MN Valley Business magazine by Free Press Media

The Definitive Business Journal for the Greater Minnesota River Valley November 2018

LeRoy Kiecker, a workforce development representative at the Workforce Center. Photo by Jackson Forderer

Help Wanted Employers up their recruiting game

Also in this issue • WOW! ZONE MARKS 10 YEARS, LOOKS AHEAD • MD ADVISORS RELOCATES, CELEBRATES 70 YEARS • CIDERIES BRING THE APPLE TO NEW LEVELS

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F E A T U R E S November 2018 • Volume 11, Issue 2

The Greater Mankato region has led all other metro areas in the state in job growth, but employers have to be more creative and aggressive in searching for new talent.

Sweetland Orchard near New Prague and Harbo Cider near Lake Crystal are just two of 16 cideries in the state that are advancing the art and science of turning apples to cider.

MD Advisors has been downtown for 70 years and has moved its office to Old Town while continuing to expand their tax and other services to businesses and individuals.

Wow! Zone opened when the recession hit and faced major road projects outside their door, but 10 years later they’re thriving and positioning for the future.

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 3

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NOVEMBER 2018 • VOLUME 11, ISSUE 2 PUBLISHER Steve Jameson EXECUTIVE EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tim Krohn CONTRIBUTING Tim Krohn WRITERS Kent Thiesse Dean Swanson Amanda Dyslin James Figy Dan Linehan PHOTOGRAPHERS Pat Christman Jackson Forderer COVER PHOTO Pat Christman PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING Danny Creel Sales Joan Streit Jordan Greer-Friesz Josh Zimmerman Marianne Carlson Theresa Haefner ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Sue Hammar DESIGNERS Christina Sankey CIRCULATION Justin Niles DIRECTOR For editorial inquiries, call Tim Krohn at 507-344-6383. For advertising, call 344-6364, or e-mail advertising@mankatofreepress.com. MN Valley Business is published by The Free Press Media monthly at 418 South 2nd Street Mankato MN 56001.

■ Local Business memos/ Company news.....................................5 ■ Business Commentary.........................6 ■ Business and Industry trends..........20 ■ Retail trends.....................................21 ■ Agriculture Outlook..........................22 ■ Agribusiness trends..........................23 ■ Construction, real estate trends.....24 ■ Gas trends........................................25 ■ Stocks...............................................25 ■ Minnesota Business updates............26 ■ Job trends.........................................27 ■ Schmidt Foundation.........................28 ■ Greater Mankato Growth..................30 ■ Greater Mankato Growth Member Activities ............................32

From the editor

By Joe Spear

Are we ready for the challenge of prosperity?

e’ve got a lot of economic momentum in the Mankato region. Can we build on it and leverage it to greatness? The answer to these questions can be partially answered by what we know and have in front of us, the rest will need to be visionary. Our cover story once again highlights our over-achieving economy, but that also begs important questions. The Mankato/North Mankato metropolitan statistical area has been tops in year-to-year job growth for every month of 2018 compared to other metro areas in the state of Minnesota. We’re adding jobs like gangbusters. Employment is up 1.63 percent this year compared to last. Average wages are up $1 per hour from $23.96 to $25.33 a near 6 percent gain, much higher than the national average gain of 2 percent. The circumstances and environment are strong. The biggest question and challenge: Do we have the tools to put us over the top, to that next level of community prosperity? And what should that look like? In an ideal world, there would be plenty of well-paying jobs and people with skills to bolster the success of their employers. If they don’t have the skills, can they acquire the skills in short order and at minimal expense? Our educational institutions should be ready to answer that question. Wages should be such that housing and day-care costs would not take such a large percentage of wages that people feel they’re struggling to get by and have little disposable income for the ar t, enter tainment and recreational amenities the region offers. That works for the average

4 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

wage of $25 an hour. That means one’s housing could cost about $1,000 per month and not be over the 25 percent of income threshold that is often used as a barometer. Day care appears to be another matter, with extreme shortages noted in local research reports. The local tax burden on business should be competitive with not only other regional cities, but with other similar sized locations in other states. This month’s cover story shows that great efforts are being made to hire skilled workers and pay them well. V-Tek, a manufacturer of carrier tape used in electronic devices, recruits now from out of state. They pay moving costs to get good workers. What about the tools? Greater Mankato Growth plans to hire a talent recruitment professional to help get the word out about Mankato as a great place to live and work, but also work with employers on what and who they need and provide places to find such people. The goal is to attract new talent but also retain employees. Another tool: the livability of Mankato. Has Mankato developed into a great place to work, play and raise a family if one is so inclined? So far, the answer would be mostly yes. The nagging issue of sufficient recreational facilities in terms of an eight-lane pool facility or a sports dome still seems to confound the local brain trusts. What kind of assets do we have that could be leveraged at a greater level than now? There are many significant and important foundations connected to Mankato, yet they may have participated in ways that seem are at a lower level than the stretchgoal level.

Sometimes bold leadership is needed to spark the fires of philanthropy. Would one of our foundations consider buying land, or leasing, near Minnesota State University and building a recreational facility, or at least an indoor dome? What about a land trust? Rochester has developed such a program with land donations from various entities and allowed

development like affordable housing where the land is owned by the community, thereby relieving developers of that expense, and making the housing truly affordable. Maybe we, as a community, have to break out of our comfort zone. Someone has to take a risk here. We’ll be patting ourselves on the back all the way to the second place finish as we fall from

the race at a time all should be leveraging our current prosperity for the future. Times may not get much better than they are. The future is now.

Joe Spear is executive editor of Minnesota Valley Business. Contact him at jspear@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6382. Follow on Twitter @jfspear.

Local Business People/Company News

■

LJP honored

LJP Waste & Recycle, a waste and recycling hauler, processor, and waste to energy service provider, was honored with the 2017 3M Supplier of the Year Award in recognition of the company’s contribution to improving 3M’s competitiveness. 3M recognized 16 suppliers. These suppliers were identified and rated based on strategic spend, contract compliance, actions taken to improve 3M’s relevance and overall supplier performance (quality, delivery, responsiveness, cost, technology roadmaps). Larry Biederman is CEO of LJP Waste & Recycle. ■■■

Two join True

True Real Estate has added Kristy Buesgens and August Allen as real estate agents. Buesgens is at the Henderson location and Allen at the Mankato location. Buesgens has more than a decade of experience as an agent. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Allen has a background in finance and insurance. ■■■

Kraus firm honored

The Kraus Law Offices Has Been nominated and accepted as a 2018 10 Best Law Firms in Minnesota for client satisfaction by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys. The Institute is a third-party attorney rating organization that

publishes an annual list of the Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in each state. Attorneys selected must pass a rigorous selection process, which is based on client and/or peer nominations, thorough research, and AIOFLA’s independent evaluation. ■■■

DeLong joins Farrish

Christopher DeLong has joined Farrish Johnson Law Office focusing his practice in the areas of civil litigation, appellate practice, criminal defense, and construction litigation. He entered the Marine Corps after high school and served for five years as a Korean cryptologic linguist and signal intelligence analyst. He attended Golden State University in San Francisco and then New York Law School, where he obtained his law degree. Most recently he was a law clerk for Judge Barry Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

College. She has a degree in business. ■■■

Gislason adds two

Gislason & Hunter has added attorneys Zach Graham and Rhett Schwichtenberg to the firm. Graham is in the Mankato office and focuses his practice on corporate law, finance and banking, employment and labor law and family law. Schwichtenberg is in the New Ulm office and focuses on corporate law, finance and banking and agriculture law. Graham is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, Juris Doctor cum laude in 2018 and the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in 2012. Schwichtenberg is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law, Juris Doctor in 2018 and Gustavus Adolphus College with a Bachelor of Arts in 2015. ■■■

■■■

Toft joins CBC

Pioneer Bank honored

Coldwell Banker Commercial Fisher Group has hired Karen Toft as director of sales and leasing. This is a new position with the company and will provide support for the existing sales and leasing agents while growing business and new opportunities with future clients. Toft was employed with Greater Mankato Growth as the director of member relations and director of office operations. Prior to working at GMG, she was a senior program manager at Rasmussen

Pioneer Bank was named among the top five extraordinary banks in the United States by The Institute for Extraordinar y Banking. This is Pioneer Bank’s third consecutive year for receiving this award for exemplary performance in five areas of banking—philanthropy, customer ser vice, thought leadership, workplace culture and financial literacy education.

