News

Manufacturing Month In Todd County - A Positive Mindset For Growth

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

The manufacturing industry has made great strides in recent years, adding impressively to the country’s economic growth. Todd County Development Corporation joins scores of manufacturers across the country as we celebrate Manufacturing Month, an annual event occurring in October. The entire month is an ode to our companies and people who help to foster growth and encourage employment opportunities in the manufacturing industry. A Productive Workforce The manufacturers of Todd County have played a vital role in driving employment while spurring innovation and bringing in enhanced technologies. The county possesses a strong manufacturing base thanks to partnering with one of the most productive an...

How CareerForce is connecting people who need work with the employers who need them

Monday, September 13, 2021

“Thank you for all your help and the connection you helped me make with the Dislocated Worker Program.” That’s what one grateful recipient of a Good Jobs Now call told a CareerForce staff person this summer. Every day CareerForce Job Service Staff have conversations with Minnesotans who are looking for work – and not aware of the many no cost career exploration and job search resources available to them. The Good Jobs Now calling campaign has already reached out to more than 80,000 Minnesotans receiving unemployment benefits. In every conversation, staff share information about CareerForce resources that could help them find employment. Rea...

Where to Work: This Time It’s Personal

Monday, September 06, 2021

We went back and forth internally about whether to make the 2021 Global Groundwork Index feature or the one about Remote Work the cover story. The former got the nod, but the latter was no less deserving. Both, by the way, are authored by Managing Editor Adam Bruns, who can reveal all sides of whichever topic he’s covering. The Global Groundwork Index article should be read by anyone in your organization considering international location options. The coming “Strategic Infrastructure SuperCycle” may sound like an over-hyped Weather Channel non-weather program, but it’s not. CG/LA Infrastructure’s Chairman and CEO Norman Anderson shares som...

Minnesota Main Street COVID Relief Grants to Begin Accepting Applications September 20

Thursday, September 02, 2021

St. Paul - The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will begin accepting applications for the Main Street COVID Relief Grants Program on September 20th. This program was approved by the Minnesota State Legislature and signed by Gov. Tim Walz on June 30, 2021. A total of $64,200,000 is available in grants for Minnesotan owned and operated businesses that can demonstrate financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses that are majority-owned by military veterans, women, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color individuals; employ 6 people or fewer; and/or did not receive previous assistance from other state relief program...

5 Effective Ways To Reinvent Your Business

Friday, August 27, 2021

When a business is experiencing a decline in revenue or has simply plateaued and is not growing, there can be a number of contributing factors. A global pandemic, new competition, loss of a major customer, weak management, turnover of key employees, or off-target marketing could all have a negative effect on the growth and sustainability of a small business and be the reason for a company's downturn. However, if the business's products or services still provide benefits and solutions to customers and their problems, perhaps it is time to reinvent your business. You have surely heard the famous saying “The definitio...

How To Become An Entrepreneur: Find A Problem And Be The Solution

Friday, August 27, 2021

Entrepreneurship isn’t an easy or simple profession, but as with any field, there are basic principles that govern success. The most fundamental truth in entrepreneurship is this: find a problem and be the solution. If you want to become a successful entrepreneur, your business must fill a gap, solve an issue, or provide a product that didn’t previously exist. That’s exactly what entrepreneurs Carl C. Schuessler, Jr. and Barry Murphy did. They understood that the healthcare crisis in America is ongoing and many employers are struggling to navigate it. They found that employer-provided health insurance can be a confusing road t...

Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants in Minnesota

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

PROGRAM STATUS: Open APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications for Grants of $20,000 or Less and Loan/Grant of $20,000 or Less Combo Applications due by Nov. 1, 2021, or March 31, 2022. Applications for Unrestricted Grants or Loan/Unrestricted Grant Combo Applications due by March 31, 2022. Fiscal Year 2021 Funding Amounts: Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Fiscal Year 2021 funding amounts will be published with the enactment of the full-year appropriations act. What does this program do? The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for ne...

How to Keep Your Most Valued Employees During 'The Great Resignation'

Saturday, July 24, 2021

In the spring of 2020, millions of people were losing their jobs as the pandemic shuttered entire industries and sectors. Individuals who remained employed craved job security, so they hunkered down in gratitude, hoping that they wouldn't be one of the unlucky ones to become unemployed. Fast-forward to June 2021, and everything is different. The dire situation from last year has rebounded so rapidly that it's hard to comprehend the incredible resurgence in available jobs. During the third week of June, a new kind of headline started appearing on news websites. In what Texas A&M University professor Anthony Klotz predicted a...

