IQ Magazine- Q3 2014

IQ

3RD QUARTER 2014

ECONOMY

Minding the Gap—Employers, educators join forces to fill skills gap.

Pg. 30

COMMUNITY

Rural Innovation—The best ideas surface when there’s healthy and diverse creative tension. Pg. 14

PHILANTHROPY

Future Funding—Scholarship funds help tomorrow’s workers get today’s education. Pg. 18

A Root Issue

Why quality pediatric dental care matters to our economy.

Pg. 22

“You hear about other people who have cancer.

Then I realized it’s me we’re talking about.”

– Tina Hauck, Brainerd

Tina discovered a lump in her right breast in October 2013. n it’s cancer, A biopsy confirmed cancer. en it’s cancer, At the Essentia Health Cancer Center, Tina found Patient ehere herewith with Navigator Missy Laposky at her side during all the tests very day. and treatment. As Tina began losing her hair from the every day. chemotherapy, family, friends and co-workers gave her hats.

The hats kept her head etotohome. home.

From left to right: From left toRN, right: Missy Laposky, BA, OCN; Missy Laposky, Laura Joque, MD; RN, BA, OCN; Joque, MD; OCN; BarbLaura Morris, RN, BSN, Morris, RN,and BSN, OCN; Aby Barb Z. Philip, MBBS Aby Z. Philip, MBBS and warmJessica and also warmed her heart.

Nybakken, AOCNP Jessica Nybakken, AOCNP

Essentia Health’s cancer experts are here to make sure that the best care is available close to home, family and friends.

For an appointment call 218.828.3113.

Dr. Laura Joque

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Missy Laposky, RN, BA, OCN

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IQ

Initiative Foundation Quarterly 3RD QUARTER 2014

Contents FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

22

6

27

30

A Root Issue

An ounce of prevention and wider access to dental care could help Central Minnesota beat childhood’s most preventable disease.

Taking Invasive Action

Lawmakers, conservationists, scientists and activists come together to limit aquatic invasive species spread.

33 Change Agents

Whether or not the switch is voluntary, people often find deep satisfaction in a new career.

Regional Highlights — Get the latest economic and community development highlights from the 14-county area.

10

Business:

Liquid Networks — Bestselling author Steven Johnson explains where good ideas come from.

14

Minding the Gap

Employers, educators unite to fill a forecasted skills gap to keep the economy humming.

Initiatives:

Community:

Innovation Motivation — Why the

often overused word “innovation” is crucial to Central Minnesota’s future.

18

Philanthropy:

Future Funding — Community

scholarship funds help tomorrow’s workers get the educations they need to thrive.

38

How-to:

It’s Relative — How to keep a family

business thriving—for the good of the family and the community.

50

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reclaims and turns logs into unique, rustic furniture.

52

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3RD QUARTER 2014

3

Dear Friends, Mark and Melissa were excited about enrolling grandsons Jack and Benny in a community soccer program this summer when they moved to their new town. Although he’d never touched a soccer ball, Mark was recruited—with some desperation—to coach.

Understandably, Melissa was quite disappointed several weeks into the season when 3-year-old Benny announced that he ON THE COVER didn’t want to play to soccer anymore.

Wider dental care access “I’m thick of thoccer,” he said. “There’th too could help Central Minnesota much kicking and I’m thick of my coach.” beat childhood’s most Learning the new skills he needed to be preventable disease. successful was a challenge. Benny wasn’t sure it See Pg. 22 was worth the investment of time and energy, and he lacked the confidence he needed to succeed.

Like Benny, many employees are challenged to learn the new skills they need for changing jobs and emerging careers. Employers, on the other hand, are eager to find or train workers with the skills they need for the jobs of the future. It’s been especially challenging in the fast-changing manufacturing sector, where almost half of Minnesota manufacturers surveyed couldn’t find qualified candidates to fill available positions.

Economic forecasts predict there won’t be enough skilled workers in the pipeline to boost productivity and replace retiring Baby Boomers. But communities across Central Minnesota are getting ahead of the curve with robust job forecasting data, growing efforts to align educators and employers and smart community engagement.

This issue of IQ highlights a number of powerful initiatives under way to prepare workers through strong partnerships between employers, educational institutions and workforce programs.

Do we have a skills gap? Yes. Are Central Minnesotans stepping up? Absolutely.

By the way, Benny did return to soccer. He’s improving nicely, and he’s working things out with his coach, who happens to be his dad!

IQ

VOLUME 14, 3RD QUARTER 2014

Initiative Foundation President | Kathy Gaalswyk Marketing & Communications Manager | Bob McClintick

Editorial Managing Editor | Elizabeth Foy Larsen Writer | Laura Billings Coleman Writer | Sarah Colburn Writer | Gene Rebeck Writer | Andy Steiner Writer | Maria Surma Manka Art Art Director | Photographer Photographer Photographer

Andrea Baumann | John Linn | Michael Schoenecker | Bill Jones

Advertising/Subscriptions Advertising Director | Brian Lehman Advertising Manager | Lois Head Advertiser Services | Janelle Breen Subscriber Services | Alyson Twardowski

Enjoy the magazine.

405 First Street SE Little Falls, MN 56345 (320) 632-9255 | ifound.org

Kathy Gaalswyk PRESIDENT

IQ Magazine unlocks the power of Minnesota leaders to understand and take action on regional issues.

P.S.—Welcome to our first granddaughter, Genevieve Jean, born to Luke and Anna on July 9 at 7 pounds, 3 ounces.

RANGEDELIVERS.COM Printed at Range, Inc. with Soy-Based Ink on Recycled Paper

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4 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

Service.

Especially for you.

CASS

WADENA CROW WING

TODD

We exist to serve Region 5.

MORRISON

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IQ Initiatives

Regional Investment Highlights BENTON COUNTY

Foley’s Future

Foley, a participant in the Initiative Foundation’s Thriving Communities (TCI) program, is making good on its plans to create opportunities and overcome barriers as it works to become a great place to live, work and play. The city’s TCI task force is eyeing sidewalk and trail improvements; crafting a downtown design plan for storefronts and streetscapes; and bringing generations together to talk about Foley’s future through its “Party in the Park” program.

CASS COUNTY

Eat, Learn, Play

The Pine River-Backus Family Center and The Warehouse, with the help of a summertime VISTA member, have collaborated to create a happy, healthy summertime gathering place for kids. For $15 per child ($25 per family), kids who might not otherwise have a daytime hangout can learn, play and get healthy meals—all under adult supervision. The Initiative Foundation-supported Summer Youth Program is expected to be a regular community option for years to come.

CHISAGO COUNTY

Clean-Cut Community

CROW WING COUNTY

CASS

WADENA

With a $5,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation, Rise Inc. launched Central Minnesota Lawn Care Services as a way to keep Chisago County lawns beautiful and offer meaningful employment and training for adults with physical and mental health disabilities. Funds were used to develop a comprehensive business plan and purchase necessary work supplies. By summer’s end, revenue from the social enterprise covered all of the participant wages and equipment maintenance.

CROW WING

Collaborating for Kids

Crow Wing County kids are getting an early grip on reading, thanks to the Reach Out and Read program. Designed for kids age 6 months to 5 years old, the national literacy effort provides a book at each Essentia Health well-child visit.

The program is sponsored by the Initiative Foundation, Essentia Health, the St. Joseph’s Foundation, United Way, Independent School District 181 and Brainerd Lakes Area Early Childhood Coalition.

ISANTI COUNTY

Gimme BMX Shelter

Construction will begin this fall on a 73,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor bicycle motocross (BMX) facility in Isanti. The multi-million dollar stadium project to be built over the current Rum River BMX track received grant money from the Initiative Foundation. City leaders estimate the stadium will be ready by January 2015 and could attract up to 2,000 wintertime weekend visitors and may eventually attract a hotel to the community.

KANABEC COUNTY

Blazing Broadband Trails

Kanabec County officials have agreed to consider selling revenue bonds to expand high-speed broadband Internet to unserved and underserved areas of the county. The bonding option would provide local funding to leverage the state and federal matching funds necessary for broadband expansion to serve the entire county within two years.

6 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

TODD

MORRISON

MILLE LACS

BENTON STEARNS SHERBURNE

WRIGHT

Save the Shell

Funds still are being raised by the Rum River Community Foundation for its “Help Save the Milaca Band Shell” campaign. The initial project included new decking and a roofing system that matches the band shell’s original 1930s blueprints. A second phase focuses on repairs to the fieldstone stage wings, exterior walls and stage entrance. The Rum River Community Foundation is a Turn Key component fund of the Initiative Foundation.

MORRISON COUNTY

Mad for Their Splash Pad

After five years of anticipation, numerous fundraisers and a few construction delays, the Royalton Splash Pad opened this summer to offer a blast of community fun. The $275,000 low-maintenance, low-impact project is an offshoot of a 2009 Initiative Foundation-led community visioning effort.

PINE COUNTY

The Motivation: Job Creation

Pine County is spearheading a countywide economic development plan with the help of a $5,000 Initiative Foundation grant. The grant helps the county shape strategies to provide leadership and coordination for cities, townships and associated economic development authorities as they work to retain, expand and attract living-wage jobs.

