November-December 2014 by Connect Business Magazine

Small Business

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The Story of Joyce Pedersen Joyce Pedersen of North Mankato began as a temporary worker at OFC in 1980, was hired full-time by OFC in 1981, and continued on until retiring on August 1, 2014. Her mother, Aline Eichten, was one of the company’s first employees, starting in 1963. Combined, Joyce and her mother worked at OFC 53 years.

Aline Eichten and Joyce Pedersen

In a recent interview, Joyce said, “I really enjoyed the fact everybody was friendly—more of a family than a business. The doctors were always very enthusiastic and great people to work for. They never forgot about us at Christmas, and were always very appreciative of what we did for them and how we handled things. I felt close to all of them. “My mother named the Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic. She used to answer the telephone, and always had to say ‘Drs. Meredith, Gislason, Arnesen, and Lippmann.’ That was too many names. My mother asked the office manager if she could say ‘The Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic.’ The office manager said yes without consulting with Dr. Gislason—and he was one of the first callers. He said, ‘Oh, we have a new name.’ They were never corrected on it or told to change it.” Joyce Pedersen has many fond memories of OFC, she said, including those of Drs. Meredith and Swanson, who “were the only two who could get away with calling me Joycie.” It was a pet name her grandfather had also given her.

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Contents

THE MAGAZINE FOR GROWING BUSINESSES IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS Publisher: Jeffry Irish

COVER STORY

Heart and Seoul

Editor: Daniel J. Vance Art Director/Staff Photographer: Kris Kathmann

Advertising Manager: Steve Persons

Contributing Writers: Carlienne Frisch, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Grace Webb

PROFILES

Production: Becky Wagner

Metal Mavens

Circulation: Becky Wagner

Hometown Smile

COLUMNS

Off-The-Cuff

Printing: Corporate Graphics, N. Mankato

Mailing: Midwest Mailing, Mankato Cover Photo: Kris Kathmann

CIRCULATION 8,800 for November/December 2014 Published bimonthly

CORRESPONDENCE Send press releases and other correspondence: c/o Editor, Connect Business Magazine P.O. Box 452, Nicollet, MN 56074

Editor’s Letter

Contributing Photographers: Art Sidner

E-mail: editor@connectbiz.com (please place press releases in email body) Web: www.connectbiz.com Phone: 507.232.3463 Fax: 507.232.3373

ADVERTISING Call: (507) 232-3463

ABOUT CONNECT

Locally owned Connect Business Magazine has ‘connected’ southern Minnesota businesses since 1994 through features, interviews, news and advertising.

IN EVERY ISSUE

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Diana Furchtgott-Roth of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research would like more natural gas flowing—and soon. 4

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You are

Mankato.

We are Mankato’s clinic. You make this region strong. Because you know what matters most— family, friends, community. It’s who you are. And it runs generations deep here. It’s who we are too. We are Mankato’s clinic. Committed to the health of this region. Dedicated to caring for you and your family for generations.

➜ mankatoclinic.com

EDITOR’S LETTER

First Impressions Though 52-year-old Deb Taylor didn’t look anything like her well-known uncle, Glen Taylor, of North Mankatobased Taylor Corporation, the Taylor flair for fluid conversation and business acumen became apparent after we spent 90 minutes interviewing her at Taylor Corporation headquarters. She is now Glen’s right hand. Born in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted at age seven by Glen Taylor’s older brother, Roger, Deb Taylor made a name for herself out East before arriving in North Mankato in 2011 at her uncle’s invitation. She chose Connect Business Magazine as a safe place to share her world with yours. Other business owners featured in this issue of southern Minnesota’s only locally owned business magazine include Daryle and Connie Pomranke of Blue Earth-based Winnebago Manufacturing, and Wendy Emler of Century 21 Northland Realty, in Fairmont. Taylor, the Pomrankes, and Emler all have something in common. They are making first impressions on you. We hope you enjoy our mix here in terms of company scope: Taylor Corporation has more than 80 companies and sells the world; the Pomrankes primarily have Upper Midwest clients; and Emler and her real estate agents mainly cover Martin and surrounding counties. Sursum ad summum,

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South Korea-born executive plays key role on talented team helping move Taylor Corporation forward.

Imagine being seven years old and permanently having to leave behind your mother, sister, and extended family, fearfully flying to an unfamiliar land, and beginning life anew with a foreign family you had never faced. Deb Taylor was that prized girl. Born in South Korea and adopted by Glen Taylor’s older brother Roger about 45 years ago, 52-year-old Deb Taylor now has a life story befitting a major motion picture. She began striding the hallowed halls of Taylor Corporation in 2011—after years out East climbing the Liberty Mutual corporate ladder—and today plays a role on the Taylor Corporation upper executive team of about 30. You could say she has become Glen Taylor’s trusted right hand. A stark contrast exists between her poignant childhood, her sometimes chaotic life relocating from Minnesota to California to Maine to Minnesota, and her current Taylor Corporation work responsibilities, which makes her narrative all the more appealing. Like her uncle, Glen, she easily disarms with candor and laughter. She chose Connect Business Magazine as a safe spot to reveal to southern Minnesotans her personal life and her role in North Mankato-headquartered Taylor Corporation, which owns more than 80 companies scattered over an increasingly diverse world. What a ride life has given Deb. continued > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

CONNECT Business Magazine

Heart and Seoul

What’s your official title? I don’t have an official title, which is by design. When I came into the organization in 2011, we didn’t know exactly what I’d be doing. Coming in without a title enabled me to look at everything and didn’t box me into a specific set of responsibilities. I quite liked it—and still, I’m title-less. (Laughter.) In a way, it seems you’re like a free safety on defense in football. You get to roam where needed. Yeah, that’s true. Not having a title has been helpful in getting to know the people at Taylor Corporation, the industry, the culture, and all without having to say I am head of or responsible for something. Not having a title has allowed me to go everywhere. Jay Weir

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Why agree to be interviewed? I wouldn’t typically, as a rule, say yes to interviews like yours. I tend to be more private and reserved. To be honest with you, I was encouraged to do it. But that said, I’m not here as an unwilling participant. The timing to “come out” and let people see more of me seems appropriate now. I’ve heard you were adopted from South Korea. Yes, I was seven. My (adoptive) father Roger (Glen’s older brother) and I, on occasion, meet here at Taylor Corporation in North Mankato for walks. Just the other day, I was kidding around with him about the fact I was their “second choice.” (Laughter.) He and my mother had wanted a half-American, half-Korean child because they felt they might be more discriminated against in Korea. They were looking for a girl around six years old. Their first choice for adoption was a younger girl, but they found out that taking her also involved taking her brother. They did not want to adopt two children, so they couldn’t take this particular little girl. So I kiddingly asked my father, “Did you get five more (options) before choosing me?” He said they had told the adoption agency just to give them one girl because they would never be able to choose one over another. It ended up being me. Tell me about your birth mother. We lived in Seoul and we were very poor. I think my sister (though in the paperwork she was noted as my cousin) and I lived in a hut near a cluster of other huts. A water pump was in the center of the huts. Our hut had a kitchen with a cement floor and I slept upstairs on the landing. Down the road was another circular set of huts, where my mother lived. What was her first name? I don’t know. Anytime someone asks me what I remember about my birth mother, I always say I remember her as being very beautiful. Probably because she sometimes wore a lot of makeup and as a young girl I might have found that to be pretty. She gave you up for adoption. She did.

Deb Taylor | Taylor Corporation

Do you remember the day you left South Korea? Yes, I remember it. I was adopted through a Lutheran adoption agency—and my recollection might be a little off on some of this—but before being adopted I had to go to an American school for a week to prepare me for living in the United States. At the school, I learned how to use basic things, such as a toothbrush, and other things I would encounter, such as American food. I have a snapshot of a memory of coming back from this school and seeing my mother, who was not expecting me. She lifted up her face and was very excited to see me. Before the day (I left), though, I remember traveling across the city with my birth mother and sister. To me, as a young girl, it felt like we were going coast to coast, a very long trip. We brought a chicken along in a wire cage and had to take it while riding in a train and a cab. The chicken became a real pain in the butt on the journey because it got loose and wasn’t supposed to be in the cab. I remember the chicken. We ended up visiting extended family and at a bazaar bought gifts for my new family in America. Also, with the help of a translator, my mother wrote a letter to my new family. When we were in the bazaar buying gifts for my new family, I saw a heart necklace with a key and fake stones. I begged for it, and my mother bought it for me. It would cost only $1.99 today, maybe, and is one of the more meaningful things I still have from her. I even have the gifts we gave my new family, such as rubber shoes. My birth mother bought me pajamas, a jacket, and a sweatshirt for the trip and I wore it all on the trip—so I was a bit thicker. You still have the letter? I do, and I go back occasionally to read it. My mother, sister, and extended family were at the airport in Seoul that day, and I remember a professional photographer was running around taking pictures. He took a picture of us, and instinctively I begged and begged for it, but didn’t get it. My birth mother kept it. She had a memory of you. Yes. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, someone grabbed my hand and put me on the plane along with other children going to America to live with their adopted families. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. Back then, airport visitors were allowed to go all the way to the gate to see people off. I was seated on the plane where I could see my mother and she could see me—we could see each other and were sobbing. The separation was awful. Someone took me and put me on the other side of the plane where we couldn’t see each other. I can’t imagine what that would have been like, to be seven and torn away from your mother like that. But what a gift she gave. It takes strength to recognize you can’t care for someone you love. For that, I’m eternally grateful. It wasn’t just that you were leaving everything behind that was so traumatic, but you also had to face everything new, too—the unknown. Yes, I guess so. I flew into Minneapolis in the middle of the night and was lugging around all these trinkets we had bought in Korea. My entire adoptive family was there and I had never seen them

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Heart and Seoul

before. They gave me a doll. Even today, the smell of jet fuel often will bring me back to that time. When we reached their home in Rosemount, I just cried. I put all my clothes on and started walking back home to Korea. My (adoptive) parents were probably wondering what they had done. To be honest, it was probably a traumatic time. I never really sat down and deeply thought about it, but it turned out to be a gift. My mother couldn’t have done any more. Fortunately, I went into a lovely family. I was really lucky, blessed. I’m sure your adoptive family would have preferred you coming off the plane and giving them hugs, and skipping along happily. (Laughter.) It didn’t happen. They finally flipped on the television set that first night and eventually I fell asleep. What did you learn from your adoptive mom and dad? Most notably, I learned the sense of giving, and giving back, and caring about others. For example, we took in and housed a family from Laos for a period of time. Also, my father had met a Vietnamese serviceman and when the serviceman came to this country, we took him in, too. I grew up in a family that was thoughtful of the plight of others, myself included.

