FEATURES

MAY 2017

BUSINESS MONTHLY A PUBLICATION OF THE ALBERT LEA-FREEBORN

COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Top Awards to Local Winery

Fireworks Fundraiser

July 3rd ParadeRegistration 

          MAY 2017

HELP US PRESENT THE BEST 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA

Friday,  June 2,   you will find the dedicated Chamber Ambassadors and other

volunteers on the corner of Broadway and Main working in partnership with

KATE/Albert Lea Radio. Our goal is to raise $17,000 by the end of the day. We have

accomplished this in the past and with your help and support we can do it again. 

Our live broadcast begins at 8:00 a.m. on June 2,  in historic downtown Albert Lea.

We appreciate all of the community’s support over the years. We hope that you can

again help us put on the best fireworks display in Southern Minnesota. It is truly

wonderful to see all the individuals, businesses and organizations that make this

such a success each year.

To donate, drive by and drop off your donation with one of our amazing

volunteers.  If your organization or business is interested in contributing you may

consider challenging your employees to donate by agreeing to match the amount

raised or by offering some other type of incentive.

Want to make it really interesting? Consider challenging another organization or

business! We would be happy to share these challenges on the air. Unable to drive

by that day? Don’t worry. We can invoice your office. Just let us know by giving us a

call at 373-3938.

Please help by stopping out at the corner of Broadway and Main or by sending your

tax deductible contribution to:

Fourth of July Fireworks Fund c/o Albert Lea –Freeborn County Chamber Foundation

1725 W Main Street

Albert Lea, MN 56007

Thank you for your support!

DEAR CHAMBER MEMBERS,

A NOTE FROM EXECUT IVE DIRECTOR , RANDY KEHR

PAGE 2 MAY  2017

BUSINESS MONTHLY

Grow Minnesota! is a statewide business retention and expansion initiative developed by

the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Grow Minnesota! was founded by the Minnesota

Chamber in 2003 and is the premier private-sector led statewide business retention,

business assistance, and business expansion program in Minnesota. The program

operates in partnership with close to 80 local chambers including Albert Lea.

The primary focus of Grow Minnesota! is to retain and grow Minnesota’s businesses. Grow

Minnesota! provides valuable resources that can be accessed by any and all Minnesota

businesses, as well as by individuals interested in starting or relocating a business in

Minnesota. In 2016, 647 businesses received one on one visits and 256 received direct

assistance. Businesses visited represent a cross section of size and location throughout

the State.

Recently, Kathi Schaff, Director of Grow Minnesota! for the Minnesota Chamber and I had

the opportunity to visit three of our local businesses. The goal of the visits is to listen to the

company’s stories, help those overcome roadblocks and collect feedback that is used to

identify trends in the economy and shape our business community’s public policy agenda.

While we discuss many things, we don’t leave without taking time to thank the companies

for doing business here in our community and Minnesota.

I would like to thank the management of Minnesota Freezer Warehouse, Pro Advantage,

and Albert Lea Select Foods for taking the time out of their busy day to meet with us. It is

important that the needs and successes of our community be included in the statewide

discussion.

On a related note, Minnesota’s Secretary of State, Steve Simon, visited with us recently to

share with us some valuable resources available on his office’s website. By clicking on the

Business Reports button on the site, one can gain access to Business and Economic

Conditions reports for our specific region. The report is packed with information on leading

economic indicators, labor markets and business filings. This can be a useful tool for our

local businesses and I urge you to review it for yourself.

.

PAGE 2 MAY 2017

BUSINESS MONTHLY

Twenty-Two college age baseball players from throughout the country will be arriving in Albert

Lea during the last week of May to be a part of the newly formed Albert Lea Lakers baseball team that will be in the Pioneer Collegiate Baseball league this summer.

Host Families are needed for the players beginning the last week of May through the first week of

August. This program is a vital part of the player’s success both on and off the field. Having players become part of a local family helps these young men stay grounded in an unfamiliar city, build life skills, and affords them the stability they need at “home” to concentrate on building their baseball

skills.

Host families are asked to provide meals for their player and need to provide a room with access to a laundry room and kitchen. Families can host one or two players and will be paid $150 for each

player housed. Each family will also receive a family pass to games this season.