How Economic Development Websites Can Increase Digital Marketing ROI

Monday, July 19, 2021

When it comes to bringing money into your community, your website is the most important component of your marketing strategy. And economic development websites can increase your digital marketing ROI. Design is key, but content is king. CONTENT MARKETING, done right, can give your economic development organization (EDO) ongoing search engine prominence while elevating your community's value propositions in ways that will yield benefits for years to come. On the flip side, a site that's not up to par will be a big liability. Many factors will affect your website's return on investment. Here is a list of key item...

5 Tips for Attracting the Best Job Candidates in Today's Labor Market

Saturday, July 17, 2021

The landscape has changed dramatically for businesses accessing the labor market pool. Employers have to rethink how to approach prospective employees if they plan on meeting their hiring demands. Job shortages have created a frenzy where companies are scrambling to adopt a new approach to hiring new team members in pursuit of a different type of job engagement. Every day I coach companies that are desperate to find workers who can support their growing business. Many of these businesses have unfortunately had to turn business away, because they don’t have enough staff to support the influx of work. According to th...

Business Services firms expect continued economic recovery

Monday, July 12, 2021

St. Paul – Minnesota business services firms expect continued recovery from the pandemic recession during the next four quarters, with 55% of respondents expecting increase in consumer spending and 46% anticipating growth in employment. Those are the results released today from a joint survey conducted in May and June of this year by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Surveying business services firms – such as engineers, accountants and architects –offers a compelling glimpse into economic conditions because these businesses provide their services to other businesses across the full range of industrie...

Minnesota’s Small Business Recovery

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Minnesota’s economy is largely powered by small and medium sized businesses (SMB’s). SMB’s make up 99.5% of all Minnesota firms and employ nearly 47% of all Minnesota workers. Small businesses also drive job growth in the state’s economy. In 2019 SMB’s were responsible for over 22,000 net new jobs, with firms under 20 employees creating the largest share of new jobs. The performance of Minnesota’s small business sector is thus critical to the overall health of the state’s economy. Small businesses were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, and face continued challenges one year after the unprecedented economic downturn i...

Next Gen

Monday, May 24, 2021

It was four years ago now. Doug Wickstrom had worked for over a decade in manufacturing, most of it spent at a custom machine company that serviced the cheese industry. He supervised projects ranging from four-figure tune-ups to multi-million-dollar expansions and construction. He was versatile, able to take on any role from installation and training to project management — and he soon opened his own company after reaching a comfortable six-figure salary. But he was also a family man and farmer seeking a life that included more time at home, and he was intrigued when he received the phone cal...

Why Virtual Selling is in Your Future

Monday, May 24, 2021

Author Jeb Blount explains why manufacturers who don’t master virtual selling techniques will lose ground to those who do. Jeb Blount is the bestselling author of 10 books on sales, leadership, and customer experience. An in-demand speaker, he spends more than 250 days each year delivering speeches, workshops, and training programs to high-performing sales teams and leaders. Through his global training organizations, including Sales Gravy and Innovate Knowledge, Blount advises many of the world’s leading organizations and their executives on the impact of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills on customer-facing activities, and delivers training to thousands of participants in both public and private forums. The COVID economy ha...

Long Prairie EDA Welcomes New Board Members

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

The Long Prairie Economic Development Authority board of directors consists of a diverse group of individuals, each of whom bring a unique set of values and backgrounds to the collective. Our members come from all walks of life, with various degrees of education, training and work/life experience. While some of our board members have previous and/or current experience serving on boards and others have no experience, they all share a common desire to serve their community, and to willingly contribute to and participate in the economic growth of Long Prairie. Our board members are: Lauren Hebert, David Wright, Dallas Nelson...

How To Attract Remote Workers To Your Community

Monday, April 19, 2021

You know you need remote workers, now let's talk about how to attract remote workers to your community. REMOTE WORKERS bring an abundance of advantages to a local workforce, from growing the tax base to diversifying the labor pool. As remote work continues to grow, more communities will benefit from adding remote workers to their local workforce. WAYS TO ATTRACT REMOTE WORKERS TO YOUR COMMUNITY REMOTE WORK IS THE NEW NORM Nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers who have been working remotely during the pandemic want to continue to work from home, according to a GALLUP POLL. Between April and May 2020, the number of remote workers in the U.S. doubled, GALLUP REPORTS...