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 5

■

Business Commentary

By Dean Swanson

Guest Blogging Can Build Your Brand Awareness and Authority In Your Field

have written about content marketing recently and last week presented ideas for blogging on your website and your social media outlets. But, here is another idea. Besides sharing your industry expertise on your own website, consider submitting guest blog posts and articles to other respected websites. This can boost awareness of your business and you as a professional in your field. Guest blogging is a content marketing tactic that delivers several powerful benefits whether you’re launching a startup or trying to grow your existing business. Guest blogging can help your business in several ways: • Increases

credibility

your

When you’re published on blogs that are well known and respected in your industry or niche, you can more easily earn trust and customer confidence. • Expands your

exposure to your target audience

By getting published in popular blogs that your target customers read faithfully, you stand to reach hundreds— maybe thousands—more potential customers than you would without making the effort.

some of the work to an agency or freelance professional. Because of the time and the potential monetary investments, you’ll want to heed some best practices so you can get the most from your efforts. • Select

high-quality outlets

• Drives

traffic to your website

Nearly all blogs that accept posts from external contributors allow you to include a brief bio at the end of your article with a link back to your own business’s website. • Introduces

new connections

By sharing your contact information (email address, website URL, phone number, and social media accounts) in your bio, you stand to gain new connections who want to learn more about your products and services. Here are some tips for doing it right. Realize that guest blogging requires time for brainstorming topic ideas, reaching out to websites to pitch those ideas, and for writing your articles. It might also cost you money if you’re not a strong writer and you need to outsource

6 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

Find reputable websites that target your niche AND that are known for publishing quality content. Also consider the number of subscribers they have. The more people who receive the blog’s posts by email or via an RSS feed, the more potential readers you’ll have looking at your guest posts. • Consider

the site’s contribution guidelines

Find out in advance what word count they require, topics the editors prefer, tone they want to project, and the other specifics they want contributors to abide by. If you won’t be able to meet their requirements, you shouldn’t waste your time or theirs by pitching ideas to them. • Prepare

a well-defined pitch

When proposing topics, think them through and write a proposed title and abstract that will capture the editorial team’s attention and give them a good sense of what you’ll include in your guest post.

• If

the editors accept your pitch, follow through on what you promised

Don’t pull a “bait and switch” by sending an article that strays from the abstract you presented them. • Be on time If the editors give you a deadline, meet it (or submit your post early). If you miss your deadline, you may ruin your chances of again being considered as a contributor. As you’re working on your content marketing strategy, you may want to talk with someone who has experience in doing this. Also, search for helpful articles, webinars and other resources that provide helpful marketing information.

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Leroy Kiecker leads a class at the Workforce Development Center in Mankato as David Carr and Jenn Gesche look on.

Now Hiring Job growth strong but workers hard to find By Tim Krohn | Photos by Pat Christman

-Tek continues to scramble looking for people with technical skills and engineers to fill positions in its Mankato plant, often hiring people from farther out in the region and increasingly from out of state. “We’re actually targeting areas in other states where unemployment is high,” said Vice President Christina Hogan. “And for pretty much every position we’re willing to pay for relocation to get the right person here.” Despite the ongoing worker shortage in the region, businesses have added jobs at a higher rate than anywhere in the state for the past year or more, said John Considine of Greater Mankato Growth. “Year-to-date job growth is 1.63 percent. For the unemployment rate, we’re sitting at 2.1 percent, which

in economists’ eyes is total employment. It’s the lowest in the state.” While unemployment is extremely low, LeRoy Kiecker at the Workforce Development Center in downtown Mankato said they continue to see a steady flow of people who’ve been laid off and need help getting into a new position or people who are looking to move into a better job. “We tell people about their unemployment benefits, opportunities to go back to school, help them update their resume,” said Kiecker, who works for the Department of Employment and Economic Development. He said the tight job market is good for those laid off and for those looking for a better job.

Cover Story

8 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

Total nonfarm employment for Blue Earth and Nicollet counties YEAR 2018

AVG

JAN 58,135

FEB 58,702

MAR 58,550

APR 58,868

MAY 58,977

JUN 59,384

JUL 57,694

AUG 58,732

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

2017

57,673

56,502

57,070

57,270

57,912

57,693

56,837

55,251

56,335

58,481

60,217

59,601

58,911

Source: DEED

“It’s a good opportunity for people to move up or get something closer to where they live. We’re not here just for the unemployed.” Mark Schultz, the regional labor market analyst for DEED, said all those employers working to find new and better ways to recruit and retain workers will have to keep those skills honed for a long time to come. “The labor force is tight, it’s really tight, and it’s projected to get worse. But Schultz said there’s some good news for cities such as Mankato. “In Mankato, Rochester, Duluth, they have more drawing power than say a New Ulm to attract new people.”

Hogan said more of their new hires are coming from outside the Mankato area, with employees either commuting or in some cases moving here. “The last three we hired relocated. Two from in-state and one from out of the state.” While many companies are increasing wages and improving benefits, Hogan said V-Tek already has a fully rounded benefits package. “One of the attractive things people like is our PTO plan, it’s very generous and we encourage people to take time off.” She said that after employees take at least 80 hours off in a year, they can choose to cash in some or all of their excess paid-time off with the money going into their 401(k). She said they’re also working harder to keep the people they get. “We are spending a lot more time on retainment and employee engagement. No one wants to lose anyone these days. Most employers are focusing on that.”

Trending up

Christina Hogan, vice president of V-Tek, said the ocmpany is recruiting more from out of state.

Facebook success

Hogan said V-Tek and other companies recruit new employees in ways not seen even a few years ago. V-Tek is in the electronic component packaging and processing industry “Recruiting has changed dramatically. We utilize social media almost exclusively. We’ve had unbelievably good luck with Facebook on their jobs platform,” Hogan said. “And we encourage our employees to push (the job postings) out to their networks. It’s all about the networks.”

Considine said the job trends for the Mankato-North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is all of Blue Earth and Nicollet counties, have been spectacular. “Our metro area has led every month in 2018 compared to the other metropolitan areas in job growth,” he said. “It’s tough to figure out where all those people are coming from. It seems there’s more from our market and people commuting from further out.” He said that when there have been larger layoffs, such as when the former Brown Printing plant in Waseca closed this year, job growth in Mankato spiked. Average wages have increased an average of more than $1 per hour in the past year, from $23.96 to $25.33. He said GMG is interested in

finding out how many apartments are available locally and how much they rent for to get a handle on whether more people who have taken jobs here and are now commuting might move here in the future. GMG also announced it is hiring a new position to look at attracting talent to the area and retaining employees. He said the position grew out of needs expressed by local businesses that make up GMG’s Talent Council.

Adding perks

Labor analyst Schultz said the data and what he hears from employers shows the job market isn’t going to loosen. “Employers just can’t find people, so we’re seeing an increase in starting wages. And I’ve just begun hearing that in the metro area employers are starting to offer full-time benefits for parttime staff,” Schultz said. He said in spite of rising starting wages and other benefits being added, businesses are struggling to attract people. “In the southeast region a guy had 10 people lined up for jobs and only two followed through. Another place they interviewed 16 and none of them worked out.” He said larger cities like Mankato have the benefit of being places people want to move to, but there are obstacles. “The issue that comes up is that the cost of living could be a hindrance to gain residents. You can have lots of new apartments going up, but if you’re paying $15 an hour and charging $800 for a one-bedroom apartment, it’s not going to draw new residents,” he said. “Housing and day care (costs) are what get people.”

Helping job seekers

Kiecker, at DEED’s Workforce Development office, said helping people who have been laid off or are just looking to move up is a lot

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 9

Monthly Unemployment Rate, Not Seasonally Adjusted Year - Month

Mankato - North Mankato MN MSA

2018 - 08

2.1

2018 - 07

2.3

2018 - 06

2.6

2018 - 05

2.1

2018 - 04

2.5

2018 - 03

3.0

2018 - 02

3.1

2018 - 01

3.2

Source: DEED

easier now than it is in high unemployment times. He noted the employees at the former Brown Printing plant in Waseca were likely hired by someone else before the plant actually closed. “Employers are lining up outside the door to get employees like that.” But he said his office still works with a lot of people who are job

searching and need some help. “I do classes for everything from resume writing to creative job searches and helping people who have obstacles to employment and how we can help them get past that to get to the next step,” Kiecker said. “Obstacles can be anything from physical issues like not being able to stand on manufacturing floors to challenges with computer skills. And some people just don’t inter view well. They maybe don’t know how to talk well about why they separated from their pr evious employer.” MV

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MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 11

Tim Harbo picks Regent apples in the orchard at Welsh Heritage Farms in rural Lake Crystal. Harbo started Harbo Hard Cider in 2009 at the orchard, when he said people were beginning to show more interest in hard ciders.