What did your parents do for a living? My father was a teacher and coach, and my mother a medical technologist. My dad taught calculus and other things I wasn’t so good at. (Laughter.) Teaching was his passion, and he loves teaching to this day. It was your average American middle-class family. I have an older sister and two younger brothers. I did have a very rebellious stage in which I wasn’t doing alcohol or drugs, but I was just really mouthy. I used to complain a lot to a couple I babysat for, about how at home I had to go to bed at eight every night and could wear jeans only one day a week to school. They sympathized with me and told me that was terrible. They said once I turned 18, I could live with them. Today I know they shouldn’t have made such an offer. I told my parents that I would be living with these people when I turned 18. I don’t think my parents believed me, but they didn’t realize how stubborn I was. This couple was transferred to California, and while there said the offer still stood. So when turning 18 my senior year in high school, I took them up on their offer. Your parents must have flipped out. Oh yeah. I had been telling them every day, but they didn’t believe me. That move shaped who I am and my life would be different today if not for it. I’m one of those people who doesn’t have regrets.

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When you left, it was a bit like when you were seven, except in reverse. You were leaving your family once again. Yes. When in college later, I took a psychology course. Part of the requirement was to do an autobiography, which was the first time I had taken time to chronologically detail my life. I’m not anyone special and everyone has a story. I guess I’ve gone through the process of leaving and separation several times in my life. In southern California, I lived with the couple and eventually I met Tom and we’ve been together ever since. Tom’s father had an electrical contracting business in Maine (where Tom is from), and his father asked him to come run and ultimately own it. So I went from California to Maine where we started our family. We have two children: a daughter 27, and a son, 24. I wanted to be the one to raise my children, and waited for our son to be in first grade before starting full-time work. In September 1997, I went to a temp agency and told them I wanted to work at Liberty Mutual (the biggest employer in the area), which was 20 miles or so away in New Hampshire. I didn’t have much business experience, but had confidence if I could get in as a temp, Liberty Mutual would eventually hire me. I was hired in January with a starting pay of $18,900, and by year’s end I had been promoted several times and my salary was $50,000. With Liberty Mutual, I didn’t have a grand plan for my career. I just loved everything and was terribly curious about making everything I did better. I didn’t have a position there that was the same at the end as when I started. I shaped my jobs in a way that interested me. For example, in my second or third job with them, I was responsible for tax filings. We had this software we never used—opting instead to do everything manually. I asked to go to a conference and eventually automated the process. Little by little, I started getting recognized. It was an excellent training ground for coming here and a phenomenal company. Through the years, I rose up in the organization. A lot of my job just before coming here was spent looking at how we planned out the future, and how we could rationalize our technology spend, which was significant because we had many processes and cultures as a strategic business unit made up of numerous acquisitions. When did you leave? In 2011. Not in my wildest dreams did I think we would end up in Minnesota. Glen and I had talked throughout the years—he is my uncle and in the business world. I would say the turning point came when I was offered a position at a healthcare insurance company as their financial officer for the state of New Hampshire. At the time, I had asked Liberty Mutual to give me a demotion so I could work part-time to get my MBA and spend more time with my daughter, who was in her final year of high school. It was then I moved to our Boston corporate office. I had this demotion for only a few months after which they put me back into the management level I was at before and allowed me to work part-time. I was struggling with this job decision and calling everyone I knew. It was a great problem to have. So I called Glen. He was very helpful, and asked, “What turns you on most?” I had been making the issue

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complex and he had boiled everything down to a comment that encapsulated everything. After I decided to stay on at Liberty Mutual, Glen and I talked more. Then I visited the Mankato area over Labor Day 2010, after Glen had just returned to run Taylor Corporation. He asked if I wanted to help him. I said no because I loved my life in Maine and was commuting to Boston every day to the home office of Liberty Mutual—to a job I loved. We talked again in October for 90 minutes and at the end of the conversation he said he still had that job open for me. I said I would think about it. Then I suggested I do a project (for him) to see if I would be interested (in the job). But I ended up having to look at (this project) on the weekends and was thinking then how stupid my suggestion had been. I was already commuting to Boston 90 minutes each way and had a big job. I couldn’t fit more in. So, I thought I needed to make a decision on this opportunity. I flew out in February 2011 and Glen and I spent a day talking about the business, but more importantly about what our relationship would be like should I work for him. I made the final decision in March and started at the end of April. Give examples of what you do. A large portion of my time at Liberty Mutual was in finance and accounting. I know that and IT well. When returning to the company, Glen thought Taylor Corporation was under-invested in sales and technology, and he asked me to look at the technology component for all of Taylor Corporation. I also took an interest in the finance area because that was a comfort area for me. Slowly, I started to assume responsibilities in finance, HR, legal, and IT—all corporate centers of excellence functions, and began becoming better acquainted with the organization and industry. I assumed more and more responsibility that way. A former colleague and friend thought my new job was completely different from my old one. I said it was completely different in terms of the industry I was in before sold promises. Here (at Taylor Corporation) we sell things, which is the

CONNECT Business Magazine

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

Deb Taylor | Taylor Corporation

part of working here I really quite like. I love going on plant floors and watching machines run. Annually, I choose a different plant and work the equipment on the production floor—and as a result have brought productivity down a substantial amount. (Laughter.) But I love it. Do you work with Taylor Corporation and Glen’s private businesses? Largely with Taylor Corporation but I do join Glen for board meetings with his egg company, Rembrandt. We also talk about his holdings. Ultimately—and I think he’s said this publicly—his holdings will go to a foundation and in that way I’m helping. What do you see as Glen’s weaknesses and strengths? For me, personally, he is someone with a unique charisma and magnetism. It’s a gift. If you’re in a meeting, and he’s talking, you see everyone sucked in by his stories. He is wonderful to be around and his stories never get boring. He’s a brilliant businessperson and an amazing human being. He has the ability to see goodness in most everyone. Under the worst of conditions, you might see someone in the worst light, but he sees them in the best light. He finds those slivers of good. He’s taught me that. I can’t consistently say I do what he does. He has helped me to see everyone struggles, everyone has a bad day, and everyone makes mistakes. He has the ability to assess risk and people, and many other strengths too numerous to mention.

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What about his weaknesses? That’s a hard question—and yes, I am thinking about it. I will only say that everyone’s strength can also be a weakness. Were you involved with the Star Tribune purchase? There were people on our team heavily involved in terms of the acquisition. I was involved because of that process and the conversations Glen and I had. One thing I could see being a challenge: it’s one thing having about 85 companies under your umbrella, but yet another having different company NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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Heart and Seoul

cultures in different parts of the country and world. If in your position, I would be just as overwhelmed as you were, perhaps, on the day you came to America as a child. I tell this story a lot, but when I was trying to make this decision about whether to take this financial position with the healthcare insurer in New Hampshire, the CFO of Liberty Mutual wanted to know why I wanted to leave their company. I told him I’d been there my entire professional career and it was time for something different. I felt I would leave and probably come back. I needed to experience a different culture in a different place. The CFO started laughing, and said, “Deb, if you want to experience a different culture, just go to the fifth floor.” (Laughter.) I want to believe I’m very methodical and careful in my thinking. I spent my first year here listening and learning about the company cultures and opportunities. Within an organization the size of ours, you want an underlying theme running through all

the companies. The mission we have here is one Glen thought of when starting the company years ago, one of providing opportunity and security for our employees. The notion of taking care of all employees is very important to me. Sure it’s true that when you talk about opportunity and security, it’s everyone’s responsibility. But I would also say there are only a few people that get to make the decisions that drive that opportunity and security. So, it’s important if we’re privileged to be one of those people we make the right decisions. What is your main role? I report directly to and work very closely with Glen. Most of the time when he’s in the office, we connect. But we have dedicated time on our calendar to spend about an hour and a half together each week. It sounds like you’re his righthand woman, in a way. Well, let’s just say he’s my right-hand

Corp Graphics H

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guy. (Laughter.) Just teasing. (Uproarious laughter.) He’s just so much fun and we have become such good friends. Glen and I have this little shtick when meeting with customers. Glen says, “Now I’m going to let my niece talk for a little bit.” Then everyone around the table is wondering whom he’s talking about because, quite obviously, we don’t look anything alike. So I say, “Thank you, Glen.” Then I say, “Yeah, he’s adopted.” It’s always funny to us. I’m so grateful for the relationship we have. It is healthy for each of us and really healthy for the organization that we have a good relationship. We discuss and argue behind closed doors, but come out with the same message—and that’s important. Let’s take a most recent deal, when you closed on MentorMate. The deal was negotiated by our mergers and acquisition group. MentorMate was a key acquisition for Taylor Corporation because it really is about the future of our

Deb Taylor | Taylor Corporation

Slapping a title on me defines me in a certain way and right now we are working to build a team. On our team, each person has a gift, and if your gift applies to a particular situation, you go do that job. organization, i.e., rounding that corner from print to technology and being known as a print and communication company with beautiful, elegant technology solutions that are contemporary for today’s world. MentorMate had about 75 suitors. Why did they choose Taylor Corporation? We have access to very large corporations as our current and potential customers, and they liked our culture and team. We are asking them to focus more externally for sales than internally inside Taylor Corporation.

They have a couple hundred developers in Bulgaria, and about thirty stateside. How much of Taylor Corporation is outside the U.S.? We have a presence in Monterrey, Mexico, making products on our behalf and shipping them to the U.S. We also sell internally into Mexico. We have a technology company in China with about 200 developers and down the street from that company is a printing business selling into China. We have a couple hundred employees in the Philippines doing de-

velopment and BPO (business process outsourcing) for our companies. We just opened a technology company in India, and have printing companies in France, the UK, and Canada. You have talked about a lot of countries, but haven’t mentioned South Korea. (Laughter.) Well, the only decision I’ve helped make—and I’ve been here only three and a half years—in terms of where we will go next from a global perspective, is India. India is important because of its population

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Heart and Seoul

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size, and for a while, the rate of people rising to the middle class was substantive. Certainly its economy has slowed, but won’t forever. It’s still growing. That’s a place we want to be. I don’t know if South Korea is that place for us at this time. However, we do sell powdered eggs into Korea.