If you are interested in housing a player or players, please contact Tom Jones at 507-402-3265 to receive an application. For more information go to www.albertlealakers.com and click on the host

family header.

The Lakers will be hosting the Bancroft Bandits in their home opener at Hayek Field on June 2 at 7:05 p.m.

 

 Looking for Host Families...Would you

be Interested???

THANK YOU 

PAGE 4 MAY  2017 BUSINESS MONTHLY

The following members renewed their membership in April.

2017 Business After Hours

Thank you to Vern Eide Chevrolet

for hosting April Business After Hours

January - Freeborn County Historical Museum

February - Green Mill

March - Good Samaritan Society

April - Vern Eide Chevrolet

May - intellicents

June - Freeborn County Historical Museum,

Library & Village

July - No After Hours

August -

September - Mayo Clinic Health System

Albert Lea

October - Marketplace Foods

November - Hy-Vee

December - Albert Lea Tribune

Conger Meat Market

Green Lea Golf Course

Burger Depot / Schewe Foods LLC

The Arc of Freeborn County

Gold Cross Ambulance

Dan Borland Videography, LLC

Intego Insurance Services, Inc.

Salvation Army

KSMQ-TV

Bauer Built Tire Center

Marco

Freeborn Construction Inc.

Shell Food Mart

Education Foundation of Albert Lea

POET Biorefining Glenville

Agilis Company

Albert Lea Radiator &

Cooling Systems, LLC

Rhodette Groe

BeMobile

Carpenter Company, Inc.

Trail's Travel Center

Heartland Payment Systems/

Melissa Wentzel

Sanderson Auto Repair

Wedgewood Cove Golf Club

AMBASSADOR VISITS

G o o d S t e w a r d C o n s u l t i n g

PAGE 5 BUSINESS MONTHLY

Board of Directors Catherine Buboltz,  Chair 

Director of Sales & Marketing 

Thorne Crest Senior

 Living Community

(507) 373-2311

Amy Davis, Vice Chair

Cargill Cooked Turkey and

Meats

377-2526

Patricia Dahl, 2nd Vice Chair

Mayo Clinic Health System-

Albert Lea and Austin

Jeff Woodside, Past Chair

Albert Lea Select Foods

379-9265

George Gonzalez

Dave Syverson Auto

373-1438

Julia Thompson

Freeborn County Shopper

373-1310

Justin Oman

Security Bank MN

373-1481

Kathy Sabinish

Dave's Phone

Booth/Frames-R-Us

377-0848

Jeff Eaton

Eaton Sport and Spine

377-1570

Dr. Adenuga Atewologun

Riverland Community

College

433-0607

Kim Nelson

Freeborn County Historical

Museum

373-8003

Angie Kolker

Freeborn-Mower

Cooperative Services

373-6421

Kelly Anderson

Erbert and Gerbert's

473-2033

MAY 2017

Gold Cross Ambulance/ Crew Quarters Facility

Ground Breaking

COMMITTEE UPDATES

PAGE 6 MAY  2017 BUSINESS MONTHLY

The Chamber Board of Directors

The Board met on April 26th in the Chamber Boardroom. The March minutes were presented and approved.   Julia Thompson moved to approve. Jeff Woodside seconded and the

motion carried. The March financials were presented and discussed.  Membership is right on track to budget. New members include Burger Depot and Natasha Cleary Photography.

The Ag luncheon exceeded budget and with the addition of payments received in April will provide more than enough funds to pay for our speaker. Golf Outing reservations and hole

sponsors are coming in. Melissa Barr is driving the hole sponsorships and doing a great job. Nuga inquired

 iif we had Service Clubs take advantage of our discount membership offer and was answered in the affirmative. We just had the Cloverleaf Lions join. Dr. Nuga moved to approve the

financials and George seconded the motion. The motion carried.  The following reports were given:

City:

There has been much discussion of the bathrooms for the area of the splash pad. They are being considered as separate projects. Good news was received on our local option sales tax.

Only six cities were approved. Chad is part of the SE Minnesota Worksite Housing Summit on May 15th in Rochester. The city and school district have approved 5 year tax abatement

for new housing and, hopefully, the county will also do sea civic group has agreed to help with fundraising on Holiday Lights. The Mayor will call for volunteers.