Craft cideries cultivate apples, taste buds Local orchards sell in fall only By Dan Linehan Photos by Jackson Forderer

the weather did a characteristic about-face, o the trees at Sweetland Orchard, and nightly temperatures plunged into the 2012 was the year of the false spring, teens. an unmitigated disaster, but Gretchen The freeze killed off Perbix would later 90 percent of their come to see opportunity blossoms, and the same there, as well. proportion of their On St. Patrick’s Day apples. With no fruit to that March, WELSH temperatures hit a sell, she skipped the HERITAGE FARM record high 78, leading farmer’s markets and 20758 528th Ave., Lake Crystal began experimenting the apple trees at her 507-726-6562 orchard, just east of with cider. New Prague, to blossom There was no welshheritagefarm.com early. Well into April, textbook; they mixed

Cover Spotlight

12 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

Tim Harbo feeds apples into an apple slicing machine at Welsh Heritage Farms. The machine isn’t used for the cider making process, but for apple slices for apple pies. Harbo Hard Cider is an offshoot of Welsh Heritage Farms. different types of yeast with braeburns, galas and other varieties and tasted the results. “We drank a lot of bad cider,” she says. They hit upon some appetizing combinations, too, and in the last few years the cider side of the business has taken off. It now accounts for about 85 percent of their sales, Perbix said. What started as a form of insurance against crop loss revealed a fascinating new side to apples. They make 10 varieties, including some from apples developed at the University of Minnesota and grow in Minnesota, like Haralson and Honeygold. “Cider is still a largely misunderstood beverage category, but Minnesotans take a lot of pride in apples,” said Perbix, who is also president of the Minnesota Cider Guild. “When Minnesotans get to try craft cider, they’ll be surprised about what gets made in their backyard.” Perbix has found even the basics about cider are often surprising. Some people mistakenly think it’s a variety of beer; one web survey last year found that the No. 2 most-

recognized cider brand was Mike’s Hard Lemonade, which is not a cider For that reason, she has plenty of in-depth conversations with customers. She recommends new drinkers sample their cider (they offer free tastings) to find a variety they like. They tend to taste very different from national brands, she says, which tend to be sweeter. Still, the demand for a visit to an orchard is typically limited to the fall, so they only sell their cider in September and October weekends, plus the Saturday before Thanksgiving. They are sold in a limited number of liquor stores throughout the metro area and south-central Minnesota, including Blue Earth County.

Harbo Cider

The longest-running local cidery is Harbo Cider, located next to Welsh Heritage Farms just off Highway 60 between Mankato and Lake Crystal. The cider master is Tim Harbo, a part owner of Welsh Heritage who has been making cider with apples grown at his family’s orchard for more

than 10 years. “It’s more of a traditional, drier cider, there’s more of a bite to it,” he said. Their single variety of cider, called Splittladder Syder, surprises some customers, but the people who like it really like it and tend to come back for more. They only make one variety, and it’s only sold at their cider house, which is open every weekend from noon to 6 p.m. through the weekend before Thanksgiving. “I’d like to do more expansion, but we’ve been growing (in other parts of the business) so much,” that they haven’t had extra attention to lavish on their cider business. Hard cider today is often compared to where the then-nascent craft brewing industry was in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Though there are about 16 cideries in Minnesota, the trend has taken off faster on the coasts; there are about 65 cideries in Washington state. To Harbo, the better comparison is with wine, including the growth in local wineries. Just as with beer and wine, craft cider drinkers are often looking for a local connection to their libations. He says he’s a bit surprised craft cider hasn’t caught on more in Minnesota, but there are limitations. Growing apples takes time and space — Harbo said his initial license required half of his apples to come from Minnesota — and plenty of specialized equipment is needed to brew cider. Even growing the fruit in Minnesota took some time; it’s only been within the last 100 years that varieties have been developed who can stand the state’s cold, Harbo said. The first apple to grow in Minnesota was called the Wealthy, a variety that still grows among the 2,500 or so trees at Welsh Heritage Farms. MV

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 13

Randy Milbrett, left, and James Dauk are the principals of MD Advisors, which this month is moving to Old Town.

MD Advisors expand ser vice in new Old Town location By James Figy Photos by Pat Christman

will continue to provide integrated financial or MD Advisors, 2019 will be a big services for the needs of small to mediumyear. Not only will it mark the company’s size companies and remain in downtown 70th anniversary, but also its first tax Mankato. season in a new location. The move will provide With its move from its opportunities to increase longtime location on services for customers Main Street to the and collaborate with the Hubbard Building in Old MD ADVISORS Minnesota State Town this month, MD 424 N. Riverfront, Mankato University College of Advisors plans to maintain 507-625-2526 Business Center for the legacy it has built advisors-md.com since 1949. The company Innovation and

Feature

14 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

with the firm since 1986. Most customers are located in Minnesota and the Mankato area specifically, but the company also supports customers throughout the region. Some business customers only rely on MD Advisors once a year for tax preparation, while others have weekly needs for payroll and business planning concerns. For customers who are just starting a business, this could include simply choosing what type of business would best fit their goals — and MD Advisors works with all types. “It runs the whole spectrum from individuals to partnerships, LLCs, S corporations, C corporations, pretty much all the legal entities,” Dauk said. One of the key focuses in recent years has been payroll services. Many companies have outsourced these tasks due to ever-changing regulations and the desire to provide employees with direct deposit and online access to pay records.

Robyn James, office manager at MD Advisors, says they work hard to make customers feel like family. Entrepreneurship and the Small Business Development Center, which are also located in the building, according to Robyn James, office manager and accountant for MD Advisors. “That partnership at the Hubbard Building is really exciting and something we want to be a part of,” James said. Keeping pace with business and personal finance trends, MD Advisors has added services over the years to stay up with new regulations and technology. This is essential for meeting clients’ changing needs, according to the firm’s two partners, Randy Milbrett and James Dauk, both CPAs. When Milbrett started at MD Advisors in 1978, the firm provided traditional accounting, tax preparation and bookkeeping services. “We still provide all of those services, but what’s changed and how we’ve expanded is that it’s become more of an advisory type of practice,” he said.

Meeting needs

MD Advisors now offers wealth advising and complete payroll ser vices. This encompasses everything from helping companies with dozens of employees navigate complex regulator y issues involved in buying or selling a business to helping individuals with estate planning or rolling their 401k into an IRA. “How a deal is structured, how things are handled and the timing and allocations of selling price can really impact the bottom-line taxes that are paid as part of a transaction,” Milbrett said. The company’s customer base is nearly as broad as its range of services, according to Dauk, who has been

“It’s a family not only with the staff and team members we have here, but also with the clients we have as well.” Customers appreciate that someone else takes care of their payroll and other concerns for them, Milbrett said. Adding more services like this is the goal going forward. “What we would like to do is continue focusing on helping small to medium size business do what they do best,” he said. “(We want to) help them to work on their business more and less in their business, to allow us to handle in a full turnkey manner their financial, accounting, payroll and tax requirements.”

Like family

The MD Advisors team, in addition to the two shareholders, includes a third CPA, a QuickBooks Pro advisor, two non-CPA accountants, a certified payroll professional and two or more administrative assistants, depending on the time of the year. Part of its strength is that everyone wears many hats. In addition, four staff members have more than 30 years of experience, while the rest have more than a decade each, according to James. However, the main factor is that everyone who walks through the doors is treated like family. In fact, some of them actually are: James and her sister, office administrator Reanna Milbrett, are Milbrett’s daughters. “There are three family members that work here, and somehow we all get along,” James said. “It’s a family not only with the staff and team members we have here, but also with the clients we have as well.”

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 15

Allison Jennings, left and Pam DeMarce are planning for the future of the Wow! Zone when Jennings takes over operations. Photo by Pat Christman

Wow! Zone celebrates 10 years, plans changes for next 10

By Amanda Dyslin | Photos by Pat Christman and Jackson Forderer

banks started putting on the brakes. Others who were n a way, it was actually a good thing that trying to open similar businesses just a few months the DeMarces happened to open a multilater experienced major delays in their timelines, said million dollar family co-owner Pam DeMarce. entertainment center in “Yes, it was tough,” DeMarce Profile said of that first year in business. Mankato just before the Great “But I also felt really blessed. Now, Recession hit in 2008. again, looking back 10 years later,

They were six months ahead of the economic downturn, so all of the financing work on the Wow! Zone had been completed before

WOW! ZONE

2030 Adams St., Mankato 625-2695 wowzonefec.com

16 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

would we have not done it? No, I wouldn’t say that. But I wouldn’t say it’s been easy either.” The Wow! Zone is celebrating 10

Ron Stanley and his 13-year old son Brian play pool at the Wow! Zone on a Saturday evening. Photo by Jackson Forderer years in business, but DeMarce said plans had been in the works for many years before it opened in 2008. The DeMarces owned Victory Bowl, which opened in 1973, but there was no room for expansion on that site. “It’s landlocked,” DeMarce said. “We knew if we were going to do something, we were going to have to start a new business.” The initial plan was to close Victory Bowl, but there was a loyal customer base who enjoyed having a traditional bowling center to go to, she said. “It just never happened because I could see that Victory Bowl still had a place in our community,” DeMarce said. So, the DeMarces put their life savings toward the initial $8 million investment into the Wow! Zone, which included a bowling center, laser tag, black light mini golf, arcade, snack bar, and sports bar and restaurant. DeMarce also left her job of 35 years at Taylor Corp in 2007 to dedicate her time to planning the business and getting it off the ground. “No one today builds just a bowling center,” DeMarce said.