Seriously, you can’t just keep going around telling people you are the person without a title. (Laughter.) We are trying to create a team environment. There are about 30 or so of us on the (upper executive) team, a group that includes presidents of key companies. I’m not any more special than any of them. Slapping a title on me defines me in a certain way and right now we are working to build a team. On our team, each person has a gift, and if your gift applies to a particular situation, you go do that job. By not having a title, I can talk to everyone as part of a team. I have a very strong desire to work as a team. No single person has the answer to everything. Will there come a time when Glen decides I should have a title or when I decide? The answer is yes. He said once that at some future meeting he was just going to blurt out a title. (Laughter.) But there are disadvantages of not having a title, too. Truth be told, it can be confusing internally. We probably have work to do there to lessen the confusion. But when people see my actions and decisions, and see how I participate and what I participate in—that should give everyone enough of a flavor for what I do. You were mentioning before about Glen’s strengths and weaknesses. What about your own? I know for a fact I’m my biggest critic. I don’t cut myself any slack, which is my biggest weakness. I’m always thinking about ways I can do things better—and I probably let those thoughts stay around too long. I always think I could have done a little better until I make the same mistake the very next day. (Laughter.)

Deb Taylor | Taylor Corporation

THE ESSENTIALS

Taylor Corporation

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People who are hard on themselves often have difficulty describing their strengths. Is that the case with you? Someone recently asked me what my gift was and I immediately responded that I’m trustworthy. People can trust me. That’s my greatest gift. I say what I say and mean what I say. There isn’t any time when a hidden meaning exists. When people walk out of a conversation with me they aren’t wondering what I meant. Again, I want to believe that I am clear and concise in my messaging. What if an opportunity came for you to go back to Korea. Have you been there since? While on my way to China once we had a four-hour layover in Korea. I asked if we had time to take a cab into the city and make it back for our connecting flight. The traffic was too busy to risk it. Before leaving on that trip, I had told someone that I thought I’d get into that airport and suddenly have a flood of memories. And there was nothing. Ever thought about seeing your mom? My birth mother has probably died. One of my uncles was stationed there for a time and tried to find her. He couldn’t. She lived a life that wasn’t a good one. It would be a strange thing—it would be a strange thing if she were alive. We wouldn’t speak the same language. If the opportunity presented itself today, then perhaps, yes. I think when people go and search they are missing something. There is a hole that needs filling. I don’t feel as if I have that hole because my life is rich and very good. I don’t feel anything is missing. That’s probably a testament to how I was raised and the people in my life today.

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Editor Daniel J. Vance writes from Vernon Center.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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CONNECTING BACK

5 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER 2009

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Tom Rosen, of then $2.5 billion Rosen’s Diversified of Fairmont, filled our front cover in a big way. Profiled companies included Easy Automation (Welcome) and B&D Metal Works (Wells). Great quote from Rosen about having purchased American Food Group of Green Bay, Wisconsin, about 2006: “It was a merger/ acquisition that turned out to be more of an acquisition. We put the two companies together and almost doubled the size of our company in terms of processed beef. We ground a lot of hamburger there.” 10 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER 2004 WWW.GLOWHEARTH.COM 241 ST. ANDREWS DRIVE, MANKATO, MN 56001

Our cover story was Fred C. Krahmer of Fairmont, who was involved with Profinium Bank, the Krahmer & Bishop law firm, land developing, and grain and pork producing. Profiled companies were Mankato Symphony and St. Peter Woolen Mill. One good Krahmer quote: “When you live in a town like Fairmont, exposure to different minority groups is rare. A band of Gypsies in the early ‘50s would come through each summer and I’d bum around with them. For me it was enlightening.” 15 YEARS AGO

AWARD WINNING ROOFERS Commercial and Industrial Roofs

NOVEMBER 1999 Our cover story featured Neil Eckles of what was then called Blue Earth Valley Communications. Profiled companies were Forstner Fire Apparatus (Madelia) and Lindsay Windows (North Mankato). 20 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER 1994

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This issue didn’t feature a cover person—that didn’t begin until 1996—only a theme, “Holiday Party Primer,” which featured Schmidts’ Meat Market (Nicollet) and Christenson, Walberg & Associates (Mankato).

Read the entire articles at connectbiz.com

BUSINESS TRENDS

RURAL POPULATION TRENDS

University of Minnesota Extension Research Fellow Ben Winchester has given great hope to rural areas and small towns in our reading area—and throughout all rural Minnesota—given his much ballyhooed research. He’s learned rural Minnesota hasn’t been dying after all. It’s just changing. And he calls this trend a “brain gain.” (Our special thanks to Fairmont Chamber of Commerce for calling our attention to this information.) Winchester began by researching U.S. Census figures, primarily from 1990-2010, that showed most rural Minnesota counties in that span lost population in the 20-24 and 25-29 age brackets. This comes as no surprise to anyone. In the Connect Business

Magazine reading area, for example, only Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties showed 20-24 age bracket gains in that timeframe, and no county in our reading area showed 25-29 age bracket gains. But what surprised many people was Winchester’s discovery of the steady growth of people age 30-49 over the last four decades relocating to and back to rural Minnesota.

if given a choice, would prefer living in a rural area or small town. An Iowa State Extension study in 2005 titled, “Community Vitality and Experiences of Recent Movers,” discovered three main reasons why people had relocated to 19 nonmetropolitan Iowa counties from out of state or other Iowa counties: lower cost of living, lower taxes, and better quality local schools.

The Pew Research Center and Iowa State Extension studies dovetail nicely with Winchester’s own Minnesota research that found the top three reasons newcomers here relocated to a rural area were the slower pace of life, safety and security, and the relative low cost of housing. It had little to do with jobs. He also found the trend held nationwide. According to his research (separate from his Census research) regarding this older influx in Minnesota, he found about 36 percent of the rural newcomers had been residents in the area before, 68 percent had bachelor’s degrees, and most were underemployed. In 2010, these rural newcomers had an average household income of $66,000. And the top reason by far they cited for moving from other states or from urban to rural Minnesota wasn’t jobs. It was quality of life. Winchester cited a Pew Research Center study showing 51 percent of Americans,

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BUSINESS TRENDS

living in rural areas. The rural Minnesota population is actually at an all-time high.” He said many rural areas lose their youth to big city jobs or colleges, and many lose older residents because of not having a hospital or nursing home. He also said the recent numbers since 2010 concerning decline in rural Minnesota have been primarily the result of Mankato becoming a metropolitan area, which officially reclassified Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties as “urban” rather than “rural.” He said, “It would appear all our rural statistics (in terms of household income, and population, for example, since 2010) are in decline when they aren’t. Mankato was reclassified. When you take out the top end, the mean goes down.” So what can chambers of commerce and local economic development groups do to take advantage of this research? He said, “For one, the Pipestone weekly newspaper has done a very nice job. When they first heard of this research, they wrote

about it and then went out and interviewed newcomers to the community (for publication). Not only does that help everyone (in Pipestone) see the trend, but it also helps the newcomers feel welcome, too. This was very important. What Pipestone is doing is not only trying to attract people, but also retain them. As for (the Pipestone newspaper) interviewing newcomers, many of these newcomers have job skills they aren’t using. In general, they are underemployed. It would be in the best interests of chambers of commerce and local economic development groups to identify the untapped skills of these newcomers and begin building industries around clusters of these skills. There is a big gap between their skills and what they are putting into their communities right now.” Another way to create synergies using this research would be for rural communities to have newcomer suppers, he said, in order to facilitate connections among newcomers. Rural newcomers usually have different social interests and residential preferences than the people already there. Newcomers

with complementary skills could team up to start a business that better utilizes their combined skill sets, for instance. He said most rural communities were no longer tied to agriculture and manufacturing. For example, thousands of self-employed, non-agriculture related business owners have relocated to rural Minnesota, and thousands of other rural residents telecommute with urban businesses around the state and nation. Winchester said, “It takes a lot of work to find these newcomers. When first starting our research, we concentrated on a fivecounty area and were hoping to find 100 newcomers. Three weeks later, we had 650 names on our list. Once you start looking, you will find them. But most people don’t look for newcomers.” He said his extension office was seriously investigating developing a rural recruitment and retention program—perhaps using some of these ideas above—to help communities facilitate rural growth and economic development.

By Carlienne A. Frisch Photo by Kris Kathmann

Blue Earth-based large structural and custom metal products fabricator has high standards.

Daryle Pomranke’s heart is in welding, but his eyes are on the future of his business, Winnebago Manufacturing Company in Blue Earth. The refocus from welding torch to financial statements began 37 years ago, after Pomranke was diagnosed with an astigmatism that prevented him from forging a career as a professional welder. Pomranke, who grew up on a 300-acre diversified crop and livestock farm near Reading, in Nobles County, Minnesota, enjoyed the shop classes his high school offered, but planned to be a farmer. “My first jobs were walking beans and picking up rocks for neighbors for 60 cents an hour,” he said. “In my senior year of high school I was in a half-day release program in which I worked for a farmer. I was hired to assist him with raising cattle, and I used his equipment to farm 160 acres of land. Then, in the farm crunch of the late 1970s and 1980s, I had to go to my second love—welding.” Pomranke spent a year at Canby Vocational School, studying welding and blueprint reading. He then worked as a welder for Berreau Industries in Round Lake for 18 months, erecting elevator leg systems and storage hoppers. He recalled, “One of my favorite memories was welding 75 feet up in the air, suspended from a crane hook. I was 18.” continued > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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Metal Mavens

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Then the light went out on Pomranke’s welding career. He began having issues with his vision: an optometrist said his astigmatism would only get worse. Then the light went out on Pomranke’s welding career. He began having issues with his vision: an optometrist said his astigmatism would only get worse. So on the advice of a brother, he enrolled in the two-year accounting program at the vocational school in North Mankato, now South Central College. During this time, he worked at Carlson Craft, churning out wedding invitations on a Heidelberg press. He also became acquainted with another accounting student, Connie, whom he married in April 1981. After graduating, Pomranke spent the next 11 years crunching numbers for three different employers. He spent his next 11 years at North Star Concrete, a then locally-owned company through which he advanced to the operation manager’s position. When the company was sold to a Texas corporation in 1998, he applied for the general manager’s position at Winnebago Manufacturing and interviewed with Lyle Jacobson and Tom Richards, who were in charge. Pomranke recalled, “After I passed the first interview, Lyle and Tom asked about my personal finances. I said, ‘Are we talking about the job now, or are we talking about buying the company?’” The response was a buy-out offer. Over the next couple of weeks, the company’s general manager, Bob Preston, asked Pomranke if he would share in the deal, and another business acquaintance of Pomranke’s agreed to become a silent partner. So the deal was made. Pomranke continued in his job at North Star Concrete while the trio spent the next year arranging SBA, bank, and personal loans. They completed the purchase in May 1999, with Pomranke taking the president’s position, and Preston acting as vice president and sales manager. They bought out the silent partner in 2004. Pomranke bought Preston’s shares two years ago and now co-owns the company with Connie. Three years after the purchase, a customer accounting for 65 percent of the business’s sales “pulled the plug on us,” Pomranke said. “I had to get our feet on the ground. I became plant manager, laid off a few employees—not many—and saved every dime we could. We even unscrewed light bulbs from the pop machines. Within a few years, we became profitable again.” The company took on fewer repair and feed mill jobs, getting into longer-run fabrications and working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). He explained, “With OEMs the work is steadier. No longer are there 25 people working on a project and then waiting for something to do after it’s completed. We have about

