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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The Story of Dr. Scott Stevens Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic surgeon Dr. Scott Stevens grew up in several different cities in eastern Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Bettendorf, and Eldridge. His father was a high school principal and later a school superintendent. On September 30, 2007, Stevens ran his first marathon in honor of his father, who only six years earlier had passed away on September 30. I have been fascinated with marathon running since Frank Shorter won marathon gold at the 1972 Olympics and placed second at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. When running your first marathon, you are in unknown territory in terms of exerting yourself for three or four hours. You have to have the physical and mental focus and drive not only to get through, but also to do the training required.

Scott Stevens, M.D.

Before beginning training for the 2007 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, my first marathon, I wouldn’t have called myself a runner. I had been running only up to three miles maybe two times a week just to stay in shape. I ran that particular marathon because of it being held on the anniversary of my father’s death from Hodgkin’s disease. He meant a lot to me, and was a role model and confidante. By running, I raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, too. Now in 2013 after just having run my seventh marathon, I have a clearer understanding of what athletes go through when they come in with sports injuries. I have some idea how hard they’ve worked and how disappointing the injury can be. I believe this gives me a high degree of empathy about what many of my patients go through. Dr. Scott Stevens has been an OFC orthopedic surgeon since 1999. In September 2013, he completed the Quad Cities Marathon. He is another locally based surgeon at the Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic, an independent and locally owned practice.

Mankato, Faribault, Hutchinson, Northfield and 14 outreach clinics. 15 physicians and 110 employees.

507-386-6600

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

Contents

THE MAGAZINE FOR GROWING BUSINESSES IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA

COVER STORY

Palettes For The Palate

Associate Editor: Carlienne Frisch Art Director/Staff Photographer: Kris Kathmann Advertising Manager: Steve Persons Contributing Photographers: Steve Seifried, Art Sidner Contributing Writers: Ronald Bailey, Daniel Mitchell Production: Becky Wagner Josh Swanson

PROFILES

Circulation: Becky Wagner

Printing: Corporate Graphics, N. Mankato Mailing: Midwest Mailing, Mankato

Family Care

Cover Photo: Kris Kathmann

CIRCULATION 8,800 for November/December 2013 Published bimonthly

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

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

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

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COLUMNS

Editor’s Letter Off-The-Cuff

Publisher: Jeffry Irish Editor: Daniel J. Vance

Wash Cycle

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS

EDITOR’S LETTER

Homegrown Businesses Our November/December issue showcases independent, locally owned business owners successfully battling large chains and franchises. All of them have their winsome ways. Our cover story features Natasha O’Hara, Christopher Person, and Patrick Person, who co-own and operate Mankato Independent Originals. Their business menu includes Number 4 American Bar & Kitchen, Dino’s New York Style Pizzeria, Neighbor’s Italian Bistro, Tavern on the Avenue, and Absolute Custom Catering. Their Mankato and North Mankato restaurants and catering service employ 150, and have been attracting customers far and wide. Also, our company profiles feature Dan’s Appliance of Fairmont, co-owned by a talented family trio selling and servicing the familiar appliance lines of Amana, Maytag, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Samsung, LG, and more; and Bruss-Heitner Funeral Homes of Wells and Bricelyn, which has an energetic and creative owner. Both these companies—Dan’s Appliance and Bruss-Heitner—reel in a substantial amount of business from north-central Iowa customers. May you enjoy reading our latest effort. Sursum ad summum,

Daniel J. Vance Editor

DOING MORE I&S Group is doing more. For our clients. For our community. For our environment. To see who has joined us, we invite you to turn to page 43.

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HEINTZ TEAM MEMBER PROFILE

Laurie Danberry Sales Representative

Laurie Danberry grew up in Elysian, and graduated from Waterville Elysian High School in 1978. From there she went on to major in early childhood education at Minnesota State, Moorhead. She began as a sales representative at Heintz Toyota 26 years ago after interviewing with Max, and later, Ben Heintz. Over the years, she has had some “crazy” days selling at Heintz Toyota, but none more so than one day in 1995.

“That day I sold a Camry over the telephone to a customer in New Ulm. I was about to drive their Camry out to them when I received a telephone call from a different customer in New Ulm, who also wanted to buy a Camry.

My customers often say that I’m never alone in my office sitting still.

“So I drove the first customer’s car out Highway 14 to New Ulm, finished the paperwork at that customer’s home, and drove their trade-in Camry over to the second customer’s house, where I finished the paperwork on the sale of that Camry. On the way driving back Highway 14 to Mankato, I suddenly remembered that a certain customer in Nicollet wanted to purchase a used Camry and so I stopped over at his house to show him what I was driving. He liked that Camry and bought it on the spot. He then drove me back to Mankato to complete the paperwork. It’s a fast-paced business. My customers often say that I’m never alone in my office sitting still.” As for her personal life: “My husband, Wayne, and I have four grandchildren and one coming soon. I should also mention my boys Jeramy and Mathew because they say I never mention them. I also raised my nephew and niece, Steven and Jacklyn, after my brother Curtis passed away.”

387-1148 heintztoyota.com Serving Southern Minnesota drivers for 50 years.

Mankato Independent Originals owners Chris Person, Natasha O'Hara and Patrick Person

By Daniel J. Vance Photo by Kris Kathmann

Independent restaurant owners compete by seasoning well-done locations to area tastes and preferences.

Lightly run fingertips over the adjective-laden menu at swank Number 4 American Bar & Kitchen inside downtown Mankato’s art deco Landkamer Building and you might first discover the creative “Nicoise” salad, which features pan seared Yellowfin tuna, herbed fingerling potatoes, haricot verts, hard cooked eggs, kalamata olives, mixed greens, and lemon thyme vinaigrette. The entire menu seems an artist’s palette for the palate, a gastronome’s delight. The proprietors of this special establishment are Natasha O’Hara, Christopher Person, and Patrick Person, co-owners of Mankato Independent Originals, which encompasses Number 4 American Bar & Kitchen, Dino’s New York Style Pizzeria, Neighbor’s Italian Bistro, Tav on the Ave, and Absolute Custom Catering. The five Mankato and North Mankato businesses employ 150. Their four restaurants aren’t plug-and-play franchises, but custom-made, independent eateries drawing on the unique experiences of three custom-made owners. They paint and patent their stand-alone restaurants as Van Gogh would signature a canvas. In part, one fountain of their restaurant knowledge can be traced to Adrian’s, which began in 1975 on South Riverfront under the Person brothers’ parents John and Adrian and later became Neighbor’s Italian Bistro. The other fountain can be traced to Natasha’s late father, Marvin. The Persons began partnering with O’Hara in 2005 at the opening of Dino’s New York Style Pizzeria, and the rest has been gastronomic history. In 2010, Mankato Independent Originals was inducted into the Greater Mankato Growth Business Hall of Fame. Christopher Person is the only restaurant owner in the Connect Business Magazine reading area currently serving on the Minnesota Restaurant Association board of directors. continued > NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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I’ve interviewed many restaurant franchisees. They generally are told what to do by the franchise. On the other hand, you have to reinvent the wheel every time you open a new restaurant. How do you go about doing it? Pat: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We could have gone to Owatonna, for example, and opened a Tav on the Ave there and done well. But opening in Owatonna, because we are so hands on, would have been much harder than opening a restaurant in Mankato with a different concept. Tasha: We ourselves have a personal interest in our items and concepts. For example, we all love pizza—and so we opened Dino’s. We love steaks and seafood—so we opened Number 4.

“The advantage we have over chains is we don’t need to call Kansas City to change the music or the inside temperature. If our customers want something different, it can be on the menu tomorrow.”—Chris Person Pat: When Chris and I opened Tav on the Ave in 1988, I was 22 and he was 24. As people, we were young, looking for a bar with food, and wanted to watch sports. At the time, no Mankato bar sold food after ten at night. So we served a full menu of food open to close—because that’s what we would have wanted personally. It was a little different with Neighbor’s, which used to be Adrian’s. It was April 2000, my dad had passed away, and one Sunday night at dinner our mom said she was done working at the restaurant. She literally walked away from a restaurant she had owned for years.

Mankato Independent Originals

You didn’t know she would walk out? Pat: It just happened. If you want the restaurant, she said, go in tomorrow and take over. We had to figure out how to compete with the chains opening then. We couldn’t do what they were doing. In Mankato then there was a void with Italian food. Chris: She had been in the restaurant industry her whole life and it had become hard for her. The fun was gone. Pat: Some people think their dream is to open a bar or restaurant until they open one. It’s hard work. She had done it since age 12, when she began working for her mom at The Coffee Cup on Second Street. Chris: The advantage we have over chains is we don’t need to call Kansas City to change the music or the inside temperature. If our customers want something different, it can be on the menu tomorrow. Tasha: It’s our independence. Chris: They’re battleships. We’re speedboats. Pat: We’re in touch with the industry, go to seminars, and hear owners talk about what they’re doing. Six months later what they talked about shows up in the chains. The chains are six months behind independent restaurants.

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Yet so much of what you go off has to be gut feeling. You don’t have the multi-million dollar research budget of a chain. Tasha: I agree with you on gut feeling. You have to feel it, know you can do it, and have to have confidence in doing it. As for Dino’s opening in 2006, the three of us had to know what to do. We had that feeling, took it, and had the confidence to run with it. Chris: Same with Number 4. It was developed during a bad economic time. The year 2009 was the worst possible time to start Number 4, especially after another restaurant had failed in the same location. Chris: With Number 4, we had a fouryear vision of developing the business and put a lot of money into it. We put money into Dino’s too, but Pat and I owned the building.

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Pat: We also had equipment in storage to open Dino’s, which came from the Corner Malt Shoppe, which our mom and dad used to own, Neighbor’s, and Tav on the Ave. Our family dining room table from my parents’ house is at Dino’s. Tasha: We changed the plans at Number 4 maybe ten times during construction. For example, we were going to have a coffee shop in front and a bar on the side. We decided to go 100 percent bar. Pat: We were thinking how much fun a coffee shop would be. Finally, we looked at each other and realized we shouldn’t be doing it for the fun. Tasha: We also thought how gorgeous those windows were at the front of Number 4. Why not keep that area open and not blocked off with a coffee shop? Chris: So at the last minute right before the bar was ordered, our contractor Dave Pfeffer said, Why not move the bar? In comparing what we do to chains, I call it magic. It takes magic to do these places. We’ve seen many chains close in Mankato over the years: Ground Round, TGI Fridays, Quizno’s, Famous Dave’s, Hardee’s, Green Mill, and more. They were heavy hitters and put money into advertising and promotions. We competed with them. We have always had to be as good as what they come to town with. Years ago, I interviewed someone for this cover who said one key to success with a franchise was having local ownership, where the owner worked in the business or was close by. Do you agree? Pat: The chains blow into town. We go to charity events, but don’t see the owners of hardly any of the chains there. But they are doing business. The Free Press puts the Olive Garden above the fold to announce they are coming to town. They get that kind of free advertising. When Starbuck’s changes the size of a coffee they get free national advertising. Their owners don’t need to be here. We draw a clientele that likes to meet each of us at our restaurants. They really think it’s neat to meet an owner. That’s why we didn’t go to Owatonna with Tav on the Ave or expand to the Twin Cities. We can’t physically be there. Give examples of relationships with customers. Chris: Tasha could talk about that more. She’s more the hugger and birthday girl. We celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings. It’s fun to get to know people and to hear their life stories. Tasha: Two couples set up their engagements at Dino’s—one in a booth, the other at the front window. So we dedicated the booth to one, and the table to the other. They have their stories up, and pictures, and come back to make special announcements. One now has two children, and the other has twins and sends email updates. We enjoy creating experiences for customers. It brings me so much joy to see customers happy when they leave. Pat and Chris, what was it like growing up in a family owning a restaurant? Chris: We started working at a young age, and were required