“We knew that you want a facility where all can come to and have a place – grandma or grandpa, mom or dad – for any kind of gathering. And that’s exactly what I’ve seen over the years.” With the recession hitting in 2008, DeMarce said people did have fewer entertainment dollars to spend. People had to be more

“I feel we were able to get through it because we were working as a team,” DeMarce said. selective about where they spent extra money, which affected business. “I feel we were able to get through it because we were working as a team,” DeMarce said.

Then, another road block a few years later: the roundabout construction happened on Highway 22, which made travel to the Wow! Zone more difficult. But DeMarce said it didn’t have much of an effect on business. “We are a destination,” she said. “Yes, I worried about it. But the city did a good job to make sure our customers could find us.” It’s hard to say when the Wow! Zone hit its stride, DeMarce said. Every single day since they opened, DeMarce said she has studied the numbers. Getting through the first five years, then seven years and then 10 years were critical benchmarks, she said. “We always knew the first 10 years were going to be the roughest. … I don’t know if I ever will comfortable say I have made it,” she said. “Then you are setting yourself up for failure. You just can’t get comfortable.” The DeMarces are now divorced, and Doug has retired to Arizona, although the businesses remain under the ownership of both. DeMarce said she has no plans to retire. In fact, she’s

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 17

219 S. Victory Drive | Mankato, MN | 507.345.7009 info@ipafmankato.com • ipafmankato.com

Henry Borgstrom throws his bowling ball down the lane at the Wow! Zone. Borgrstrom and others were part of a Minnesota State University fundraiser held at the Wow! Zone. Photo by Jackson Forderer. recently wrapped up some major changes at Victory Bowl, which was closed during the summer for remodeling. The changes included new flooring, counters and paint. “Everything was touched, other than the bowling lanes. It’s beautiful,” she said. “We probably hadn’t done much over there since the 1980s. Victory Bowl is now ready to go for the next 20 years.”

Looking ahead

At the Wow! Zone, DeMarce said, there’s ongoing discussions about potential changes there, too. “Right now, we have some opportunities to think about what we’re going to do for our building in the next 10 years,” she said. “We might take out the mini golf, (but it comes down to) timing and what we’re going to put in its place.” DeMarce’s niece, Allison Jennings, general manager of the Wow! Zone, is a big part of these types of discussions nowadays. DeMarce said Jennings has taken a big interest in the family businesses, and she is being

18 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

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www.cimankato.com groomed to take over when DeMarce retires. Jennings said DeMarce has been patient as she’s learned the businesses, and she allows her the freedom to make decisions, as well as mistakes. “The thought of one day owning the businesses is both terrifying and exciting,” said Jennings, who studied business management at Minnesota State University. “Pam is a hard woman to follow in anything she does, and she will leave very big shoes to fill.” Aside from being a great businesswoman, Jennings said DeMarce is kind, optimistic and giving. She’s been learning from DeMarce in one way or another since she was a child. “Since she is my aunt, and like a second mother, I have had a number of years to learn from her,” Jennings said, “She has always had a driven and strong work ethic. I always hoped I could grow up to be even half as successful as she is.” Overall, one of DeMarce’s and Jennings’ more general goals are the same: to keep providing indemand entertainment services to the Mankato-area community and jobs to their loyal and hardworking team members. “I’m excited for the next 10 years,” DeMarce said. MV

Christina Meyer

Pam Shouts

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 19

■

Business and Industry Trends

Energy Plastic emissions rise

A sharp increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the petro¬chemical industry — which includes plastic, fertilizer and pharmaceutical companies — threatens to erode climate benefits from reductions in other sectors, a new report by the Inter-national Energy Agency. Petrochemicals are now the largest industrial energy consumer and the third-largest industrial emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. The report found that direct greenhouse gas emissions from petrochemicals would increase 20 percent by 2030 and 30 percent by 2050. The main driver of the petrochemical industry’s growing climate footprint will be the production of plastics.

Hurricane path, not just size affects oil, gas production

The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season so far produced 14 named storms, including 6 hurricanes. The effect that a storm has on crude oil and natural gas production depends, in part, on the infrastructure in its path. In 2017, Category 1 Hurricane Nate passed through the high-producing Mississippi Canyon lease area in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a larger disruption to production than Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm

20 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

that, although stronger, did not pass through major offshore production areas. In 2018, Hurricane Florence, like Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, was a catastrophic storm that did not have any significant effect on oil and natural gas production because of its location and trajectory. In the Gulf of Mexico, 66% of crude oil and 42% of natural gas production comes from wells in the Mississippi Canyon and Green Canyon lease areas, both located southeast of Louisiana. A storm passing through these high-producing areas can have a large effect on total offshore production. Storms that make landfall and damage onshore infrastructure, such as storage facilities and gathering lines, can have a longerlasting effect on production than storms that only affect a producing area.

Economy

Retail/Consumer Spending

Minnesota index healthy

The Creighton Economic Forecasting Group has released its state-by-state economic rating. The overall index ranges between 0 and 100. Growth neutral is 50, and a figure greater than 50 indicates growth over the next three to six months. In Minnesota the overall index declined to a healthy 60 from 61.9 month earlier. Components of the overall index were new orders at 61.8, production or sales at 60.5, delivery lead time at 58.8, inventories at 60.2, and employment at 58.8. Over the past year, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Minnesota employers increased average hourly pay by 2.5 percent, slightly below the regional median.

Immigrant workforce

Vehicle Sales Mankato — Number of vehicles sold - 2017 - 2018 1500

1,011

1,311

1200 900 600 300

0 According to a Department of Employment and Economic J F M A M J J A S O N D Source: Sales tax figures, City of Mankato Development, southwest Minnesota is now home to 17,628 foreign-born residents or about 4.5 percent of the total Includes restaurants, bars, population. The number of immigrants in the region increased and by 22.1 percent from 2010 to 2016, outpacing the statewide Sales tax collections Mankato telecommunications general merchandise store sales. (In thousands) growth rate of 16.3 percent. Excludes most clothing, grocery - 2017 - 2018 store sales. Over half (8,951 people) of the region’s total foreign-born population is from Latin America, including 5,181 people 600 $417 $417 from Mexico. Southwest Minnesota gained 1,456 additional 500 residents from Latin America between 2010 and 2016, a 19.4 400 percent increase, which was also the largest numeric gain to what was already the region’s largest immigrant population. 300 The fastest-growing wave of new immigrants came from 200 Africa, rising by just over 1,000 people from 2010 to 2016, a 100 74 percent jump, pushing the region’s African population to 0 2,366 people. J F M A M J J A S O N D Not surprisingly, immigrants have a much younger age Source: Sales tax figures, City of Mankato profile than the native-born population in the region. With such a large percentage of the population in their prime Lodging tax collections Mankato/North Mankato working years, immigrants have become increasingly - 2017 - 2018 important contributors to the local economy. Statewide 72 $55,189 percent of the foreign-born population aged 16 years and 70000 $60,318 over was actively participating in the labor force, which was 52500 actually higher than the native-born population.

Economies slowing

Some developed and emerging market economies may be starting to experience slower economic growth, which could result in lower-than-forecast oil demand, especially if crude oil prices continue to rise. The Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis publishes monthly data on global and regional industrial production, an important gauge for economic activity. Using a three-month moving average to smooth out short-term fluctuations, data from the CPB show that industrial production growth in advanced economies has begun to decelerate in January 2018. Industrial production growth in emerging economies has also recently experienced a slight deceleration. Among advanced economy regions, the United States is the only region with accelerating industrial production growth, while Japan, the Euro Area, and other advanced economies are all decelerating. Industrial production growth in the Euro Area, in particular, showed a year-over-year decline in July 2018, the first decline since the beginning of 2017, as industrial production in Germany and Italy showed slowdowns.