Winnebago Manufacturing Company | Blue Earth

150 customers that specialize in mining, machinery, construction equipment, transportation equipment, and waste management. We have worked very closely with these industries over the years, which has allowed us to grow to our present sales of $9 million a year. We have sales reps in South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota who continually find new business opportunities for us.” As a subcontractor for a Twin Cities company, Winnebago Manufacturing had its largest project to date—construction of entire feed mill structures that were shipped to China. The company website lists these services: welding, rolling (making a flat sheet of steel into a cylinder or other shape), torching, shearing, forming, and sawing. In 2011, Winnebago Manufacturing achieved ISO 9001:2008 status, a nationally recognized system of quality standard, audited annually by International Standards Organization. Certification ensures services and products are safe, reliable, and of good quality, and provides opportunities for the company to enter new markets and opportunities to apply strategic planning in use of machinery. A walk through the shop, while wearing the requisite safety glasses, takes a visitor past computerized machines, such as the torching machine that runs on tracks, and offers a view of the manufacturing

Metal Mavens

Company History

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In 1950, Fred Hicks opened Hicks Repair, a farm repair and blacksmith shop on US 169 in Winnebago. The shop was bought seven years later by three Mankato businessmen: Cecil Jones, the founder of Mankato manufacturing companies Jones Metal Products, Kato Engineering, KatoLight Corporation and Ka-Win; and Ray Stifimer and Al Thisius. With the new name of Winnebago Manufacturing, the company did OEM (original equipment manufacturing) work for Jones’ companies in addition to continuing with farm repair jobs. In 1986, Jones’s sons-in-law, Tom Richards and Lyle Jacobson, took over the company, while continuing to manage Jones Metal Products and KatoLight, respectively. The following year, Winnebago Manufacturing moved to its present location, a 58,944 square foot building in the West Industrial Park in Blue Earth. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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NON-EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION

Metal Mavens

process of the huge frames that will hold generators for ships, oil rigs, and mining haul trucks. In another part of the shop, workers form cylinders destined for assembly into massive clothes dryers with 550-850 pound capacity that will be used on ships, by uniform companies, and in hotels.

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Two signs in the office provide down-home contrast: “$15 minimum—anything you do will take at least 15 minutes, including the clerical billing” and “$55 hourly labor rates.” Pomranke explained, “Farmers and local business people bring in repair jobs. We get maybe a dozen a month. Most companies our size don’t do those because it’s disruptive to business. Here at Winnebago Manufacturing Company, we view a customer not as an interruption of our work, but as the sole purpose of our work and as our responsibility to service our community. Therefore, we might work on something like a broken door latch from the local locker plant.” “Being a diversified company also allows us to work on fun projects,” he said, “such as a 40-foot fabricated Christmas tree and a 100-foot aluminum lighted drive-through tunnel we donated to the Salvation Army in Willmar for the Celebrate the Lights of the World event. We also can have an immediate response to the changes in a customer’s product design. Our employees freehand the assembly of the products rather than using jigs and fixtures.” He continued, “We train most of our highly skilled staff ourselves because what we do is unique. We have 42 full-time employees and three part-time. It’s encouraging to have area colleges and high schools incorporate welding classes in their curriculum. This is a critical craftsman skill in our business, and it looks to have a promising future for graduates.” Pomranke no longer crunches numbers on a daily basis, having passed along the financial responsibilities to office manager Janet

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• The Pomrankes take part in economic development associations, where discussions vary from road sign improvement to grants for new hires. • Pomranke has served 20 years in his church council finance office.

Winnebago Manufacturing Company | Blue Earth

Hassing. His main focus is driving the growth of the company, which provides endless variety in his daily schedule. He said, “I never stop thinking about what’s next. I work with the sales department to learn what is lacking on the local level in better design or delivery of the product. We cross-train employees on equipment, and I help wherever needed, such as loading a semi or fixing equipment. But mostly I analyze activity on the floor and don’t get directly involved. Working through Enterprise Minnesota, I organize our company for maximum production for lean manufacturing.

Metal Mavens

Constructing Details Favorite classes? He: “I liked shop classes and FFA, but disliked reading because I’d rather be hands on.” She: “I loved English because I love reading, and I like math because there’s a definite answer, a solution to each problem.” What do you wish you had studied? He: “I wish I had more background in computers and technology because everything is gearing to that in our shop for competitiveness.” She: “Science and how things work. I also wish I knew more about taking things apart and putting them together.” Family? Two sons: Matt, and his two children; Corey (a chiropractor) and his wife. Hobbies? He: “Doing yard work together and detailing our vehicles, which helps me shut down my ‘management mind.’” She: “I love to garden and I’m taking a new interest in cooking creatively with herbs.” Valued accomplishment or intangible? He: “Being a successful businessman and sponsoring programs for children in Haiti.” She: “The opportunity to help others, and my Christian faith.”

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Describe yourself. He: “Visionary.” Both: “Hardworking, caring and giving.”

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If not doing this? He: “Business consultant.” She: “I might be a hospice volunteer.”

North Mankato 625-3089 akopesky@hickorytech.net NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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Metal Mavens

“I plan to cut back in one-and-one-half years, when I’ll be 59 and a half. That has been my vision (of semi-retirement) for 30 years. But I’ll still be involved with the company because I like what I do, and especially because our 31-year-old son, Matt, is being groomed to take over the company.” I also oversee liability insurance, employee benefits, and service awards.” The Pomrankes live near the Cobb River, south of Mankato, which adds a two-hour daily round trip to Pomranke’s 65-hour workweek. It’s a routine he looks forward to changing. He explained, “I plan to cut back in one-and-one-half years, when I’ll be 59 and a half. That has been my vision (of semi-retirement) for 30 years. But I’ll still be involved with the company because I like what I do, and especially because our 31-year-old son, Matt, is being groomed to take over the company.”

Matt, who has a two-year vocational school degree in air conditioning and heating as well as an accounting education, worked as a fabricator for Minnesota Elevator for seven years. After welding and fabricating at Winnebago Manufacturing three years, he has overseen part of the production area, worked as the plant manager, and spent time in the office. As general manager, he now oversees purchasing. Connie’s responsibilities also are multifaceted. With 15 years experience at Southern Valley Co-op and 17 years as secretary to the St. Clair school district superintendent, she now applies her administrative

background in a half-time position at Winnebago Manufacturing, occasionally working from home. There she fills another role as grandmother to Matt’s children. She commented, “Working part time provides the flexibility to spend time with seven-year-old Hunter and five-year-old Brooklyn.” Connie handles the employee handbook, website updates, obtaining advertising and promotional items such as umbrellas and coolers, and staying abreast of state and federal requirements on such issues as storm water permits and core sampling. She makes herself visible in the plant by

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Winnebago Manufacturing Company | Blue Earth

THE ESSENTIALS

Winnebago Manufacturing Phone: 507-526-7456 Address: 870 Welk Drive Blue Earth, Minnesota Web: bagomfg.com

detailing the employee water fountains and restrooms, although they are maintained by a cleaning service. That tradition goes back to the time Pomranke and his partners took over. He explained, “We saw a lot of areas that needed attention and organization, so we cleaned and painted—hands on. We reorganized the plant. It improves the employees feelings about working here. Now there’s pride in the equipment.” Connie added, “I don’t put myself above other employees. As the second oldest child in a family of nine, I grew up taking care of people. I did cooking and housework. I was babysitting at 11, and at 16 was a nurse assistant in a nursing home, my most rewarding job to this day.” Her quintessential role with Winnebago Manufacturing, however, has been as a sounding board throughout years of dinner table conversations. Another source of varied business perspectives is a peer council arranged by Enterprise Minnesota, which sponsors a half-day meeting every month in Owatonna. Professional speakers discuss a variety of topics such as insurance, company succession planning, tax credits, the background to look for in hiring a new president, things to consider in building expansion, how to implement proper procedures in hiring and terminating employees, selling the business, etc. “It’s not part of our game plan,” Pomranke said, “but they teach us 50-year-old, grayhaired Baby Boomers how to make our company attractive for sale. The group provides an opportunity to collaborate with owners who deal with similar situations. The discussion makes you think about things you might not think of otherwise. There’s openness in the sharing, so it makes you consider all angles.”

One aspect Pomranke is seriously considering is the $1 million purchase of two pieces of equipment next year: a stress-relief oven and a shot blast system. These will provide options for new business opportunities. His vision of the future continues to be bright. “With our equipment and our trained staff of 42 dedicated full-time and three part-time employees, I feel we have a successful future,” he said. “We have the continuity of 94 percent retention. I appreciate being able to give back to employees. Last year we were blessed to be able to give a multi-thousand dollar bonus to each employee. We have given a bonus based

“With our equipment and our trained staff of 42 dedicated fulltime and three parttime employees, I feel we have a successful future,” he said. “We have the continuity of 94 percent retention.” on company profits since Day One. Our business philosophy is customer satisfaction, quality work, and on-time delivery. Because most of the generators we make go into ships or oilrigs, we’re not as affected by the ag economy as some companies. We are forecasting a 5-10 percent increase next year over this year’s numbers. I’m rather optimistic about metal manufacturing over the next two years.” He added, “I’m living my dream, which fits my interests and experience. It’s fun to see a 500-pound capacity clothes dryer come together and to recognize our ability to manufacture a variety of products for mining, agriculture, the military, and the food industry.” Carlienne A. Frisch writes from Mankato.

