got what she wanted.

Nord Hus

Sarah Halvorson Brunko, pictured in the left upper corner of Page 27, started her business as an importer of Scandinavian products over four years ago. It has been a lifelong passion. “My brother and I were always the kids at the Sons of Norway meetings,” she laughs. “When we moved to the area my husband urged me to start a retail shop. I found the perfect location in Crosby, which is so up and coming, I am just really thrilled to be here.”

With a degree in Scandinavian Studies and a minor in Norwegian she speaks the language fluently and knows her product line.

Nord Hus carries apparel for all seasons, including jackets, sweatshirts, T-shirts and socks. The shop has housewares, kitchen items and food such as lingonberries and Swedish pancake mix. Christmas decor, baby gifts, books, greeting cards, porcelain, glassware, jewelry and the work of local and regional artists can all be found at Nord Hus.

Planting Seeds Learning

Planting Seeds Learning is not just a business, it’s a calling and a passion for Joce Godfrey. Godfrey, right, provides treatment called Applied Behavior Analysis for children with autism, ADHD and other neurological disorders and their families. Therapy is offered in her office, in homes and in the community. The office is located in

Proceedsfromourthriftstores supportBridgesofHope

SHOP MON.-SAT.9AM-6PM

SUMMERSUNDAYS11AM-4PM DONATE MON.-FRI.10AM-6PM downtown Crosby, and she currently travels to homes as far away as Grand Rapids and Randall.

Planting Seeds Learning addresses the stress that comes with the daily demands of life, transitions, adapting to change and accepting correction with a playful approach to avoid aggression and other negative behavior. Children and parents attend sessions together to ensure these skills follow them into the home. She also advocates for children to have what they need to succeed at school with parent coaching, attending IEP meetings and completing functional behavior assessments.

Playful Pathways Therapy

Alisha Elsperger, above, opened Playful Pathways, offering pediatric occupational therapy, at the end of last year.

She says after she had a baby, she was ready to return to work and found there were not many opportunities in her specialty, so she decided to open her own business. Working with kids from birth to 18 years, she helps them to master the large motor skills necessary for balance, coordination and mobility. She works to help with the honing of fine motor skills which aid in manipulating objects such as fasteners, zippers and eating. Some clients come to her for help with sensory integration or emotional regulation.

“It has grown really well,” she says of Playful Pathways. She originally opened just a couple of days a week and this summer will see clients a fourth day.

Red Threads And Lake And Company

Mandi Yliniemi, below, owns two businesses in Crosby — Red Threads and Lake and Company. They share a storefront on Main Street.

A graphic designer for 20-plus years, Mandi has owned Red Threads, a custom apparel, retail, and design shop for five years. Creating designs for apparel with Minnesota and Cuyuna themes, she celebrates the area’s lake living and mountain biking that thrives there.

“Customers have fun choosing a design and a shirt or hat in the color/style they like, and we make it for them right away.”

As a parent in the district, she designed the current Crosby-Ironton School District logos and carries C-I Rangers merchandise in her store.

By combining Red Threads with Lake and Company, her retail store featuring products for the outdoor lifestyle, she has created the perfect destination for area locals and visitors.

Sisu Massage

Amanda Nygard, above, worked for many years as a massage therapist at Glacial Waters Spa at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa.

“When I left Glacial Waters, I saw what was happening in Crosby,” she says, “and I am a bike person myself.” She found a place to live and about a year later she found the perfect spot for her business. Sisu Massage opened over two years ago on Main Street, offering custom massage sessions utilizing herbs, essential oils and salt scrubs.

“Business has been good here; everyone is supportive of each other,” she says. In the early days she slowly built up her local clientele first. Then the visitors found her.

“There is an ebb and flow to business,” she says of the less busy winter, and increased traffic in the summer, “but it gives you time to get other things done.”

Spalding House

Owning a business is in Nadine Albrecht’s blood. Albrecht, pictured in the upper left hand corner of Page 29, comes from a family of entrepreneurs and has owned the Spalding House on Main Street for the past 10 years.

The historic building the bar is located in, was a 60-room hotel when it was originally built. Today Nadine rents nine rooms as Airbnb properties and owns three additional commercial spaces on the street.

Taconite Canteen

“I had driven by here for many years,” says Carrie Hofmann of the Taconite Canteen. Born and raised in Crosby, Hofmann, below, is a past manager of the food and beverage department for the Legacy Golf Course. She says she thought if she could do the work for someone else, she could do it for herself.

“I dragged my feet and then the previous owners purchased it. When they decided to close the doors, it was the perfect opportunity for us.”

Then Covid happened. She opened her business in September 2022. It is open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner. Taconite Canteen has two patios and two smaller side rooms with an event space that holds up to 250 guests. Artifacts from the mining eras of the Cuyuna Range can be seen at the Canteen, some from as early as 1902.

“We keep growing every month.,” she says. “We see people from all over this area and outside of the area that come to check us out.”

Una Rakki

products with a focus on as many small women-owned and minority-owned businesses as possible. Grooming products will be pet and environmentally safe.

Uplifted Wellness

Jill Mattson, right, is in her ninth year at Uplifted Wellness. Nationally certified in massage therapy since 2002, she has been teaching yoga since 2016.

Kristy Davis is excited for July. That is the target to open Una Rakki, a pet boutique with grooming and a self-wash space on Main Street in Crosby. Last year she turned 50 and says she decided it was time to start her business if she was ever going to.

“I felt Crosby was such a great space for me because I want to offer pet products that help pets and pet parents enjoy their time in the outdoors hiking, biking and enjoying the water here together.”

She will expand to include hunting, training and other items in the fall.

The product line will feature USA made