35000 17500 0

Source: City of Mankato

Mankato food and beverage tax - 2017 - 2018 175000 140000

$67,400 $58,900

105000 70000 35000 0

Source: City of Mankato

C. Sankey

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 21

■

Agricultural Outlook

By Kent Thiesse

Prospects for a new Farm Bill diminish

y mid-Summer, both the U.S. House and Senate had passed their versions of a new Farm Bill. This created optimism that the new Farm bill could be finalized and voted on by the time the current Farm Bill expired on Sept. 30. However, no compromise was agreed on so no action has been taken by Congress. Now, the hope is that a compromise Farm Bill can be drafted, and that a vote in Congress can be taken following the Nov. 6 mid-term elections, before the end of 2018, during the so-called “lame-duck” session of Congress. Even though the current Farm Bill expired some programs are maintained under a continuing resolution, while others are discontinued. For example, funding for Federal food and nutrition (SNAP) programs, which make up about 75 percent of Farm Bill spending, are continued. Similarly, any 2018 ARC-CO or PLC payments, 2018 crop insurance indemnity payments, and dair y market protection program (MPP) payments will be made, as will annual rental payments for existing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts. However, no new CRP contracts can be added, and no new contracts can be signed for most other conser vation programs. Funding for trade promotion and food aid programs will also be halted until a new Farm Bill is implemented. If no agreement can be reached on a new Farm Bill by the end of 2018, another alternative may be a one-year extension of the current Farm Bill for 2019. This would also maintain funding of programs that may be

discontinued without a new Farm Bill, or an extension of the current Farm Bill. This would also allow time for Congress to work out differences. A similar extension was enacted for the 2013 crop year, prior to final passage of the current Farm Bill. Failure by Congress to enact a new Farm Bill, or to extend the current Farm Bill on a timely basis, could result in the 1949 Farm Act, or so-called “permanent farm law” to be enacted. This would put in place price supports for crops and dairy that are based on “parity pricing,” which are well

22 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

above today’s price levels. It would also eliminate many USDA programs that have been enacted since 1949, including conser vation programs, crop insurance provisions, rural development programs, along with food and nutrition programs. There is no support in Congress or by the Administration to allow Farm Bill policy or USDA programs to revert back to 1949 levels, so this is not no likely to occur.

Key Issues in reaching a compromise on a New Farm Bill: 1. SNAP programs are a key difference in the Senate and House Fam Bill versions. The U.S. Senate version of the new Farm Bill proposes very few changes to current food and nutrition programs (Title IV) that exist in the current Farm Bill. The U.S. House Farm Bill proposed some fairly major changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) requirements. Under the House proposal, in order to receive SNAP benefits (food stamps), there would be a 20-hour per week work/training requirement for all workcapable adults (ages 18-59). This proposal would eliminate both the general work requirement and the “able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) time limit that exists in current legislation. There would be exemptions to the proposed requirements for specific populations that are receiving SNAP benefits, including the elderly, disabled persons, and women that are pregnant. States would be allowed a two-year transition period to implement the revised SNAP requirements. The proposed revisions to the SNAP program have been very unpopular with many members of Congress, Bill, could be a major “sticking point”8 in reaching a Farm Bill compromise. 6 acreage and eliminating the CSP program 2. CRP are key differences The4 Housebill proposal would merge the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) with the Environmental 2 Incentives Program (EQIP), with the goal of Quality having more efficiency in implementing the programs, since 0both programs target practices on working farms. J F M A M J J A S O N D Existing CSP contracts would still be honored under the new Farm Bill, but no new CSP contracts would written. The Senate bill would keep the CSP program intact, and would keep it separate from EQIP. The CSP program is very popular in States such as Minnesota, North and 8 South Dakota and Nebraska. 100 The 6U.S. Senate proposes to increase the maximum allowable 85 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres by one million acres per year to 25 million acres, compared to 4 70 the current maximum level of 24 million acres. The House bill proposes to increase the maximum CRP acres by one 552 acres per year, beginning in 2019, up to a cap of 29 million million acres in 2023. To help generate more federal 40 J F for M the A added M J CRP J acreage, A S the O maximum N D budget0 capacity CRP 25 rental rate in a given county would be reduced to 80 J F M A M J J A S O N D percent (.80) of NASS average cash rental rate in a county for a given year in the House Bill, and 88.5% in the Senate bill. 100 3. Differences in commodity programs is a surprising issue Both85the Senate and House versions of the new Farm Bill would give eligible farm operators another one-time, 70 5-year choice between the ARC-CO and PLC program for the crop 55 years 2019-2023, on a commodity-by-commodity basis. However, the Senate version would give producers 40 the option to opt-out of their farm program choice after year two of the Farm Bill and switch to the other farm 25 J F M M and J Jyield A formulas S O N used D to program option. TheA price calculate benchmark revenues and potential payments for the ARC-CO program would remain the same as the current Farm Bill.

Agriculture/ Agribusiness Corn prices — southern Minnesota

(dollars per bushel)

— 2017 — 2018

8 6

$3.13

2 0

$2.93

Source: USDA

Soybean prices — southern Minnesota

(dollars per bushel)

— 2017 — 2018 8 20 100 16 6 85 $9.10 12 470 8 255 $7.79 4 40 0 0 J F M A M J J A S O N D 25 J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D Source: USDA

Iowa-Minnesota hog prices

185 pound carcass, negotiated price, weighted average

— 2017 — 2018

20 100 25 16 85 22 12 70 19 8 55 16 4 40 13 0 J F 25 10 J F J F Source: USDA

$63.41

22 19 16

$59. 35 M M M

A M J A M J A M J

Milk prices

J J J

A S O N D A S O N D A S O N D

Minimum prices, class 1 milk Dollars per hundredweight

— 2017 — 2018 25 22

$17.40

19 16 13 10

$15.13 J

20 25 16 22 12 19 8 16 4 13 0 J 10

Source: USDA. Based on federal milk orders. Corn and soybean prices are for rail delivery points in Southern Minnesota. Milk prices are for Upper Midwest points.

C. Sankey

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 23

Construction/Real Estate Residential building permits Mankato

Commercial building permits Mankato

- 2017 - 2018 (in thousands)

$3,800

18000

- 2016 - 2017 (in thousands)

$3,929

30000

13500

15000 10000

4500

5000

Source: City of Mankato

Source: City of Mankato Information based on Multiple Listing Service and may not reflect all sales

Existing home sales: Mankato region - 2017 - 2018 (in thousands) 228

300

Median home sale price: Mankato region - 2017 - 2018 (in thousands)

250

218

$179,450 $175,000

200

240

150

180

100

120

0 J

Source: Realtors Association of Southern Minnesota

Source: Realtor Association of Southern Minnesota

Interest Rates: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage

Includes single family homes attached and detached, and town homes and condos

Housing starts: Mankato/North Mankato

— 2017 — 2018

- 2017 - 2018

5.5

5.0

4.6%

4.5

4.0

3.5 3.0

$17,848

20000

9000

$1,261

25000

3.7% J

10 A

Source: Freddie Mac

Source: Cities of Mankato/North Mankato

Wishing You and Your Family A Happy & Bountiful

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24 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

We Know Commercial Real Estate.

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100 Warren Street, Suite 708, Mankato, MN 56001

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The Commodity Title in the House version of the Farm Bill contained a provision that would allow producers that were impacted by long-term severe drought from 2008-2012, the years used for yield updates in the current Farm Bill for yield updates, to have their program yield recalculated by averaging yields for the 2013-2017 crop years. This would primarily affect counties in the Southern Plains states, such as Texas and western portions of Oklahoma and Kansas. The Upper Midwest had some very good corn and soybean yields from 2013-2017, meaning that producers could see substantial benefits, if they too were allowed to update their farm program yields in the New Farm Bill.

Gas Prices

Gas prices-Mankato

— 2017 — 2018

54 43 $2.78

32 21 10 0

Gas prices-Minnesota

$2.24

— 2017 — 2018

Bottom-Line on finalizing a New Farm Bill

54 $2.82

43 32

$2.35

21 10

C. Sankey

Source: GasBuddy.com

Stocks of local interest

Sept. 12

Oct. 9

Percent change

Archer Daniels

$49.89

$20.29

+2.0%

Ameriprise

$141.41

$151.74

+6.0%

Best Buy

$78.28

$71.09

-9.2%

Brookfield Property

$19.86

$20.29

+2.0%

Crown Cork & Seal

$44.22

$48.86

+10.5%

Consolidated Comm.

$12.71

$13.45

+5.8%

Fastenal

$58.76

$56.20

-4.4%

General Mills

$47.51

$43.21

-9.0%

Itron

$66.30

$58.24

-12.1%

Johnson Outdoors

$101.35

$81.71

-19.4%

$206.71

$211.81

+2.5%

Target

$88.65

$85.78

-3.3%

U.S. Bancorp

$53.55

$54.20

+2.0%

Winland

$1.15

$1.05

-5.8%

Xcel

$48.59

$48.88

+0.6% C. Sankey

There are still a lot of hurdles to clear before a new Farm Bill is finalized. Once legislation is approved by the Conference Committee, it will need to be approved by both houses of Congress, before being sent to President Trump for final approval. This will likely need to happen by the end of 2018 or very early in 2019, in order for the new legislation to be implemented for the 2019 crop year. Given the political discord that currently exists in Congress, together with possible changes following the mid-term elections this year, completing a new Farm Bill in 2018 could be challenging. If no new Farm Bill is completed in 2018, there it is highly likely that the current Farm Bill could be extended for the 2019 crop year. Well over 90 percent of corn producers are currently in the ARC-CO program. If those producers are forced to stay in the ARC-CO program for the 2019 crop year, rather than being allowed to switch to the PLC program, it could end up being quite costly to many farm operators at a time when a farm program “safety net” is needed the most.