Mankato Independent Originals

to be there after school to mop the floor of five-booth, 13-stool Adrian’s Cafe. We liked being there, it felt like home, and the food was good. You couldn’t get a better beef commercial. That’s where the core of our family spent time. Even then, we learned work came first before play. What else did you learn from them? Pat: My dad was a good people person, but not as good at managing. Mom handled the money and was usually the one to drop the hammer. Drop the hammer? Pat: If an employee had to be fired, my dad wouldn’t do it. He’d go to my mom outside the restaurant and tell her what had happened and she’d take care of it. She was the creative one that came up with the menu ideas. Everyone thought my dad did it because he was the cook. We’d go places on vacation, for instance, where my mom would learn about menu ideas. Give an example of her doing that. Chris: Quesadillas. We all went to Mazatlan 30 years ago, and afterward my mom began putting quesadillas and chili on the menu. Pat: People called them quesadillas (kay-suh-dilluhs) back then. Chris: When Pat and I were opening Tav on the Ave in 1988, the first two weeks we just served cocktails to get our feet under us while finishing the kitchen. Two nights before opening the kitchen, we had this item on the menu and asked our mom what to put in it. She rattled of all kinds of things off the top of her head, such as a cup of this, a cup of that, a bit of shrimp, use this crab stuff, put some dill in, put it on an English muffin, and put cheese over it. We called it the blackjack melt. It’s not on our menu today, but was in the Star Tribune as a requested recipe. My mom brought buffalo chicken wings to Mankato after reading a recipe in a magazine. Does she still help out? Patrick and Chris: Oh no. Tasha: She retired. Pat: The smoke still hasn’t cleared from the street from when she ran to get away from Adrian’s. (Laughter.) Those last few years, she was involved only because of Dad. He wouldn’t wind down. He just worked, worked, worked. She will give suggestions now, but the industry has changed. Chris: I call her every year on St. Patrick’s Day to ask her what goes in the Irish stew. I have it written down, but still ask her. For me, that’s part of the fun. What she says changes from time to time because she cooks by taste, not recipe.

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You think you’ll ever walk away—like your mom did? Do you feel like that some days? Pat: Some days I do. Some days you work 14 hours and are running circles around 21-year-old employees complaining about how their NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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back and feet hurt. Some days I feel like they are making more money than I am. Some days I just want to leave. Chris: I definitely feel like my mom some days. I want to still feel good about it and still have the passion. I’ve seen owners that wait too long. Their business has gone downhill and they’ve rolled everything back in to keep it going. I don’t want to get to that point. We’ve done things to stop burnout. We have to hire the right people. We have to work with each other. What else do you do to stop burnout? Chris: We take time off, but probably not enough. Tasha: When it’s time to take time off, you take it. If you need to go on a vacation, you go. We have to communicate. Pat: We’ve all invented our job. Right now Tasha has thrown herself into catering, which is different than what she had been doing. I’ve taken over the training and marketing. We have a marketing and human resources staff to do some tasks. If you have four restaurants, and get burned out at one, you can always go to another and feel better about your day. Chris: We hired Randy Rigdon as director of operations less than two years ago. I looked at what he was making and we all talked about how we couldn’t afford him. Then we did the interview and started talking about how we couldn’t afford not to hire him. He has taken over many things we don’t like, such as hiring, multiple interviews with each potential employee, training, and helping our management team improve. Tasha: He and others are doing things that need doing. It would burn us out having to do all that on top of everything else. That has helped us expand and become better. Chris: We were all doing things we hated. (Laughter.) When we hired Randy, Tasha, Pat, and I gave everything we hated to him. We felt relieved. He was magic. What about your background, Natasha? Tasha: Before moving to Mankato, I

CONNECT Business Magazine

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

Mankato Independent Originals

worked in restaurants for family friends in Palatine and Barrington, Illinois. Chris: She needs to tell you she was fired. Tasha: (Laughter.) The “mean” brother fired me from Tav on the Ave. (Laughter.) Pat: I don’t know who the mean one could be. (Laughter.) What happened? Tasha: In 1995, I was hired as a server at Tav on the Ave. Shortly after being hired, I took off a weekend to see my mother in Chicago and went on to New York for family issues. When I came back, I saw the schedule and noticed a “T” next to my name. That meant I had been terminated. I really wanted this job, and went to talk to the “nice” brother first, but he wasn’t there. So I knocked on the “mean” brother’s door. Slowly it opened. I took a deep breath, and said, “I want my job back.” I had to promise I would uphold the policies and not be late again. And now here we are.

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“He was an extreme fighter. He went an extra 12 years and never gave up. He said he lived to watch us grow. I work hard because that is what my father would want me to do.”—Tasha O’Hara,

of her father, who was diagnosed with cancer when O’Hara was 3.

I grew up with family friends that owned restaurants, including a pizzeria. I graduated from high school in 1991 and went to community college there full-time. I loved the restaurant industry, knew I would do something in it, but didn’t know how that would evolve. When my father passed away in 1992, I quit school. My mom said I had to get back to school. I said, fine. I’m going to Minnesota State. NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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Mankato Independent Originals

What happened to your father? Tasha: I was three when he was diagnosed with cancer, and even though given only four years to live, he lived 16. (Silence.) Your dad fighting cancer must have been a big part of your life. Tasha: Huge. (Silence, tears.) His name was Marvin, which is my son’s middle name. He taught me hard work. He said you have to work to get what you want. What I am today is because of him. My parents were amazing. They were a beautiful loving couple, and both worked very hard. There wasn’t a day they didn’t work hard. The sense of life being temporary must have always there with your father. Tasha: He was an extreme fighter. He went an extra 12 years and never gave up. He said he lived to watch us grow. I work hard because that is what my father would want me to do. The day I turned 15 he made me get a job at a local grocery store as a bagger. At 16, when I got my license, he said I had to make more money in order to fill the tank on the car and pay insurance. I became a checker. So when coming to Mankato, I worked at Tav on the Ave six years, including three as a manager.

Why leave? Tasha: Family friends opening a pizzeria in Chicago offered me an opportunity. So we moved. But the pizzeria didn’t open. They opened a car dealership instead, where my husband worked. We weren’t happy there. Mankato was home and we wanted to come home. We moved back in 2003. It’s the community I always wanted. As Chris said earlier, I’m a social bug. I love talking with and seeing people, and it’s fun running into people at the Mall or gas station. How did Dino’s get started from your end? Tasha: (Laughter.) Chris and Pat knew I had a passion for opening a pizzeria. They had the same passion. They had been researching it a couple years before I came back. I was at the YMCA one day when Pat walked up. We had stayed friends. At a meeting later, he said he wanted to open a pizza place, but didn’t want to be manager. I didn’t stop talking for 20 minutes. They knew I wanted to be a partner. That’s when my dream started coming true. You are three very different people. My guess is there is tension

sometimes between you because of those differences. What was the last big thing you argued about? Pat: We don’t argue about big things. That’s not how we work. We discuss, put out our side, and try convincing the others. Chris: Then you go with it, and leave united. Is it a 2-1 vote sometimes? Tasha: Sometimes. Chris: But it’s mostly 3-0. We often let each other do what they want as a trial. Pat: If it’s something I feel strongly about, they say go for it. Digging your feet in and refusing to change isn’t productive, especially if one person is passionate about an idea. Sometimes I say don’t include me, but I’ll let you do it. Sometimes we just get sick of seeing each other and go on a trip to get away. Chris goes to the lake, I ride my motorcycle, and Tasha does her thing. So part of your success is in how you’ve learned to get along. Pat: He’s my brother. We lived in the same room for years. We had to learn compromise. Chris: I’m still training him. (Laughter.) It never ends.

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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“It’s the new way of doing prohibition. They are raising taxes to get you to stop drinking. So in the future you will come in, have a great meal, and drink only one glass of great wine.”—Chris Person, of state legislature efforts to raise alcohol taxes.

Pat: At Tav on the Ave, for years, he and I basically cooked every day at lunch. Then it got busier and busier. Around the time we needed a remodel, we knew we could push the other guy only so much before he would throw down his spatula, leave, and you would be cooking alone.

come back the next day to work through it.

You need each other. Tasha: I look at them not only as business partners, but also as family. They bicker, and I do it too, but they are like brothers. We don’t have screaming matches. Chris: Partnerships can be difficult, but we make it look easy sometimes. We’ve known of brothers going into business as partners and years later still aren’t talking to each other. However, there are days when I go out the front door, he goes out the back, and we

Are you set up as four separate companies or one? Pat: Four separate companies. As for Obamacare, though, it doesn’t matter if our companies are separate because they have “similar” ownership. Obamacare will affect our part-timers most because of their being unable to work more than 30 hours a week. We’ve had some people working 20 hours at one location and 20 at another. They will now be limited to how much they can work. They will lose out. We can’t afford to pay their health insurance because it’s

CONNECT Business Magazine

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

How many employees do you have? Chris: 150.

Mankato Independent Originals

not in our margins. Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Minnesota is one of seven states that doesn’t have a tip credit. We have servers earning minimum wage but make over $30 an hour with tips. Most of that is cash. When I say there are days when they make more than me—there are.

Palettes For The Palate

Getting to know you:

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Palettes For The Palate

You’re on the Minnesota Restaurant Association board, Chris. What are the big issues there? Chris: Minimum wage is a big issue. Just like the cigarette tax last year, a liquor tax increase is coming up probably next year. There is also sales tax on equipment purchases—another issue. Pat: Another issue is the legal alcohol limit going from .08 to .06. Chris: That legal limit really would be problematic for a 110-pound woman ordering a glass of wine, for example. She won’t really know where she’s at in terms of blood alcohol level and so won’t drink. Those are the main issues. Pat: When I say there is no tip credit here, what I’m saying is Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota have one. The minimum wage there is between $2.35 and $3.35 for servers. We are at $7.25 or whatever we go to. Chris: We’ve not figured out how this will affect us. All our back-of-house people are already paid more than that already. It’s the front-of-the-house that make minimum wage. We don’t want to take wage away from anyone in the front, but our servers do really well. We have busy locations. If in your shoes with a minimum wage hike, I might consider laying off someone from the front. Pat: You can’t do that because the people out front sell your product. You have to have them to sell. There are lots of people wanting $30 per hour jobs, though. The people in the back working hard in the heat—not many people want those jobs. A liquor tax: Where is that right now? Pat: They were trying to raise the liquor tax about 500 percent. People don’t understand that when we buy liquor we already pay a tax and when we sell it we also charge a sales tax higher than the regular sales tax. So the state is getting two taxes. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out if you raise prices too much people will drink less

Mankato Independent Originals

and tax revenues will go down. Tasha: People will drink at their homes. Pat: That’s why we continually focus on our food quality. For example, we patty our own burgers at Tav on the Ave. Could we buy cheaper frozen burgers already pattiedout? Of course. Our business is becoming less and less about alcohol. Chris: It’s the new way of doing prohibition. They are raising taxes to get you to stop drinking. So in the future you will come in, have a great meal, and drink only one glass of great wine. I interviewed the owner of Dan’s Appliance in Fairmont for this issue. He said his biggest fear in business was another September 11 event. Chris: When the Afghanistan war broke out about 2002, it was like we were in the middle of a blizzard. No one came in. Pat: We have many things we could fear. Meningitis isn’t good for business. 100-degree heat isn’t good for business. The patio gets real slow when it’s that hot. (Laughter.) Blizzards on New Year’s Eve aren’t good either. That business is gone and will never come back. I don’t have any control over the weather, Iraq or meningitis. I only have control over our four walls at each place. Did anyone say you were crazy starting Number 4? You came in with a bad economy. The restaurant here before had closed down. When you opened, I thought you would be closed within two years. Pat: Nobody said that to our face. Chris: As part of our opening strategy, we offered a VIP card to about 15 select people, who wrote checks to us for a large amount of money. We put those checks in our account. We let them use the VIP card at any of our restaurants. They didn’t have to wait in line. That brought influential people into our restaurants and created a buzz. Tasha: They were mini-partners helping us. Did you think you would fail? Tasha: I didn’t. Pat: There are times, yes. I get that feeling

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Palettes For The Palate

every morning when I wake up and think which restaurant will fail. It’s not one thing that makes you fail, it’s 100 little things, so you’re constantly trying to fix little things to make your place better. Chris: The Tav was done on an SBA loan. When first starting, we had to come up with sales projections. We’ve never had a sales day as low as our minimum projections. But we didn’t know that then. We were wondering if we’d ever make the minimum projections. We were scared. The same thing happened with Dino’s. That place is tapped out. We didn’t build it to do what it’s doing now. What well-known people have eaten in your restaurants? Chris: Ted Nugent and his band came to Number 4 after a concert. Pat: I get Justin Morneau at Neighbor’s regularly.