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OFF-THE-CUFF

You will just have to wait patiently for the unveiling of our 2015 Connect Business Magazine Business Person of the Year, which our

magazine within the last two years. So if you nominated Kyle Smith of Tailwind Group (featured March 2014), for example, that’s why he and others recently featured weren’t accepted as nominees. On to other fare: University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler took a courageous stand in August (whether you agree with him or not) by saying he would ask the Minnesota Vikings to not use the name “Redskins” during the Minnesota-Washington game at University of Minnesotaowned TCF Bank Stadium on November 2. He didn’t want Redskins apparel sold there or announcers even saying the word “Redskins” or any scoreboards or printed material mentioning the “Redskins.” So by the time you read this, the world’s first “Redskins-free” game may have been played—barring a last-minute change, of course, which is unlikely given the tight relationship between University of Minnesota athletics and the Shakopee Mdewakanton

annual panel of Minnesota State University College of Business professors has already chosen. You can read all about their choice in our January 2015 issue. What a crop of nominees we received this year! According to our contest rules, a nominee could not have been featured in our

Sioux Community. The Washington Redskins organization and some Native Americans claim the Redskins name honors Native Americans. The rest of Native Americans and other detractors say otherwise. I’m not taking a stand, per se. But in terms of a business Daniel J. Vance angle, I am troubled Editor over what the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, a unit within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has done to the Washington Redskins. In June, this board canceled all Washington Redskins trademarks registered from 1967-90 after deciding the Redskins name was too “disparaging” to Native Americans. Quoted in espn.com, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said, “(This ruling)

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puts a big dent in their (the Redskins’) business model of trying to gain revenue from a disparaging term or slur. I find it very unlikely that someone is going to overrule the patent office on this. This is a huge decision by a federal agency.” Existing U.S. law does prohibit disparaging, contemptuous, disreputable or scandalous trademarked names. Of course, the key point in this or any other case like it would be the definition of disparaging, contemptuous, disreputable or scandalous—and who gets to do the defining. For example, I have a Scots-Irish heritage, which reaches into several of my family lines, including Vance. The Scots-Irish in America trace their heritage to Scottish Protestants living in Northern Ireland in the 18th century. Their English landlords and Irish Catholic neighbors there squeezed them socially and financially, and they endured decades of abject poverty. Many of the tens of thousands of Scots-Irish settling in the U.S. from 1720-90 were seven-year indentured servants before moving westward. One notable event in Northern Ireland history occurred in 1689, when a military force of Irish Catholics loyal to former British King James II, also a Catholic, laid siege to the Northern Ireland city of Derry, which was loyal to William and Mary, England’s newly crowned Protestant king and queen. Thousands of Protestants perished during this horrible 105-day siege, which ended when William and Mary’s ships laden with lifesaving supplies broke through a blockade. Personally, I’m not at all angry at the Notre Dame “Fightin’ Irish” and what some would call a disparaging, contemptuous, disreputable, scandalous, and ethnic-slurring trademark; but someday, someone probably will get angry enough and effectively argue their case before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and then that will be the end of The Fightin’ Irish. Given the treatment offered the Redskins, and if the Trademark Office were truly consistent, one day you may see it cancel other professional sports trademarks, such as the ones owned by the Vikings (who were “terrorists” by today’s standards because of their like for raping and pillaging), and by the Brewers (who celebrate a beverage NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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OFF-THE-CUFF

Agricultural Property Specialists Specialists in: Land Auctions & Sales Machinery Auctions • Appraisals •

And if a bare majority of some distant Trademark Trial and Appeal Board arbitrarily decided your trademarks used in southern Minnesota were just a bit too disparaging, contemptuous, disreputable or scandalous, you too could be plum out of luck—even if your trademark had been used for generations and accounted for a great deal of your profits.

•

Bill LeDuc Broker/Owner Mankato, MN (507) 995-9311

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that causes drunk driving and fetal alcohol syndrome), Braves and Indians (see Redskins), Wizards (the KKK connection), Padres and Saints (must have separation of church and sport) and the Steelers and Jets (global warmers and polluters). For their sake, it’s good the Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans. And if a bare majority of some distant Trademark Trial and Appeal Board arbitrarily decided your trademarks used in southern Minnesota were just a bit too disparaging, contemptuous, disreputable or scandalous, you too could be plum out of luck—even if your trademark had been used for generations and accounted for a great deal of your profits. What makes many businesspeople cringe is having to watch another arm of the federal bureaucracy ambush another American business—this one founded in 1932 and

one that had its trademark registered more than 45 years. If—or more likely, when—pressure groups move the Redskins to abandon the Redskins name, then so be it. I’m all for that if it happens. Just let public opinion or a University of Minnesota president or other NFL owners be the ones providing the pressure. As a rule, Uncle Sam should not be in the business of brazenly blitzing a business and trying to sack it for a loss. Thanks for reading southern Minnesota’s only locally owned business magazine, the only one since 1994 serving nine southern Minnesota counties and reaching 8,800 business decision makers. See you next issue for our annual Business Person of the Year edition! Correction Note: In our September/October issue we misidentified the name of new business Bradley’s on Stadium in our Hot Startz! Section. You can learn more about the establishment at bradleysonstadium.com or by seeing its ad on page 49.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

RE: Thank You Mathiowetz Construction Company management and employees would like to thank you for the article published in your (September) issue. It was very well done and provided a wonderful forum to share our company vision and mission. We appreciate that you felt we were worthy of being the subject of an article. We’ve had many business leaders, community representatives, and people in general comment on the article. It has been nice to be pulled aside at local events and complimented. You have a wide readership. Mathiowetz Construction prides itself on trying to remain a family business that cares about our region and projects, and providing a good workplace for our Mathiowetz Construction family—our employees. Thank you so much for taking the time to notice our efforts. Brian Mathiowetz, Ronda Mathiowetz, Julie Anderson of Sleepy Eye 34

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Local Chamber & Economic Development News

Any chamber of commerce, convention and visitors bureau, or economic development organization in our reading area—large or small, from Amboy to Winnebago—can post on our free bulletin board. For details, email editor@connectbiz.com.

Blue Earth Cindy Lyon, Blue Earth Chamber/CVB The Convention & Visitors Bureau hosts the end-of-the-year “Southern Minnesota Tourism Association” Explore Minnesota meeting. SMTA guests will be dazzled by holiday hoopla about town, including a Holiday Sampler on Friday November 14. The scarfing of the Giant follows on November 15 at 10:30 a.m. The Chamber board has been soliciting for new board members and reviewing for 2015. In January, the annual board banquet will honor volunteers, and business and community service award winners.

Fairmont Margaret Dillard, Fairmont Area Chamber Relocating from Arizona was a big decision, but I’m pleased to be the new president of Fairmont Area Chamber of Commerce. My background includes chamber management, communications, website/social media, and audio-visual production with focus on small business and non-profits. I relocated from Southern Arizona and couldn’t be happier to work in a dynamic organization in spite of the harsh winters. Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself. [Edit. note: Dillard replaced the retiring Bob Wallace.]

Gaylord Amy Newsom, Gaylord EDA Gaylord EDA is proud to report the City has been awarded a $598,086 Small Cities Development Program grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. This grant will benefit both commercial properties and residential homes in Gaylord. Pettipiece and Associates of Mankato will administer our grant. The EDA has also initiated work on a Sign and Awning

Assistance Program. For more information on these programs contact Amy at anewsom@exploregaylord.org.

Lake Crystal Julie Reed, Lake Crystal Chamber Our “Christmas in Lake Crystal” celebration is December 6. Holiday Gift and Craft Fair (and silent auction) starts everything from 10-2 p.m. at the recreation center, with shopping, entertainment, food, and Santa pictures. Drop-in childcare. Marston Park scavenger hunt at 4 p.m. and the 3rd Annual Ugly Sweater Party is at The Lakes Bar and Grill. Bring unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots and enter to win a TV. Raffle for $2,500 in cash prizes..

Mankato Kathryn Reeder, Visit Mankato The annual Kiwanis Holiday Lights in Sibley Park returns to Mankato November 28. The one million+ LED light display with animation and choreography will allow families to walk or drive through the Winter Wonderland for an interactive holiday experience. A skating rink, warming houses, Santa, and live reindeer on site. New this year are purple LED lights, a 19-piece nativity scene, and an expansion to the dancing lights. See visitgreatermankato. com/events/kiwanis-holiday-lights.

Mankato Amy Linde, Greater Mankato Growth It’s your business, your community, your state and your home— have a say in how they will be affected. All Greater Mankato citizens are invited to participate in the sixth consecutive Greater Mankato at the Capitol event on January 20, 2015. This event provides the

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opportunity to rally in support of Greater Mankato, participate in issue-focused forums, and interact with state legislators and colleagues during an evening reception. For more information visit greatermankato.com/capitol.

Mankato Laura Dhuyvetter, RCEF Regional Center for Entrepreneurial Facilitation (RCEF) has a new resource for area entrepreneurs, BizPitch, which is a monthly forum where entrepreneurs and those in early stage business can present ideas and concepts to a panel of business leaders while getting instant and constructive feedback. The panel may suggest ways to fund. There is never a cost to the entrepreneur for meeting with RCEF or participating in BizPitch. For more information, call 344-7897.

Mapleton RoxAnne Gosson, Mapleton Chamber The Mapleton Chamber again hosts its Annual Snowflake Dazzle on Wednesday December 3 on the main street of downtown Mapleton. Little Miss Snowflake Dazzle and Mister Jack Frost are chosen and crowned at this event. Horse-drawn trolley rides and business extravaganzas are all part of the fun of Snowflake Dazzle. Don’t hesitate to come and enjoy a unique and pleasurable evening in Mapleton.

New Ulm Audra Shaneman, New Ulm Chamber Made in New Ulm! To celebrate Minnesota Manufacturers Week, New Ulm hosted Jeremy Hanson Willis, Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development from DEED, at the newly remodeled New Ulm Convention Center inside the Holiday Inn. New Ulm also hosted two locations for the Southern Minnesota Tour of Manufacturing: Windings and Specsys. Projected to draw almost 5,000 people, New Ulm’s Parade of Lights will be 6:00 p.m. on Friday November 28.

Sleepy Eye Kurk Kramer, Sleepy Eye EDA Sleepy Eye’s new industrial park and residential addition on the east side of town, known as the Snow Addition, has had one residential lot sold, and two commercial lots for the new Casey’s General Store to be built, which is planning to take place yet this fall. Some other companies are currently being dealt with to build in the park. Recently, Maxfield Research completed a housing study. The EDA is considering the results and planning on what action might be taken to address the needs the study has shown.

Sleepy Eye Trista Barka, Sleepy Eye Area Chamber In October, the Sleepy Eye Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors recognized Haala Industries as an outstanding business contributing to Minnesota’s economy, committed to making Minnesota a better place to live and work, and meeting workplace technology needs. Also, the annual Kick Off to the Holidays on November 24 features the fire department parading Santa, kids getting Santa photos, and residents receiving free books and supper from Volunteers of America, Sleepy Eye Senior Living Campus.

Springfield Marlys Vanderwerf, Springfield Chamber/CVB The Chamber Christmas promotion begins November 12, with nearly 40 businesses taking part. Each shopper receives Jingle Bell tickets allowing a chance to win some of the $2,000 in Springfield Bucks given away. Thanksgiving weekend shoppers receive double tickets for purchases. Also, the Nativity Pageant is December 12-13 at 7:00 p.m. at Riverside Park, featuring the Christmas story and including a community choir, dancing angels, live manger scene, and live animals, even camels. See springfieldmnchamber.org.