SHERBURNE COUNTY

Fall Wildlife Festival

Mark your calendars for Saturday, Oct. 4, and the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge’s annual Fall Wildlife Festival. From 10 a.m. to 3p.m. you can enjoy a 5K run/walk or learn from author and wildlife photographer Stan Tekiela. Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge Fund is a Turn Key component fund hosted by the Initiative Foundation.

STEARNS COUNTY

Midsota Expansion PINE

KANABEC

E

MILLE LACS COUNTY

CHISAGO

ISANTI

A business expansion project at Midsota Manufacturing in Avon is expected to create five to 10 new jobs and retain another 40 positions. The $2.2 million project, supported in part by an Initiative Foundation loan, allows Midsota to purchase an existing 50,000-square-foot building in Avon to expand its production capacity. Midsota makes skid steer attachments and dump trailers.

TODD COUNTY

Help for Hewitt

The people of Hewitt and surrounding townships continue to need your help.

Many homeowners are forced to replace furnaces and other costly appliances following a 5-inch July rainstorm. State and federal aid likely won’t reach individual homeowners. The Initiative Foundation, in response to the disaster, partnered with the region to create the Hewitt Area Relief Fund. Visit http://goo. gl/2eNaVc to give.

WADENA COUNTY

A Grand Opening

The Maslowski Wellness and Research Center in Wadena is on track for a November grand opening. Years in the making following a 2010 EF4 tornado that destroyed dozens of homes and numerous public amenities, the center features a pool plus recreation and fitness areas. Construction is supported by the Wadena Regional Wellness Center Fund, a Turn Key component fund of the Initiative Foundation.

WRIGHT COUNTY

Manufacturing Move

IKER Manufacturing, a provider of quality precision machining services, recently relocated its manufacturing facility from Rogers to St. Michael. The move will result in the creation of up to two new positions. IKER provides an array of CNC machining, turning and milling services. The Initiative Foundation provided a loan to help finance improvements for the new IKER facility.

3RD QUARTER 2014

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economy

Liquid Networks Bestselling author Steven Johnson explains where good ideas come from.

Where do good ideas come from? In the case of the Initiative Foundation, everywhere. Central Minnesota is blessed with many assets—gifted leaders, citizens with a strong work ethic and experts who push us to think differently about the issues that drive our work.

“That ability to absorb new ideas is crucial to the success of our region,” said Kathy Gaalswyk, president at the Initiative Foundation. “We work with communities to bolster their economic outlook. We are always looking for ways to generate the truly creative and innovative ideas that create jobs and keep talent here in Central Minnesota.”

So when one of our staff suggested we watch a TED Talk by Steven Johnson, the author of “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation,” we were intrigued. What we didn’t know was that we would be so impressed by Johnson’s ideas that we’d use them in our work with the businesses and communities in the area we serve.

Here’s an excerpt from one of Johnson’s most compelling ideas, the notion of what he calls “liquid networks.”

When we look back to the original innovation engine on earth, we find two essential properties. First a capacity to make new connections with as many other elements as possible. And second, a “randomizing” environment that encourages collisions between

all the elements in the system. On earth, at least, the story of life’s creativity begins with a liquid, high-density network: connectionhungry carbon atoms colliding with other elements in this primordial soup. . . . For ages, early humans lived in the cultural equivalent of gaseous networks: small packs of hunter-gatherers bouncing around the landscape, with almost no contact between groups.

But the rise of agriculture changed all that. For the first time, humans began forming groups that numbered in the thousands, or tens of thousands. After millennia of living in an intimate cluster of extended family, they began sharing a space crowded with strangers. With that increase in population came a crucial increase in the number of possible connections that find their way into other brains and take root there.

New forms of collaboration became possible.

Economists have a telling phrase for the kind of sharing that happens in these densely populated environments: “information spillover.” When you share a common civic culture with thousands of other people, good ideas have a tendency to flow from mind to mind, even when their creators try to keep them secret. “Spillover” is the right word: it captures the essential liquidity of information in dense settlements.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

10 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

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business, continued

It’s not that the network itself is smart; it’s that individuals get smarter because they’re connected to the network.

As species go, Homo sapiens had been on a fairly good run in the million years that led up to the birth of agriculture: its members had invented spoken language, art, sophisticated tools for hunting, and cooking. But until they settled in cities, they had not figured out a way to live inside a high-density liquid network.

What happened when they did? . . . Somewhere within a thousand years of the first cities emerging, human being invented a whole new way of inventing. A strong correlation exists between those dense settlements and the dramatic surge in the societal innovation rate. . . . No doubt some ingenious hunter-gatherer stumbled across the cleansing properties of ashes mixed with animal fat, or dreamed of building aqueducts. . . . we simply have no record of his epiphany.

In a low-density, chaotic network, ideas come and go. In the dense networks of the first cities, good ideas have a natural propensity to get into circulation. They spill over, and through that spilling they are preserved for future generations. . . . Before writing, before books, before Wikipedia, the liquid network of cities preserved the accumulated wisdom of human culture.

The pattern was repeated in the explosion of commercial and artistic innovation that emerged in the densely settled hill towns of Northern Italy, the birthplace of the European Renaissance. Once again, the rise of urban networks triggers a dramatic increase in the flow of good ideas.

Historians have long noted the connection between the artistic and scientific flowering of the Renaissance and the formation of early merchant capitalism in the region, which of course involved its own set of innovations in banking, accounting, and insurance. To be sure, capitalism accelerated the growth of the

Italian cities, and created surplus wealth that was then deployed to support artists and architects like Michelangelo and Brunelleschi. But the connection between capitalism and innovation is more subtle than we often make it out to be. . . . When economic systems shift from feudal structures to the nascent forms of modern capitalism, they become less hierarchical and more networked. A society organized around marketplaces, instead of castles or cloisters, distributes decision-making authority across a much larger network of individual minds. . . . When the first market towns emerged in Italy, they didn’t magically create some higher-level group consciousness. They simply widened the pool of minds that could come up with and share good ideas. This is not the wisdom of the crowd, but the wisdom of someone in the crowd. It’s not that the network itself is smart; it’s that individuals get smarter because they’re connected to the network.

Obviously, Johnson believes innovation can best happen in urban centers, where ideas pinball between thinkers and go through a process of expansion and refinement until the essence of a truly great innovation emerges. At the Initiative Foundation, we subscribe to that notion, but don’t agree that this process needs to occur in urban centers. “We think the work ethic and get ’er done mentality of rural areas also is ripe for innovative thinking,” said Gaalswyk. “And it’s our goal to bring together diverse segments of the population with differing points of view where we can incubate, foster and cultivate an environment where regular, dynamic interaction and healthy creative tension can be leveraged to surface innovative ideas.”

To get your community thinking about how to harness its potential with breakthrough ideas, contact the Initiative Foundation at (877) 632-9255.

From “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation” by Steven Johnson, copyright © 2010 by Steven Johnson. Used by permission of Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

12 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

3RD QUARTER 2014

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economy

Our Motivation for Innovation Why the often overused word ‘innovation’ is crucial to Central Minnesota’s future.

By Don Hickman and Bob McClintick

A few months ago our staff participated in a strategic planning exercise. As an icebreaker, the facilitator asked us to rattle off all the jargon we have overused to the point where the words have lost meaning or have become cliché. The list, as you might imagine, was long.

And guess what? We weren’t allowed to use anything from the list as we described our work, identified goals or framed the outcomes by which we would measure success.

Whether you work in the private, public or nonprofit sector, the word “innovation” would likely appear if you did the same exercise with your colleagues. Yet it would be difficult to have even the most routine conversation without this concept. Why has “innovation” become so cliché yet so essential?

In part the answer lies in the macroeconomics of our times: Someone somewhere in the world can always provide cheaper labor or lower-priced raw materials. Increasingly, the competitive advantage of any business, organization, community or nation is a concept, strategy, new market or design that is somehow unique.

It’s more convenient, more efficient, higher quality or produced at a lower cost. It could be all of these things combined, and when you bring them together you create an opportunity where none was recognized before.

So why is IQ Magazine fixated on innovation? Because, like every other regional market, Central Minnesota is in competition.

We’re competing—on a scale that can be regional, statewide, national or even global—for a skilled workforce, for economic growth, for the resources needed to sustain our nonprofits, and for the tax base that allows communities to invest in infrastructure, strong schools and open space. We’re competing for all of the elements that make up our quality of life and help us to attract and retain skilled workers and young families.

We believe Central Minnesota is one of the greatest of all places to work, raise a family and savor our special Minnesota moments, but if the region can’t sustain living-wage jobs and basic community services, then we risk losing our greatest resource:

individuals with a strong work ethic and willingness to invest in their hometowns—whether they are multigenerational residents or they arrived yesterday.

In the coming months IQ Magazine will feature individuals, nonprofits, businesses and communities that have had the courage to try something out of the ordinary. Not all of these experiments have been unqualified successes from the start. Some of the stories will be intentionally chosen to share lessons learned. However, the point is that we are a region of innovators. We’re eager to improve, to make mistakes and get smarter, and ultimately to find a better way of getting stuff done.

Many of the changes in our region are obvious: increased ethnic diversity; new technologies that permeate virtually every industry and significantly change the basic skill set that employers expect to see in new hires; and tighter budgets in the public and nonprofit sectors that require creativity to meet basic needs.