CVB:

Susie reported that between May 25th and August 31st there are only three Thursdays that do not have a band committed for “Thursdays on Fountain”. Event will be 5:30-7:00. Scott

Hanna will bring canoes and kayaks in July and August. There will be a movie in the park. Bands will be in the gazebo. Susie has submitted a grant request to Explore Minnesota. Park

& Rec plus the Sunde grant will help finance it.

The Wind Down Wednesday Committee has hired a manager who will help get vendors. They will only be closing Broadway from William to Fountain this year. There will also be food

trucks. Dave Syverson will move to Clark Street. Band will be by the CVB office. Vendors will be on the sides of the street. Splash Pad is going well and could be done late June or early

July.

Riverland:

Dr. Nuga and Steve Bowron spent time at the capitol talking to legislators pushing for the bonding bill to include the Albert Lea Trade and Transportation Center. Started enrolling

students for the fall and students can, for the first time register for both fall and spring semesters. Riverland is one of only five of the thirty-one MN State Institutions that has

experienced growth. That has been consistent for three quarters. Machining, welding, etc. are all full and new sections are opening.

Shell Rock River Watershed:

Broke ground on CDF. The dredging project has been all consuming. There is one permit left. That’s the waters. It’s supposed to be a 30 day review period but it’s been over 120 days. 

Just finished Pickerel Lake Dam. Water monitoring is underway and sites have been identified.

ALEDA: 

Last week ALEDA had the bid opening for the Zumbro construction. Estimates on the project were $4.7 million but bids came in about $4.2. Required resolutions will be approved at

the next board meeting. The Joseph Company is the winner of the bid. We are back in the running for project T-Wave. Hopefully we will know more in early May.

There is a large food processing project that is looking at Nebraska, NW Iowa and Southern Minnesota. They are coming to town to meet with Chad and Ryan in a couple of weeks.

They want to discuss sites.

Ambassadors:

Jon Murray reported that it has been a quiet month. They visited Mariah Lynn new location (Good Steward Consulting) and attended the groundbreaking for Gold Cross. They selected

their scholarship winners. They had Riverland’s, one $six for the county.

Old Business:

The April 3rd Youth Job Fair was successful. The impact was much greater than last year’s. Survey results indicate that everyone would return. The Adult Job Fair on the 12th was also

successful. There were 42 businesses. Jeff W. said that they found several qualified applicants. Tiger Trot and Fountain Lake Five were down this year due to Prom. Worksite Summit is

tomorrow (27th). 

The Green Committee has established the Environmental Leader Award. Nominations will be accepted until May 31st. Award will be presented at the Annual Meeting. Nominees must

be a Chamber Member. The questionnaire for the nominees is very simple. The City, ALEDA and the Chamber have a new website for internships and mentoring for college students.

Student Opportunities is available on all three entities’ website. Jerry Gabrielatos and Teresa at the City did the heavy lifting on this. Any other companies can be added. Randy

reminded all of the SE MN Workforce Housing Summit on May 15th in Rochester. Randy also discussed an event being sponsored by the MN Chamber – The Hidden Talent Pools to be

held on May 10th in St. Paul. These pools could be disabled persons or persons with felony convictions. They also will be showcasing their latest attempt to connect companies with

qualified help. MN Job Match is the name of the program and attempts to match a specific person to a specific job seeker. You can post for $39 and $19 for internships. Cindy Golbuff

resigned to return to the School District and Randy is currently seeking a replacement through Manpower. He has three qualified candidates.

 It will cost a bit more in the short term but one does have the ability to move on to another person if it doesn’t work out. 

 

The Chamber Agriculture Committee - The committee did not meet in April. 

The Chamber Ambassador Committee- The committee is starting to  plan for the golf outing that is on July 17th..

The Chamber Governmental Affairs Committee - The committee did not meet in April.   

COMMITTEE UPDATES (CONT.)

PAGE 7 MAY  2017 BUSINESS MONTHLY

The Chamber Green Committee

The Green Committee met on April 19th and accepted a final nomination form for the Environmental Leader Award.Nominations will be accepted until

May 31st.  Once we receive the nomination, the committee will send the company the simplified company environmental award questionnaire. It was also

agreed that some of the GreenSteps criteria that the City of Albert Lea has been following would serve as a good guide for evaluating nominations. The

award will be given at the Chamber’s annual meeting in October.

