April, 2021 - Region Nine Development Commission

Executive Director Griensewic reflects on Mondale’s impact on MN and how we need to continue to fight the “good fight”

Dear fellow Minnesotans,

Adversity seems to lurk around every corner as of late, and yesterday’s news added only more grief. I was devastated at the announcement of Mondale’s passing. Minnesota has experienced great loss once more.

Vice President Walter Mondale made his mark on Minnesota, the nation, and the world. He redefined what the role of Vice President could be. Mondale was known for his ability to collaborate. He was before his time focusing on clean water, child poverty, and fair housing. These issues were not commonly discussed.

He was well known for being the first Presidential candidate on a major ticket to have selected a female running mate. This deliberate display of feminism was and is so essential. Speaking personally as a female leader in government, representation matters. The highlight of 2019 for me was having a one-on-one meeting with Mondale. My intent was to discuss his timeserving as an ambassador for the U.S. to Japan. He instantly pivoted the conversation to me instead, interested in hearing about me, my background, current work, and career aspirations. He instantly filled the role as a mentor.

When I asked if he ever watched the HBO show, Veep, he laughed and said, “No, should I?” to which I quickly replied—” Yes, please!”. He meant so much to me, I named my adopted cat after him. When he learned of this, he stated that he was “honored and humbled”. I pointed out that both were from Region Nine territory and had white and gray hair. His assistant, Lynda received more cat photos than what was probably needed.

It is easy to feel deflated and overwhelmed with grief and trauma, Minnesotans have all endured as of late. I had to remind myself that Mondale always encouraged others to ignore the noise and step up to be a leader.

The world is watching Minnesota. His legacy can guide us as a state as we work towards healing, helping, and be a catalyst for the needed change, especially in the days and weeks ahead of us. We need to keep fighting the “good fight”. It is what he would want us to do. His famous quote, “We told the truth, we obeyed the law, we kept the peace.” We need that type of leadership now more than ever.

Let us be more like Mondale. #moreMondale

RIP Fritz

Sincerely,

Nicole Griensewic

Executive Director

Economic development grant helping southern Minnesota

in News/by Region Nine

Being proactive and not reactive is the motto for Region 9 Development Commission.

“How are things going right now and what do we see in the future,” Region 9 Development Commission Executive Director Nicole Griensewic said.

Especially with their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.

Each year, they provide the Economic Development Grant for southern Minnesota.

More than $200,000 is invested into the region to prepare the economy for the worst like a natural disaster or economic downfall.

“When those economic shocks happen, we can rebound better. We know who the partners are, we know what kind of works and what doesn’t work, because we know these economic shocks are going to happen. It is just really important that we are here to listen and gather information from all of our different partners,” Griensewic said.

Read the full article here.

Brewery coming to Fairmont

in News/by Region Nine

FAIRMONT — Fairmont may soon be home to a new business in the form of the Fairmont Brewing Company. Owner and operator Joseph Riemann recently had a request for proposal approved by the Fairmont City Council to secure the Fairmont Senior Citizens building in downtown Fairmont. Riemann grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and went to college in Minneapolis. He shares how he was drawn to Fairmont.

“My wife and I have a blended family, we have about five kids together from previous marriages, and once COVID hit we started thinking about what working from home could look like,” Riemann said. We wanted to get a better work-life balance as well as improving where we lived.

“We really like the lakes up in Minneapolis and so we thought that if I’m working from home, home could be anywhere so let’s look for some lakes and maybe a more affordable place to live.”

Riemann shared that with the riots that took place in the Twin Cities over the summer of 2020, he was looking for a safer place to raise his children.

“So we looked around and found Fairmont. We took a weekend in September and drove into town and almost immediately seeing the logo on the water tower and driving past the lakes we wondered where had this gem of a city been? The idea of a city of lakes and being able to afford living so close to a chain of lakes just seemed exactly like what we were looking for.”

Riemann shares that he moved here in October and got married at the Yacht Club in November. Since then, he’s had his eyes set on becoming a part of, and contributing to, the Fairmont community.

“With the idea of entrepreneurship, we kind of looked around at some things that we liked, and one of those was the craft beer scene in the city,” Riemann said. “We noticed that, unlike a lot of small towns, there wasn’t a brewpub so that was something that hit high on the list.”

With that in mind, Riemann started talking to potential funders and Linsey Preuss, Fairmont economic development director, as well as some others.

“Everyone had the same kind of overwhelming response of saying that we need a brewpub,” Riemann said. “So we were looking at some commercial real estate a couple of months ago and what potential places might look like when we heard about this building [Fairmont Senior Citizens Center] going up for sale, and we jumped at the opportunity.”

Now that Riemann’s request for proposal has been approved by the city, he states that several different financial steps still need to be taken.