Henry Ford III once said, “If you don’t like change, you’ll like obsolescence even less.”

How do we fend off obsolescence? We educate ourselves. We bridge our differences. We collaborate. And we innovate.

Innovation is happening all around us—in our towns, in our schools and higher education institutions, in the organizations with which we’re aligned and in the businesses that provide employment opportunities in our communities.

The Initiative Foundation is interested in learning about the innovation, ingenuity and adaptability you see going on around you. Please use your smartphone or tablet to scan the QR code to complete a quick survey. You also can access the survey by entering http://goo.gl/ZObjxO into your browser. The ideas you share could be used in a future edition of IQ Magazine. Thank you!

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

14 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

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economy, continued

HATCHING A GREAT IDEA Using market-based incentives to improve the food industry’s impact on rivers, lakes and streams.

What does a ski bum have to do with sustainably produced poultry? In the case of GNP Company, that ski bum was the gateway to a powerful network of breakthrough ideas.

that the majority of the company’s carbon footprint comes from chicken feed—mostly soy and corn—used on the network of farms that raise GNP’s chickens.

It all started when Paul Helgeson, whose family has run the St. Cloud-based business since 1926, moved to Boulder, Colo., after receiving his M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. On the first day in town, Helgeson got together with a good friend—the ski bum—and met his roommates: an established renewable energy entrepreneur specializing in wind energy and a scientist who does lifecycle assessments, which determine the environmental impact of a product by analyzing every stage of its development.

Unfortunately, the way feed is produced isn’t controlled by GNP. So Helgeson set out to discover what GNP could do to positively influence that part of the supply chain for all Minnesota food companies. Working together with Environmental Initiative, a Minneapolisbased nonprofit that builds partnerships to address complex environmental problems, he wondered if rewarding farmers financially for agricultural practices that reduce runoff and reduce the threat to water supplies and wildlife habitat could be the answer.

Casual conversations on chairlifts and over beers turned more serious, as Helgeson wondered how he could take his new friends’ ideas about sustainability back to GNP.

The program, which is still in the pilot stage, seeks to create economic rewards for farmers who adopt environmental best practices based on incentives rather than more intense and focused regulations. The program is run by Environmental Initiative and is supported by grants from individual donors as well as The McKnight Foundation, the Initiative Foundation, Central Minnesota Community Foundation and the Austin Memorial Foundation, which is working

The first step was to do a life-cycle analysis of two of the company’s brands: Gold’n Plump and Just BARE, a line of antibiotic-free poultry. What Helgeson, who has been GNP’s sustainability manager since 2006, discovered is

16 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

in conjunction with the Stearns Soil and Water Conservation District. “There are no programs as effective at changing behavior as the free market,” said Don Hickman, the Initiative Foundation’s vice president for economic and community development. “The goal here is to make sure that consumers have the opportunity to reward farmers that have embraced best practices.”

It’s a market-driven solution that could be a win-win for both farmers and food companies across the state. “There will never be enough money in government and the foundation world to clean up our lakes, rivers and streams,” said Mike Harley, Environmental Initiative’s executive director. “We need to activate private capital.”

Helgeson hopes the program will one day expand well beyond the fields that supply feed to GNP. “The entire food industry is waking up to the fact that we are going to have to treat environmental performance with the same level of integrity that we do with food quality management,” he said. “We aren’t doing this to gain a competitive advantage. We want the overall industry to benefit.”

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BOB WARZECHA: “The fastest way to make a graduate into a productive person in society is to give them the ability to purchase a home and a car.”

Future Funding Community scholarship funds help tomorrow’s workers get the educations they need to thrive.

By Sarah Colburn | Photography by Bill Jones

Bob Warzecha wants students graduating from Holdingford High School to get off to a great start in life. And he wants this Central Minnesota town of 708 residents to know it can look toward the future and feel confident about its workforce. That’s why he is a driving force behind the Holdingford Scholarship Endowment Fund—the goal of which is to offer sizeable college scholarships to every graduating student.

“The fastest way to make a graduate into a productive person in society is to give them the ability to purchase a home, purchase a car,” said Warzecha, a Holdingford alumnus who is also the founder and president of local manufacturer Two Rivers Enterprises. “Most of today’s society is based on credit, and if you’re making interest payments for education, you’re not adding to the economic impact of society.”

That can be tough to accomplish when you consider that in 2012, seven of 10 Minnesota graduates carried student loan debt along with their diploma, according to The Project on Student

Debt, an initiative of the Institute for College Access & Success. The average bill: $31,497.

Still, a college education is the key to success in today’s economy.

When the nonpartisan Pew Research Center recently crunched the numbers, researchers found that the earnings gap between high school graduates and workers with a college degree is higher today than it’s been in the modern era. “In today’s knowledge-based economy, the only thing more expensive than getting a college education is not getting one,” report co-author Paul Taylor, a Pew senior Fellow, told the Associated Press. “Young adults see significant economic gains from getting a college degree regardless of the level of student debt they have taken on.”

That’s why business and community leaders across the region are creating scholarship funds to help local high school graduates gain this important credential while minimizing their need for student loans. “A hosted scholarship fund is a great way to support graduating seniors in your community as they pursue their higher education dreams and career goals,” said Eric Stommes, vice president for external relations at the Initiative Foundation. “It’s a CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

18 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

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wonderful way to carry on your community’s tradition of providing opportunities for students to achieve their personal best, become responsible and productive citizens and to ignite the fires of lifelong learning.”

Community Investments Scholarships have previously come into Holdingford schools via businesses, organizations and memorials. Warzecha wanted to take those gifts a step further by allowing them to grow and mature in an endowed fund that will grow over time, and increase the dollars available for scholarship payments.

The fund began with an initial $13,000 gift and in the fall of 2013 grew quickly as committee leaders launched a full-scale fundraising campaign, with the guidance of the Initiative Foundation. In one year, through donations small and large, the group raised $150,000.

The goal for fall of 2018 is $1 million, and in 15 years the goal is $3.5 million—the amount that could allow the fund to pay out up to $2,500 in scholarships to every graduation senior pursuing higher education.

Kristi Ackley, a Turn Key specialist with the Initiative Foundation, works with community groups, organizations and individuals who have set up Turn Key component funds with the Initiative Foundation. “It’s about making sure every student is getting that opportunity to go to school, whether it’s a four-year school or a technical school,” said Ackley.

The Initiative Foundation works with clients to establish scholarship committees and criteria for awarding scholarships and then handles all the tracking, paperwork and compliance issues.

The Foundation requires a $20,000 minimum commitment to start a fund.

“Dollars raised for a fund are placed in an endowment which will live on in perpetuity,” said Lynn Bushinger, chief financial officer and treasurer at the Initiative Foundation. “The funds are invested and it’s the earnings from the investments that are used to make the scholarship awards.”

Eric Williams, superintendent of Holdingford Public Schools, said that while his community has a long history of granting scholarships to students through direct donations, the fund helps secure the future of the community going forward.

“The fund provides a sense of love for the students,” said Williams. “We are behind them and we are willing to give them a quantifiable dollar amount to say we want them to be successful.

We’re a strong community that cares deeply about its kids.”

In addition to showing support for Holdingford students, the scholarship fund also is a direct investment into the community, should the graduate return home to work or tell people about their hometown. “One of our main initiatives is to ensure that we are contributing to the creation of a nimble and skilled workforce in Central Minnesota,” Stommes said. “And through our hosted scholarship funds we can help communities secure long-lasting legacies and reinforce that emotional connection between students and their hometowns.”

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Lasting Legacy While scholarship funds often pool the resources of an entire community, some donors prefer to start their own funds. In 2001, Carl Zimmerman created the William & Ethel Nelson-Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship Fund through the Initiative Foundation as a way to honor the legacy of his parents, a Royalton farmer and school teacher. The scholarships are for Royalton seniors pursuing an education and career in agriculture or other related field.

Today, Carl is almost 92 and his children oversee the fund from afar, leaving the investing and allocations to the Initiative Foundation.

“To be able to assist in making the dreams of those students come true is vital,” said Carl’s daughter, Trina Zimmerman Miller.

“The recipients in Royalton High School know there’s a family that believes in them enough to put their entire inheritance into this.

There will be students who will be able to stay in Minnesota and further the good work.”

FUNDING THE

FUTURE The Initiative Foundation currently hosts these scholarship funds: • Alternative Sources of Energy Fund • Archie & Isabelle Powell Family Memorial Scholarship Fund • Betty Ford Menzel Scholarship Fund • Beverly M. Pantzke-Johnston Scholarship Fund • Bob & Pauline Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund • Bob Wright Memorial IFPA Scholarship Fund • Holdingford Scholarship Endowment • Little Falls Scholarship Fund • Madden’s Pine Beach Scholarship Fund • Pillager Scholarship Fund • Shawn Grittner Memorial Scholarship Fund • Staples Knights of Columbus-Lloyd & Marion Giddings Scholarship Fund • Staples-Motley Dollars for Scholars Fund • Three Rivers Community Foundation (a component of which is a scholarship fund) • William & Ethel Nelson-Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship Fund • ZES Scholarship Fund If your community is interested in starting a scholarship fund, contact Eric Stommes, vice president for external relations, at (320) 632-9255.