Tasha: We get President Davenport at Dino’s. Chris: We get Clark Judge with CBS Sports during Vikings camp at Number 4. He gave us a “Top Two” places to eat for NFL training camps. Pat: Zygi Wilf brings people to Neighbor’s. The first week Number 4 opened, we had Jim Marshall, the ex-Viking. Where do you go from here? Tasha: Our catering company is our fifth business. It gives people one place to contact all four restaurants. We have become the Minnesota Vikings caterer of choice. We have served two to 3,500 people. We do catering at Chankaska Creek Winery. Catering is now five percent of our total business. Chris: As for the future, there are times we’d like to start another place. It takes that magic. It takes all our great employees

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Mankato Independent Originals Phone: 507-382-2133 Web: MankatoIndependentOriginals.com Web: AbsoluteCateringMankato.com

and management stepping forward. It takes someone like Tasha. There are opportunities downtown, lower North, and upper North. We have dreams. But there are only so many hours in a day. Pat: Independent restaurants give this town personality. There is only one Number 4, Dino’s, Neighbor’s, and Tav on the Ave. Editor Daniel J. Vance writes from Vernon Center.

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Business Person of the Year Award Look for the winner on the cover of the January, 2014 issue! Previous Winners: 2013: Wayne Kahler – Kahler Automation 2012: Dan & Angie Bastian – Angie’s Kettle Corn 2011: John Roise – Lindsay Window & Door 2010: Pamela J. Year – MRCI 2009: John Finke – HickoryTech 2008: Jeff Thom – All American Foods 2007: Roxie Mell-Brandts – Jensen Transport 2006: Bob Weerts – Blue Valley Sod 2005: Milt Toratti – Riverbend Center for Enterprise Facilitation 2004: Lorin Krueger – Winland Electronics

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1 YEAR AGO

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 Mike and Cathy Brennan of Brennan Companies (Mankato) appeared on our cover. Their introduction began: “If a tee shirt were made that read ‘All I Learned About Business I Learned in Cedar Rapids,’ Mike and Cathy Brennan of Mankato-based Brennan Companies likely would buy a gross.” Companies profiled: Diane Norland of WholeLifeLeadership (North Mankato) and Corporate Graphics Commercial (North Mankato). Memorable quote: “I’m used to being different because I went into what used to be a man’s profession—accounting. (As a couple) we’re used to being different. We really enjoy being around all kinds of people with all kinds of experiences.”— Cathy Brennan. 5 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008 Our cover story was Jonathan Zierdt of Greater Mankato Growth. Companies profiled: Madelia Optometric and Vienna Woodworks (Waseca). Memorable quote: “To me, integrity is just trying to be real, true to yourself, and honest— and if you are all that, you won’t end up in difficult situations.”—Jonathan (JZ) Zierdt. 10 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2003 Cover story: Al Annexstad of Federated Insurance. Companies profiled: MAK-BEA Labs (Blue Earth) and Paulsen Architects (Mankato). 15 YEARS AGO

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1998 Cover story: Neil Eckles of BEVCOMM (Blue Earth). Companies profiled: Forstner Fire Apparatus (Madelia) and Lindsay Windows (North Mankato). 24

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Read the entire articles at connectbiz.com

BUSINESS TRENDS

ENERGY PRODUCTION

The Fedgazette, a Minneapolis Federal Reserve publication, highlighted over the summer a trend affecting our reading area or just beyond: the Bakken oil boom seems to be lowering unemployment rates far outside North Dakota. The Fedgazette drew circles every 100 miles (up to 400 miles) around the boom’s center, where unemployment rates have been hovering below two percent. Using unemployment data from January 200113, publication researchers discovered an increase in unemployment rates every 100

miles from the oil boom up to 400 miles, which takes in the counties immediately west of Brown County. The unemployment rates in these four bands (100-400 miles away) were almost identical in 2003 and didn’t begin showing major separations until 2009, when Bakken fracking began in earnest. When beginning to rise overall in 2009, unemployment rates rose faster the farther away a county was from the Bakken boom. Other oil-related trends affecting our reading area: According to the Sioux City Journal, environmentalists earlier this year probably permanently derailed the proposed $10 billion, 400,000-barrel-a-day Hyperion Refining project south of Sioux Falls. This project would have affected our reading area more than any Bakken boom—and Connect Business Magazine in past issues has reported extensively on this project. Hyperion Refining would have taken about four years to build, and employed 4,500 during construction and

another 1,800 long-term. When first announced in 2007, the Hyperion project was slated to be the first new U.S. oil refinery built since 1977. However, if you’re for more oil production and refining, don’t despair, because according to Prairie Business (N. Dak.) magazine a number of brand-new Upper Midwest refineries will be built anyway. For starters, a 20,000-barrel-a-day diesel refinery in Dickinson, North Dakota, employing 100 is on schedule for late 2014 completion. Two other 20,000-barrel-a-day diesel refineries are being built in North Dakota: one owned by three Indian tribes on Indian land and another one 16 miles from Williston. As North Dakota oil production increases, and the number of refineries grows and begins producing diesel, watch for most of the Upper Midwest to benefit in varying degrees. More than a few companies in our reading area have products or services directly tied to this amazing oil and employment boom.

BUSINESS TRENDS

SALES TAX

As of July 1, the State of Minnesota began collecting sales tax on telecommunications equipment, which seems benign

crat, said the sales tax could slow down broadband infrastructure initiatives and the creation of new telecommunication jobs. Businesses will be affected. In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio News, she proposed repealing the recently enacted sales tax, which is expected to bring in up to $75 million a year in new revenue. In a Connect Business Magazine interview, CEO Bill Eckles of telecommunications company BEVCOMM in Blue Earth, said the sales tax didn’t make sense to him, saying, “On the one hand, the State tells us to please provide more broadband and

enough, but not to former Minnesota House Speaker and Mankato-area native Margaret Anderson Kelliher of the Minnesota High Tech Association. To the St. Cloud Times, Kelliher, a Demo-

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NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

increase speed, and on the other hand they say, ‘Oh, by the way, you are now going to have to pay more for the equipment you use to provide that service.’ Telecommunications today is all about broadband and getting bigger pipes to the customers and fiberoptics into the network. That’s the future.” Eckles said the sales tax could lead to telecommunications companies reducing investments on equipment providing broadband services. Some companies with projects “right on the margin” might defer upgrades because of the sales tax, he said.

EARNINGS

The Region, a Minneapolis Fed publication, looked at the Social Security records of more than five million Americans to learn income changes among different income groups over the four recessions between 1980 and 2010. Specifically, they wanted to learn who had fared better financially during each recession: the poor, the

Surprisingly, earners in the top two to five percent range did not experience the same nosedive. top one percent or those in the middle. The results—and the trends—have meaning for businesses marketing to each group. The Region wrote, “During the Great Recession (2007-10), the labor earnings of U.S. men fell an average of 6.5 percent—the sharpest decline of any recession since the 1930s. But that figure obscures wide variations across the workforce; while some workers experienced severe declines in their pay, others saw more modest income losses, while earnings actually rose for some.” The study used only male wage earners ages 35-54, mainly because the rising workforce participation rate of women from 1980-2010 would have created study interpretation difficulties. What they found: The lowest 10 percent of wage earners had earnings fall 18 percent more than wage earners in the top ten percent. Noted The Region, in part, “lowerincome workers on average sustain greater

earnings losses than the majority of workers with moderate or high incomes.” However, what shocked researchers was a nosedive in earnings by the top one percent in the 2000-02 and 2007-10 recessions, which, in terms of percentages, matched income losses experienced by the poorest 10 percent. Surprisingly, earners in the top two to five percent range did not experience the same nosedive. The researchers offered a possible explanation: “Over the past two decades, industries employing high-income workers—finance and real estate, for example—have become more cyclical, with bigger earnings losses during recessions and larger gains in expansions.” In other words, if your business markets products almost exclusively to the top one percent or the bottom ten percent, don’t expect any revenue gains during recessions.

When you look at our stats, you’ll see Bremer Bank is a big deal. More than $8 billion in assets. Nearly 100 locations. Over 100 years in business. But when you walk in the door, you’re welcomed by hard-working folks, the same as you. We sit down and work out financial solutions to help you grow your business. So talk with a local Bremer banker. It could be the start of something big.

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Our 2013 season at Vetter Stone Amphitheater in Riverfront Park exceeded expectations. Mother Nature was especially friendly to us and only the Buddy Guy event was cancelled due to weather. We had a broad diversity of events and they were fiscally solvent. We now have programming in the pipeline for 2014 and hope to match or surpass this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success. Improvements scheduled for completion at Riverfront Park in 2014 are already underway. The Grand Lawn will have grading to improve sightlines, and a permanent, roofed structure will assist operational needs, including concessions. We are exploring the idea of bench seating in the bowl area and the addition of low-voltage lighting and railing to allow patrons to move in and out of the seating area safely.

By the time you read this, multiple improvements will have been completed inside Verizon Wireless Center arena. A new ice floor, close in size to an NHL rink, today’s trend in college hockey rinks, was installed to replace the Olympic-sized rink. Light-weight dashers, new glass, and telescopic seating have been installed. New purple “Mavericks” seats are ready and most have cup holders. We are excited about these changes and look forward to hosting a winning season of Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks hockey. Come experience a victory and see the improvements! Our upcoming fall and winter lineup includes Justin Moore on November 22, Disney Live! on December 1, Mannheim Steamroller on December 12 and Lorie Line on December 13. Watch for some big surprises this winter! Hope you enjoy! Burt Lyman Executive Director

CONNECT Business Magazine

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

By Daniel J. Vance Photo by Steve Seifried

Established, 15,000 sq. ft. television, mattress, and appliance retailer survives agitated economy, chain competitors, and technological change.