Kent Thiesse is farm management analyst and senior vice president, MinnStar Bank, Lake Crystal. 507-381-7960); kent.thiesse@ minnstarbank.com

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 25

Minnesota Business Updates

■

upper Midwest energy mix, and roughly half of its carbon-free energy generation. The company plans for its Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear plants to continue to provide at least a quarter of its generating mix through 2030 as renewable energy replaces coal and natural gas plants, according to the Duluth News Tribune. The goal is to reach 85 percent carbon-free energy generation by 2030. “It’s an exciting time to be in our industry as we see this shift in resources,” said Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The lion’s share of carbon-free energy generation will come from wind power. The company said it expects to produce enough wind energy by 2021 to power every home in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

■ ADM’s ethanol battle Archer Daniels Midland has sold unusually high volumes of ethanol into the Chicago market since late last year as export markets dried up, driving down prices in the Midwest and angering rivals, Reuters reports. ADM, a major ethanol producer, accounted for 61 percent of the 9.5 million barrels sold at the Chicago hub between November and August, which reportedly has sparked complaints from traders as ethanol futures prices traded on the Chicago Board of Trade to $1.21/gallon, lowest in more than a decade. In July, S&P Global Platts hosted an ethanol pricing methodology workshop in Houston at which senior traders from the largest U.S. ethanol trading shops expressed anger about ADM’s influence on the market. Platts says it is conducting ongoing discussions about evolving its pricing methodology, including feedback from the July conference.

■ Target upgrading Target has been busy upgrading its supply chain, and this holiday season marks its biggest test yet. Early last year, the retailer said it would pour $7 billion into investments to turn around its business over the next three years, CNBC reports. A portion went into bulking up its delivery options — making it more convenient for people

■ Xcel ups renewables Xcel Energy aims to grow the share of carbon-free energy in its overall generating mix in the next decade, and Prairie Island nuclear plant will continue to play a key role for years to come. Nuclear energy accounts for a third of Xcel Energy’s

Employment/Unemployment Initial unemployment claims Nine-county Mankato region Major August Industry 2017 2018 Construction Manufacturing Retail Services Total*

114 131 25 105 375

Local non-farm jobs Percent change ‘17-’18

56 123 33 101 313

Construction 126000 126000 Manufacturing Retail 113000 Services 113000 Total*

2,288 1,609 699 3,555 8,157

2,018 1,374 909 3,078 7,379

126000

2100 1400

113000

700 100000

Minnesota Local non-farm jobs (in thousands)

Percent change ‘17-’18

8000 3500 3500 6000 2800 2800 4000 2100 2100

+11.8% -14.6% +30.0% -13.4% -9.5%

Services consist of administration, educational, health care and social 100000 assistance, food andJ otherF miscellaneous services. M A M J J A S O 100000 J don’t F equal M total A because M Jsome Jcategories A not S listed. O N *Categories

26 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

3500 2800

-50.9% -6.1% +32.0% -3.8% -16.5%

Minnesota initial unemployment claims August 2017 2018

126,934 132,458

139000

Services consist of administration, educational, health care and social assistance, food and other miscellaneous services. *Categories don’t equal total because some categories not listed.

Major Industry 139000 139000

- 2017 - 2018

Nine-county Mankato region

- 2017 - 2018 2,773 3,008

2000 1400 1400

700

700 0 J F M A M J J A S O N D 0 J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D

200000 150000 100000 50000 0

to shop in Target stores and online. While Target declined to say exactly how much it spent on those efforts, it’s easy to see the results. It has rolled out free two-day shipping, acquired a transportation company and is adding services like curbside pickup and same-day delivery in major metro areas. There’s a huge opportunity for Target as it competes with rivals like Walmart and Amazon this holiday season. These new convenient options may make the difference in where a shopper goes to stock up on holiday treats and gifts.

■ Fastenal bringing jobs Hundreds of new jobs are expected in Winona over the next five years, thanks to a redevelopment project from Fastenal. The city of Winona is receiving a redevelopment grant for $175,000 from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. It will go toward the demolition of several vacant buildings, and then the construction of new offices for Fastenal, by the Highway 43 bridge near 2nd Street. The city says the project will increase the tax base by 139000$500,000. nearly It’s expected to add about 70 jobs per year for the next five years.

■ Best Buy positioning

3500 2800

E-commerce currently accounts for 126000 2100 around 14 percent of Best Buy’s total revenue, but the company has been ■ U.S. Bank offers small loans 1400 emphasizing e-commerce growth going 113000 U.S. Bank is offering small-dollar loans to its depositors forward, in order to remain competitive 700 via a digital process, aiming to provide cash when in the Amazon dominated retail market, customers get in a short-term bind. The product is called 100000 0 Forbes reports. The electronics retailer is executing on J F M A M J J A S O N D J Simple Loan. its strategy to cut costs, optimize square footage, grow Consumer-advocacy groups have long pushed banks online sales and stabilize its revenue stream. to offer small-dollar loans that compete with credit cards Accordingly, Best Buy’s revenues are expected to grow and other forms of short-term lending that can be slightly through 2020 and its e-commerce sales should expensive. contribute about 20 percent of the total sales. 139000 3500 The 8000 loan is for any dollar amount from $100 to 200000 139000 3500 This figure should help the company offset secular $1,000 2800 and has to be paid back in three payments over pressure on brick-and-mortar retail locations. 2800 three 6000months. 150000 126000 2100bank charges $12 to $15 for every $100 borrowed 126000 The 2100 depending on the payback method. 4000 100000 1400 113000

113000

1400

700 2000

700

100000

100000 J F

J M

Employment/Unemployment

F M A A M J

M J

J A

J S

Local number of unemployed

4000 2100 1400 2000

A O

S N

O D

8000 6000

4,409 3,188

4000

0 F F

J F M A M M A M J J M A M J J

J A A

J S S

A S O N O N D O N D

109,940 77,958

100000 50000 J

M MJ

J JA

J JS

A AO

S N S

O D O

N N

D D

(includes all of Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties) 200000 150000

August

100000

0 F

J M

F M A A M J

M J

J A

2017

2018

3.0% 59,926 1,742

2.1% 59,642 1,286

J S

A O

S N

O D

Unemployment rates Counties, state, nation County/area

- 2017 - 2018

150000

F M A M AJ FA M

Unemployment rate Number of non-farm jobs 50000 50000 Number of unemployed

100000

200000

0 0 J F JM

Mankato/North Mankato Metropolitan statistical area

150000

2000

700 0 J 0 J

D 0

200000

Minnesota number of unemployed

- 2017 - 2018

Nine-county Mankato region 8000 3500 6000 2800

50000

Blue Earth Brown Faribault Le Sueur Martin Nicollet Sibley Waseca Watonwan Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota U.S.

July 2017

July 2018

3.1% 3.2% 3.7% 3.6% 3.5% 2.8% 3.0% 3.0% 4.0% 3.3% 3.3% 4.6%

2.4% 2.9% 2.7% 2.9% 3.2% 2.0% 2.3% 2.3% 3.4% 2.4% 2.7% 4.1%

Source: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development C. Sankey

Minnesota initial• unemployment MN Valley Business NOVEMBER 2018 claims • 27

Sponsored by the Carl & Verna Schmidt Foundation

A hot, America First summer for investments

By Stan Choe | Associated Press

or investments this summer, it was America First. Funds that focus on U.S. stocks charged to record heights, bolstered by Apple and other companies reporting tax-cut-fueled profit gains. The economy also hit its fastest growth rate in nearly four years. Other areas of the market were more restrained. Worries about a trade war, falling currency values and slower economic growth meant many foreign stock funds had more modest gains or fell. Bond funds struggled in the face of rising interest rates. Here’s a look at some of the trends that shaped the third quarter for funds.

U.S. STOCKS ON TOP

Expectations were already high when companies began reporting their second-quarter results in early July, with Wall Street penciling in profit growth of about 18 percent for companies in the S& P 500 index. The actual numbers were even better. Profit growth ended up being 25 percent, according to FactSet. It’s just the latest step in a long run since the bull market was born out of the rubble of the 2008 financial crisis. But after such an extended climb, some fund managers are urging caution, or at least lowered expectations. “Things feel good now,” said Matthew McLennan, head of global value at First Eagle Investment Management. But the big moves for stocks in recent years mean they’re more expensive than usual. “Now is the time to be preparing yourself for a more difficult environment.”