Powering Possible.

THROUGH FINANCING PARTNERSHIPS The Initiative Foundation’s financing programs power the Central Minnesota economy and Initiative Foundation’s financing programs powerin 20 locally owned creates living-wageThe jobs.

In 2013, the Foundation invested $2.1 million the Central Minnesota economy and create living-wage jobs.and created. businesses. Through these loans, nearly 400 quality jobs were secured

Direct Business Loan Fund Provides funding for new or expanding companies. Targeted industries include manufacturing, service and value-added agriculture.

Technology Capital Fund Supports emerging technology ventures and helps established businesses integrate proven productivity applications into operations.

Green Business Loan Fund Supports ventures that protect or preserve the environment, reduce or recycle an existing waste stream or reduce energy demand/costs.

Lender Match Program Provides financing to match a primary lending institution’s loan amount for the purchase of equipment or real estate.

Nonprofit Loan Program Provides financing for the creation or expansion of mission-related social enterprise activities.

The Initiative Foundation’s business financing programs meet the “gap” between the financing a local lender is able to provide and the equity the owner is able to contribute. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a nonprofit with a great idea, an existing business owner or a commercial lender, we’re here to help.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit ifound.org or contact Dan Bullert, business finance manager, at (320) 631-2013 or dbullert@ifound.org.

ifound.org (877) 632-9255 | info@ifound.org | 405 First Street SE | Little Falls, MN 56345 Equal Opportunity Lender, Provider and Employer.

REASON TO SMILE: Noah gets a new toothbrush following his exam at K.O.A.L.A. Children’s Dental Care in St. Cloud. K.O.A.L.A. provides services to children who are on public care programs.

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R OT issue

a

By Laura Billings Coleman Photography by John Linn

An ounce of prevention and wider access to dental care could help Central Minnesota beat childhood’s most preventable disease.

There aren’t many people who look forward to seeing a new dentist, but Sarah Anderson, a case aide in Wright County’s department of public health, is one of the exceptions.

“I wish we had more dentists we could call on because we need them out here,” said Anderson, whose office fields more than 50 phone inquiries a year from county residents who need help connecting with dental care. The search for a dentist is even more daunting for the families of 8,500 minor children in the county covered by Medical Assistance or a state Prepaid Medical Assistance Plan (PMAP.) Currently there are only two dentists in Wright County who will take patients on medical assistance. One has a long waiting list. The other only accepts children who are younger than 8 and have a referral from a doctor. A mobile dental unit from the Ronald McDonald charities helped to ease the shortage, allowing Anderson to find care for about 16 kids every month, including a number of families in the foster care system.

Unfortunately, the service was cancelled earlier this year, forcing Anderson to send families to the Twin Cities for care. “That’s not a great option for most families because it means you’ve got to drive 60 miles or more, take a couple hours of your day, or front money you probably don’t have to pay for transportation,” Anderson said, adding that the no-show rate for such care is high.

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TECHNIQUE TUTOR: Rose Country Dental hygienist Kalli Lorentz teaches the proper tooth-brushing technique.

While postponing dental care for children is the short-term solution for many families in Wright County, that decision can have long-term consequences. A study in the journal Pediatrics found that when risk factors are not addressed, tooth decay progresses steadily, affecting 11 percent of children at the age of 2 and 44 percent by age 5. And as the problems caused by early childhood cavities compound, so do the costs and complications of treatment. Getting care for an infected tooth in a hospital emergency room, where many pediatric dental patients will wind up, can cost 10 times that of the original preventive care—$6,498 vs. $660, according to one study. “If you don’t take care of those problems now, you usually pay for them later—and then everyone pays,” said Anderson.

decaying options The challenges many families face when it comes to finding dental care for their kids aren’t limited to Wright County or other rural communities in Central Minnesota. In fact, the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration reports that more than 47 million people in the United States live in places where oral health care is difficult to access, one reason that dental care is now the most common unmet health need in children. Today, tooth decay is the most prevalent— and preventable—chronic disease of childhood, four times more than early-childhood obesity, five times 24 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

more than asthma, and 20 times more than diabetes.

“This can be a surprise to people, because as a society, we thought we had a remedy to this problem when we fluoridated our water systems, and then we sort of forgot about it,” said Terri Konczak , a program specialist at the Initiative Foundation. (Private wells, which are more common in rural areas, aren’t fluoridated.) Children from low-income families have been hit hardest by this so-called “silent epidemic” of early childhood cavities.

That’s why Konczak and a growing coalition of dental practitioners, public health officials and other community leaders are gathering forces behind the Early Childhood Dental Network, a new Initiative Foundation effort aimed at building awareness, boosting preventive practices and finding ways to improve access to pediatric dental care in Central Minnesota.

It’s an investment supporters say could improve everything from school performance—poor oral health can lead to problems with physical and cognitive growth, eating, speaking and learning—to employment income in the region. “There are many behavior problems in classrooms that are actually related to having tooth problems,” Konczak said. Across the country, an estimated 52 million school hours are lost every year to childhood dental problems. “How can a child concentrate on learning when their mouth is hurting?”

Konczak said.

Left unchecked, poor oral health can negatively impact a child’s overall development and has been linked to several chronic diseases in adulthood, including heart disease and diabetes. But research also shows that having discolored, crooked, or missing teeth can have an CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

FLORENCE ORIONZI: “It was eye-opening for me to find out you have to think about your baby’s dental health.”

New Country, New Challenges

Informing new immigrants about what it takes to care for kids’ teeth.

Florence Orionzi didn’t see her first dentist until she was 30 years old, newly arrived in Bismarck, N.D., in 1991 as part of a refugee resettlement program. As a child in Uganda, and a college student in South Africa, she’d never seen a need for one—an assumption further confirmed by the news that her teeth were in perfect condition.

“But a year later when I went back I had cavities,” said Orionzi, now chair of St. Cloud’s African Women’s Alliance. “A whole year of eating American food and the change in diet—that was something I didn’t think about.”

While Orionzi was shocked by the discovery, Sarah Wovcha, executive director of Children’s Dental Services, says a downturn in dental health for immigrants to America is not unusual: “One thing about highly processed foods people don’t always understand is that when they break down

they produce more sugar, so within about a year someone who had good oral health no longer does.” Even our rice is more processed.

That’s why making immigrants aware of new risks to their oral health is one of the goals of the Early Childhood Dental Network. In fact, Orionzi is teaming up with Mayuli Bales, executive director of Casa Guadalupe in Cold Spring and an Initiative Foundation trustee, for a series of public forums in the Somali and Latino communities of Central Minnesota aimed at understanding the dental health needs of newcomers, and helping them access the care available.

While 90 percent of Minnesota’s water supply is fluoridated, Wovcha points out that families from Mexico, where water can be unsafe to drink, are sometimes wary of tap water. For Somali families

who once relied on a medicinal bark to stimulate salivation and clean teeth, the teeth-cleaning practices of their native communities “are not strong enough on their own to handle our diet here. We need to combine those oral health practices with western dental practice that include fluoride.”

Orionzi hopes that reaching out to other immigrant families about good oral health can prevent the problems endured by her youngest son, Gani, a special needs student who struggled with behavior problems in school until a teacher suggested he may be experiencing trouble with his teeth.

“He wasn’t eating well and he couldn’t communicate with us, but he had many, many cavities,” that had been causing him pain, Orionzi said. “It was very eyeopening for me to find out you have to think about your baby’s dental health. You can’t wait until their teeth are hurting.”

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adverse impact on an individual’s job prospects and lifetime earnings. One Israeli study found that people with poor oral health were judged to be of limited intelligence, less professional and lacking in social skills. “People judge each other based on appearances, and in this country, having poor teeth is an indicator that you grew up in poverty,” said Konczak. “You’re kind of marked for life.’’

brighter smiles As small business owners and employers, dentists’ overhead costs average around 65 percent, according to estimates from the Minnesota Dental Association.

But with Medicare reimbursement rates that hover in the bottom third nationwide (Minnesota is currently ranked 43rd in the nation, with rates based on dental costs set in 1989), few dentists can afford to take on all patients in their communities who need help.

“Dentists look at the cost of their services and they look at the reimbursement rates, and they’re only making 40 cents on the dollar which doesn’t cover their costs,” said Sarah Wovcha, executive director of Children’s Dental Services, a nonprofit that provides dental care to nearly 35,000 Minnesota children from low-income families every year.

In fact, a recent Legislative Auditor’s survey found that 24 percent of the dentists who responded had stopped taking Medical Assistance patients after 2010.

A modest 5 percent hike in Minnesota Care reimbursement rates that took effect in January— the first increase in 15 years—may provide some relief. But stakeholders in the Early Childhood Dental Network say there’s a new range of solutions they believe will help get children in Central Minnesota the dental care they need.

One plan that’s already showing promise is a new “dental therapist” license, which was approved in the state of Minnesota in 2009 to create more alternative paths to dental care, particularly for underserved patients. According to a February 2014 report from the Minnesota Department of Health, the state’s 32 licensed dental therapists have helped raise productivity in dental clinics, reduced emergency room use and cut the time patients spend waiting for appointments, especially in rural areas. They’ve also expanded care to more than 6,000 additional patients, 84 percent of whom were enrolled in public programs.