The year 1979 was pressure-packed. Iranian militants overran the U.S. Embassy and held Americans hostage in Tehran. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. At Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, a coolant accident caused a partial meltdown. The U.S. annual inflation rate was at 11 percent and rising. That summer, fears of an energy shortage caused lines to form at gas stations around the country. That was also the year Dan and Ann Terfehr chose to begin Dan’s Appliance of Fairmont, now a 10-employee, 15,000 sq. ft. facility on Highway 15 selling and servicing appliances, televisions, and mattresses to customers in Minnesota and Iowa. Preceding that year, in late 1978, Dan had just lost his job in Ceylon working as an implement dealer mechanic and wife Ann was caring for two young sons, Matt and Tim. Dan was only 25 and had to find stable work—fast. A Ceylon electrician offered him the opportunity to purchase a downtown Fairmont appliance store with a start date of January 1, 1979. In a Connect Business Magazine interview, 59-year-old Dan Terfehr said, “We were in a position where I had to have a job. It’s a good thing I didn’t know then I’d be the seventh and smallest appliance dealer in Fairmont or know about the interest rates we would have to deal with a couple years later. I had to learn the job from scratch, too.” Over the years, Dan and Ann, and son Tim, have learned more than survival. They have learned the inside secrets to beating chain stores and adapting to rapidly changing customer needs and wants. Formerly in seventh and last place, the Terfehrs are now Fairmont’s largest appliance dealer and reach deep into northern Iowa for a healthy share of business. continued >

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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Over the years, Dan and Ann, and son Tim, have learned more than survival. They have learned the inside secrets to beating chain stores and adapting to rapidly changing customer needs and wants.

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Dan Terfehr began his retail career by learning manufacturing. When he was 8, his parents left Rapid City, South Dakota, for Ceylon, Minnesota, to take over Dan’s grandparents’ ag-related manufacturing business. “And for the next 10 years, my parents pretty much worked day and night, seven days a week, to make a living, which put me in a position where I learned to appreciate the benefits of a family working together in business,” said Dan. “My dad sold the manufacturing facility and retired in 1972, which was the year I graduated from high school.” The family-owned company was DF Winter Manufacturing, which produced the “Stubble Cleaner,” a farm product marketed in a six-state area and Canada. The product collected and raked corn stalks into furrows to keep plows from plugging. Early on, Dan received plenty of “shop time” counting bolts and sweeping floors until new OSHA rules kept him from even entering the building. Later, he did odd jobs, along with working summers full-time at a local gas station. Dan said, “In the summer, my family sometimes went on road trips to see dealers and to deliver or market product. I remember one southern Canada trip in which we stopped at a number of dealers—John Deere, Case, Allis Chalmers, and International. I was climbing all over the tractors and looking over the toy selection at each stop. I’d also go to the Spencer (Iowa) Fair on weekends with my dad to demonstrate product.” Over time, the company’s lone farm product became obsolete, said Terfehr, and has become a collector’s item. After high school, Dan became a John Deere implement mechanic in Ceylon until unexpectedly being laid off when Deere began consolidating dealerships in October 1978. One day, a Ceylon neighbor,

Art Stabner of Stabner Electric, asked Dan Terfehr about purchasing one of Stabner’s small businesses, a Fairmont appliance store. Dan ended up working a month without pay to see if the business was a good fit. It was, and Dan began Dan’s Appliance on January 1, 1979. The Terfehrs signed a three-year $60,000 purchase contract at six percent interest. They were the seventh largest appliance dealer in a seven-appliance dealership town, and featuring Whirlpool, Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, and KitchenAid appliances and RCA TVs. “We were fortunate to have an employee working here who was a good store manager, trainer and teacher,” said Dan of one of their first employees. “She helped a great deal. We were renting a place uptown. We did creative live advertising with Channel 12 back then, when that channel was about the only one viewed around here. We did live radio broadcasting, too. We built our business by always doing what we said we were going to do in terms of getting to customer homes for service.” The Terfehrs learned their six larger competitors all sold more appliances, such as the local Midland co-op, JC Penney, Sears, Fairmont Appliance, and Gambles, but had too many irons in the fire to focus attention on appliances. It was a market niche that could be won with lots of hard work, good service, and persistence. From 1979-82, the Terfehrs handled RCA TVs, but because of a crowded competition field in that industry stopped carrying them to focus more on appliances. Early on, Art Stabner had given Dan these words of wisdom: “It doesn’t really matter what you sell your product for, only what you buy it for. You’re going to make more money by buying it right.” They learned this lesson the first month. Said Dan, “To get Maytag to bring product

Dan’s Appliance | Fairmont

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in a truck, we had to buy 27 pieces to meet their minimum bracket. If choosing not to do that, we would have had to pay about $15 per piece extra for freight and we would have a lower bracket price. By being in that bracket, we made considerable improvement on price. The scary part came when the driver drove up and I had to write out a check to Maytag for the product and another to the driver for hauling. It was cash on delivery. So we then had to sell those 27 units, which was a lot because we were selling only a half-dozen per week then and paying 22 percent interest on the loan.” Air conditioners were another buying

concern. For example, the Terfehrs had no idea in November how many to buy for the coming summer. Would they sell 50 or 150? If the summer was cold, a substantial inventory could carry over to the next year and potentially create cash-flow issues. If the summer was hot, they could sell out and lose sales to competitors. The buying issues became resolved in the early 1990s when Dan’s Appliance joined what would evolve into Brand Source buying group. Said Dan, “With it, we could work better deals through manufacturers. As distributors in our market dwindled, and some lines went direct only, the

Early on, Art Stabner had given Dan these words of wisdom: “It doesn’t really matter what you sell your product for, only what you buy it for. You’re going to make more money by buying it right.” They learned this lesson the first month.

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Back In The U-S-A! According to Dan Terfehr, “white goods” manufacturing, such as washers and dryers, has been migrating back from overseas to America. Dan’s Appliance’s top-selling line, Whirlpool, now owns the Maytag, Amana, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Jenn-Air lines. Whirlpool used to have its front-load machines manufactured in Germany and Mexico, and ship that product to Ohio, where the company manufactured dryers, before sending out to markets. Whirlpool has moved all laundry manufacturing back to Ohio, where the new plant has modern technology and American engineers can be closer to the manufacturing plant to better insure product quality. Said Dan, “Whirlpool’s corporate slogan is ‘Invest in America.’ The majority of their products are made in America. Its biggest competitors in the appliance business are in South Korea, with Samsung and LG, which are new to the appliance business.” Besides Whirlpool, Dan’s Appliance sells and services Samsung and LG, having brought them in seven and two years ago, respectively.

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buying group was the core that held independent dealers like ours together. We got together and compared notes, and got advertising that worked.” Suddenly, Dan’s Appliance, for example, could split a truckload of refrigerators or washers with other independent dealers to allow for more competitive pricing when necessary. As sales grew, so did the sales floor. The business had moved from downtown Fairmont to Highway 15 south of town in 1982 after Dan bought property from Countryside Auto. The relocation was a gamble because Highway 15 wasn’t yet a major thoroughfare; however, the Terfehrs saw long-term potential due to the local high school and hospital being within eyeshot. After joining Brand Source, and being able to grow due to lower pricing, the business relocated again in 2000 four buildings north on Highway 15 into a 15,000 sq. ft. facility. The buying power of 4,000-member Brand Source enabled Dan’s Appliance to muscle into profitable new market niches and do it much more competitively than its early 1980s failed ventures selling TVs and microwaves. When building a larger location in 2000, the company had extra room to display televisions again and sell satellite television services. High definition television was coming. Wholesalers then couldn’t ship rear-projection televisions via United Parcel Service, so Dan’s Appliance had a leg up on Internet sellers. Over the years, UPS started shipping up to 55-inch televisions, and

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Friend WalMart Dan Terfehr, owner of Dan’s Appliance, said having a Walmart nearby has helped his business. Walmart doesn’t sell “white goods” appliances or mattresses, and most Iowans heading to and from Walmart pass his store twice each trip. Quite a few stop in and account for more than 25 percent of company sales. Dan said, “Many customers from Iowa didn’t even know we were here until they came to town to see Walmart and saw us on the way. Before they were going to Walmart in other communities. As for sales, we go twice as far into Iowa than up north because of Mankato being such a hub.” What concerns the Terfehrs most has been hearing rumors of home stores such as Menard’s, Home Depot and Lowe’s entering smaller markets like Fairmont. Not long ago, Menard’s opened a New Ulm location. 34

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NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

Dan’s Appliance | Fairmont

Most University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management graduates choose lucrative job offers from companies like Target, Best Buy or General Mills. But Tim had other ideas. After working summer construction jobs and for Best Buy, he became in 1999 an employee of Dan’s Appliance, just before the business moved into its present location, and later a one-third owner. that market—combined with lower profit margins—slowed, especially after the opening of the Fairmont Walmart and that company’s array of lower-priced models. The satellite television business also started slowing due to market saturation. To replace the slower sales of those

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Retail Jitters CONNECT: What is your greatest fear concerning business? DAN: We have handled competitors for years, but the worst day in our business by far was September 11, 2001. Not a single soul came in that day and hardly any the first month. Our customers battened down the hatches. Our fear is that our government will have some serious economic issue or crisis that will affect business. You can’t function in a climate like that. Also, another fear is getting another generation of young people interested in our type of business. Some of our current employee group will all be retiring about the same time. So many young people don’t realize there is a business like ours that maintains another person’s products. In our business, you can’t fix merchandise from a computer screen. NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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Dan’s Appliance | Fairmont

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lines, the Terfehrs began carrying in 2010 another of many available products offered through Brand Source: Serta mattresses, manufactured in Clear Lake, Iowa. Fairmont has five other stores selling mattresses. Dan said, “Each mattress is made to order. If you order today, we might have it on hand, but in most cases Serta manufactures to specifications and we deliver right to your home. And we get rid of the old mattress for free. The mattress business isn’t likely to see Internet competition, like with televisions, because people need to see and lay on the mattress.” Besides a core group of excellent, consistent employees “that literally made our business successful,” said Dan, the company has a customer base that at times seems more like family. The Terfehrs often make appliance or mattress sales while out on personal business or talking with people at Kwik Trip, for example. Ann does sales

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and bookkeeping, Dan runs the service department, and son Tim does the buying. Another factor in success has been Tim, who is just a bit older than the family business. He was born in 1978—during a pressure-packed time for new businesses— and will take over the family business one day. Most University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management graduates choose lucrative job offers from companies like Target, Best Buy or General Mills. But Tim had other ideas. After working summer construction jobs and for Best Buy, he became in 1999 an employee of Dan’s Appliance, just before the business moved into its present location, and later a onethird owner. He currently is involved in the Chamber community leadership program, which involves learning about Fairmont’s agriculture industry, law enforcement, economics, government, educational opportunities, businesses, and more. “I just didn’t see myself working at an

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

THE ESSENTIALS

Dan’s Appliance Founded: In Fairmont, 1979 Address: 1255 Highway 15 South Fairmont, Minnesota Telephone: 507-238-2333 Hours: Open every day but Sunday Web: dansappliance.com

impersonal place, a big company,” said 35-year-old Tim of making the choice to stay in Fairmont. “I have always enjoyed living here, being part of my family, and being a small business owner. It’s a lot better working here than in a cubicle working for someone else while on the way up the corporate ladder. Here you can make decisions quickly by committee—and it’s a wonderful committee, made up of my family.” Editor Daniel J. Vance writes from Vernon Center.

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OFF-THE-CUFF

Late-summer genetic testing revealed surprising results.

chromosomal segment got there is anyone’s guess, but doesn’t surprise because most my family tree arrived in America pre-1800 and some branches pre-1700. Lately, given the findings, I have searched and asked, but haven’t been able to find a definitive government definition for what makes a person African American.