MEET OUR NEW PRESIDENT Nick Hinz will move into the position of president of Frandsen Bank & Trust in Mankato/North Mankato on October 1. Nick will use his experience in commercial lending to continue Frandsen’s position as the leading business bank in the Mankato area. We recognize Keith Boleen for 25 years as president of FB&T. Keith will remain at the bank part-time to assist with the transition.

Stop in or call Nick or Keith to congratulate them on their new roles!

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Local Chamber & Economic Development News

Mankato

Waseca

Julie Nelson, South Central MN Small Business Dev Center

Kim Foels, Waseca Area Chamber

If you’re like a lot of business owners, you don’t like numbers, don’t understand them, and don’t pay attention as closely as you should. However, your business runs by numbers and not knowing how to interpret them means you’re flying blind. Master your numbers to make sound decisions through the course “Profit Mastery: Creating Value and Building Wealth.” This course begins November 4. Cost is $249 ($595 value). For details and to register, visit myminnsotabusiness. com/workshops-clinics.

Waseca Area Chamber held its 42nd annual Business and Industry Recognition luncheon celebrating 2014 Business of the Year honoree Lenz Lawn Care. Local manufacturers also were recognized by a Governor-signed “Certificate of Commendation.” The Chamber is leading a new program, Discover Waseca Careers, in collaboration with Waseca High, to assist high school seniors moving into a career path. The students conduct business site visits to gain more exposure to local career opportunities.

Waseca Joan Mooney, Waseca Area Tourisn & Visitor Board

Waseca Kimberly Johnson, City of Waseca

For links to all these upcoming Waseca-area events, visit discoverwaseca.com: A Touch of Country Class, The Waseca Art Center Holiday Open House and area Quilt Show and Tom Maakestad Recent Oil Paintings, Sights and Sounds of Christmas Concert, Herter’s Exhibit Holiday Open House at the Waseca County Historical Society, area restaurants, and specialty and antique shops, Story Tellers Series Boyd Huppert, Old Fashioned Ice Harvest, Sleigh and Cutter Festival and Parade.

City of Waseca and its EDA have several economic development incentives for all types and stages of business. Besides tax abatement and tax increment financing, commercial and industrial land is available for development, and revolving loan funds can provide gap financing. The EDA also has access to reduced lease rate flexible industrial and office space. Contact Kimberly Johnson, planning director, at kimj@ci.waseca.mn.us or call 835-9741. City of Waseca and Waseca EDA are equal opportunity providers.

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By Grace Webb Photo by Kris Kathmann

Fairmont native leaves and returns to help lead real estate business through trying times.

Wendy Emler learned early on about the power of a friendly smile. From her time bagging groceries at Hy-Vee to work as a nursing assistant at Fairmont Hospital, her cheerful disposition and natural friendliness have helped her form strong relationships with everyone she meets. Now, she’s using those people skills as a Realtor and broker at Century 21 Northland Realty to help her customers find their dream homes. “My dad always said it’s easier to smile, or it takes more muscles to frown, or something cheesy like that,” she said. “The smile thing must have done something for me. It’s in every kind of business, even if you don’t have to say a whole lot to a person, even if you just smile and wave. It could brighten somebody’s really bad day. The smile and how you approach somebody can make or break a lot of things.” In fact, she has grown to love her job and her customers so much she is taking over the business as its new owner. continued > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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Hometown Smile

Emler was born in Trimont, Minnesota, in 1975, the oldest of three girls. Her father worked for the County Highway Department and her mother at Fairmont Federal Savings and Loan, which led to the family moving to Fairmont when Emler was nine—and she’s been there pretty much ever since. “I’ve been in the area forever,” she said. “I was born in this hospital [in Fairmont].” Emler got her first job (“besides babysitting,” she clarified) when 13, working as a secretary in the Martin County Extension Office for the summer. “I had my own desk and everything,” she said. But Emler said her first “real job” was really when she started working at Hy-Vee when she was 15. She bagged groceries until she was 16, then moved on to customer service. During high school, she worked about 20 hours a week at the store, after school, and on weekends. She credits Hy-Vee with helping her learn how to interact with customers.

“Hy-Vee was the helpful smile in every aisle,” she said. “You have to treat things like the customer is always right, and a smile can go a very long way.” “Hy-Vee was the helpful smile in every aisle,” she said. “You have to treat things like the customer is always right, and a smile can go a very long way. The way you say something in a certain tone of voice can mean three different things. You can say it one way and you can say it without a smile; you can say the same words another way and it can mean completely different things. Overall, I think [Hy-Vee] taught you how to work with the public. You can have some really nice people out there and some people who are having a bad day, and they’re going to take it out on you whether you deserve it or not. You just have to smile and make their day better and hopefully they leave with a smile if they didn’t come in with a smile.” She said she also learned how to schedule her time while working at the store, since employees were responsible for swapping shifts if they needed time off, as well as learning how to multi-task. She worked at Hy-Vee six years, throughout high school and during college, coming back to work during summers and holidays. Working at the grocery store didn’t just teach Emler skills that would serve her for the rest of her career—it also led her to her husband, Clay. Emler said she was close friends with her co-workers, including Clay Emler, who was a grade ahead in high school. While knowing each other in school, even going on a double-date with other people, they didn’t start spending a lot of time together until at work. Then one day during Emler’s senior year, Clay asked her out (at Hy-Vee, of course). They dated about three years and married in 1996 (“so Hy-Vee was kind of a match-maker,” she said with a laugh).

Century 21 Northland Realty | Fairmont

After Clay finished fire fighter training, they moved back to Fairmont. They now live only blocks away from where her parents live. In time, both her sisters settled in Fairmont as well. “Now when you think about it, 21 was really young to get married,” she said. “Our kids (soon) are going to be grown up, and it’s just going to be the two of us, and we’re still young yet. The thought is kind of exciting, which makes timing for all of this good, too. It’s not like we’re juggling babies at home or anything. I’ve got more time to devote to the office. Things always happen how they’re supposed to. I truly believe it, after being in this business for a couple years.” When graduating high school in 1994, Emler traveled to Duluth to study occupational therapy at Duluth Technical College. Clay traveled to Duluth to study to become a fire fighter. However, after a year and a half, Emler decided to take some time off. “I always had to have a job [while studying], and it got pretty overwhelming,” she said. “I always said I’d go back and finish it, but I never did. I ended up with a good job at a bank, and that led me to this.” After Clay finished fire fighter training, they moved back to Fairmont. They now live only blocks away from where her parents live.

In time, both her sisters settled in Fairmont as well. “It’s really nice to have your whole family here,” Emler said. “My dad still works for the County Highway Department, Mom is at what is now First Farmers and Merchants Bank, and both my grandmas live in Trimont. We’ve never really gone very far away from town. We moved away and did the whole thing where you’ve got to get out of town and go far away, but when you have kids, it’s nice to come back to a small community, and a good school, and all that. Fairmont’s a nice little town. We don’t plan on going anywhere.” They also added another person to their family, son Cole, born in 1997. At first, both Emler and her husband took jobs at Avery WeighTronix, a factory that builds industrial weight systems such as truck scales and software. Clay had worked there in high school in addition to his Hy-Vee job, and he ended up taking a full-time job with the company because of its great benefits. However, Wendy Emler only stayed about a year.

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Hometown Smile

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“It’s a great company to work for, but I am more of a people person, so I needed to be interacting with people instead of making things,” she said. From Weigh-Tronix, Emler found work at Wells Federal Bank, where she stayed six years. She also started working nights and weekends at Fairmont Hospital in patient care as a certified nursing assistant. “I liked what I did, and I was pretty good at it, because I was caring,” she said. “I’m generally always a pretty happy person, and because of that, I would be so busy at work because I have a hard time saying no when asked to work extra or help out.” During this busy time, Emler moved from her teller position at the bank into helping in the loan department. She said this switch

“You have a full-time 40-hour-a-week job and all of a sudden you’re going to go full commission and not get a paycheck until you sell something. It was a hard decision to make, quite honestly.” was instrumental to her learning about real estate, and she learned property verbage such as “abstracting” and “title insurance.” “You’d see the Realtors and interact with them,” she said. “That really got me interested.” Not only that, but her mother was working for Cavers Realty, and she shared stories with her daughter about how much she enjoyed her work. “I’d ask her about all the beautiful houses I saw for sale, and it just kind of got to be where, I thought, ‘If I’m going to try this, I’d better do it now,’” Emler said. Emler said she thought long and hard about becoming a Realtor. On one hand, she was interested in the independence and flexibility offered by the job—with the birth of daughter Cori, she wanted to be able to more easily plan her work around her time

Century 21 Northland Realty | Fairmont

with her children. “The scheduling of your time, organizing of your own time, busyness, and yet freedom you’d have, that was huge,” she said. She had also always been interested in houses, especially since she and her husband had gotten used to buying a house, fixing it up, and moving on to a better purchase. “I was definitely that online house stalker,” she said. “I was always online looking at houses. The interest was already there.” On the other hand, Emler wasn’t sure about jumping into a job that only paid through commission. “It was kind of creepy to think of,” she said. “You have a full-time 40-hour-a-week job and all of a sudden you’re going to go full commission and not get a paycheck until you sell something. It was a hard decision to make, quite honestly.” But in the end, the chance for Emler to make her own schedule and have more time with family tipped the scales. “We had to sit down and ask, ‘Are we really ready to jump into this?’” she said. “And we just did it. It was kind of scary, but I love it.” To become a Realtor, Emler took three weeks of real estate classes at Kaplan Real Estate Education in St. Paul. She had to take

state and national exams to qualify. She also continued to work at Fairmont Hospital, saving money in case it took longer to build a career in real estate than she thought. She started her career working at Cavers Realty in 2004, where she worked until 2011. She said it was difficult in the beginning because she had to work on creating a base of customers that weren’t already using a different Realtor, but once she was able to find a few customers, more quickly followed. “Getting started to get your name out there, you struggle a little at first,” she said. “It can be a rough first six months or year. You might only get a sale because of a friend. But eventually your name gets out there and you know more people who are looking. Once you’ve gotten going, it’s awesome.” Emler said the more involved she became in real estate, the more she grew to enjoy her new career—even though it presented its fair share of challenges. Every day is different. Some days, she is booked from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., while on others she only comes in for the morning. Late spring through early fall is the busiest time for buying and selling property (with deals sometimes taking months to finalize), while winter is usually reserved for catching up on paperwork and continuing education.