“Right now we’re in the process of talking with the bank and we’re also working with both the city revolving loan fund and Region Nine [Development Commission],” Riemann said. “We’re also working with SMIF [Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation], basically, the who’s who of normal loan funds who do economic development in Southern Minnesota. So it’s just a matter of tying up all those, which a lot of that was dependent upon an actual physical location.”

Despite all that still needs to happen, Riemann shares that he is excited about the future.

“We really fell in love with Fairmont, and we’re hoping to have the brewery be more than just locally brewed beer. We really want to try and lift up the people and history of Fairmont,” Riemann said. “We’re excited about it.”

For those interested in keeping up with Riemann’s progress, they can sign up for emails at www.fairmontbrewing.com. Riemann states that he hopes to be open sometime in the summer this year.

View the article here.

MDH hosts vaccine clinic in Worthington

in News/by Region Nine

Up to 1,000 vaccine doses were available over two days.

Written By: Leah Ward | 7:00 am, Mar. 27, 2021

WORTHINGTON — Worthington was the recipient of a state vaccination clinic Friday and Saturday, with 500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson available each day.

The Worthington Event Center hosted the clinic, allowing patients to spread out throughout the process. Translation services were provided in a number of locally spoken languages, including Karen, Oromo and Amharic.

Shawn Schloesser of the State Emergency Operations Center (contracted with the Minnesota Department of Health) explained that 500 appointments were open Friday and 240 people had scheduled times. As a result, he decided to open the clinic to walk-ins to fill the remaining spaces.

“That’s this community,” he said. “It’s what they prefer, so we’re accommodating.”

Several elements of the clinic are benchmarks of success, Schloesser explained.

“Not wasting any doses,” he said, along with “removing as many barriers as possible, making sure community members are aware and have the opportunity and encouraging people in the priority group” are all determiners, he said.

Read the full article here.

Success Story: Minnesota Economic Development District Executive Director Strives for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Economic Development

in News/by Region Nine

Region Nine Development Commission (RNDC) is an EDA-designated Economic Development District (EDD) focused on fostering economic development in a nine-county region in southern Minnesota.

Located in Mankato, RNDC’s service area is predominantly white but quickly diversifying. To address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues, RNDC infuses these efforts into its economic development work.

“It’s not just an addendum chapter or vague language in a plan. Rather, we incorporate DEI principles into all the work that we are doing,” said Nicole Griensewic, Executive Director of RNDC.

In 2015, as the population became more diverse, Griensewic was questioned about how RNDC planned to incorporate the changing demographics into their plans to deal with equity gaps.

She quickly got a grant and subcontracted a local non-profit to help them start conversations about race. The result was the Welcoming Communities Program, which includes discussions among stakeholders and DEI training. Other EDA EDDs have since adopted the program.

Griensewic’s eagerness to try new things to make economic development better and more inclusive has helped her colleagues across the country.

“I often seek Nicole out as an innovator in our industry,” said Kevin Byrd, president of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). “She takes a lot of measured risks, which helps our whole industry. She is constantly thinking further out there.”

Frank discussions and DEI trainings are just the beginning, said Griensewic, a native Minnesotan who came to RNDC in 2012.

“We’re looking around the proverbial table and asking, ‘Who is not here?’” she said. “We started with race and are now talking about gender, veterans, and immigrants.”

Being inclusive is smart economic development, she said. According to state data, projections indicate a labor shortage in the RNDC service area that could eventually cost the region and its trading partners roughly $1.7 billion per year. Population declines are trending in six of the nine RNDC counties. Meanwhile, people of color are the fastest growing combined groups in all of the counties.

“I am a very blunt person,” Griensewic said. “Looking at the numbers, if we don’t get ahead of this, we can’t even talk about economic recovery and resiliency. We don’t need a wall; we need a red carpet. This is what businesses are telling us.”

RNDC’s engagement with stakeholders has led to conversations about farmers adapting halal slaughtering techniques, women and transportation, and other issues.

Griensewic’s expansive view of economic development possibly stems from a background that doesn’t include economic development. She previously worked as an in-store executive at Target, and her private sector experience was viewed as an asset by the RNDC board.

Byrd, president of NADO and Executive Director of the New River Valley Regional Commission in Radford, Virginia (also an EDD), said that more female EDD executive directors are taking the helms as leadership changes. In the Chicago region, 22 of the 48 EDDs are led by females.

“We are starting to observe a sea change of leadership,” Byrd said. “Many long-serving male leaders are retiring, and female leaders are being appointed.”

Griensewic is believed to have been the youngest executive director of RNDC when she was hired. She isn’t afraid to ask questions when she doesn’t have the answers or try new things to find a solution.

“I don’t have time to be shy,” she said.