I paid $99 and sent spit to genetic testing service 23andme.com to learn about potential health problems that could harm and hurt over the next decade. Besides discovering a few genetic anomalies, such as a strong predisposition toward celiac disease, I also found out about being an African American. Apparently, my DNA contains proof my family tree since 1500 A.D. has one person that came from Sub-Sahara Africa. Apparently, a tiny sliver of my twelfth chromosome is the smoking gun. I’m exactly 0.1 percent African American. How that one

Go read all the definitions. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, and the U.S. Office Daniel J. Vance of Management and Editor Budget, a person is an African American when he or she has “origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.” Under this official U.S. government definition, I’m African American, even though literally 99.9 percent white. The National Minority Supplier Develop-

ment Council has a different definition. In order to attain certification as a minorityowned business, an applicant needs to be at least 25 percent Black (or other minority race). Under this government definition, I’m not African American. The Small Business Administration 8(a) program has yet another definition. With them, an applicant must “hold him or herself out to be a member of a presumed group” (such as Black) and be “currently identified by others as a member of a presumed group (such as Black).” In other words, under this government definition, I’m African American if I say I’m African American and I get enough people to say I’m African American. Those government definitions and others are far too ambiguous, especially with government programs and business benefits on the line. Fairness is an issue. Should a person who is “25 percent black” but who has white skin and white adoptive parents and who grew up in an upper class home be given preferential treatment on

See how local farmers work to keep our waters clean. For decades, Minnesota farmers have voluntarily minimized soil erosion through conversation tillage practices. To learn more ways farmers are doing good work to protect our water quality, get The R.E.A.L. Story at TheREALStoryMN.com.

Brought to you by the Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Nicollet/Sibley, Scott/Le Sueur, Waseca and Watonwan County Corn & Soybean Growers and their soybean checkoff.

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government contracts over others? If it’s going to define race, the federal government ought to have just one lone definition instead of offering a smorgasbord. And maybe that single, official definition could include DNA testing. The issue of what makes a person a member of any race came to the forefront during the George Zimmerman trial, when the media regularly referred to Zimmerman as a white Hispanic, even though he selfidentified as Hispanic. To be consistent, the same media ought to be referring to President Obama as white black and you should be calling me black white. PGA golfer Tiger Woods, instead of being the world’s best African American golfer, should be referred to as the world’s best Native American Filipino white black golfer. In the early ‘90s—and I mentioned this years ago in this column—I worked for an East Coast business owner who was under pressure from a civil rights group because of employing only three African Americans at his 150-employee firm. So he hired four South African-born whites. He then told the civil rights group he had four new African American hires. And then you have the problem of many blacks in America not being African American. There are many blacks from Jamaica, England, New Guinea, Australia, Cuba, and Haiti who don’t self-identify as African American. And never will. In August, we had over to our Vernon Center home family friends from the Cities. The husband was black and Nigeria born, the wife white, and the children biracial. It was fun sharing with the husband my DNA testing results revealing I was an African American—and an Ashkenazi Jew. But that’s another story. Thanks again for reading southern Minnesota’s first and only locally owned business magazine, the only one reaching 8,800 business decision makers in nine southern Minnesota counties. Also, be sure to get ready for our January 2014 issue in which we announce the results of our annual Business Person of the Year contest. CORRECTION: In the September/October Off the Cuff column, the editor incorrectly stated the state minimum wage would be increasing to $9.50. Only the passed Minnesota House version was at $9.50. The passed Senate version was lower. Governor Dayton hasn’t signed anything yet.

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Jan 18, 2014 10am-3pm kato Ballroom NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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BULLETIN BOARD

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 Blue Earth’s Jolly Green Giant in 2013 has worn many costumes. From January-March, he wore a red scarf, a take-off on a 1961

Fairmont Stephanie Busiahn, Fairmont CVB

Le Sueur Julie Boyland, Le Sueur Chamber

Le Sueur Chamber of Commerce will once again sponsor on November 21 the late fall tradition of offering a “Night Out on the Town.” Retail businesses will offer participants discounts, cooking demonstrations, product samplings, and drawings. This allows our Le Sueur area retailers a chance to showcase holiday gift ideas, decorations and food ideas. Retailers feel this is a good way to promote their product offerings and bring customers into their stores. Goes from 4-8 p.m.

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frozen veggie promo. June-July was a black Harley Davidson biker tee, sponsored by Bergdale Harley Davidson, which hosted the 2013 Hog Rally Ride In. In August, he wore a Relay for Life tee. October was an orange toga for the anti-bullying campaign “Raise a Giant.” For more, see Facebook: “Blue Earth Chamber.”

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

Red Rock Center for the Arts hosts singer/songwriter Chad Elliott on November 16 at 7:00 p.m. On December 6, Fairmont downtown businesses stay open until 11:00 p.m. for the annual Holiday Delights. On December 13 at 7:30 p.m., Fairmont Opera House features six-man a cappella group Six Appeal, which performs Home for the Holidays. On December 20, Glenn Henriksen is at Red Rock Center for the Arts at 7:00 p.m. for a great Christmas concert.

Fairmont Bob Wallace, Fairmont Area Chamber Join us for the 24th Annual Fairmont Glows Parade November 22 beginning at 6:00 p.m. The parade of lights, featuring more than 60 units, begins at Ward Park and winds north through Downtown Plaza to Lincoln Park marking the beginning of the holiday festivities. Come early and enjoy the food options available throughout the evening. This is an event for all ages. If you have any questions or wish to participate contact the Chamber 235-5547.

Local Chamber & Economic Development News

Faribault County Lindsey Warmka, Faribault County Development Corporation

Faribault County Development Corporation and the City of Blue Earth announced the City was awarded a Federal EDA $993,050 grant to develop a new industrial park. The grant pays for half the infrastructure costs, including sewer, water, and streets. This project will generate 108 full-time equivalent jobs and $25.5 million in private investment. The project capitalizes on the existing infrastructure of I-90 and U.S. Highway 169, and fosters further growth of the local agriculture industry.

Lake Crystal Julie Reed, Lake Crystal Chamber Join Lake Crystal Ambulance Service at the 2nd Annual Wine Tasting Fundraiser at American Legion December 5. Enjoy local wines and beers. Continue on December 7 from 10-2 at LCARC with “Christmas in Lake Crystal,” with the Holiday Gift and Craft Fair, silent auction, and Santa. Drop-in daycare available for fair goers. Stay that evening for the “Ugly Sweater Party” at The Lakes, with donations supporting “Toys for Tots.” Purchase raffle tickets for $2,500 prize.

Madelia Karla Grev, Madelia Chamber The 14th Annual Razzle Dazzle Parade of Lights happens November 15-16. Friday Main Street activities include a visit from Santa, Tour of Trees, Crystal Collection, reindeer appearance, holiday open houses, Madelia High School Music, shopping, wine tasting, some really good food, potato bake supper, and the 6:30 p.m. Parade of Lights. Saturday includes Parade of Trees, lots of Santa photos, a Holiday expo and more. See visitmadelia.com.

New Ulm Brian Tohal, New Ulm EDC

12-employee Frontier Labs has plans for a 10,000 sq. ft. expansion in the airport industrial park. They do manure, soil, root, and other testing. SpecSys, which employs 22 and does contract engineering and manufacturing work, has requested revolving loan fund assistance and will add a machining center. Finally, United Commercial Upholstery has doubled its business, needs more space, and is in the process of purchasing the former 35,000 sq. ft. PGI building on North Broadway.

Mankato Julie Nelson, Small Business Dev. Center Thinking of starting a business? The Small Business Development Center offers Entrepreneurial Essentials each month in Mankato, New Ulm, Waseca and Fairmont. This free seminar takes a realistic look at whether you are ready to be an entrepreneur and the basic steps to get started. Topics include: myths about entrepreneurship, feasibility, importance of a business plan, understanding business

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financing, basic legal requirements for start-up, and resources available. Be sure to register online at myminnesotabusiness.com/ workshops-clinics.

Mankato Ashley Aukes, Region Nine Don’t miss Region Nine’s Grant Opportunity Forum on November 21 at South Central Service Cooperative in North Mankato. The forum will focus on foundations that serve Region Nine’s service area.

Sleepy Eye Trista Barka, Sleepy Eye Area Chamber

The Sleepy Eye Chamber of Commerce board of directors once again recognized an outstanding area business that has contributed to the Minnesota economy, is committed to making Minnesota a better place to live and work, and has improved or increased the use of technology in the workplace. The 2013 award winner is Schwartz Farms of Sleepy Eye. It is especially recognized for using technology that improves the quality of the environment, animal welfare, and community.

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Learn about funding opportunities and get your important questions answered by the experts. The event will be from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with lunch provided. To register for this free event, contact Ashley at 389-8864 or ashley@rndc.org. To learn more visit rndc.org.

Mankato Christine Nessler, Visit Mankato The annual celebration of Kiwanis Holiday Lights in Sibley Park will build on past traditions while raising food donations for those in need. Kiwanis Holiday Lights begins Friday November 29 and runs through Monday December 31. Kiwanis Holiday Lights will include more than one million LED lights, and animated and choreographed lights. There will be a skating rink, warming houses, Santa, live reindeer, a tribute to the troops, and nonprofit decorated trees. For more: kiwanisholidaylights.com.

New Ulm Terry Sveine, New Ulm CVB The 25th Annual “Parade of Lights” joyfully occurs November 29 on the day after Thanksgiving. Watch 60-plus lighted parade units proceed slowly through downtown and then end your day by spending time shopping had having a nice dinner. Also, the 2nd Annual traditional German Christmas market, “ChristKindlMarkt,” will be held indoors at New Ulm Event Center on November 29-30. It features vendors, authentic traditional crafts, character appearances, food, and drink, all in a decorated atmosphere.

Sleepy Eye Kurk Kramer, Sleepy Eye EDA Sleepy Eye EDA Incentive Committee submitted to the full board for approval the final copy of the Downtown Incentive Rehabilitation Program application. Information about the program has been sent

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Local Chamber & Economic Development News

out to 59 building owners in downtown. A number of businesses have inquired and had meetings concerning the Snow property off Highway 14. Phase Two of the Veteran’s Park project is nearing completion. Donations for the park and Memorial Wall order are being accepted.

Springfield Marlys Vanderwerf, Springfield Area Chamber Our holiday kick-off “Shop Springfield Breakfast” is at The Garage on Tuesday November 12. Participating merchants will

Winnebago Chris Ziegler, City of Winnebago

Our congratulations go out to 2013 Winnebago EDA Hall of Fame recipients Bob and Jan Kaduce of Kaduce Plumbing and Heating. We welcome to Winnebago Dr. Gina Hendrickson, an optometrist at Blue Earth Valley Eye Clinic, and Dr. Aaron Johnson, physician at United Hospital District Clinic. Congratulations on retirement go to Drs. Gerald Scovill and Roger Hanson. Finally, our Christmas Open House and Hospice Tree Lighting will be on Friday December 6 from 4-7 p.m.

begin distributing Jingle Bells tickets at our Holiday Preview November 13. Winners of $2,000 in “Springfield Bucks” will be drawn December 10 and names posted on springfieldmnchamber. com. Also, the 28th Annual Christmas Nativity Pageant is 7 p.m. December 13-14 at Riverside Park, which includes a live manger scene, dancing angels, camels, special lighting, and community chorus. Admission free.

Waseca Kimberly Johnson, City of Waseca The City of Waseca adopted an updated comprehensive plan that focuses on growing the community as a bio-business center, addresses U.S. Highway 14 interchange planning to take advantage of this new opportunity, and acknowledges the importance of commitment to heritage preservation. Next, Waseca will overhaul its land use and zoning regulations to focus on regulations that respond to changing needs in the community and allow the city to be more competitive and efficient in responding to development requests.