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Hometown Smile

Emler, like all real estate agents in Minnesota, needs to take 15 hours of continuing education every year, and pass required modules to keep her license. She usually takes them at Kaplan. “Real estate is very fun,” she said. “It can be very stressful because on a lot of occasions, you’re working with a lot of different customers. You might have quite a few files going at one time that you’re trying to stay on top of. It’s an awesome, awesome career to be in, but it can be very stressful. Nothing is ever a done deal until it’s completely done and everything is signed. It’s give and take, but it’s overall very awesome.”

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In 2011, Emler felt it was time for a change, so she began working for Century 21 Realty, a bigger real estate office with more clients. By now, she had become so involved with real estate that she left her job at the hospital, since she didn’t have enough time to work in both places. When arriving at Century 21, she began working with then-owner Dale Schumann, who took her under his wing and helped train her to become a better real estate agent. “Dale was very good at training,” Emler said. “He was so awesome. We all swore he never slept—he was constantly learning. He would do probably anything for anybody, no matter what it was.” Under Schumann’s mentorship, Emler grew so much in her field he eventually suggested she take classes to become a broker—someone who supervises the other agents in the company and handles more of the company business. Real estate agents must have two years of experience before studying to become brokers, which requires a week of classwork. At first, Emler only thought about becoming a broker, but, when Schumann learned he had cancer in January 2013, he urged her to start taking classes—with the hope she would eventually take over the company when he was no longer able. “He got sick and then he said, ‘Okay, we’ve talked about this, and I hate to put this on you, but you kind of have to decide now,’” she said. “Dale thought that where Clay and I are, with our age and our family, it’d be a good fit for us to buy it from the family and be the broker—to kind of make his legacy live on. I

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think he built up a really good company and a really good following, and that took a long time. I think it would be silly to not keep it going, and that’s what he wanted.” She took the classes that March and was licensed as a broker by end of spring. After that, she started working with Schumann to become the company’s new owner. Schumann passed away in October 2013, and Emler hopes everything will be finalized for her to become Century 21’s new owner within the next few months. “It’s been a long process,” she said. “One scary part is to own something like this and have so many people under you. That is why it’s so awesome we have so many veteran agents in our office. I don’t have to worry about them so much.” Emler said she looks forward to spending more time in the office and passing more clients to other agents. “It was Dale’s philosophy to not take away from his agents working hard for his company, and I think that’s a great way to look at it,” she said. “I want to see everybody else succeed too in the office.” However, she will continue to work with her regular clients who have formed relationships with her. “You’re always going to have that because you make long-term relationships,” she said. “Buying a house is a huge deal. If people get comfortable with you, that’s nice for them to be able to come back to you.” While Emler knows there will be challenges as she starts running the company, she also knows there are great things in the company’s future. “We’re going to keep on rolling,” she said, “just like Dale would have wanted.” Grace Webb writes from Northfield.

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Very New or Re-formed Businesses or Professionals New To Our Reading Area

ST. PETER

River Valley Birth Center The daughter of two schoolteachers, 33-year-old Erika Urban is carrying on a family tradition. Rather than music and social studies, like her parents, her “teaching” involves helping women give birth to healthier babies. She opened River Valley Birth Center in March. In a Connect Business Magazine interview, she said, “My parents were also teachers of mine—and they made sure I stayed on task all the time.” After graduating from BOLD High (Olivia, Minn.) in 1999, she moved to Southern California, and over the next six years married a sailor, joined the Army National Guard, worked in a coffee shop, attended college, and began having the first two of four children. “I tend to be a little bit of a workaholic,” she said. In 2005, while in Oregon, she began working as a doula (a birth labor assistant). A year later, she started midwifery studies. She said, “We chose to have our second baby at home and when I saw the work our midwife did, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” After passing the Minnesota board exam in 2009 and becoming a midwife, she opened in March 2014 southern Minnesota’s first and only freestanding birth center. At River Valley Birth Center, part of what she does is prenatal education, spending 30-60 minutes per appointment teaching clients about pregnancy and birth processes, available tests, nutrition,

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

and occupational and health risks. She begins seeing clients about the twelfth week. Her clients give birth in her birth center or at home. She also does post-partum education. Insurance often gets billed up to $7-10k for a full slate of care. For people without insurance and paying in advance, she offers discounts. River Valley Birth Center is accredited and licensed, and most moms head home with baby within six hours after birth. She said, “I really like working through problems with a new mom to help her get off to the best start she can.” RIVER VALLEY BIRTH CENTER Address: 526 West Park Row Telephone: 507-934-1565

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HOT STARTZ!

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ST. PETER

The Fair Emporium

ART SIDNER

Family physicians Carrie and Keith Stelter grew up in Michigan and Lake Benton, Minnesota, respectively. Nothing in their backgrounds would indicate any clue they would own or manage a retail store, which explains why the opening of The Fair Emporium has been more a social cause than a business decision. In a telephone interview, 55-year-old Carrie said, “Neither of us had done retail before, but we are both interested in global health and fairness—that we all need to help each other all around the world. That’s where we come from.” The pair have been family physicians for a Connect Business Magazine area healthcare provider. About ten years ago, the Stelters became familiar with an international business called Ten Thousand Villages that, according to Stelter, had a vision “that all artisans from developing countries will earn a fair wage, be treated with dignity and respect, and live a life of quality.” She said the decision to open their retail store this September was a natural extension of their full-time work as family physicians, in which they care for patients in diverse ways over an entire life span. They are also having fun. Their building is located near Ace Hardware. She said, “We sell artisan goods made by hand and have unique family goods, gifts, jewelry, room décor, sculpture, textiles, personal accessories, and we also sell chocolate. Our

artisan goods come from places like Ghana, Kenya, Vietnam, the West Bank, Nepal, and Uganda.” Their store does not buy exclusively from Ten Thousand Villages, which has owned-and-operated outlets in Mountain Lake, Minneapolis, and St. Paul. The Stelters also buy product from a fair trade coffee company, and a Bangladesh “hats and mittens” company. “People say this store is a great fit for St. Peter,” she said. “We are so happy there is a store like this in our area. People coming in like the uniqueness and are amazed by what people can make with their hands.” THE FAIR EMPORIUM Address: 213 South Minnesota Telephone: 507-779-9647 Web: thefairemporium.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

CONNECT Business Magazine

Very New or Re-formed Businesses or Professionals New To Our Reading Area

GAYLORD

Sibley Seeds Though now a farmer and having recently opened a 6,000 sq. ft. Sibley Seeds warehouse in Gaylord, Ron Geiger wasn’t raised on a farm. His father was a businessman and high school teacher who later headed the accounting department at now-South Central College, and his mother worked for a Mankato bank. Geiger graduated from Immanuel Lutheran High in 1976, and went on to learn accounting at South Central College, in part from his father. “My dad taught me the accounting side of business, and the sales and marketing end of the (seed) business I picked up later in life, but he was influential there, too,” said 56-year-old Geiger. “My dad was also a placement director at SCC and placed students in jobs. He had a salesmanship about him. Today, I enjoy that aspect of my job, of visiting and talking with people.” After SCC, he left Mankato in 1980 for a six-month stint in California with Sears Roebuck as an internal auditor, but in his heart realized he loved to farm, which his grandparents and uncle had done. So he returned to Minnesota to help his uncle farm, and in 1986 started his own farm. Simultaneously, in 1981, he had taken an internal auditing position with a New Ulm investment firm and would work his way up over the years to become broker/dealer branch manager. Four years ago, he was at Farmfest. A friend of his who worked for Channel Seeds suggested he become involved

with his company, which he did. He left the investment firm. In September 2014, he consolidated all his Sleepy Eye seed operations—he had product at his farm and on other area farms—into a 6,000 sq. ft. Gaylord warehouse/office. At Sibley Seeds, he services most of Sibley County and parts of neighboring counties, selling primarily corn and soybean products for a Monsanto company (Channel Seed). His salesmen: Ryan Kahle, Al Hoffmann, Lucas Burgstahler and Mark Osborne. The City of Gaylord helped in procuring his building. SIBLEY SEEDS Address: 6 Eighth Street Telephone: 507-217-9576

To be considered for one of three spots in the January Hot Startz!, email the editor at editor@connectbiz.com. Businesses considered must have started—or changed greatly in form—within one year of our publishing date. Professionals chosen must be new to our reading area.

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PRESS RELEASES

To submit a press release for publication:

Email: editor@connectbiz.com Fax: 507-232-3373

Amboy Misfit Acres, a horse rescue and sanctuary, earned $14,000 from TerraCycle by recycling Angie’s Boomchickapop bags.

Blue Earth For the second year in a row, Express Diagnostics was named to Inc. magazine’s annual list of 5,000 fastest-growing companies; and the company celebrated its tenth anniversary in October. From the Chamber: new members include Broken Spike Bicycle Repair and Hometown Sanitation; Faribault County Fitness Center grand opening was Oct. 1; and Eunoia Family Resource Center, Heidi Schiltz, MS, LPCC, grand opening was Sept. 25.

Fairmont From the Chamber: new members include KRISMA Counseling, Kristine and Maurice Shoen; new businesses include 5 Crazy Ladies Boutique, Randa Simpson, Susan Duchene and Barb Brady, co-owners; Margaret Dillard is the new Chamber president; Dr. Zephanie Skow, Align Chiropractic & Acupuncture, is licensed in animal care and accepting animal patients; the Ambassador Committee awarded a

$1,000 scholarship to Cayce Lynn Craig; and University of North Dakota awarded Jonathan Warrey, Marco, the 2014 Young Alumni Achievement Award.

Gaylord Alpine Ingredients, based in Waconia, has moved its distribution center to Gaylord.

Le Center An Iowa State University study confirmed Provanco Feeds’ Farrow X1 product suppresses PEDV in hogs.

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Minnesota Valley Health Center achieved Acute Stroke Ready Hospital designation from the Minnesota Department of Health. From the Chamber: new members include SJS Mechanical, Scott Smisek, and Miller Real Estate, Katyana Miller; and Marc Chevalier is operation manager at Genesis.