Another way to reach more children in need is to allow dental trainees to fill the gaps in preventive care. For instance, dental hygiene students at Central Lakes Community College open their doors between CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

26 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

EARLY VISITS: Heather Robben and her infant son, Hoyt, receive early oral care at Rose Country Dental.

47 MILLION

people in the United States live in places where oral health care is difficult to access

taking

nvasiveACTION

By Andy Steiner Photography by John Linn

State lawmakers, conservationists, scientists and community activists come together to limit the spread of aquatic invasive species.

We Minnesotans love our lakes and rivers.

A source of beauty, pride, recreation and income, the thousands of spots of blue that decorate the state are central to our identity. As home to both the headwaters of the Mississippi River and the Brainerd Lakes Area, Central Minnesota has bragging rights to many of our state’s most beloved water resources.

Today, this very sense of identity is being threatened by the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS), water-borne plants or animals that invade ecosystems beyond their natural range. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, these non-native organisms may disrupt the life that exists in native ecosystems, threatening the commercial, agricultural and recreational activities that depend on them.

WATER SMARTS: Darril Wegscheid (left) educates recreation water users about AIS.

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C Source: Randy Westbrooks, Invasive Species Prevention Specialist, Bugwood.org

RA MUSS EL ZEB S

JOHN RINGLE: “The lakes are why a lot of people live in this region.”

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“The legislature knows that this is a very important issue,” said Don Hickman, Initiative Foundation vice president for community and economic development.

“The spread of AIS in Minnesota will cost taxpayers and our economy an enormous amount of money. This is an important opportunity to identify what innovations and strategies can be effectively administered locally.”

Land of Lakes In the center of the state, the connection to lakes and lake culture runs deep.

“The lakes are why a lot of people live in this region,” said John Ringle, Cass County environmental

services director. “Fifty percent of the people in Cass County are seasonal residents. They come here because of the lakes, which are by far the biggest resource in this region.”

If invasive species clog a lake, choking out native fish and other wildlife, recreation opportunities are limited and home prices and even regional economies can decline.

Minnesota lawmakers voiced their agreement when they funded the innovative pilot program project. Money from the Initiative Foundation grant will be used to evaluate the most effective and efficient AIS prevention strategies.

FE I R

Source: John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University, Bugwood.org

RPLE LOOS ES PU T

That’s already happening in some lakes and rivers across the state. While zebra mussels were found in all of the Great Lakes by the early 1990s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, they now reside in 150 of Minnesota’s lakes. Invasive plant species, including purple loosestrife, curly-leaf pondweed and Eurasian milfoil, already choke many of the state’s lakes, with purple loosestrife infestations reported in 77 of the state’s 87 counties.

Fortunately, state lawmakers, conservationists, scientists and community activists are coming together to limit the spread of AIS. The legislature passed a bill to appropriate $10 million a year for AIS prevention in Minnesota counties. In addition, state lawmakers granted $4.04 million to the Initiative Foundation to fund innovative pilot programs and projects designed to prevent the spread of invasive species in Minnesota’s lakes and waterways.

CYBER sPREAD sUMMIT AQUATIC INVADERS

High-tech fishing trends endanger our lakes and rivers.

One of the most common ways AIS is spread is through cross contamination, or when boats are transferred from an infested lake to an uninfested one without being properly cleaned.

John Ringle, Cass County environmental services director, is concerned that a new breed of highly wired competitive anglers may unwittingly be spreading invasives when they quickly “follow the fish” from lake to lake.

“There was a time when you’d put a boat in a lake and it would stay there all year,” said Ringle. “That’s not the case any more, especially with the competitive-type anglers.” If they hear online that the fish are biting in another lake, they’ll haul their boats there and quickly launch, sometimes without inspecting bottoms and sides of their boats for plants or animals.”

The avid anglers should be the most concerned, because they are the ones who have a good chance of transmitting the organisms from lake to lake.”

If you suspect a new infestation of an aquatic invasive plant or animal, note the exact location, take a photo or keep the specimen, and call the AIS specialist in your region. In Central Minnesota contact Christine Jurek, (320) 223-7847, or Courtney Millaway, (320) 223-7847. Other excellent resources include the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/ais/contacts.html) and the Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center at the University of Minnesota (http:// www.maisrc.umn.edu/).

Local units of Minnesota government and their partners are encouraged to save the date Jan. 20-21, 2015, for the Aquatic Invaders Summit: An Exploration of Collaboration, Innovation and Opportunity at the St. Cloud Civic Center. Attendees will . . .

• Develop an understanding and learn what’s on the horizon for aquatic invasive species prevention and management.

• Learn about new technology and innovative approaches for AIS prevention and management in Minnesota and across the county.

• Identify successful communications and educational tools to stay current with AIS issues and trends.

• Work collectively to define longterm needs to sustain successful AIS interventions.

LY-LEAF PON R DW CU Source: Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org

D EE

The challenge can seem daunting, but Ann Pierce, an ecological and water resources section manager at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, believes state campaigns designed to limit the spread of AIS have been effective. If people follow the rules and regulations already in place, Minnesotans have the power to keep this issue under control. Public education, inspection, decontamination and research programs are also crucial weapons in this fight.

So is the fact that most people want to preserve the health of the region’s waterways.

Darril Wegscheid, the lake management plan coordinator for the Roosevelt and Lawrence Area Lakes Association, sees it as his job to educate anglers and other

recreational water users about what they can do to stop the spread of AIS. One point he tries to make is that the fight against invasive species may be with us for a long time and that we may have to permanently alter our behavior to keep our water safe.

“This isn’t a sprint,” he said. “This is a marathon.”

Stopping the Spread While it’s not feasible to monitor every single lake in the state, stationing AIS inspectors to check for invasives at many boat launches across the region is proving effective. “It does help to be there on the main summer days and other popular days

to educate people who are using a lake about how to watch out for AIS and how to clean off their boats to try to prevent this from happening,” said Stephanie Shearen, AIS CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

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30 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

By Laura Billings Coleman Illustration by Chris McAllister Photography by John Linn

Employers and educators join forces to fill a forecasted skills gap to keep Central Minnesota’s economy flowing.

Frustrated by minimum wage jobs in fast food and other entry-level work, 28-year-old Cameron Gabert went back to school last fall, enrolling in the welding and fabrications program at Central Lakes Community College in Brainerd. “I figured welding is something that everyone needs so it’s pretty stable, and you can do it anywhere,” said Gabert, who got a job offer as a second shift mold finisher at nearby Lakeland Mold Company even before he graduated.

His new position at Lakeland, where hourly pay ranges between $14 to $30, represents a big boost in Gabert’s potential earnings. It also comes with a perk he hadn’t predicted: “There’s a lot of variety every day, and I’ve already recommended this route to other people I know. I can see a future in this.”

Gabert is the newest hire at Lakeland, which has grown its work

force more than 50 percent in the last four years, from around 60 employees to 98 this spring. Finding workers with the right skills has been a struggle in the fast-changing manufacturing sector. In fact, a 2011 survey showed that almost half of Minnesota’s manufacturers couldn’t find qualified candidates to fill their available positions. But with recent hires like Gabert, fresh from a new robotics welding course offered at Central Lakes’ Staples campus, Lakeland Mold human resources manager Steve Lackner is increasingly confident that he can answer growing consumer demand with a workforce ready to perform.

“The old saw about manufacturing being ‘dark, dirty, and dangerous’ just isn’t the case anymore,” said Lackner, who regularly reaches out to students to talk about career opportunities in the region’s manufacturing sector. “This

isn’t your grandfather’s factory job— the work requires a lot of technology and technical skills. I think the next generation is starting to get the message.

They’re willing to give manufacturing a look, and we’re growing again.”

That’s good news for all of Central Minnesota, according to Kathy Gaalswyk, president of the Initiative Foundation.

“With the baby boomers retiring, we’ve known for a long time that we’re not going to be able to grow our economy exclusively with workforce gains,” she said. “To stay competitive, we need both productivity growth and educational attainment,” which accounts for more than a quarter of all economic growth.

Minnesota already leads the nation when it comes to jobs that demand postsecondary degrees, a trend that will be true for 70 percent of all jobs in the state by 2018. Yet with fewer Minnesotans

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PERFECT FIT: Lakeland Mold’s human resources manager Steve Lackner with welder Cameron Gabert.

pursuing education after high school, and a growing mismatch between workers’ skills and employer needs, a 2011 report from the Governor’s Workforce Development Council sounded the alarm on the state’s widening skills gaps. The report created an action plan for each region, along with recommendations for an “all hands on deck” approach aimed at aligning employers, educators and other community leaders on fixing the problem.

Joyce Helens, president at St. Cloud Technical and Community College, said she and her staff are highly attuned to the needs of business and industry in St. Cloud and the surrounding area. SCTCC draws students from an 80-mile radius, and many of those students want nothing more than to live and work in Central Minnesota.

“I always ask my staff a simple question: Why are we here?” Helens said. It’s a simple question that has a surprisingly simple answer. “We’re in the business of economic and community development. And because we’re community and economic development partners, we’re in a constant dialogue at the very basic level with business and industry to equip and graduate students with the right skill sets.”

