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Blaine Family-Owned Business Beats the Odds By Celebrating 100 Years Only three percent of family-owned businesses make it to the fourth generation and beyond with the average lifespan of a family business being 24 years. General Pattern has beat the odds by celebrating their 100th year in business.
Blaine Completes Northtown Planning Study.................................3
Founded by Ernest Reiland in 1922, General Pattern opened their Blaine location in 1982 and has since made Blaine their headquarters. The business is now owned by a fourth generation Reiland, Staci Thill who succeeded her father, Denny Reiland as company President. Thill is the first woman to own the business. Today General Pattern is one of Blaine’s top ten employers with over 150 employees. When one walks through the doors of General Pattern on 84th Lane, Denny’s love of Christmas and General Pattern’s dedication to their employees shines through with the company’s very own Christmas Village. The building of the Christmas Village started in 1999 to prevent staff layoffs during a slow business cycle. It continued deep into the 2007-2008 recession. Today General Pattern’s Christmas Village continues and is host to the company’s annual Christmas party in which employees bring their families for a night of Christmas magic.
Development Spotlight: Blaine Square II & III Additions..........................4
But General Pattern’s dedication expands beyond their employees into the community as well. General Pattern has undergone several expansions over the last decade the majority of which have occurred in and around the City of Blaine and neighboring communities creating employment opportunities for area residents.
City of Blaine 10801 Town Square Drive NE Blaine MN 55449
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The City of Blaine thanks General Pattern for its commitment to their employees and the community. Congratulations on 100 years!
City Hosts Successful Business Appreciation Golf Event at the TPC Blaine businesses gathered at the TPC on Monday, September 26 for a round of golf. Over 100 golfers and over 30 businesses came out to participate in this year’s event. The City of Blaine has been hosting this event for over 20 years and is a fun opportunity for businesses to golf with City staff and City Councilmembers. A special thank you to all who participated in this year’s event and to the TPC Twin Cities for allowing hosting this great event. Want your business to be added to next year’s mailing list for this event? Contact Ruth Tucker rtucker@blainemn.gov to be added.
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Community Development 10801 Town Square Drive NE Blaine MN 55449 763-784-6700 Erik Thorvig Community Development Director 763-785-6147 EThorvig@BlaineMN.gov
OPPORTUNITIES 2022 2023 27
7:30am Blaine Business Council TPC Twin Cities
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6-8pm Prince & Princess Party Blaine City Hall
Ruth Tucker Economic Development Specialist 763-717-2778 RTucker@BlaineMN.gov Shelia Sellman City Planner 763-785-6198 SSellman@BlaineMN.gov Michelle Wolfe City Manager 763-785-6120 MWolfe@BlaineMN.gov
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7:30am Blaine Business Council TPC Twin Cities 12pm Meet the Bunny Tom Ryan Park 4 Sessions Breakfast with the Bunny Tom Ryan Park April 17 - May 15
Earth Day Neighborhood Park Cleanup 7:30am Blaine Business Council TPC Twin Cities 2 Sessions Alice in Wonderland Tea Party Blaine City Hall 6:30-8pm Super Hero Party Tom Ryan Park 7:30am Blaine Business Council TPC Twin Cities
Local businesses are invited to become a RecPartner through supporting community events. In addition to the events listed, the Summer Performance in the Park series is looking for season long sponsors. Concerts take place all summer long in Tom Ryan Park. For more information on RecParternship Opportunities visit BlaineMN.gov/PartnershipPackages
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2023 Is buying property the right move for your business?
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distributed to all residents and OpentoBusinessMN.org vs. leasing costs, and connecting you to financing OR call the Anoka County office businesses. Past copies areoften available resources. Open to Business can also provide at 763-438-7315 gap financing to keep equity requirements at BlaineMN.gov/Newsletter. manageable. Whether you are negotiating a purchase, refinancing a contract for deed, or just exploring your options, Open to Business can help.
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12-8pm Oktoberfest Tom Ryan Park 7:30am Blaine Business Council TPC Twin Cities
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Blaine Police Department Reminds Businesses to Stay Vigilant Against Crime as the Holidays Approach As the holidays draw near Blaine Police Department wants to remind businesses of ways they can combat scams that harm their business and members of the public. 1. Be cautious when accepting payments via check – Blaine Police Department continues to receive reports of fraudulent checks. 2. Ask for identification when someone is purchasing a large volume of gift cards and paying with a credit card. Gift cards are one of the most common items purchased with stolen credit cards. 3. Be cautious of quick-change scams. In these situations, scammers often try to buy a low-cost item like gum or a soda and pay with a large bill. They will then try to pay with a smaller bill and/or ask the cashier a series of questions to distract them. They look for young and/or inexperienced cashiers and target establishments including fast food restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, and pharmacies.