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Chris Sell is the 2014 Mankato Marathon Commemorative Print contest-winning artist. Alemar Cheese Co. now offers three handcrafted cheeses and will take part in the Feast! Festival & Tradeshow in Rochester Nov. 2. City Center Partnership’s 2014 CityArt On the Go winners are Loralea Baldwin, Terri DeGezelle, Julie Johnson and Ann E. Judkins; and CCP received $10,000 from All American Foods for purchase and installation of Greg Mueller’s 9/11 Memorial Sculpture in City Center Mankato. An ACT on Alzheimer’s action team hosted a booth at the September Dementia Care Conference. Wendi Franke is guest services manager and Angel Coopman is assistant guest services manager at AmericInn Hotel & Conference Center. Digity Radio hosts the 3rd Annual Southern Minnesota Christmas Festival on Nov. 21, with proceeds going to Toys for Tots. Disabled American Veterans Lyle C. Pearson, Sr., Chapter 10 Mankato celebrated 75 years of service to veterans and their families in October. Eide Bailly new full-time employees include Kyle Krause, Anthony May and Nicole Back; interns are Kayla Cornelius and Jordan Hoppe. In preparation for a merger with Consolidated Holdings, the Enventis Board of Directors declared a special dividend of 74 cents per share of stock payable on Oct. 15. El Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant’s truck began serving Mexican food throughout the area on Sept. 4. Greg Thoen, Ameriprise Financial,

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achieved Circle of Success recognition. Capstone partnered with Northland Ford Dealers and the Minnesota Vikings to provide the book Goodnight Football during Vikings Training Camp in Mankato. Randy Reimers, Computer Technology Solutions, completed the HP Industry Standard Server Support certification; and Xac Dinsmore achieved Apple Certified Mac Technician status. Enterprise Machining celebrated its 100th anniversary and its ISO 9001:2008 certification in September. Farrish Johnson Law Office attorneys named 2014 Minnesota Super Lawyers are Scott V. Kelly, William S. Partridge, and Randall J. Knutson; 2014 Rising Stars are Aaron J. Glade and Daniel J. Bellig; and Nicole M. Feltault is an attorney on staff. Nick Hinz is president of Frandsen Bank & Trust. Habitat for Humanity of Southern Minnesota received $500 from Shopko Foundation. Andy Cramblit is sales and leasing consultant at Heintz Toyota. I&S Group was named to the 2014 ZweigWhite Hot Firm List of fastestgrowing architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms in North America. Key City Sertoma Club donated funds to MSU Speech & Hearing Clinic, Camp Sertoma, ISD77, and Dollars for Scholars. Mankato Clinic’s Children’s Health Center opened Sept. 15, partnering with Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare and Pediatric Therapy Services; and Mankato Clinic’s Dr. Preman Singh was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to conduct Alzheimer’s research and to teach at Laval University,

Quebec, Canada. Minnesota State University Foundation presented Volunteer of the Year Award to businessman Curt Fisher and Corporate Philanthropic Partner of the Year award to Enventis and its foundation.

MANKATO

Blue Earth County Historical Society The Blue Earth County Historical Society will shine a spotlight on businesses in Blue Earth County on March 20, 2015, when its annual Surrounded by History fundraising event looks at ‘Built in Blue Earth County.’ Not only will products that are or have been manufactured in Blue Earth County towns be highlighted, but so will other products and natural resources with origins here. Named sponsors are being sought, and information is being gathered. If you are interested in learning more or having your business included, contact Mike Lagerquist at mikelagerquist@gmail.com.

A $100,000 grant from Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute and Wells Concrete Products funds a new MSU precast and prestressed concrete program. Dr. Paul Matson, Orthopedic and Fracture Clinic, received the Minnesota Medical

Association Distinguished Service Award. Eric Sahnow, AIA, is a Registered Architect with Oleson & Hobbie Architects. CPA Kimberly Ackerman is a senior accountant at Swanson Hinsch & Co. Jessica Mae, WarPaint International Beauty Agency, expanded her Twin Cities business to the Mankato area. Inducted into the Loyola Catholic School new Activities/Athletic Hall of Fame: Dewey Mettler, Bret Brielmaier, Tyler Westman, Gwen Frederick, Mary Beth Sinclair, Karen Dimler (Burtzel), Wayne Haefner, Ron Wright, Doug Peterson, and Sara Holden. From Greater Mankato Growth: New members include: Freedom Home Care, Pieology Pizzeria, Charlie’s Appliance, Dunkin’ Donuts, American Heart Association, India Palace, Womeninc, Labor Ready, Rounders Sports Bar & Grill, and Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota; Richelle Ballenger is marketing and communications assistant; and the Mankato-North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area experienced a 2.6 percent growth rate in year-over-year numbers, with 54,356 jobs in August.

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PRESS RELEASES

and Industry recognized Firmenich’s manufacturing facility as a Minnesota Star safety worksite. Steven J. Peterson is the commercial plumbing and HVAC project manager and estimator for GSM, Inc., Schanus-Gag and Isakson-Gag. From the Chamber: new members include Brown County Habitat for Humanity.

North Mankato Business on Belgrade will purchase the sculpture “Rock Ants Roll” to complement its Blues on Belgrade event. Enventis donated student scholarships of $8,000 to South Central College Foundation and $2,000 to the Faribault campus; the SCC North Mankato Campus Foundation presented more than $228,000 in scholarships to 267 students; and SCC received a $15 million U.S. Department of Labor grant for advanced manufacturing education. Tim Ray and Todd Tanhoff, Computer

Technology Solutions, earned the Hewlett Packard ExpertOne Network Solutions and Services Certification; and the company is a Citrix Silver partner for 2015.

St. James St. James Electric received a Distinguished Dealer Award from Terra-Therm Inc. From the Chamber: Jennifer Langbehn, D.O., Mayo Clinic Health System, was recognized for 15 years service; Dr. Emily Birkholz provides laser treatments for glaucoma patients; David Krzmarzick is a St. James Police Force officer; and Steve Sunde, Sunde, Olson, Kircher and Zender, was selected 2014 Super Lawyer by Law and Politics.

St. Peter River’s Edge Hospital was awarded a Total Care Quality Score of 95 out of a possible 100 points by the Minnesota

Department of Health. From the Chamber: new members include ECS-Your Wiring Pros, River Valley Woman, CreativeInsight Consultants, River Valley Birth Center, Sweet Shoppe Express, The Fair Emporium, SouthPoint Federal Credit Union, and Berger Interiors. Also, the St. Peter Business Expo is 2-6 p.m. Nov. 6 at Johnson Hall.

Waseca From the Chamber: New members include Waseca Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Jaye Sopkowiak, Touch of Country Class Boutique, and Thrivent Financial, Diane Beckmann; new businesses include Summer House Farm; the Progress Award was presented to NextGenRF, Waseca Area Food Shelf, QC Supply, and Waseca Postmaster Dave Lynch; and Olde World Optical patient and optical records are at Monson Eyecare Center.

TH 14/CR 41 Interchange Improvements, City of North Mankato The Highway 14 project in North Mankato will improve access along the corridor, reduce congestion, and improve safety and mobility. MnDOT has designed three roundabouts associated with the TH 14/CSAH 41 interchange project in North Mankato. Bolton & Menk was hired by MnDOT to provide signing, striping and lighting design for the roundabouts.

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NATIONAL OPINION

Bipartisanship in Washington is not quite dead. Republicans and Democrats both praised the Department of Energy’s approval in September of two new liquid natural gas export projects. With Russian gas exports to Europe slowing, and Russia solidifying its hold on eastern Ukraine, more approvals should be in the pipeline. But bureaucratic red tape from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency resulted in two dozen pending applications for natural gas exports, some from 2011. America has enough gas for itself and for export. About a third of natural gas in North Dakota is wasted. The U.S. spot price for natural gas is about $3.90 per

million British Thermal Units, compared with $9.14 per million BTUs for Europe. The differential has been higher in the past, making exports worthwhile. Last week the Department of Energy allowed Sempra U.S. Gas & Power’s Cameron LNG to export 1.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to non-Free Trade Agreement countries. Cameron’s application was filed on December 21, 2011. At the same time, Carib Energy was granted permission to export a far smaller volume, 40 million cubic feet per day, to Central and South America. Carib’s application was filed on October 20, 2011. Both Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Mary Landrieu and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski issued statements praising the approvals. Landrieu said, “Cameron LNG will create thousands of high-paying jobs in Southwest Louisiana, open new markets for American producers, and position the United States as an energy superpower. Today’s decision means we can put shovels in the ground immediately and begin exporting this game-changing resource around the world.” According to Murkowski, “I have long advocated for expediting federal approval of increased natural gas exports. The

economic and energy security benefits of exporting LNG to our friends and allies are straightforward and irrefutable.” Two days after the Energy Department approvals, the Wall Street Journal reported that central and eastern Europe are anticipating energy shortages because Russia is reducing the flow of gas. Russia has cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, so Ukraine is taking gas from supplies intended for Europe. Europe is substanDiana tially dependent on Furchtgott-Roth Russian gas. Germany gets 37 percent of its gas from Russia, and Poland gets 59 percent. Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are completely dependent on Russian natural gas. Testifying before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last March, Lithuania’s Minister of Energy Jaroslav Neveroviè said, “At present, we are completely-100 percent-dependent upon [a] single supplier of natural gas and, as a result, are forced to pay a political price for this vital energy resource.... The United States, with your enormous natural gas resources and highly developed

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infrastructure, has the kind of liquid market that Europe is trying mightily to achieve.” Neveroviè explained that the European Union has 22 LNG import terminals that are now only minimally-used. Lithuania is building the first large-scale import terminal in Klaipëda on the Baltic Sea that will be completed at the end of the year. The terminal will be able to be shared by neighbors, including Latvia and Poland, when supplies of natural gas come from the United States. Where is the natural gas? U.S. companies have to get approval from the Energy Department to export natural gas to countries with which America does not have a Free Trade Agreement. About two dozen applications to export national gas to non-Free Trade Agreement countries are at the Energy Department, waiting for approval. In August the process was speeded up, so that DOE issues a final rather than a conditional ruling on whether the project is in the public interest after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has completed an environmental review. The FERC process is slow and convoluted. At its core is an Environmental Impact Statement that requires approval from multiple agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy

Department, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. The application by Freeport LNG to build an export terminal in Texas to export 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day has an Environmental Impact Statement approved in July 2014 that stretches to 594 pages. The original application was filed in August 2012. Companies can pay up $100 million for these statements, which are required by the National Environmental Policy Act, signed into law by President Richard Nixon on January 1, 1970. Once FERC has produced the statement, the Energy Department can issue its final rulings on whether exports are in the public interest. Freeport LNG will likely be the next project to be approved. Surely we can do better. These delays are weakening the American economy and leaving our allies out in the cold. A 2014 study by NERA Economic Consulting, “Updated Macroeconomic Impacts of LNG Exports from the United States,” concludes that competition from U.S. natural gas could reduce Russia’s natural gas export revenues by 30 percent in 5 years, and 60 percent over the long term. David Montgomery, a senior economist at NERA and an author of the study,

concluded in testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in March that “However rapidly LNG exports actually grow over the next few years, a strategy of maximizing U.S. oil and natural gas production by removing unreasonable constraints and obstacles and of pre-authorizing exports without any quantitative cap will have a long run effect of weakening the Russian economy.” Speeding up exports would be a win for America and a win for Europe. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, is a Manhattan Institute for Policy Research senior fellow. First appeared in RealClearMarkets.com.

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