Skills for SUCCESS

While it’s still early, one lesson Central Minnesota has mastered is the value of community problem-solving. “This is a statewide challenge, but the reality is that a lot of the resources we need to solve the problem exist at the community level, where we can move faster and be more responsive,” said Gaalswyk. “And the proof is that we’re seeing some real success stories. ” One of those success stories is aligning education pathways with the skills critical to high-demand industries—often a moving target. “There’s no question that things are moving faster than they’ve ever moved,” said Joe Mulford, the state director for education

and industry partnerships at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), which has responded by creating more applied learning experiences for students.

For example, production-level stainless steel welding is a highly sought skill in the St. Cloud area, with manufacturers that supply customers in biotech, dairy and even microbrewing. “Stainless steel is a really expensive material, so for an institution to rebuild a shop and teach every student how to work with it” is cost prohibitive, said Mulford. But through MnSCU’s growing portfolio of partnerships, students trained with the foundational skills can learn the precision skills directly from working welders.

100 students enter 9th grade 76 graduate high school Graduation rate for white students: 83% For students of color: 53%

53 enroll in postsecondary education after high school Percentage of those staying in Minnesota: 72% Percentage of thise seeking a two-year degree: 27%

25 earn their degree on time 6-year graduation rate at 4-year institutions: 61% 3-year graduation rate at 2-year institutions: 29.2% Transfer rate at 2-year institutions: 24.2% Source: Minnesota Measures 2011, Minnesota Office of Higher Education

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

By Gene Rebeck Photography by John Linn

CHANGE AGENTS Whether or not the switch is voluntary, people often find deep satisfaction in a new career.

Industries change. People change. The economy ebbs and flows. And with those shifts comes the need or desire to switch career paths.

There are several reasons why people redirect their work lives. In many cases, “the career goes away because of some change in industry or change in a sector or a plant closed down,” said Robert Musgrove, president of Pine Technical College in Pine City. Then there are those who realize “that whatever skill set they currently have is just not adequate to provide for them and their families.”

Others discover that their educational path offers fewer career opportunities than they’d expected. And then there are the retirees who want to keep working but have

come to natural stopping points in their current careers.

Some career changers go back to school. Others launch their own companies.

Oftentimes, the types of businesses people want to start reflect their local economy. “In the Brainerd Lakes area, we see a lot of foodtype businesses, and our fair share of lodging and services related to the tourism industry,” said Greg Bergman, director of the Central Lakes College Small Business Development Center in Brainerd, which offers guidance and education for entrepreneurs. “We also see a lot of small manufacturing.”

Doing something different with your life can be challenging. Yet as these stories show, changing careers can also bring new satisfactions.

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NOT READY TO RETIRE Randy and Jackie Ferrian

W

henever Randy Ferrian was traveling on business in the 1980s and 1990s, he would often take his wife, Jackie, and their children. To keep the kids entertained, they played miniature golf. “We used to joke that maybe, someday, we would own a mini-golf course,” said Randy.

It’s no longer a joke. Earlier this year, the Ferrians purchased a miniature golf facility in Deerwood.

It wasn’t a path either expected they’d take. Though they’d bought a lake place near Aitkin, their permanent home was in the Twin Cities. Randy was following his longtime career path in healthcare facilities management, and Jackie owned two retail craft stores. Then in April of 2013, with crafting in decline, Jackie was forced to close her stores, taking what her husband called “a temporary, forced early retirement.” Two months later, Randy was laid off due to budget cuts. “Now we were both somewhere between unemployed, underemployed and in temporary forced early retirement,” he said.

That summer, up at the lake, the couple

34 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

took their daughter and son-in-law to a miniature golf course in nearby Deerwood for some nostalgic fun and noticed a “For Sale” sign on the property. Soon after, the business’s charm and romance fired their imaginations. In January, the Ferrians transformed themselves into the owners of a seasonal business. To “make sure we were on the right track,” Randy shared his business plan with fellow mentors at the Brainerd branch of SCORE, an organization for experienced executives.

The Ferrians have renamed the business Traditions Family Entertainment, which includes a mini-golf course, batting cage and water balloon launching station.

They converted the clubhouse space into a frozen yogurt shop, correctly assuming that it would be a profitable new revenue stream for the business.

Building on that success, the Ferrians plan to add at least one new feature to the business every year. “Both of us enjoy working,” said Randy, who turns 64 this fall “I can’t imagine having a full retirement.”

“We were both somewhere between unemployed, underemployed and in temporary forced early retirement.”

C

areer change is often involuntary. Take the experience of Brian Gapinski, who’d enjoyed a successful 22-year career in manufacturing, working for companies in operations, production management, logistics and purchasing.

Then in late 2009, with the recession taking hold, the Brainerd-area plasticproducts manufacturing firm he was working for laid him off. For 11 months, Gapinski hunted in vain for a new position in manufacturing. He didn’t want to leave the area: His kids were in school and his wife had a job she liked. Then he saw a posting for a team leader with the Little Falls branch of the Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program (CEP). “I thought, ‘Well, I’ve been in leadership roles for all of my career,’” he said. Gapinski applied and got the job.

“When I came to Rural Minnesota CEP, I was about as green as they come,” said Gapinksi. Still, his previous business experience did help. “There are a lot of transferrable skills . . . managing budgets,

managing financials, leading a team,” he said. “It was a fairly easy transition for me.”

Once at his new desk, Gapinski worked to get up to speed on how to manage funding, programs and oversight from all levels of government—county, state and

“Being a dislocated worker myself, and landing this job, then seeing others in the same boat, when they get hired or they find a new career, that’s really the best part of this job.”

federal. In addition to managing the Little Falls CEP office, which provides a variety of services for dislocated workers and the underemployed, Gapinski also is involved in community outreach to area employers and the county government.

Social services organizations have a “different pace” than manufacturing companies. “We’re dealing with humans and feelings,” Gapinski said. “In manufacturing, not everything was black and white, but if you had to get it done in 60 seconds, you had it done in 60 seconds. He’s also found it challenging to keep up with the shifting requirements of numerous government programs. Since these programs affect a lot of people, “when they change, there’s a huge ripple effect.”

Still, the work is very rewarding.

“Being a dislocated worker myself, and landing this job, then seeing others in the same boat,” Gapinski said, “when they get hired or they find a new career, that’s really the best part of this job.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

NECESSITY KNOCKS Brian Gapinski 3RD QUARTER 2014

35

how to

SISTERS AT WORK: Lori, Traci and Sheri Tapani work together to run their family business.

It’s Relative How to keep a family business thriving— for the good of the family and the community.

By Gene Rebeck | Photography by John Linn

Twenty years ago,Tom Tapani asked his three daughters if they wanted to work at Wyoming Machine, the Stacybased manufacturer he founded in 1974.

The youngest, Sheri, took a polite pass. But Traci and Lori chose to join. Both graduates of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, the sisters had always wanted to work together, but neither had plans to enter the family business. But when their father asked, “It didn’t take us very long to decide that we did want to own the company,” said Traci, who also is an Initiative Foundation trustee. In addition to carrying on their family legacy, they both realized that operating their father’s business would give them flexibility to spend time with their young children.

Today, Wyoming Machine is a 55-employee sheet metal fabrication firm that makes custom parts for equipment manufacturers in a variety of industries, including construction, agriculture and printing. Lori and Traci have been co-presidents since 1999, when their father retired. A CPA, Lori oversees the

administrative side of the company. Traci handles the sales, engineering and production parts of the business.

The Tapani sisters quickly learned that working together is crucial to making a family business continue into the next generation. “Since I manage production, I’m the person in the company who wants money all the time, because I want to buy a new piece of equipment, or I want some new technology,” Traci said.

“But since Lori oversees finance, we have to work together on that.”

And that’s important not only for the sake of sibling relationships. Family businesses generate 60 percent of the country’s employment and account for 78 percent of all new job creation. “A family business in a smaller town is bedrock to the economic success of that community. It is very possibly the major employer,” said Pat Edeburn, partner with Granite Equity Partners in St. Cloud and forum leader for succession strategies at the Anderson Center, the St. Cloud-based management and leadership development institute.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

36 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

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how-to, continued

What’s more, such a business is often where the community gets its leadership. “The people who are the managers of that company often are skilled in other ways that show up on the boards of nonprofits, on school boards, on church councils,” said Edeburn.

When a family business gets sold, there’s less of a chance that the company will stay located in the community where it’s rooted.

“The Initiative Foundation works to serve as a resource for family-run businesses in Central Minnesota,” said Foundation President Kathy Gaalswyk. “We provide businesses with technical assistance in a variety of forms, one of which is succession planning.

We want these family businesses to thrive and to grow and to transition from generation to generation so we can keep ownership and jobs local.”

Outside Influences To keep small family businesses thriving, it’s essential that family members learn how to cooperate. “When it comes to equipment, or technology or making some kind of investment, I’m going to argue my case as to why it is a good idea for the company,” Traci Tapani said. “But if Lori ultimately says, based on her financial expertise, that this is not a good time to make that investment, I trust what she says and we will not proceed with it.”

Many family businesses were founded by a visionary entrepreneur who ran the business on his or her own, typically in a fairly unstructured way. For successive generations to manage a family business with as little emotional turmoil as possible, experts suggest establishing a formal governance approach. “Create structures so everyone knows the rules of the road, how they are going to perform and behave,” said Vicki Prock, director of adviser support for the Galliard Family Business Advisor Institute, an Alexandria-based membership and training organization.