Waseca Kim Foels, Waseca Area Chamber Waseca Area Chamber launched WasecaChamber.com/properties, which provides information for site selectors, real estate developers, and businesses pursuing new opportunities in Waseca County. Real estate, demographic, and industry data and analyses are available immediately, along with a database of properties available for sale or lease. It’s easy to use and displays results in a clear and appealing visual format. Check it out! This is a convenient one-stop to search for commercial sites and buildings in Waseca County.

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HAS JOINED I&S GROUP

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By Carlienne A. Frisch Photo by Steve Seifried

Rural independent funeral business thrives while making extensive community connections.

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NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

Some people believe your junior high school dream career is your true destiny, that if your job history results in the fulfillment of that dream, you have achieved true success. Many of us happily settle for a related career, perhaps becoming a nurse instead of a veterinarian. For mortician Sue Nasinec, who owns Bruss-Heitner Funeral Homes in Wells and Bricelyn, there were no alternative career choices, not after she researched mortuary science for a seventh grade English class assignment. “I did two interviews for that assignment,” Nasinec said. “The first was my minister, who had baptized me as a baby, and the second was Mr. Howard Frederich, funeral home director in New Richland. My mom, who was waiting in the car while I interviewed Mr. Frederich, had to come in to get me. I did well beyond my research and I was hooked. He and I still stay in touch.” Aiming for a perfect grade on the assignment, Nasinec arranged a bit of extra credit—a tour of a funeral home in Ellendale, where her classmates viewed a hearse and embalming machine. She received only 198 points out of a possible 200 because of being in the restroom when her classmates arrived, instead of at the door greeting them. It’s a lesson she hasn’t forgotten. Nasinec recalled other experiences preparing her for her career. The oldest of three children on a crop and dairy farm north of Ellendale, she baled hay and did calf chores. “My dad taught me the animals still needed to be fed, even if I wanted to go out,” she said. “He taught me not to assume he’d do the chores if I didn’t ask him to do them. I developed communication and time management skills.” continued >

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Aiming for a perfect grade on the assignment, Nasinec arranged a bit of extra credit—a tour of a funeral home in Ellendale, where her classmates viewed a hearse and embalming machine. She received only 198 points out of a possible 200 because of being in the restroom when her classmates arrived, instead of at the door greeting them. It’s a lesson she hasn’t forgotten.

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Nasinec’s trademark enthusiasm led her to enjoy a variety of subjects at Ellendale High School—agriculture, outdoor activities, science, art and English. But she wanted more. She said, “I would love to have studied chemistry in high school and had more choices of classes.” After graduating in 1987, she enrolled in a two-year program at the University of Minnesota-Waseca. During that time, Nasinec worked at a candy and yogurt shop, where she learned to treat demanding people with niceness, and as a caregiver for a man with quadriplegia. “He challenged me to be quick with words,” she said. At college in Waseca, Nasinec met her husband, Nate. She smiled as she began to explain: “Our first date was a costume party. We went as a caveman and cavewoman, and we won first prize. I asked him to the party, and we have been together ever since. We celebrated 22 years of marriage in August.” The couple has three sons, Brandon, Aaron and Cameron, and a grandson, Zander. Nasinec transferred to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in mortuary science. While there, she worked with mentally challenged clients who exhibited aggressive behaviors. She said, “I think everyone should work in that environment for a time. You learn to change how you react. I learned to pray for patience.” Nasinec brought the lessons learned to an internship at BrussHeitner Funeral Homes in 1997. “They kept me on,” she said, “and Nate and I bought the business on January 1, 2008.” The Wells chapel, located on 2nd Avenue Southwest, has been a funeral home since 1893, first owned and operated by the Hanson family, then by the Heitner family from 1951-86. Stan and Kathy Bruss, from whom the Nasinecs bought the business, owned and operated it through 2007. Nasinec is pleased she and her husband are carrying on a tradition.

Bruss-Heitner Funeral Homes | Wells & Bricelyn

“When the Heitners took over, Erna Heitner was the mortician,” Nasinec said, “and her husband, Bill, worked alongside her, just as Nathan does with me. Neither Bill nor Nate are morticians. Nate’s background is mainly in agriculture; he has bred dairy and beef cattle and worked in sow farrowing. Now he’s a small remodeling contractor and most definitely my right-hand man in the mortuary. He’s the pre-insurance agent, handles much of the funeral home building and finances, and maintains the buildings and grounds. We’re a well-matched team. “After Bill and Erna sold the business to their son, Maynard, and his wife, Betty, Stan Bruss was employed as the mortician,” Nasinec said. The Brusses bought the business in 1986. Nasinec has always had a second licensed mortician on staff. When her family takes its annual vacation, she calls in Stan Bruss and a former employee for backup. As she begins to talk about her employees, her enthusiasm rachets up another few notches. “Newly hired Mara has five years of experience as a mortician,”

Family Care

Community Connections 1) Wells Chamber of Commerce, member and past president 2) Wells Jaycees, past president 3) Wells Economic Development Authority Board 4) Wells Public Library Association former member, initiated luncheon fundraisers

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5) Bricelyn Community Club

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6) Kiester Civic and Commerce organization 7) University of Minnesota Alumni Speakers Panel Steve Olson

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8) St. Casimir Catholic Church, member

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9) Minnesota Funeral Directors Association, member

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The mortuary serves a 50-mile radius, in addition to hospitals in Owatonna, Rochester and Iowa. Because the funeral home in Bricelyn is only four miles from Iowa, 20 percent of the families served are in Iowa. Nasinec is licensed by both states. Nasinec said. “We have a group of part-time people who are greeters, drivers, flower movers—and most importantly they are there to make sure food is on our own table. When we’re busy 15 to 20 hours a day, and sometimes I’ve been up 24 hours straight, someone asks me, ‘Have you eaten today?’ They take care of us because we’re taking care of others.” The wearing of similar apparel contributes to the mortuary staff ’s appearance as a team. Black suits set off shirts, ties and blouses in shades of purple. Winter wear includes silver shirts and red ties. Nasinec and other female staff wear skirts to every funeral. Nasinec explained, “We’re professionals and want to look the part.”

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The Nasinecs’ home is next door to the mortuary. The entire family has always been influenced by the mortuary’s purpose. “Our boys could be fighting like cats and dogs, but when the mortuary phone rang at home, they would stop until the call was completed,” Nasinec said. “Our oldest son, Brandon, who now is in college, washes and waxes the hearses and works funerals as a greeter. Aaron, our 15-year-old son, helps him. Thirteen-year-old Cameron picks up around the grounds, runs things to the mailbox and gets flags from the post office for military funerals.”

Bruss-Heitner Funeral Homes | Wells & Bricelyn

Nasinec and her staff go the extra mile for local veterans. Each year they celebrate Veterans Day by serving a fine meal to the military veterans who have been involved in the color guard at military funerals. Sixty-eight men and women were guests last year. The mortuary serves a 50-mile radius, in addition to hospitals in Owatonna, Rochester and Iowa. Because the funeral home in Bricelyn is only four miles from Iowa, 20 percent of the families served are in Iowa. Nasinec is licensed by both states. Staying abreast of regulatory change is an ongoing process. Even seemingly minor regulations must be followed. For example, the funeral home must have a license to play music during a service. If, however, the family brings in a recording and plays it on their own equipment, the requirement does not apply. Nasinec has never had to work on a family member, but over the years she has had friends killed in car accidents. “Who better than I to prepare them for viewing?” she asked. “It’s not customers or clients we serve, but families. Each and every day, we serve each family with dignity and respect. Every family is different. Some want something traditional. About 25 percent want cremation. Those being cremated are done so in Janesville, at another family-owned funeral home. People don’t know that most funeral homes are part of a corporation.” Nasinec sees a trend toward cremation—not as much in her area, but more in urban areas. The resulting ashes, also called cremains, are usually placed in an urn and kept by the family or interred. In

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Personality Plus Sue’s self description: Workaholic, extrovert, caring, and a bit sassy. Hobbies: I read four to six books a week, paint sunsets and sunrises in oils, and like to get in my Camaro and go-o-o. I visit my sister in Wisconsin, go shopping with my mom, or take Nate on a date.

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both Minnesota and Iowa, the ashes may be scattered by the family on land that is not a drinking water source. Other trends have been more unusual. Nasinec said, “Some things become popular for a while, such as making your own casket or making your own urn. Some people would like to have more contemporary music, but that’s a church decision. We offer a lot of options even though we’re in a small town. For example, we have a horse-drawn hearse.” The 1880s-style hearse is the only black vehicle in the mortuary’s fleet, which includes two silver hearses, two silver sedans and a silver van used for flower delivery to every service. “The horse-drawn hearse is solid oak,” Nasinec said. “It was built from a photo by Eugene (“Jake”) Jacobson of Kiester. He had the wheels built by the Amish. He has two teams, both of which pull our hearse. The original driver was Don Rauenhorst, 9:02 AM from Wells, who helped build it. He was transported to his funeral in the hearse. Now Jake is the driver. We use it for one or two funerals a year and have displayed it at the Faribault County Fair. Jake drives it in parades, along with our son Aaron.” Nasinec’s responsibilities include being available 24/7, with the help of an answering service, to respond to the mortuary phone at their home next door to the chapel. After receiving a call, she goes to the place of death with a hearse, brings back the deceased, embalms the body, and dresses and caskets the body. With input from the deceased’s family, she writes the obituary for the newspaper and plans the service.

“I meet with each family for about two hours,“ Nasinec said. “I’m a counselor and a mom. I remind people to drink water and get enough sleep. I tell them not to eat too much comfort food if that’s not what they usually do.” Nasinec’s job is easier if the deceased left written plans or talked about their wishes. She said, “It’s a given you will eventually die, so plan for it. We plan vacations, we plan careers, so give your children a chance to understand and accept your funeral plans. Talk about what you want and write it down. If you write it down, the kids are usually ready to do it.” When advance plans don’t exist, Nasinec asks, “How would your mother like to be remembered? How would you who are in this room like to remember your mother?” Sometimes she offers a suggestion, saying, “For some families, this has worked.” If the family’s conversation brings some laughter along with tears, Nasinec knows the family will be okay. “When an older person dies after much suffering, there’s a celebration of life,” she said. “It’s a much different experience for the family than when a 24-year-old is killed in a car accident. It also helps when the minister has a relationship with some of the family and when I’ve had a relationship with some of them.” For Nasinec, it’s all about relationships. “I love getting to know people and love the relationship I have with the community,“ she said. “I’m networking every day I walk out of the door. At the grocery store I’ll see a family we served recently, so I stop to talk to them. My boys dislike going

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NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

Bruss-Heitner Funeral Homes

shopping with me because it takes time, but people like to see the mortician doing ordinary things.” Nasinec’s knowledge of the community offers opportunities to provide families with a memorable farewell to their loved one. On one occasion, she learned a WWII veteran had been a pilot and prisonerof-war. She arranged for a fly-by at the cemetery by a local crop duster.

On one occasion, she learned a WWII veteran had been a pilot and prisoner-of-war. She arranged for a fly-by at the cemetery by a local crop duster. “The family didn’t know in advance,” Nasinec said, “and were blown away by it. We try to exceed every family’s expectations.” “The family didn’t know in advance,” Nasinec said, “and were blown away by it. We try to exceed every family’s expectations.” Nasinec sees every memorial service as a form of family therapy. “People need a service,” she said. “The family needs to reminisce together, and phone numbers get exchanged. Kids and grandkids need to hear the stories that friends will tell. We each know the deceased in a certain way. I’ve buried people’s spouses and the children of those people, and I’ve heard all kinds of stories. Sometimes the children don’t know those sides of the deceased. “I facilitate family requests,” she said. “Every family is unique. I’ve had services where I have felt I’ve done nothing for the family, and then out of the blue I get a package with a pin or a gift card for Starbucks.” After the service, while a mortuary staff member drives the hearse to the NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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Bruss-Heitner Funeral Homes

Family Care

cemetery, Nasinec rides in the lead car with the minister and the pallbearers. The deceased’s spouse and children drive their own cars, but occasionally the spouse rides in the lead car. “The local and county police are fantastic about providing escorts for us,” Nasinec said. “I’ve served some of their family members.

