Northwest Blog

Greetings, We are excited to update you on the progress of the new building. Everything is quickly coming together! Our conference room/training room went from this.... To this.... in a matter of a few weeks! We just love the light and airy color. Our offices have carpet and ceilings. We have a very open reception area with lots of storage! The whole place cleaned up beautifully and we are so excited to move in! 201 3rd St. NW here we come....(soon we hope)

The deadline for entering this year’s IDEA Competition is fast approaching.   All applications must be postmarked by November 30.   Applicants who submit their entries on or before the early-bird deadline of November 15 pay a discounted application fee. Since its inception three years ago, the competition has built a reputation for helping local innovators in bringing new products and services to market.   Nearly $250,000 has been awarded to Northwest Minnesota innovators, helping local innovators with product engineering, patent filing costs, market feasibility studies, and website development, as well as many other development costs. The purpose of the competition is to assist the most promising local entrepreneurs in the commercialization of innovative products, processes and deliveries by connecting them to the best resources available, along with access to the capital it takes to launch a successful venture.   The competition awards as many as five $10,000 cash prizes each

 We are very excited to present to you, one of the many highlights of our new facility!  At NMF we strive to serve the northwest region of Minnesota each day. And we wanted to incorporate each quality of our region in the new building to serve as a constant reminder of our mission.  We consulted a local artist to help us do just that - and the results are nothing short of amazing. Darcy Thabes an artist from Bagley has incorporated mosaic tile in the floor of the front lobby. The mosaic depicts all of the wonderful elements that encapsulate northwest Minnesota! The flow of the Mississppi  River will carry throughout the tile in the front lobby.  As the river branches out, you will see smaller mosaic pictures depicting the natural resources and qualities of our region. Wild ricing, a major component to northwest Minnesota.  Snowshoeing and snow capped pine trees. Farming. The detail within each of the mosaics is unbelievable! We cannot

Northwest Minnesota Women’s Fund Hosts Reception for           Leonore Potter, Outstanding Community Builder Award Recipient    Pitctured left to right: Colleen Greer, Jody Horntvedt, Leonore Potter, Louise Jackson                      The Northwest Minnesota Women’s Fund recently announced the recipients of the regional Outstanding Community Builder awards: Leonore Potter of Bemidji and Ann Graham of Crookston.   People residing in the region nominated these women because of the impact of their lives and significant differences they have made in improving their communities as volunteers, mentors, in their chosen professions, and raising or supporting families. The Advisory Committee of the Women’s Fund hosted a reception for Potter and her guests on October 23 rd at the Cabin Coffee House and Café in Bemidji.   Sharon Fruetel, Potter’s nominator shared her thoughts about Potter. “Leonore’s personal measure of success is based upon integrity and contribution to co

The McKnight Foundation visits each of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations once every five years. We had the pleasure of hosting and touring around the Northwest region last week! Our first stop was Itasca State Park. McKnight board members and staff were able to see the headwaters of the Mississippi. Some even braved the slippery rock, to walk across the headwaters. Ken Grob, Dan Kittelson and Jim Steenerson spoke on behalf of the  Hubbard County Coalition Lake Association. Discussing the importance of their work to preserve the natural resources in the region.    From Itasca State Park we visited the town of Fertile. Community members banded together to show how a rural area can thrive! The Ferile area provides a good sampling of NMF's programs, including a planning grant, three component funds, including one taking part in our Sustaining Community Success program, an Early Childhood Initiative, a high-tunnel

NORTHWEST MINNESOTA FOUNDATION AWARDS $25,000 GRANT TO NW Regional Sustainable Development Partnership NMF Board Member, Jon Quistgaard & Linda Kingery, executive director of NRSDP The Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) recently awarded the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (NRSDP) a $25,000 grant to assess land owners’ attitudes toward water management and conservation practices in the Red River Valley. “The goals are to determine why land owners are not readily adopting best practices, and how local agencies can help farmers overcome those barriers,” said Linda Kingery, executive director of NRSDP. The primary concern is related to water resource management.   Along the Red River Valley, seasonal flooding is a major issue year after year. Recent dike improvements and water storage projects remain part of the solution, but water management on privately held lands is the real issue, according to NRSDP. A sizeable portion of land will be

Do you recognize the building? It's certainly come a long way since the beginning of September when we last updated you! Check out what's been happening inside and out. Walls, hallways and doors are framed. The interior design committee chose rich chocolate brown for our bathroom colors! Paint and tile are in tact. This is Nancy's wall .... it was the orignal exteriror wall of the building and now we get to enjoy the exposed brick and history each day inside our new offices. Staff is super excited about the spacious bathrooms! This was our conference room a few weeks ago..... as you'll see below, we have more walls! This is what we think to be the orignal flooring in the building! We too will have a tile floor! The top floor of the building is completely open for renovation. The exterior of the building is coming right along! Bricks are ready for mortar! It's a nice vi