One possible structure is an advisory board that’s made up of people who aren’t family members. “You might have a group of five to seven folks that come together, usually quarterly, and have conversations based on the strategic plan of the business,” Prock said.

Prock also recommends that family members gather at least once a year at meetings where the business and its performance are discussed. Such councils offer family businesses a way to “deal with the emotional issues before the emotions become the issue,” as Galliard’s founder, Lisë Stewart, puts it. Issues can include: Does everybody get a job in the business, and what happens when they don’t? Who gets promoted and who doesn’t? In addition, family council meetings are, according to Prock, the place where the next generation can start to learn about what it is like to be a business owner.

Families also should gauge the children’s interest (or lack thereof) in leading the company. If there are multiple siblings, take the time to sit down with them and ask: “What do you think of the 38 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

future of the business? What do you think your role might be?” Give them the opportunity to opt in or opt out as early as possible,” said Prock.

Successful Successions Making plans for passing on a family company is crucial for its longevity. At the Anderson Center, which receives annual financial support from the Initiative Foundation, Edeburn conducts forums that provide guidance to family businesses seeking to plan a successful transition from one generation to the next—and to be prepared for emergencies, such as the founder’s death.

A critical first step is establishing either an advisory board or a formal board of directors. The board comprises “a group of people that are up to speed on the workings of the business, the opportunities and the risks of the business and the ongoing risks of the business such that it is not contained in a single person,” said Edeburn. “The company is at its highest risk when everything is more or less contained in the mind of a single person.”

At Wyoming Machine, the Tapani siblings’ children are teenagers, so it’s a bit early to be discussing succession. But like their father, Traci and Lori keeping an open mind. As Traci noted, “we want them to pursue what their interests are and what they are excited about.”

Once the kids are old enough, expect the sisters to talk with them. That way, they’re more likely to keep the business in the family’s control, not to mention in the community.

HELP FOR YOUR FAMILY BUSINESS The Initiative Foundation works alongside numerous family businesses in the 14-county area to provide the necessary support to stimulate a healthy business environment.

“We have a deep network of specialized private consultants who can step in and help counsel and guide a family business to establish a governance and decisionmaking model that works for them,” said Sandy Voigt, a development officer and technical assistance adviser at the Initiative Foundation.

Eligible businesses can receive up to $5,000 in consulting and technical assistance services. If you are interested in maximizing the potential of your family business, contact Voigt at (320) 632-9255.

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a root issue CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

January and April every year, providing everything from tooth polishing to x-rays for reduced costs. “We don’t want to undercut dentists, but they don’t always have the time to talk to families about what they can do to keep their kids healthy,” said LeAnn Schoenle, who retired as the dental program director in 2013.

Schoenle continues to coordinate a dental outreach clinic in the area that connects with kids in Head Start and families in WIC, a nutritional program for pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children.

These programs make a big difference when you consider that early intervention can help break the cycle of poor oral health in families where many generations end up needing dentures and suffer from other dental problems. “You sometimes hear from kids that everyone in the family is sharing the same toothbrush, so just to give every child one of their own can make a big difference,” said Schoenle.

Finding transportation to dental appointments can be another challenge for rural and urban communities. That’s one reason why experts see portable services—including school-

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“You sometimes hear from kids that everyone in the family is sharing the same toothbrush, so just to give every child one of their own can MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.” based care—as a potential solution, with clinicians offering such services as dental sealants and fluoride varnishes on-site during the school day.

“Portable services are the wave of the future for schoolbased and community-based care,” said Wovcha, of Children’s Dental Services. One important advantage of this approach is that organizations like CDS can serve as the “dental home” for children in need, keeping track of their dental records “so that there’s a continuity of service where we bring the care to them, eliminating barriers to access.”

“One of the toughest parts of my job is when a child has a problem and, for whatever reason, their parents or guardians don’t bring them back for the care they need,” said Brenda Mehr, a dental hygienist at Rose Country Dental in Pillager. “When you see them a few years later, their face is swollen, and they’ve gone

to the ER for antibiotics, which costs the taxpayers money, too.”

Putting an end to this predictable cycle was one reason Rose Country Dental shifted to a nonprofit business model.

The nonprofit status makes it possible for the clinic to serve all comers and apply for grants and other community support. A recent $4,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation will be put to work in Pillager, providing toothbrushes and toothpaste to underserved families, and preventive education aimed at ending high-risk habits such as coating a baby’s pacifier with honey.

Mehr said that all parents want to do right by their children, and teaching them healthy habits like wiping a baby’s gums after a feeding and cutting out soda pop and other sugary treats can inspire better choices. “Creating routines is important, and the earlier you start the better,” she said. “It’s a little bit of work in the forefront, with a big payoff in the end.”

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taking invasive action CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

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coordinator for the Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Other promising strategies in the fight against AIS include hot-water decontamination, which removes invasive species from a watercraft by spraying it with water at 140 degrees for 10 seconds, and using high-tech monitoring devices.

This year, the Roosevelt and Lawrence Area Lakes Association introduced devices at the area’s two major boat ramps that sense an approaching vehicle and play an audio alert about AIS. They also take snapshots of the boats and motors to try to spot leaves, which could contain AIS. If there is a problem, the association can alert the DNR. Researchers also are developing ways to rid infested waters of invasive species.

EUR AS I

AN

TERMILFOIL A W

The DNR is actively investigating new ways to manage the spread of zebra mussels, including treatment with potash or Zequanox, a naturally occurring bacterial agent that can kill these invasives.

Despite these advances, the fact remains that because so many of our lakes and rivers connect to one another, combating AIS is still an enormous challenge. “Even if you have the best fire alarm and sprinkler system in town, if your neighbor’s house is ablaze you are still at great risk,” said Hickman.

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Cautiously Optimistic Is it too late to stop AIS from changing our waterways forever? Experts believe

there still is hope for the state’s lakes and rivers. When Hickman thinks about the imminent threat of AIS, he is reminded of a past environmental challenge that once seemed insurmountable. “I love to tell the story of how my metro-raised wife still remembers when a neighbor came home from the lake, saying, ‘I saw something you’ll never see in your lifetime: an eagle,’” he said. Eagle populations were threatened by the widespread use of the now-banned pesticide DDT. Today, thanks to the efforts of conservationists, you can see an eagle every day of the year. “There are challenges that seem hopeless at the time,” he said. “But given public will, significant accomplishments can be made.”

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“Infestations can quickly spread throughout a watershed or even the state.”

The smartest approach to limiting the spread of AIS may be the most obvious: keep infested water away from clean water.

“Right now there’s no silver bullet,” said Mitch Brinks, Crow Wing County water protection specialist. “There may never be.

The best strategy we’ve got right now is to do everything we can to keep AIS out of areas that aren’t already infested. It’s a big job, but we know that’s one approach that works.”

Serving all of Minnesota and Beyond

3RD QUARTER 2014

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Minding the GAP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32

Making sure classroom training is relevant to real-time workplace trends is essential, according to Dr. Robert Musgrove, president of Pine Technical College in Pine City. “The quickest way to kill the buzz on a program is to turn out graduates who don’t have the right skill set,” he said. That’s why Pine Technical takes a two-tiered approach, meeting regularly with operations managers in local industries who can share their bootson-the-ground perspective, and through big-picture strategy sessions with executive teams and industry leaders who can share what they’re looking for in the long term.

“Our response usually takes the form of adding programs rather than tweaking them,” Musgrove said. Input from manufacturing has brought new programs in automation robotics and plastics. Health care has pushed for training in medical assistance and phlebotomy. And information technology’s needs have led to training in mobile app development and cyber security.

The 360-degree perspective can help technical colleges pull back on programs for careers like medical transcriptionists, which has little predicted job growth, and start beefing up training for medical scribes, a growing need in many healthcare systems.

Musgrove and Helens are in lockstep with their SMART SEARCH: Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council approach at their respective Executive Director Kathy Zavala helps job seekers decide if certain careers institutions. “We’re working are worth the investment. with business and industry at the ground level,” Helens said. “We’re Employment & Training Council. Earlier not waiting to be asked what programs we this year, Zavala’s agency partnered with the Itasca Project’s Workforce Alignment should be offering. We’re trending along Task Force, an employer-led civic alliance with them.” aimed at improving our state’s economic Having more accurate forecasts of competitiveness, on a pilot program using future job growth will be critical to filling more robust, real-time data about job the skills, according to Kathy Zavala, the executive director of the Stearns-Benton growth.

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THE CHANGING NATURE OF WORK United States, 2001-2009, millions of employees Type of Job

Jobs Lost

New Jobs Created

Interactions

4.8

Exchanges involving complex problem solving, experience, context (e.g. lawyers, nurses)

Transactions

-0.7

Exchanges that can be scripted, routinized, automated (e.g. bank tellers, retail cashiers)

Production Process of converting physical materials into finished goods (e.g. factory workers, farmers)

-2.7

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; An Economy That Works, McKinsey Global Institute

“If you’re interested in radiography, I could show you where the jobs are in that field,” said Zavala. “But maybe you find out there are only seven positions for that in Minnesota, and that the real opportunities will be in California and that the best place to train will be in Michigan. All of that information really helps a person decide whether preparing for that career will be worth the investment, or if they should find a new direction.”