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“I’m proud of being a licensed mortician, a female owning my own business. Although the 2014 University of Minnesota graduating class in mortuary science will be 70 percent women, I believe I’m still in a male dominated field. I’m proud we are family-owned and operated. Our motto is ‘Always have been, always will be.’”

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

THE ESSENTIALS

Bruss-Heitner Funeral Homes Address: 255 2nd Ave SW Wells, Minnesota Phone: 507-553-3124 Web: Brussheitner.com

HOT STARTZ!

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

MANKATO

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Mankato Times Joe Steck opened the community news website MankatoTimes.com on January 1, but in many respects the genesis for his business began six years ago. He was a steel salesman for Hutchinson Manufacturing when one day his world was turned upside down. Said 51-year-old Steck, “One day I was fit as a fiddle, and the next bedridden for a year. They were flying in doctors to figure out what was wrong with me.” He had intense soft tissue pain, and saw 35 doctors over two years before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. He would spend most his life savings on finding a cure that would never come. After assessing his chronic physical limitations, he began MankatoTimes.com to be an “asset to society” and “do good,” he said. “I’ve been proving people wrong that you don’t have to write negative things to get people to look at you. I’ve been in sales my entire life, know people, and know how to make people smile and get along.” MankatoTimes.com most recently reached 70,000 unique monthly visitors and has been covering a 40-mile radius around Mankato and North Mankato—often the “little” events larger papers won’t or don’t have the time or money to cover. Many organizations take pictures at events for him, send in a paragraph of copy, and get their important events covered. Steck grew up in Mankato. His father was a fireman and his

mother a Carlson Craft proofreader. Although feeling a fondness for his hometown—he attended West, East, and graduated from Loyola—he takes special pleasure in covering smaller communities, such as Madelia, Le Center, and Janesville. As for political coverage, he said: “I try to write how politics will affect people. Also, everyone was acting like the recent government shutdown was happening for the first time, when in fact it’s happened 17 times—ten with Republican and seven with Democratic Presidents. I inform people (about politics) in a nonpartisan and factual way and am friendly about it.” MANKATO TIMES Contact: MankatoTimes.com

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

NEW ULM

Stone Soup Of all the cities in the U.S., food industry veteran Jeff Dahms chose New Ulm to launch the prototype of his neighborhood café, Stone Soup, located at 512 1st North. A Minnesota native, Dahms graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York in 1994, worked in top restaurants in New York City, Memphis, and Key West, and spent ten years with a large food service management company. His last corporate port of call was Indianapolis, where the itch to try out an idea and be his own boss became too strong. He said in a Connect Business Magazine interview, “I’d been developing this concept a few years before starting in New Ulm this June. For it to succeed, I needed a small community with a lot of foot traffic, a vibrant downtown, and lots of local support for small businesses. What I do here wouldn’t translate to a strip mall. It’s more a neighborhood café. New Ulm just had that ‘vibe’.” Dahms makes nearly all menu items from scratch. Stone Soup serves soups, salads, and sandwiches, including a popular Minnesota chicken and wild rice soup and a hot pulled pork barbeque sandwich on pretzel roll. He said, “Most of our food is grab and go. We are an alternative to fast food yet still have quick service. I have tried recreating the intimate feel of a European café. What I like best is the one-on-one interaction. I think customers enjoy having

an opportunity to talk to and see the chef in action rather than the guy behind the curtain.” Working for a large corporation to owning a small business has been challenging. With the former, Dahms could rely on a large human resources department, for example, rather than having to do everything on his own. His goal is to have Stone Soup cafes in other cities years from now, perhaps in downtown Mankato or downtown St. Peter, which also have some of the “hustle and bustle” he noticed while spying out New Ulm. STONE SOUP Hours: M-F 10:30 am to 5:30 pm, Sat. 10:30 am to 2:00 pm Address: 512 1st North

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Courtyard By Marriott Hotel & Event Center General manager Preston Lougheed began his hotel industry career at age 15 as a bellman and doorman at the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency. After graduating from Robbinsdale Cooper Senior High, he went to a Hyatt hotel in Chicago. He had an “in” with Hyatt. Said 41-year-old Lougheed in a telephone interview, “My uncle was an early pioneer in making Hyatt what it is today. He started out as a gardener in a Hyatt in California, and worked his way up to general manager and eventually senior vice president.” After graduating from Wisconsin-Stout in 1997, Lougheed went on to manage hotels in downtown Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Bloomington (Mall of America), and Eden Prairie before landing feet first in Mankato in 2001 at the AmericInn Hotel & Conference Center, owned by David Peters. Lougheed eventually would help manage and develop the

Peters-owned University Square Mall across from Minnesota State. Peters also would buy River Place Center (the former Barnes & Noble strip mall) and start Courtyard by Marriott Hotel & Event Center, which opened at River Hills Mall a year ago. Said Lougheed, “We were successful at the AmericInn (near MSU) because of adding on a ballroom, but it wasn’t big enough. So we decided to build the Courtyard near the Mall. Our Courtyard Event Center is 6,200 sq. ft., and has raised ceilings, state-of-the-art audio and visual, and high-end chandeliers. You get what we call a Minneapolis experience at Mankato price.” The Event Center does its own in-house catering, including food and beverage. Executive Chef and Fairmont native Brian Olson came from Charley’s Restaurant. The Event Center had 68 weddings on the books this year, and brides currently are booking into 2014-15. The facility does many charity event fundraisers and corporate weekday business meetings. Said Lougheed, “I love the hotel business and the staff members are like my family. We enjoy welcoming people into our house from all over the United States and world.”

COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT HOTEL & EVENT CENTER Telephone: 507-388-1234 Web: courtyardmankato.com Location: River Hills Mall, Ring Road

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.

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2013

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PRESS RELEASES

To submit a press release for publication:

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

Amboy

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AgStar Financial Services and the Amboy Alumni Association contributed funds for Amboy Community Club’s feasibility study of “The Junction” project, a renovation of the Amboy Middle School building into a multi-purpose location.

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From the Chamber: New members include Metro Sales and Edward Jones-Mandi Kosbab; new business is brewkaz Coffee House and Café; new address for Fairmont Chiropractic & Acupuncture Health Care is 1125 Spruce; Adam Ehlers is the new owner of Midwest Audio & Video; Mayo Clinic Health System-Fairmont expanded its infusion therapy area; Burtis Chiropractic Center hired Marissa Hennen as marketing and services specialist; the Ambassador Committee awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Angela Hasek; The 2013 Mardi Gras generated $14,400 in scholarship funds awarded to eight students; Martin County Historical Society’s Pioneer Parsonage was renovated as a 1910-1930s-era home and serves as a meeting and event location; Presentation College-Fairmont celebrated 10 years in business; Julie Leichtnam and Lynne Burgraff of Sweet Financial Services created the $marterWomen group to help women

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AgStar Financial Services AgStar Financial Services was named a Top 100 Workplace in Minnesota based on a Minneapolis Star-Tribune employee survey.

become smarter in various life aspects; and Ty Totzke, Sweet Financial Services, earned chartered financial consultant designation.

Le Sueur From the Chamber: new members include Farmers Insurance James Haglin Agency, Haemig Family Dentistry, and Caffeine Computers; and John and Karen Brancamp are new owners of Peaceful Valley Campground.

Madelia From the Chamber: The Oscar Sorbel Hometown Hero award went to Traci Henry; the Pace Family of Brown County was chosen as a Minnesota Farm Family of

INSULATION the Year; Kathy Boutwell, office manager for Christensen Communications, was honored for 30 years service.

Mankato From the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association: the Association supported a Minnesota Department of Agriculture recommendation for a ten percent biodiesel inclusion rate in every gallon of diesel sold in state. From Enventis (formerly HickoryTech): The company reported second quarter revenue of $47.1 million; Enventis completed its Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project, extending its fiber network to connect healthcare facilities, schools, libraries, higher education institutions, and public offices. Jan O’Marron of Title Resources received a “Title Agent and Certified Closing Agent” designation from the State of Minnesota. Erbert & Gerbert’s helped raise $6,435 toward Camp Sweet Life, a southern Minnesota camp for children with diabetes, during the “Making a Difference” campaign. Leonard, Street and Deinard was named a “recommended” law firm in litigation in Benchmark Litigation ratings. The firm will merge with Stinson Morrison Hecker on January 1, 2014, to become Stinson Leonard Street. From Eide Bailly: Artur Pietka is senior associate in the tax department, and Jenna Brekke passed the CPA exam. Mankato Deputy City Manager Tanya Ange began a three-year term as midwest regional vice president of the International

City/County Management Association. Katie Regan joined JBeal Real Estate Group. Shelly and Marvin Bartlett of INdiGO Organic attended Salon Master 2013 at Intelligent Nutrients’ Minneapolis headquarters. Eric Peters, commercial lending vice president of First National Bank Minnesota, graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at University of Wisconsin, Madison. AmeriCare Mobility Van celebrated its 20th anniversary.

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Kato Insurance Agency hired Barbara Campbell as a licensed life/health account manager. Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council reported representatives from 90 percent of Taiwan’s soybean purchasers visited farms in Good Thunder, St. Peter, Waldorf, and New Prague to better understand the quality of Minnesota soybeans. Minnesota State’s Big Ideas Campaign raised $77.8 million for student scholarship programs, student-faculty research opportunities, and future capital projects. United Prairie Bank committed $250,000 to Minnesota State, with $150,000 designated for a future College of Business Global Solutions Center and $100,000 to a College of Business Integrated Business Experience course. From Greater Mankato Growth: New members include Becky’s Floral & Gift Shop, Bonfire, Damsel in Defense, Peoples State Bank of Madison Lake, Ideal Weigh to Be Health and Weight Loss Clinic,

MANKATO

Blethen, Gage & Krause Blethen, Gage & Krause attorney Jim Turk, for the 10th consecutive year, was named a Minnesota Super Lawyer in alternative dispute resolution.

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Daybreak Internet Café, American Heart Ass’n, RentMSU, Inc., The Tailwind Group, Terri Prange, Mary Kay Independent Sales Director, and Sheri Dittrich-Reinart, Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. From Greater Mankato Growth: CEO Jonathan Zierdt announced the MankatoNorth Mankato MSA ranked 10th in its category for 2013 on the Forbes list of “Best Small Places for Business and Careers”; new business Karma opened at 1522 North Riverfront; and Jersey Mike’s Subs opened at 500 South Riverfront.

NEW ULM

New Ulm Medical Center New Ulm Medical Center was named on Vantage Health Analytics’ “Top 100” list of U.S. critical access hospitals and Becker Hospital Review’s “100 Great Community Hospitals.”

