Keep up with Region 5

Nurturing Transplants “Staples is a very special place. Even though my wife and I aren’t originally from here, we have made it our new hometown.” Erich Heppner and his wife Katie are new to Staples, but not new to living in small, rural towns. They are a part of a growin...Continue Reading

The upcoming Small Business Saturday, November 28th, has taken on even more importance this year. This year, the stakes are high for success. The sustainability of our local business community depends upon a vibrant core of small business owners. We encourage you to be intentional about purchases and shop loca...Continue Reading

It’s a pretty safe bet that most of us don’t remember our first wobbly steps as a toddler, but when it comes to riding a bike, pretty much everyone remembers the thrill of the first perilous time when they let go of the training wheels and stayed upright, even i...Continue Reading

Few implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are as consequential to global manufacturers as disruptions to their supply chains. For many, this is the most consequential by far. Supply chains are always a work in progress as such market variables as transportation costs, tariffs and trade agreements force logistics managers t...Continue Reading

AD: Will more companies be re-shoring or near-shoring as a result of the global pandemic? Jensen: For certain, most companies are closely examining the options available to them to avoid future supply chain interruptions. Part of the challenge of making a decision on a future sourcing direction is that this story isn’t over...Continue Reading

In times of economic struggle — such as the recession that abruptly arrived with the COVID-19 pandemic — analysts and advocates promote an array of options as effective tools for stimulating the economy. One of the most frequently suggested options is infrastructure spending. Proponents of infrastructure spending during dire economi...Continue Reading

Somewhere between your umpteenth Zoom meeting of the month and the latest webinar on the economic impacts of COVID-19, this thought probably crossed your mind: “How long will I be working from home?” While an exact answer to that question still eludes most companies, the effects of remote working are startin...Continue Reading

As the coronavirus pandemic disrupted global supply chains, a new report released in April by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) urged the U.S. government to develop a national industrial strategy to strengthen the competitive position of advanced, traded-sector industries that are “too critical to fail.” “Even before this pandemic...Continue Reading

The Brookings Institution hosted a webinar on June 10 titled “Mitigating the Economic Impacts of COVID-19 in Rural Areas.” Moderator Tracy Hadden Loh, a Brookings Institution Fellow, engaged three experts on rural economies in looking back at the pandemic’s effect on two small towns and across rural America, and ho...Continue Reading

Beset by the COVID-19 pandemic and its recessionary shocks, companies across the globe are paring workforces at alarming rates. In the United States alone, some 40 million workers had filed jobless claims by the end of May, with the biggest losses occurring in the leisure and hospitality, professional business services...Continue Reading

The Covid-19 Black Swan has completely disrupted the U.S. and global infrastructure market, magnifying the cracks in the global infrastructure investment model. The magnitude of the problem is significant, but so is the opportunity. The International Finance Corporation sees emerging market domestic private investment declining by $700 billion this year ove...Continue Reading

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create an environment of unpredictability, the one certainty is that the way in which people previously commuted to their jobs — and the way in which goods and services were traditionally delivered — is likely changed forever. It is still too early to predict th...Continue Reading

Throughout August and September, Twin Cities Business is hosting online conversations with executives from each of the 10 companies that received our 2020 Minnesota Manufacturing Excellence Awards. You can register here for free to join us live at noon every Tuesday and Thursday through Sept. 15. And if you missed one, catch up now: Protolabs Protolabs presiden...Continue Reading

As part of a new series Comparably has in partnership with Entrepreneur, entitled “If I Knew Then: Leadership Lessons,” I have the privilege of hosting virtual fireside chats with high-profile CEOs of major brands, from Waze and Blue Apron to NerdWallet and the Dallas Mavericks. During our one-hour sit-downs, I ask these incredible leaders to share invaluable lessons that the...Continue Reading

The city of Little Falls recently welcomed 20 new ice cream flavors to town with the grand opening of the Lindy Scoop Ice Cream Shoppe, Aug. 28. Featuring flavors from a standard vanilla or a sweet maple nut to more unique flavors like caramel collision, coconut explosion, pirate’s bounty and jumpin...Continue Reading

Women’s entrepreneurship has been dramatically on the rise in America during the past decade. There are now 12.3 million women-owned businesses in in the U.S., according to a report by American Express and SCORE. The average annual revenues of women-owned companies rose 68% in 2019, to $384,359 from $228,578 i...Continue Reading

“We’ve lived here for three years now and I’m excited to stay in this area and see what else is in store!” — Megan Rehbein, BLAEDC Staff MemberContinue Reading

“Long Prairie has one less vacant store front since the market opened its doors, giving residents culturally diverse downtown dining and shopping options and making it easier for other industries to attract employees, and drawing people to our small town.” – Dawn Espe, R5DC Staff MemberContinue Reading

Resilient Voices Guide Implementation through Distributed Leadership and Placemaking Successful implementation of the Resilient Region plan was due to the deployment of the Distributed Leadership Model (DLM).  This model is an advanced version of the traditional “collective impact” community development practice. DLM engages regional Champions with intentional focus on engagement o...Continue Reading

“It was very critical that R5DC guided us through the process to have a really good plan, giving us the opportunity to get a grant to fund the bike and walking trail.” – Karolyn Roebuck, Cass Lake-Bena School DistrictContinue Reading

“It’s about creating local jobs. It’s a 22nd Century Evolution where farms can be brought back!” exclaimed local farmer Barry Thoele, at a Farmer’s Market in Staples.Continue Reading

Expanding Broadband Access to the Last Rural Mile The Resilient Region plan prioritized the need for increased connectivity to adequate, affordable broadband as crucial for retaining and attracting both businesses and residents, improving efficiencies and quality in education and health care, and alleviating problems of workforce shortage. “People are interested in staying and/or moving to th...Continue Reading

120-plus business leaders gathered on Wednesday April 11, 2018 to kick off the Talent Advantage Series. An incredibly well-rounded workfoce disucssion filled with deep data, challenges, solutions and more were a part of the agenda. Statewide demographics show the acute regional shortage is going to be with us for a...Continue Reading