Register Your Cameras To Help Blaine Police Department Combat Crime The Blaine Police Department wants to partner with residents and business owners who have video surveillance on the exterior of their homes or business. You might have a multi-camera system or a simple doorbell camera at your front door. No matter your level of surveillance your participation in this program will help the police department in the event of a crime in your area. Register your cameras today at BlaineMN.gov/CameraRegistration.
Blaine Business Council Do you want to connect with other Blaine businesses and hear about updates in the community? The Blaine Business Council is open to all Blaine businesses and is held quarterly at the TPC of Blaine. The meetings start at 7:30AM, no RSVP is necessary and we hope you can attend. 2023 Blaine Business Council Dates Jan 26 | Apr 27 | Jul 13 | Oct 26 For more information, visit the Metro North Chamber of Commerce at MetroNorthChamber.org.
October is Manufacturing Month
Blaine Completes Northtown Planning Study The Northtown Area Redevelopment Study has concluded and city staff is working toward next steps to make this plan a reality. The top priority for the Northtown Redevelopment Study is for city staff to identify short term wins and the timeline and funding for public infrastructure updates within this district. The City continues to work with the mall and other private landowners in the district on revitalization. The City anticipates the Northtown area redevelopment plan to be realized over a span of 25-30 years. For more information on the studies, visit BlaineMN.gov/NorthtownStudy.
Every year in October communities across the United States celebrate manufacturers. This celebration is important here in Blaine for our manufacturing businesses. Many manufacturers opened their doors 3 to the community in October for tours and education about careers in manufacturing. In addition, many companies partner with schools to drive awareness of career opportunities within the trades. Hundreds of manufacturers call Blaine home and have a great impact on Blaine’s workforce employing thousands of area residents. Blaine’s manufacturers create everything from parts for aircrafts and automobiles to Asian sausages and everything in between. Blaine’s manufacturers are the backbone of the community. Thank you to all our manufacturers who call Blaine home.
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Development Spotlight: Blaine Square II & III Additions Construction is underway on the Blaine Square II & III addition on the southeast corner of 125th and Ulysses, creating additional commercial space within the City and bringing in new restaurants. Eight new buildings are part of this capital real estate development and includes several expanding and new restaurants to the area as well as a new car wash, a potential bank location, and Take 5 Oil who moved into the renovated building that was once a Jiffy Lube. To date, a new Chipotle and Take 5 Oil Change’s buildings have been completed while Popeyes is currently under construction. Blaine Square III will include new to Blaine restaurants Cafe Zupas and MOD Pizza, a Noodles and Company expansion, Heartland Dental Clinic, a Mister Car Wash, and an additional restaurant building with two drive thru lanes. Construction on these projects will be completed in 2023.
North Memorial Opens New Blaine Clinic Featuring Service Dedicated for Senior Care North Memorial Health’s Blaine location has recently moved to a new state-of-the-art clinic designed to serve the needs of the growing Blaine community. In addition to primary and urgent care, the clinic will offer expanded services, such as imaging, infusion therapy, new cardio rehab, and rheumatology offerings. In addition, the clinic houses a first-of-its-kind senior clinic in Minnesota, dedicated specifically to individuals age 65 and over. The new senior clinic, located inside the main clinic building, offers a unique opportunity for seniors to work with an integrated team of pharmacists, navigators, and providers who can speak to the intersection between recommended treatments and specific plan benefits, making for a seamless health care experience. It will serve as a one stop shop for their health needs. The senior clinic will be led by Dr. Thomas R. Barringer, who served as a family medicine provider at North Memorial Health’s previous Blaine clinic location. In his new role, Dr. Barringer will lead a new model of patient care, focused on the optimal health and well-being of seniors, managing health needs, and coordinating care and benefits with a team of specialists. To learn more about the new Blaine clinic location, including the new senior clinic, visit: NorthMemorial.com/Built-for-Blaine.
Register Your Business The City of Blaine uses the CivicReady emergency notification to push urgent messages out to the community. Businesses are able to sign up to receive emergency notifications that are specifically for businesses. Register your business online at BlaineMN.gov/RegisterBusiness. Registered businesses will automatically be added to the CivicReady emergency business notification system. For more information about CivicReady, visit BlaineMN.gov/CivicReady.
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Blaine BizConnect online is a monthly newsletter delivered right to your inbox that will keep you up to date on development happenings in the City of Blaine. From commercial to industrial to residential, Blaine is one of the fastest growing cities in the Twin Cities metro area and always has new and exciting projects on the horizon. Sign up online at BlaineBiz.com/NotifyMe, choose BlaineBiz Update.