A discussion took place around the subject of Census Meters (also known as Smart Meters). There are some people who object to them because of radio

waves. Census meters do amazing things for the consumer and save the Cooperative having to send out readers. They are doing them neighborhood by

neighborhood. The meters will essentially allow you to see day by day usage and particular spikes.

A discussion followed about appliances, etc. that use enormous amounts of electricity.

Meeting adjourned at 9:30 am.

The Chamber Business/Education Committee

The Business Education Committee met on Friday, April 7, 2017 at the Chamber office.  ALHS updates: Young Adult Summer Job Fair 4/3/2017 after

school in the Commons area went well. Good feedback from businesses, 11 businesses and 50-60 students. AL, Austin and Owatonna Chambers will

be at the Perkins consortium meeting in Austin 4/10 to discuss how they might partner with schools.  Working on CTE planning for next year.

Ongoing Career Awareness promotion: Great guest column written by Jenny Hanson was published in the March 30 Albert Lea Tribune.-Jenny

addressed how parents can help their young children learn about careers through creative play and discussion. SW Middle School project: Having

community speakers has been going well.  Had some good media coverage.  Thank you to all who have given your time and shared your expertise.

Albert Lea  School Board report: MCA testing has started. Congratulations! The ALHS Choir was selected as one of 6 choirs across the state to

perform at Concordia St. Paul. (Through blind auditions)  Family Y: The Y and ECFE are looking into partnering with some afternoon programming

and to include a parent educator session and building some good diversity partnerships. Community Education: Summer CE book will be out soon.

Hoping to add some child care to the Voluntary Pre-K. SMART Transit has some new funding and is hoping to add some ECFE transportation with

some of the funds. Riverland College report: Annual RCC Foundation breakfast in Albert Lea at Wedgewood Cove this year 5/4/2017 at 7:30am. Table

Captains have been assigned and will be calling to invite you to join them. 8th grade career day was held and went well.  The STEAM (Science

Technology Engineering Arts Math) event was held 4/5 in Owatonna. Graduation is back on campus this year. Looking at a new advisory model for

students to get them more engaged with the RCC staff. Advisory boards are looking for new members. Youth Apprenticeship program: Six students

are working on completing their hours for the school year.  YA 1 class is working on sharpening skills, doing some business visits and gearing up for

placement next year. Spring Regional Job & Career Fair: 45 businesses participated . Offered “Job Prep 101” -- three 10 min career-focused sessions,

offered at two separate times.  Will also have a Resume Review opportunity for attendees. Thanks to Albert Lea Tribune, Cedar Valley Services, Hy-

Vee, Minnesota Workforce Centers, Northbridge Mall for sponsoring. Best Places to Work : Freeborn County has two business finalists for the honors.

 Banquet in Rochester April 20 and honorees will be announced. Thorne Crest Senior Living Community: Mark your calendars for May 25 Annual Car

Show fundraiser.   The next meeting will be Friday, May 5, 8:30 am at the Chamber office.

The Chamber Worksite Wellness Committee

The Committee met on April 21st and  welcomed new committee member, Caitlin Larson – Dietician at Hy Vee.  The Agenda for the Worksite Summit was

reviewed. It will take place Thursday, April 27th at the Freeborn County Museum. Complimentary breakfast has been ordered from Hy Vee. Session will last

from 7:30 to 9:30. Breakfast is compliments of SHIP. We did receive a $500 grant from Operation Round Up to use for materials, etc. The June 24th Just Play

community event was discussed.  Ellen asked who might want to participate in the Poker Walk and who has in the past. The nature of the event was

explained to new members of the committee. It appears that Jenny has been asking organizations to participate (Kiwanis, etc.). We are looking for businesses.