Early START

High school students were part of the StearnsBenton pilot project, giving Zavala and her staff the chance to redirect the ambitions of young people attracted to careers in overcrowded or low-growth job sectors.

“Everyone wants to be a veterinarian,” she said, adding that it’s never too early for teens and tweens to get more realistic guidance about career opportunities.

That’s the goal of the Bridges Career Academies and Workplace Connection, a project of the Brainerd Chamber of Commerce and Central Lakes College that now counts 17 schools, 72 teachers, and a total of 97 so-called “academies”— small learning communities that introduce students to a series of courses while showing them how they connect to future career pathways. With academies that range from the building trades to television production, some of the 215 students who completed an academy program last year can earn credit for the training if they continue on to technical schools or related career paths.

Bridges Workplace Connection has also launched a series of immersion camps this year to introduce local students, starting in third grade, to opportunities in airport careers, hospitality, engineering and manufacturing. Feedback from area CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

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Minding the GAP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45

teens interested in finding summer jobs but overwhelmed by the traditional newspaper ad/resume process helped give shape to yet another initiative, an online job portal that will allow social media-savvy teens to apply for work with the click of a button.

“That’s the way we’re going to link these kids to opportunities right here in the region,” said Mary Gottsch, the director of Bridges Workplace Connection.

A similar project is already up and running in St. Cloud, where the new JobSpot website launched in May by the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation is creating a Linked In-style network of job seekers and employers. Still in a soft launch phase, JobSpot will get a more public boost with a branding campaign set to begin this fall, promoting the economic competitiveness of St. Cloud and encouraging local alumni to give the region another look. “I think what we’re finding is that it’s not one thing

that’s going to work to fill the gap, it’s going to take all players,” said Gail Cruikshank, the GSDC’s new talent director, adding that new flights to and from Chicago are an also an important part of the region’s arsenal.

New STRATEGIES

Initiative Foundation trustee Traci Tapani, co-owner of Wyoming Machine, has served on several task forces focused on the skills gap— discussions that have inspired her to look at the challenges the state faces with fresh eyes. “Sometimes you hear people say, ‘I could have grown my business if I could find the right people to hire,’ but there’s something about that argument that doesn’t sit right with me,” she said. “As business owners, it doesn’t seem to embody a very entrepreneurial spirit.”

That’s why Tapani decided to take a different approach when her company set out to hire a production manager. Though

Tapani started with a long checklist of skills and experience she expected from job candidates, “I realized I already employ a company of people who are experts in sheet metal fabrication. What I really needed was someone who could manage.” She hired a candidate with “75 percent of what I need right now,” and plans to bring his sheet metal fabrication training up to speed over the next year with help from a grant from Central Minnesota Jobs and Training, which will pay for a portion of the manager’s salary.

“I think it’s time to change the way we talk about the skills gap with a scarcity mentality and start looking at using the workforce we do have in new ways,” said Tapani. “We have a lot of the answers we need right here.”

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he help you need.

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3RD QUARTER 2014

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change agents CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

AN UNEXPECTED PASSION

T

he recession and a desire to help others also led Anne Kubesh to a new career.

After 16 years as a hairdresser—a career she’d started in high school— Kubesh became the office manager of a mobile home manufacturer’s sales lot, a position she’d taken for the health insurance. When the recession hit, that job disappeared. She then went to work as a substitute paraprofessional in the Hinckley school district. Much of her job took place in the “stop-think-and-plan room, where kids go when they need a break and they’re having behavioral issues.”

These sometimes difficult children didn’t deter her. Quite the contrary: “I decided I really liked kids,” Kubesh said.

“And I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be someone who listened to the kids. They all have a story. They all have reasons for their behavior. They might not even understand why they do what they do. If we can help them figure that out, it will benefit them.”

Kubesh sought a permanent position with the school district, “but they kept passing me up for people” with college degrees. Getting the message, she pursued and earned degrees from Pine Technical College in early childhood development and liberal arts. Last September, she became a regional coordinator for Child Care Aware of Minnesota, which offers support for daycare and early education providers, as well as guidance for parents with young children. Her office is located

Anne Kubesh

on the Pine Tech campus.

A large part of Kubesh’s work is helping providers improve the quality of their programs—particularly crucial when you consider that Minnesota will institute a quality rating system for child care providers next year. She also helps direct parents to better child-rearing practices and find child care based on their individual needs.

Kubesh prefers to think of her work as guiding rather than training. “I try really hard not to tell people what to do,” she said. “I try to help them see what to do themselves.” She acknowledges that her new career is “extremely challenging, more so obviously than hair,” she said.

“But I do a lot more problem-solving, and I’m helping kids.”

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MAKE THE CHANGE

If you are considering switching careers, these organizations can help.

SCORE no longer comprises only retired executives.

The organization’s mentors tap their own skills and experience in order to help people looking to start their own businesses, whether that’s ironing out a business plan, researching markets, or running cash flow projections.

Community colleges offer classes to help train career changers. They also provide career counseling. Pine Technical and Community College, for instance, includes in its counseling toolbox the GPS LifePlan software program, which helps students develop goals and career plans.

Those looking to start businesses can also contact their community’s local economic development organizations for tips and resources.

In Central Minnesota, the StearnsBenton Employment and Training Council provides job seekers with labor market information, career counseling and planning; for those who qualify, it offers financial help for training.

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home made

Fireside Lodge Furniture Company

Wood Works Fireside Lodge’s cedar wood comes from northern Minnesota, while the hickory is shipped from southeastern states. Reclaimed barn wood, its newest offering, is procured from old tobacco farms in the southern United States.

Pequot Lakes, Minn.

By Maria Surma Manka

When a cedar tree is logged, the very top is generally left behind to be burned. But in the case of Fireside Lodge Furniture Company, one business’s trash is another’s treasure. That’s because the Pequot Lakes company reclaims those logs and turns them into unique, rustic furniture that is sought after across the world.

Working with logging companies in northern Minnesota and elsewhere, Fireside Lodge procures cedar and hickory logs that serve as the base for its furniture lines. Founded in 1998, it has grown from a small, local retail manufacturer to a company of 85 employees who hand-make furniture that’s sold in more than 300 retail stores and ordered from as far away as the Caribbean and New Zealand. The Initiative Foundation in 2008 provided financing to support Fireside Lodge’s expansion to a new manufacturing facility. The expansion allowed the company to increase production and operate more efficiently.

“Fireside Lodge has and continues to make a valuable contribution, both in terms of providing quality employment opportunities and generating revenues that are recycled in the region,” said Dan Bullert, business finance manager at the Initiative Foundation.

Brandon Andersen purchased the company in 2003.

He is proud of the fact that the furniture is made in Minnesota. “Because most of our furniture is sold out of state, I like to say that we’re a furniture exporter and money importer for Minnesota,” he said.

We asked Andersen for the secret to the company’s success.

50 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org

Assembly Basics After the bark is stripped, the logs are cleaned on a sanding machine. Male and female ends are created and the furniture is assembled. Any item can be made in a day: An end table generally takes about two hours, a bed will take three or four.

Log Logistics Cedar logs are hauled to Fireside Lodge in the spring after the logging season ends. The company works through a semi-truck load of logs every three weeks, turning between 25,000 to 35,000 logs into furniture each year.

Workforce Opportunities Like other manufacturers, the Recession took its toll: The company laid off 10 percent of its workforce, only to hire all of them back within four months. Today, Andersen said he is struggling to find enough workers.

Natural Beauty Once the cedar logs arrive, workers peel them by hand. One person can hand-strip 10 to 15 logs per hour. Although there are automated ways of stripping bark, doing it by hand retains the logs’ unique markings, such as knots and beetle marks.

Sales Boom The hospitality industry is booming and flooding Fireside Lodge with orders. Sales are expected to grow by 10 percent this year.

Lucrative Leftovers The leftover parts of the cedar log that can’t be used for furniture are burned to heat the production facility or ground into mulch and sold to local landscapers. Andersen estimates they sell 12-18 semi-truck loads of cedar mulch per year.

In Fashion Furniture styles, colors and woods go through trends, much like clothing.

Reclaimed barn wood has become a popular material and represents Fireside Lodge’s fastest growing segment of business.

Sleeper Hit Approximately half of the furniture sold by Fireside Lodge is bedroom furniture.

“Most houses only have one kitchen or one gathering room,” Andersen said. “But nearly everyone has multiple bedrooms.”

3RD QUARTER 2014

51

where’s IQ?

THINK YOU KNOW? Send your best guess to IQ@ifound.org by Oct. 15, 2014.

Three winners will be chosen, at random, to receive a $25 GiveMN.org gift card to support the charity of their choice.

HINT: It was constructed and decorated in 1971 by the area Jaycees and presented to the community as a reminder of their cultural heritage and as a tourist attraction.

Congratulations to everyone who correctly recognized the Wobegon Bike Trail covered bridge at Holdingford in our 2nd Quarter issue of IQ Magazine! Sheridan Sparrow, Alice Coudron and Larry Refsland were the lucky winners of GiveMN.org gift cards.

52 Initiative Foundation Quarterly ifound.org