New Ulm New Ulm Retail Development Corporation named Michelle Wood as retail development coordinator. The August Schell Brewing Company brewed its first collaborative beer, Stag #8 “August Bock,” with the German brewery Gold Ochsen, and received seven awards from the Beverage Testing Institute. From the Chamber: Spinning Spools Quilt Shop and The Thimble Box hosted 986 quilters in the Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop for August; New Ulm Optimist Club donated $3,000 to the Healthy Community Healthy Youth program; new owners of New Ulm Glass are Jim Tate and Douglas Burt; Hardee’s Restaurant, owned by Scott Surprenant and Lionel Bolden, opened at 1710 Westridge; Keith Buboltz is the new sales

manager at KNUJ AM, SAM 107.3 FM, and KNUJ.NET; Jen Eager is a new agent at Citizens Agency in LaSalle; Stephanie Meyer joined New Ulm Real Estate; Jay Gostonczik is vice president of member services at SouthPoint Federal Credit Union; the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities recognized New Ulm Mayor Bob Beussman for service to greater Minnesota; Brown County Historical Society won an “American Association for State and Local History Award of Merit” for its U.S.-Dakota War Exhibit.

NORTH MANKATO

Capstone Capstone donated 500,000 books worth $5 million to Books for Africa and more than 3,000 books to elementary schools in tornado-torn Moore, Okla.

North Mankato Timothy Rapoport, P.E., joined Burton Architects. Kitchenmaster & Co. added Kelly S. Begalka to the ownership team and will operate under the name Kitchenmaster, Klooster & Begalka. Carlson Craft and LifePics launched an online service, Carlson Craft Photo Boutique, and a mobile app, Carlson Craft Wedding Pics. The 31st Annual Rural Legislative Forum: Keeping Rural Minnesota Relevant During the Next Decade will be held December 12 at South Central College. Register at 507-304-4325.

Ormsby Bailey’s Restaurant & Bar received the Martin County Fair Cook Off 1st Place, People’s Choice Award.

St. Peter Arrow Ace Hardware owner Dave Neiman announced the purchase of Denny and Kathy’s Ace Hardware in St. Cloud.

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From the Chamber: Super 8 of St. James advanced to the “Diamond 2 AAA” rating for 2013; John Schmidt is the new vice president of First National Bank; new businesses are thrift store The Depot, Lost Potros Mexican Restaurant, and Rosengren Kohlmeyer Law Offices; and Tim Spear is new owner of St. James Golf Course.

Sleepy Eye The Sleepy Eye Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 Manufacturer/Technology award went to Schwartz Farms Inc.

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From the Chamber: new members include South Central MN Score Chapter 710, Visiting Angels, Curves, and Kieffer Communications; the Chamber of Commerce relocated to 112 North State; McRaith Funeral Homes and Crematory and Dennis Funeral and Cremation Services received the Chamber’s Roots award for more than 30 years in business; and 4-Seasons Athletics, owned by Jaala and Jeremiah Miller, held a grand re-opening.

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NATIONAL OPINION

Sometimes you find support for capitalism and small government in some rather unexpected places. I was surprised, for

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instance, when I found out Gene Simmons, the lead singer for Kiss, had said, “Capitalism is the best thing that ever happened to human beings. The welfare state sounds wonderful but it doesn’t work.” That’s pretty hardcore. Or what about the Finance Minister of Denmark’s left-wing government, who admitted, “We live in a world of global competition for jobs…that requires a modernization of the welfare state.” That’s not hardcore, to be sure, but it certainly suggests he understands the need to reduce the burden of government spending. And my jaw hit the floor when I read former Daniel Mitchell KGB bigwig Vladimir Putin remark, “Many European countries are witnessing a rise of [the] dependency mentality when not working is often much more beneficial than working. This type of mentality endangers not only the economy but also the moral basics of the society.” I’m not about to take lessons in societal morality from a strongman like Putin, but it’s nonetheless surprising he recognizes handouts can turn people into supplicants. So after reading all these examples, perhaps you won’t be overly shocked to learn Bono, lead singer of U2, is a supporter of capitalism. He’s no Milton Friedman, as you’ll see, but check out this quote from an interview in the Guardian. “My father was Labour, classic Dublin Northside household. And I still carry that with me. And though I believe capitalism has been the most effective ideology we have known in taking people out of extreme poverty, I don’t think it is the only thing that can do it, and in some ways I wish it wasn’t.” Even with his caveats, it’s big news when one of the world’s leading anti-poverty campaigners acknowledges free markets are the best tool for improving the lives of poor people. Bono’s comments sort of remind me of when the former leftist president of Brazil said “it was necessary to first build capitalism, then make socialism, we must have something to distribute before doing so.” Neither Lula nor Bono are libertarians, of course, but at least their views are rooted in reality. Which is more than can be said for many people in Western governments who have never produced anything and have no idea how markets actually work. Perhaps even more stunning is the fact Bono defends tax competition and fiscal sovereignty. Bono said, “At the heart of the Irish economy has always been the philosophy of tax competitiveness. Tax competitiveness has taken our country out of poverty. People in the revenue accept that if you engage in that policy then some people are going to go out, and some people are coming in. It has been a successful policy. On the cranky

left that is very annoying, I can see that. But tax competitiveness is why Ireland has stayed afloat.” Wow, there’s no ambiguity to that statement. I’d like to think he’s knowledgeable about the benefits of tax competition because he’s watched my videos or read my writing, but the real story is he lived through and personally experienced the Irish miracle. He saw his relatively poor country become very successful, in large part because of big improvements in tax policy. And he obviously understands the importance of maintaining Ireland’s low corporate tax rate, which I’ve also argued is very important to keeping Ireland from sinking further into statist stagnation.

Perhaps most amazing is that a high-ranking official from China’s communist government said, “If you look at the troubles which happened in European countries, this is purely because of the accumulated troubles of the worn out welfare society. I think the labour laws are outdated. The labour laws induce sloth, indolence, rather than hardworking. The incentive system is totally out of whack.” Let’s close with a couple of additional examples of folks on the left who have confessed some very un-PC thoughts, such as the New York Times columnist who bravely wrote, “This is painful for a liberal to admit, but conservatives have a point when they suggest America’s safety net can sometimes entangle people in a soul-crushing dependency.…Most wrenching of all are the parents who think it’s best if a child stays illiterate, because then the family may be able to claim a disability check each month.” Perhaps most amazing is that a high-ranking official from China’s communist government said, “If you look at the troubles which happened in European countries, this is purely because of the accumulated troubles of the worn out welfare society. I think the labour laws are outdated. The labour laws induce sloth, indolence, rather than hardworking. The incentive system is totally out of whack.” Even Fidel Castro confessed, “The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore.” And sometimes—sometimes—even President Obama says reasonable things, such as the time he said, “No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top.” Or the time he said it was best to “let the market work on its own.”

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Daniel J. Mitchell of Cato Institute. This article first appeared in the Commentator on September 26, 2013.

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How many Americans have been killed in terrorist attacks inside the United States since the September 11, 2001, atrocities? Arguably 16. Egyptian Hesham Mohamed Hadayet killed two Israelis at the El Al ticket counter at the Los Angeles airport on July 4, 2002. On June 1, 2009, Abdulhakim Muhammed killed one soldier at a recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 soldiers during a shooting rampage in at Fort Hood, Texas in November 2009. Checking the Global Terrorism Database, one finds that an additional 14 Americans were killed in broadly defined Ronald Bailey domestic terrorism incidents since September 2001. Five died from anthrax attacks (2001); two died in an attack on a Knoxville church (2008); two are suspected to have been killed by members of the Minutemen American Defense group in Arizona (2009); an abortion provider was killed in Wichita, Kansas (2009); a guard was stabbed to death at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., (2009); two died in Austin when a man crashed his light plane into a government building over a dispute with the IRS (2009); and a neo-Malthusian terrorist was shot by police during a hostage incident at the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland (2009). That adds up to a grand total of 30 Americans killed in terrorist incidents inside the United States in the last 10 years. In addition, the National Counterterrorism

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Center has been compiling worldwide deaths of private U.S. citizens due to terrorism since 2005. Terrorism is defined as “premeditated, politically motivated violence, perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.” In 2010 (the latest report), 15 Americans were killed in terrorist attacks; nine died in 2009; 33 in 2008; 17 in 2007; 28 in 2006; and 56 in 2005. The vast majority of private U.S. citizens killed in terrorist attacks died in the war zone countries of Iraq and Afghanistan. So the sad tally of Americans killed by terrorists around the world since 2005 comes to a total of 158, yielding an annual rate 16 Americans killed by terrorists outside of the borders of the United States. Taking these figures into account, a rough calculation suggests that in the last five years, your chances of being killed by a terrorist are about one in 20 million. This compares to an annual risk of dying in a car accident of 1 in 19,000; drowning in a bathtub at 1 in 800,000; dying in a building fire at 1 in 99,000; or being struck by lightning at 1 in 5,500,000. In other words, in the last five years you were four times more likely to be struck by lightning than killed by a terrorist. The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) has just published, Backgrond Report: 9/11, Ten Years Later. The report notes, excluding the 9/11 atrocities, that fewer than 500 people died in the U.S. from terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2010. The report adds, “From 1991-2000, the United States averaged 41.3 terrorist attacks per year. After 2001, the average number of U.S. attacks decreased to 16 per year from 2002-2010.” Of course, the police and politicians will cite the lack of deaths from terrorism as evidence their protective measures are working. Earlier this year, the conservative Heritage Foundation compiled a list of 39 terror plots that had been foiled since September 2001. Going through the list, about 23 of the plots might plausibly have resulted in terror attacks of one sort or another. Several were aimed at subways, military bases, and shopping malls. To get a

Assuming terrorists inside the United States might have killed 2,300 Americans, this implies a cost of more than $400 million dollars per life saved. Typically when evaluating the costs of protective regulations, federal government agencies set the value of a life at about $9 million. feel for the number of people that might be killed in typical terrorist attacks, consider that four subway bombs killed 52 people in London in 2005; the deadliest attack on a military base killed 13; and blowing up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killed 187 people in 1995. Making the huge assumption that all 23 plausible plots would have succeeded in killing an average of 100 Americans each, that means that 2,300 would have died in the last 10 years, or about 230 per year. (This implies a rate that is 10 times higher than the rate between 1970 and 2010, excluding the 9/11 attacks, by the way.) Even at this higher rate, your chances of dying in a terrorist attack would be about 1 in 1.7 million. Ohio State University political scientist John Mueller and Mark Stewart, an engineering professor at University of Newcastle in Australia, recently estimated the U.S. has spent $1 trillion on anti-terrorism security measures since 2001. (This figure does not include the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.) Assuming terrorists inside the United States might have killed 2,300 Americans, this implies a cost of more that $400 million dollars per life saved. Typically when evaluating the costs of protective regulations, federal government agencies set the value of a life at about $9 million. However, terrorism is especially frightening (that’s why they call it “terrorism”), so the average citizen might want to spend double the usual amount to prevent a death. But still that suggests that on a reasonable benefit-cost basis public and private spending is 20 times too much

to prevent deaths from terrorist attacks. Now let’s retrospectively add the tragic 3,000 deaths from the 9/11 attacks to take into account the remote possibility that terrorists might be able to pull off another similarly spectacular assault. That still means nearly $200 million is being spent per plausible life saved. A good bit of the trillion dollars has supported measures that threaten our liberties by beefing up the national security state. Since 2001, we all get to enjoy airport security theater; we must carry proper “papers” in order to gain admission to federal buildings; and federal minions have felt free to wiretap without warrants. On this 10th anniversary, we will certainly remember those who died so tragically. But we should also recognize terrorism is a hollow threat to which we should not surrender one iota of our liberties.

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Ronald Bailey is Reason magazine’s science correspondent. His book Liberation Biology: The Scientific and Moral Case for the Biotech Revolution is available from Prometheus Books. This column first appeared at Reason.com.

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