Angie said that she would do something and Alice will ask Public Health. We would plan to man our spots from 10:00 to 12:30. Hy Vee will bring a table. Randy

seems to think Bob Furland will supply tables as needed. Ellen is thinking of doing the bike rodeo at 10:00 rather than 9:00. Sibley and Halverson will accepti

bikes for the used bike giveaway. Freeborn Mower and the Children’s Center will, as well. Ellen is preparing a flyer for schools to send home at the end of May

and include a request for more bicycles. She will ask them to drop them off at one of the four locations. She will also make one for worksites. Hopefully, KATE

will work with us again. We have not ever had enough bikes. The Rock will have a pickup day of June 1st. Bob can also do pickups. We did receive a $1000 for

bike helmets. We also received $300 from AAA. This is the most we ever had and we will be able to get helmets to children and adults that need them.April is

Volunteer Appreciation Month. Ellen showed the 7 photographs that have been in the April 20th Albert Lea Tribune in which volunteers were recognized. Our

own Robyn Joel was selected by FMCS for her work with the Humane Society of Freeborn County. Angie Eggem will have one coming in. One Freeborn County

employee donated a kidney to someone at her church. Ship Update – Alice updated us on the Hayward Worksite Group. Lou Rich, Dahl Seed and Becker Auto

are participating. She reminded all that grant requests needed to be in by September 30th. Alice visited the High School lactation room as well as Riverland’s.

They will be enhancing them to make them more user friendly. The County declared Healthy Freeborn County Day this past week. All three elected entities

(schools, city, and county) now have passed supportive resolutions.Alice has been invited to speak at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York at a Smarter

Lunchroom symposium. They have asked her to speak on her work with the schools. They asked for MPH’s expert but she was unavailable and of all the

people she could have recommended, she recommended Alice. Cornell is the home of Brian Wansink, who wrote the smarter lunchroom book, and the

Cornell University Food and Brand Lab.

 He was part of our initial Vitality Project.

SMALL STREET JOURNAL

PAGE 8 MAY  2017BUSINESS MONTHLY

Local Winery Takes Top Honors..... It was 4 for 4 at the Fifth Largest International Wine Competition in the world for Chamber

Member Three Oaks Winery. Very excited that their tradition of award winning wines continues to GROW!! With the beautiful Minnesota summer season ahead of us, be sure to

stop out and visit the winery and taste their award winning wines, as well as their other selections. They are very appreciative for your continued support and looking forward to

seeing you in the months ahead.

Continuing to Grow... Excited again this month to welcome another new business to Downtown and the

Albert Lea - Freeborn County Chamber. Good Steward Consulting opened the doors to their newly remodeled home at 137 N Broadway and is very excited to guide your business to its full potential. Let Mariah

help you set goals and bring your vision to life. Contact Good Steward Consulting at 507-383-7200 or mariah@goodstewardconsulting.com

The ALBERT LEA COMMUNITY THEATRE PRESENTS "Nana's Naughty Knickers", a hilarious comedy about a gal named Bridget and

her Grandmother and a summer stay in New York and the interesting business her Nana is running! Performance dates for this will be May 11 to May 20, 2017. Tickets

may be purchased at actonbroadway.com or by calling the ACT call center at 1-877-730-3144.

A MESSAGE FROM THE CVB

PAGE 9 MAY  2017BUSINESS MONTHLY

SUSIE PETERSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR- ALBERT LEA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

When was the last time you experienced great music FREE in a breathtaking atmosphere?

Whatever your musical tastes, “Thursdays on Fountain” at Fountain Lake Park downtown Albert

Lea, has your perfect music every Thursday, May 25 through August 31 (except for fair week

August 3). And in addition, canoes & kayaks every 3rd Thursday, June, July & August and a Disney

movie in August.

May 25th features a guitar-drums duo called Brother Sun Sister Moon. The music of Brother Sun

Sister Moon is laden with vocal harmonies, dynamic grooves of depth and exquisite musical

sensitivity. Winners in” Road to Memphis Blues Challenge”, Dave Lambert plays resonators, guitars

and vocals along with his partner Donna Dahl on drums and vocals. Albert Lea Park & Rec, Albert

Lea Convention & Visitors Bureau and Mayo Clinic Health System have partnered to bring you this

fun-filled family setting.

Crashing cars at demolition madness fun May 5 & 6 at Freeborn County Fairgrounds for Crossroads

Demolition Derby - it captures the ‘thrill, excitement and sportsmanship associated with the derby

world’

The Albert Lea Band Concert -May 8 at 7pm, High School Choir Concert - May 15 at 7pm at Albert

Lea High School Auditorium.