28 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

FOREIGN STOCKS LAGGED

Emerging-market stock funds, which were some of the market’s biggest winners last year, struggled during the quarter. Several factors combined to hold them down, including higher U.S. interest rates, falling currency values, slower growth and worriesand the largest international stock fund by assets was up 1.3 percent for the quarter, as of Wednesday. That’s about a fifth of the 6.7 percent return for the largest U.S. stock mutual fund. “That makes sense, we have the strongest earnings growth,” said Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at Nuveen. But he also cautioned that earnings growth is likely to fall off for U.S. companies next year. “I think it’s creating a lot of opportunities outside the U.S.”

BREAKING EVEN WAS A VICTORY FOR BOND FUNDS

The Federal Reserve continued its campaign to gradually raise interest rates off their record lows from the financial crisis. Its latest move came Wednesday, when the Fed raised short-term rates for the third time this year. Yields have climbed as a result, and the 10-year Treasury’s yield rose above 3 percent during the quarter and approached its highest level since 2011. When interest rates rise, bond funds feel pain because prices drop for the bonds they hold in their portfolios. Those bonds suddenly become less attractive than newly issued bonds, which pay higher yields, and their prices drop accordingly. about trade-war repercussions. MV

Sponsored by the Carl & Verna Schmidt Foundation

Even a small amount of medical debt can trigger headaches

By Tom Murphy | Associated Press

t doesn’t take a huge unpaid medical bill to make a collection agency come calling ... and calling. Researchers found in a study of credit reports that more than 2 percent of adults had medical bills under $200 sent to a collection agency. Over half of the annual medical collections were for less than $600, according to the study, which examined 2016 credit reports for more than 4 million unidentified people. “A lot of these bills are much more modest than many people will think,” said one of the researchers, Benedic Ippolito, an economist with the think tank American Enterprise Institute. Hospitals or other care providers will send a bill to collections when the patient hasn’t paid over a certain amount of time, often six to 12 months. That can hurt the patient’s credit rating and lead to repeat phone calls from the agency that takes over the unpaid debt, according to debt experts. The study, which was published recently in the journal Health Affairs, also found that trouble with medical debt can hit sooner than patients might think. Here’s a deeper look inside the issue.

WHO WINDS UP IN DEBT TROUBLE

Researchers found that the percentage of people in trouble with medical debt and the size of what is owed generally peaked at a young age, even though medical spending typically rises as people grow older. People in their late 20s were nearly three times as likely to have a medical bill sent to collections than those in their late 60s, when people can qualify for the federal Medicare coverage program. The average size of the medical debt dropped nearly 40 percent from ages 27 to 64. All told, about 16 percent of the credit reports included medical bills in collections. The study’s picture of medical debt had some limitations. It only identified bills that landed in collections. It doesn’t show debt paid by other means like credit cards.

WHAT PUSHES THEM THERE

The study didn’t delve into the factors, but Ippolito noted that patients in their late 20s probably haven’t reached their peak earnings or built up savings, and they are more likely to be uninsured. Insurance protection also can be limited because some plans require patients to pay thousands of dollars toward a claim before coverage begins. The extent of a patient’s illness and whether they miss work often factor into debt problems, said Erin Singleton of the nonprofit Patient Advocate Foundation, which helps critically or chronically ill patients deal with debt and insurance problems. Neither Singleton nor the foundation was involved in the Health Affairs study. Medical bills also can remain unpaid if patients must feed a family or pay utilities first. “If it’s a matter of paying a medical bill or putting food on the table, they’re going to put food on the table,” Singleton said.

WHAT TO DO

Take action when bills arrive. Check to make sure your insurer processed the claim correctly. Many invoices list a phone number if patients have questions or need help. “Don’t put a bunch of envelopes on the top of your desk and pretend that they don’t exist,” Singleton said. Billing departments typically will work with patients who have payment concerns, said Rita Robinson, a case manager for the advocacy group. They might be able to set up a payment plan or connect you with some discounts or charity that the hospital offers. Patients can no longer get that help once a bill goes to collections. Robinson said many patients, especially those with cancer, have more anxiety over the bills they will face than over their actual treatment. They’re often worried that the treatments will stop if they can’t pay their bills. “It’s very terrifying,” she said. MV

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 29

PROGRAM SPONSOR:

WELCOME

to the Leadership Institute Class of 2018-2019 Aracely Alba Martin Hailey Becker Megan Berglund Jay Buboltz Chris Crowell Jason Edstrom Sarah Goettl Eric Hampton Michelle Hankins Scott Hare Bill Henk Matthew Holt Seth Hoscheit Nate Host Adam Huber Eric Iverson Susan Jameson Christopher Kamath Brianna Kerry Carrie Kijenski Travis Kittleson Kurt Klinder Brian Kottke

BankVista Agri-Business Insurance Services (ABIS) Gustavus Adolphus College First National Bank MN Hilton Garden Inn MTU On-Site Energy The Occasions Group Walmart Distribution Center - DC7079 Compeer Financial Mankato Area Public Schools (MAPS) Consolidated Communications U.S. Bank ISD77 Community Education & Recreation (MAPS) City of North Mankato Ardent Mills Maschka, Riedy, Ries & Frentz Law Firm Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. Gislason & Hunter, LLP Capstone Visit Mankato Kato Engineering Inc. City of Mankato Mayo Clinic Health System

30 â&#x20AC;˘ NOVEMBER 2018 â&#x20AC;˘ MN Valley Business

Jesse Kwasniewski Krista Lapic Jessica Miller Jordan Moen Michael Much Anne Mueller Jacob Ouradnik Nick Rehder Steven Romnes Marissa Sheely Jacob Sherlock Barbara Sherman Emily Sieberg Michael Slotemaker Megan Smith Heidi Suess Jason Urban Estelle Vlieger Meigan Westermann Tonya Weston Lisa Witte Calla Wolfe

Ardent Mills Kato Engineering Inc. South Central Workforce Council (MN DEED) Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato Clinic MRCI Abdo, Eick & Meyers, LLP MEI MEI Abdo, Eick & Meyers, LLP Blethen Berens MTU On-Site Energy United Prairie Bank South Central College MN Valley Federal Credit Union Blue Earth County Jordan Sands Bethany Lutheran College The Occasions Group Mankato Clinic United Prairie Bank MEI

The Greater Mankato Business Awards & Hall of Fame is Greater Mankato’s premier business awards event. This event is a time where Greater Mankato Growth, Visit Mankato, City Center Partnership and GreenSeam honor the outstanding businesses, professionals and organizations within the Greater Mankato community. Register for tickets by November 8th.

BUSINESS AWARDS

and

HALL of FAME

greatermankato.com/hall-fame

WHY JOIN

GREATER MANKATO GROWTH?

GREATER MANKATO GROWTH AWARDS Hall of Fame

Distinguished Business Award

EXPOSURE

Entrepreneurial Business Build your Brand; grow Partnership your business. Brian Fazio Business Education Award Stand out and get noticed! Hap Halligan Leadership Award Young Professional of the Year

LEARNING

LIV Aveda Salon & Spa & Massad Group Neubau Holdings True Real Estate

NETWORKING TW WORKING ORKING Education Partners: Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, Central College It’s not just st South WHO WHO you ou Business know, it’sPartners: who knows k EI Microcircuits, Dotson Iron Castings, Jones Metal, YOU. Networking IS Big Ideas Powerful. Betty Ouren, 2003-04 Jaci Sprague

BE IN THE KNOW

VISIT MANKATO AWARDS Receive our member only Gain access cces to Member Exclusive Content to help Bring It Home Award Minneopa State Park/Bison Preserve emails making you the first to grow your business. know the latest news. Distinguished Business Award Jack McGowans Farm

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE CITY CENTER PARTNERSHIP AWARDS TALENT REFERRALS Renovation $500,000 -BENEFITS $1,000,000 Flask, by Mankato Independent Originals We only refer member RETENTION

Keep your employees Sustainability engaged and retained with access to our member only Downtown Detail events and programs. Creative Placemaking

Mankato Place Mallbusinesses. Word of mouth and direct referrals come from being a valuedGrounds Parklet Twin Rivers Council for the Arts – Common member of GMG. The Hub Food Park

To be revealed at event SHAPE YOUR CREDIBILITY Raise your reputation by COMMUNITY GREENSEAM AWARDS belonging. Research shows

CityArt “People’s Choice” Award

Your investment helps us businesses whoCounty-Waseca belong Seamed Success that B.E.S.T. of Waseca Vision 2030 continue to build thein best to a chamber of commerce environment for your more successful. Growing GreenSeam areAker — Orlando Saez and Todd Golly business andinitsthe employees.

