Northwest Blog

Hallock is faced with growth dilemma. Big rigs. Big money. Jobs aplenty. Scarce housing. A woeful region revitalized by oil. In many ways, the northwestern corner of Minnesota has the feel of western North Dakota. However, the oil driving this revival is not crude. It’s canola. Read about it here: http://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/event/article/id/28436/group/Region/

The IDEA Competition announced its four 2011 winners on Tuesday, May 17 in Crookston at an awards banquet held on the University of Minnesota, Crookston campus.   Two of the winners – Craft Night Out and Grand Steer – are located in Thief River Falls.   The other two winners – EquipAll GrappleHoe and LaValley Industries LLC – are located in Bemidji.   Each winner will receive $10,000 in cash to advance their business idea, plus additional specialized technical assistance.   Read the full news release here 2011 IDEA Winners (left to right): Jorge Prince, Jason LaValley, Fred Hartmann, Al Aaseby, Chuck Odegaard, Arnold Kleinsasser, Jeff Sullivan, Kenneth Kleinsasser, Kristine Goddard-Anderson, Elizabeth Petersen.    IDEA Hall of Fame: Dennis Brazier (left) of Central Boiler with NMF President Nancy Vyskocil and Glen Brazier of MATTRACKS.

Exhibit focuses on 'Living Latino' in northwest Minnesota Check out the display early this week before it moves on!

 2011 Competition and Awards  IDEA Competition winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet to be held May 17, from 5:00-8:30 p.m.at the Bede Ballroom on the University of Minnesota, Crookston campus.   The event is open to the public and pre-registration is required by May 13 at http://www.ideacompetition.org/ . The IDEA Competition kicked off last fall with 23 applications.   In the ensuing months, the field was narrowed to the following select group of finalists: •            Kristine Goddard-Anderson and Elizabeth Petersen, Craft Night Out , Thief River Falls •            Marilyn Graff, Banner Parking Poles , McIntosh •            John Green, EDGE Performance Products , Thief River Falls •            Allen Aaseby, Fred Hartmann, and Chuck Odegaard, Turn@bout , Thief River Falls •            Christopher G. Hoffman, ReNewConcepts , Bemidji •            David W. and Andrea L. Holmes, Light Weight Concrete Domes , Fosston •            Barrett Jesness, Hall Automation LLC,

Check out the new funds established by our growing family of community funds : Part of the Bemidji Area Community Fund: Bemidji Community Food Shelf Fund Supports programs, projects, or activities of the Bemidji Community Food Shelf Joining the family of Crookston Area Community Funds: Dragseth Family Charitable Fund Supports qualifying charitable and educational programs, projects and activities with preference to charitable needs in the Crookston, MN area Added to in the 11 Park Rapids Area Community Funds: Park Rapids M State Fund Supports higher education initiatives within the greater Park Rapids area that benefit regional Park Rapids residents; funding preference will support M state programs in the Park Rapids area and scholarships All of these are supporting the mission to make the region a better place to live and work!