The 12th Annual Thorne Crest Classic Car Show, May 25 – 5pm-7pm.

Events at Marion Ross Performing Arts Center include:

ACT Theater presents “Nana’s Naughty Knickers” May 11, 12, 13, 14(M) and 17,18,19,20 - 7:30pm.;

MET LIVE in HD: Der Rosenkavalier (R. Strauss), May 13 - 11:30am.; Branson Style – The Music

of Jerry Lee Lewis, May 27 - 7:30pm.

For a detail list of events, visit our website www.albertleatourism.org to find all the latest in local

tourism related information. Our calendar is updated daily. Stop in at our office at 102 W. Clark

Street, email susie@albertleatourism.org or call us at 507-373-2316.

MINNESOTA CHAMBER INFO

PAGE 10 MAY   2017 BUSINESS MONTHLY

Advance your priorities in Washington By Doug Loon

Minnesota Chamber advocates for uniform labor laws

Minnesota business owners and managers already have their hands full when it comes to complying

with state and federal workplace regulations. Now imagine if you are tasked with facing two, three,

four – or more – distinctive sets of local laws dictating private-sector employee wages and benefits.

A disturbing trend is emerging in Minnesota.

Minneapolis and St. Paul have passed ordinances scheduled to go into effect July 1 that require

businesses to provide paid sick time. The specifics of the mandates are different in each city. In Duluth,

a task force is studying the issue and scheduled to make its recommendation in November. It’s only a

matter of time before the movement comes to a city near you.

That’s why the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and our local chamber partners are pursuing passage

of the Uniform State Labor Standards Act at the Legislature. The law would explicitly preempt local

governments from enacting their own their minimum wage laws and mandates on businesses including

predictive scheduling and paid sick and safe time

.

An important next step in our efforts occurred last week with Senate passage of a bill. The House

passed its version in March. A conference committee will work through the slight differences in the bills

and send it to Governor Dayton.

The governor has expressed reservations with the bill, but he not gone so far as to say he’ll veto it. In

similar fashion, legislative leaders have said they are not interested in sending the governor a bill that

he will automatically reject. Against that backdrop, we are hopeful that consensus can be reached.

To be clear, we do not believe government at any level should dictate private-sector employee

benefits. However, the only thing worse than state government demanding one-size-fits-all mandates

is for local governments to do so. Consider the fact that Minnesota has 853 cities and 87 counties. A

patchwork of local laws would be an administrative nightmare for employers, especially those with

operations in multiple locations.

Todays’ worker shortage is front and center across all industry sectors in all corners of the state.

Minnesota’s unemployment rate dropped another notch to 3.8 percent in March compared with the

national rate of 4.5 percent. The statistics already demand that employers voluntarily offer expanded

wages and benefits to attract and retain employees, and they’re doing so.

The question of local control has surfaced in the debate. The Minnesota Chamber and our partners

generally support keeping decision-making close to the people. Our system of government values local

control in certain policy areas such as issuance of zoning approvals and assessment of property taxes. In

other areas, though, Minnesota has realized the benefits of statewide consistency. Look no further than

areas such as the criminal code; consumer protection laws; banking, insurance and securities

regulations; and occupational licensing.

Doug Loon is president of Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Joining him as authors of this column

MEXICOTHE LOW-DOWN

PAGE 12 MAY  2017BUSINESS MONTHLY

RANDY KEHR

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

director@albertlea.org

MICHELE BEYER

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

chamberoffice@albertlea.org

GERI JENSEN

PROGRAM AND EVENTS MANAGER

member@albertlea.org

Chamber Staff

Albert Lea- Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce. 1725 W Main St. Albert Lea, MN 56007. 507.373.3938.

Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/alfcchamber

Follow us on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/ALFCCOC

Southern MN Social Media Breakfast

Join the discussionon

Facebook by joining the

group,"SouthernMinnesota

SocialMediaBreakfast."

Tuesday, May 30, 2017 8 to 9:30 a.m.

City Hall

PAGE 11 MAY  2017BUSINESS MONTHLY