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

EVENT SPONSORS:

DINNER SPONSORS:

TABLE SPONSORS:

greatermankato.com/join April 2018

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 31 greatermankato.com/join

RIBBON CUTTING

All Star Nutrition 1861 Adams Street, Suite 300, Mankato

Lil’ Bee’s Learning Center - Site 4 103 Homestead Road, Mankato

RIBBON CUTTING

Lil’Bee’s Learning Center - Site 3 1720 Bassett Drive, Mankato

Wild Sparrow Co. 722 North Riverfront Drive, Mankato

GROWTH

in Greater Mankato

Cabinet enCounters 1415 1st Avenue, Suite 10, Mankato

Feeding Our Communities Partners 2120 Howard Drive W, Suite F+G, North Mankato

Flask 100 East Walnut Street, Mankato

Jim Hagedorn for Congress 11 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 007, Mankato

NEWEST

Now Available

Attention Greater Mankato Growth Members greatermankato.com/marketing

32 • NOVEMBER 2018 • MN Valley Business

MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES

2019

The Design Element 1711 Premier Drive, Mankato

Greater Mankato Growth Members

7:30 - 9:00 am

5:00 - 7:00 pm November 6 December 4

Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota J. Longs for Men

WHY JOIN 2018 Business After Hours Sponsored by:

EXPOSURE Build your Brand;

November 14 December 19

GREATER MANKATO GROWTH? NETWORKING TW WORKING ORKING

grow your business. September Business Before Hours Stand out and get hosted by Minneopa Golf Club noticed!

September Business Before Hours by Stifel

It’s not just st WHO WHO you ou hosted know, it’s who knows k YOU. Networking IS Powerful.

BE IN THE KNOW

LEARNING

Gain access cces to Member Exclusive Content to help grow your business.

TALENT RETENTION

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union Nesbit Agency

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS

Receive our member only emails making you the first to know the latest news.

REFERRALS

We only refer member businesses. Word of mouth Keep your employees and direct referrals come Business After and Business Before Hours gives representatives from Greater Mankato Growth member businesses at the Engaged Level or engaged and retained with from businesses. being a valued higher an opportunity to get with one another to exchange ideas and learn about each other’s For more information on these access to together our member only and other member events, visitprograms. greatermankato.com/events. member of GMG. events and

SHAPE YOUR CREDIBILITY Raise your reputation by COMMUNITY belonging. Research shows

Your investment helps us continue to build the best environment for your business and its employees.

that businesses who belong to a chamber of commerce are more successful.

SAVE THE DATE

Thursday, December 6 The 36th Annual Rural Legislative Forum brings key public leaders with a wide-range of attendees from the agriculture sector – from producers to manufacturing, to professional services, to education and research – in greatermankato.com/join candid conversations about critical issues April 2018 facing the rural economy and potential solutions. Learn more or sign up for sponsorship opportunities at greenseam.org/rural.

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 33 greatermankato.com/join

Mark your calendars for Shop Small in the City Center on Saturday, Nov. 24. This is a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. City Center Partnership will be offering a passport (and prizes!) to help you find your new favorite City Center small business. Find out more details and a list of participating businesses at citycentermankato.com.

34 â&#x20AC;˘ NOVEMBER 2018 â&#x20AC;˘ MN Valley Business

MANKATO’S LATEST PUBLIC ART INITIATIVE

is its largest yet – figuratively and literally.

By Megan Flanagan, Director City Center Partnership, LLC

ustralian artist Guido van Helten will create one of his larger-than-life murals on the Ardent Mills silos in City Center Mankato’s Old Town District, right in the heart of the downtown. The choice to transform these silos was made partially because of the role that milling and agribusiness played in the development of Mankato and its economy; they are also located at the gateway into the City Center and will provide a very visible canvas for this unique piece of art.

WHY JOIN

GREATER MANKATO GROWTH?

Van Helten is an internationally recognized artist creating EXPOSURE contemporary street art throughout the world which is your Brand; underpinned by his explorationBuild of community and identity NETWORKING TW WORKING ORKING grow your business. generated through photography and large-scale mural Stand out and get It’s not just st WHO WHO you ou installations. noticed!

know, it’s who knows k YOU. Networking IS Born in Canberra and growing up in inner city Melbourne, Powerful.

Australia, the artist was influenced at a young age by traditional graffiti movements, leading to an introduction to aerosol at a young age. After graduating with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in LEARNING Printmaking at Southern Cross University, van Helten began the Gain access cces Member development of his to contemporary work, now closely aligned Exclusive Content to help muralism across the world. with the movement of large-scale grow your business.

BE IN THE KNOW

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS

His work has developed out of his keen interests in travel, photography, architecture and learning about cultures in connection with their landscapes. Receiving attention for his TALENT work in regional communities around Australia, van Helten was RETENTION nominated for the Sir John Sulman prize at the Art Gallery of North South (NSW) in 2016 for his work in the community KeepWales your employees and retained withand his ability to work on of Brim, engaged Victoria. These interests access to ourhave member only commissions across the large-scale projects spurred events andEurope, programs. world throughout Scandinavia, the United States and Australia.

Receive our member only emails making you the first to know the latest news.

REFERRALS We only refer member businesses. Word of mouth and direct referrals come from being a valued member of GMG.

SHAPE YOUR CREDIBILITY

“Since 2013, my practice has evolved into an exploration of identity in connection with ourCOMMUNITY urban environment or aRaise sort your of reputation by belonging. Your investment helps us mural projects Research shows architectural sociology. Through this, I approach that businesses who belong continue to build the best to uncover using photography and community engagement to a chamber of commerce environmentnature for your the human stories and site-specific and connections to are more successful. and its employees. place. My work explores business this relationship through images and it is designed to align with the architectural sites,” he says. Van Helten will spend several weeks in Mankato this fall, getting to know the community and its residents as part of the process of developing his design. Mural painting is scheduled for September 2019. Representatives from Ardent Mills said in a statement, “We are honored our elevator will serve as the canvas for a mural that welcomes all those who live, work and visit our community. We are pleased to support the mural project and can’t wait to see it all come to life.” Donations may be made to the project through the Mankato Area Foundation at 507-389-4583.

greatermankato.com/join April 2018

Photo by Guido van Helten Fortsmith, USA 2016

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 35 greatermankato.com/join

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What is your Big Idea? Consulting Services offered to area organizations.

he Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) is focused on cultivating the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. Our entrepreneurial students are from many disiplines, they are self-motivated, hard-working and wildly creative possibility thinkers. The CIE gives these innovative thinkers real-world experiences within area firms, supports them as they launch start-ups, and connects them to the community and university in ways that go beyond traditional classrooms. Ideal projects are ones that can be done in 6 to 12 weeks by a team of 3 to 5 students, though we will consider larger projects. Projects must have educational value and provide something of value to your organization.

CONSULTING CONSULTING • Observational research to provide data about THE BENEFITS ARE RECIPROCAL: traffic and customer experience • Marketing research to get information about Organizations that have STUDENTS worked with our student a set of business or individual customersLOCATIONStudents that work on teams enjoy the energy and consulting projects report • Preparation or review of a manual or set of Hubbard Building enthusiasm of the students higher engagement in their instructions for a workplace and have found practical classes and inDrive, the community, 424 N. Riverfront Suite 210HELPING value in the research done • Development of a strategic marketing plan and they take great pride Mankato, Minnesota and work accomplished. in having helped56001 solve real • Industry or product research to determine problems in the community. COMMUNITY cob.mnsu.edu/cie feasibility of a new service or product • Data analysis to answer business questions • Secret shopper services HOURS • Your Big Idea…

CENTER FOR

8:30 am - 4:30 pm Real-World Application (when the University is in FOR session) MORE CONSULTING INFORMATION:

INNOVATION & 507-389-1018 ENTREPRENEURSHIP cie@mnsu.edu CONTACT

COLLEGE OF

https://link.mnsu.edu/cieconsult

KATO HOURS ENGINEERING

FUN.COM

Minnesota State University, Mankato College of Business

PROJECT EXAMPLES

The CIE facilitates opportunities for students and organizations to collaborate on consulting projects.

8:30 am - 4:30 pm (when the University is inTeam: session)Dr. John Kaliski (Assoc. Professor Team: Joseph Paulsen, Pinnacle Solutions (Adjunct Prof. in Marketing) and LOCATION in Management), students from multiple Entrepreneurship MGMT424 443 student organizations (Marketing, Design, & N. students Riverfront Drive, Suite 210 (Hubbard Building) Entrepreneurship) Mankato, MN 56001 BUSINESS Marketing research to determine market size and potential for national expansion of cob.mnsu.edu/cie one of Develop a plan to boost sales on an underused their profit centers. This project involved industry website. This project involves: Digital marketing training research to find a viable contact database MN Valley• Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 37 • Developing a marketing strategy for the site and the creation of a survey and cover letter. • Managing a digital marketing campaign The survey and letter were mailed to 1,300

KEEP YOUR EMPLOYEES HEALTHY.

Mayo Clinic Health System Occupational Medicine offers the services you need to help keep your employees healthy and safe. • DOT physicals

• Injury care

• Medical surveillance

• Pre-employment exams

Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato Call 507-594-7370 to learn more. mayoclinichealthsystem.org

MN Valley Business • NOVEMBER 2018 • 38