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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
Business Brief
Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
Owatonna Back on the Map
-Workforce Center Reopen
Through funding directly appropriated through the Minnesota
Legislature, Owatonna rejoins the ranks of other cities our size
with the reopening of the Workforce Center. The center closed
three years ago because of lack of funding for the location.
Owatonna was the only city with 20,000+ population without a
Workforce Center.
Through Chamber and business lobby, and the work of Senator
John Jasinski and Representative John Petersburg, $275,000
for 2 years is coming from the state workforce fund to this
space. Services provided out of the Owatonna site will include:
Meet the New Workforce Coordinator
Megan Horton will be joining as the Youth
Career Planner in Steele County.
For the past seven years, Megan has
worked at Big Brothers Big Sisters of
Southern Minnesota in Owatonna, most
recently as the Community Outreach
Director. In this role, she recruited youth and
volunteers for the program, provided youth
college and career exploration opportunities
and coordinated the Federated Challenge Scholarship.
Megan lives in Faribault with her husband, Matt and their two
sons, William, age 4 and Henry, age 2. She is originally from
Shakopee and has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from
the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. Outside of work she
enjoys going on adventures with her family, cooking, and traveling.
Job Fair
41 Businesses set up a booth at the Job Fair on August 7th at
the Four Seasons Centre hosted by KOWZ and the Owatonna
Chamber. Close to 100 individuals attended the job fair.
Economic Development updates
Cranes tower
downtown
Owatonna as
multiple projects
come out of the
ground. One crane
worked on lifting
material for the new
Pearl Apartment
and the other lifting
steel beam for the
hotel redevelopment
project.
The streetscape
work of the City
moves into the
200 block of N.
Cedar. Watch it
all on the live feed
at Owatonna.
org (click the
BuildingOwatonna
logo)
Owatonna High School
Construction Progress
Site preparation work continues on the new
Owatonna High School building on 18th
Street. The building is on track to open for
school in fall of 2023.
BUSINESS BRIEF
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
WORKFORCE
Update | Brad Meier, President/CEO
O U R F U T U R E
CHAMBER
Leaders
Kelly Boomgarden, Chair &
Tourism Rep
Country Inn & Suites–Owatonna
Nathan Dotson, Past Chair
Dotson Woodworking
Todd Trout, Vice Chair
US Bank
Syd Briggs, Treasurer
Steele Waseca-Cooperative Electric
Deb Gillard, At-Large
RE/MAX Venture
Doug Betti
Viracon
Brian Deml
Deml Heating & Air Conditioning, LLC
Randy Doyal
Al-Corn Clean Fuel
Mike Herman
Driessen Water, Inc.
Taylor Herman
Profinium
Doug Meier
Christian Bros. Cabinets
Scott Mohs
Mohs Contracting, Inc.
Tom Peterson
Climate By Design International
Rich Pettet
Rich’s Window Cleaning
Paul Smith
Federated Insurance
Wayne Starman, Ex-Officio
Cash Wise Foods
2021
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
Business Brief
Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
TOURISM
Update | Karen Pehrson, Director of Conventions and Tourism
Visit Owatonna featured on ‘Discover Minnesota
with Roshini’
WCCO Radio host Roshini Rajkumar interviewed Jerry Ganfield, Kevin Raney and
Karen Pehrson for the “Discover Minnesota with Roshini” program that appeared on
Facebook back in July. Roshini Rajkumar is a host on of WCCO radio that takes her
viewers on a “virtual” trip to discover some of Minnesota’s best kept secrets. The
two segments welcomed visitors to “Step Back in Time” with the unique historical
group tour attractions like the Orphanage Museum, National Farmer’s Bank, and the
Village of Yesteryear along with ways to stay, play and live in Owatonna. We also
saw a large increase in Visit Owatonna analytics - Users increased by 54%, new
users increased by 45% and the sessions and number of sessions also increased by
56% since June.
Roshini Rajkumar has
a great following with
over 25K followers and
over 30 episodes.
Small Town Huge
Opportunity Segment
had 2,600 views | 16
likes | 4 comments
Step Back in Time
Segment had 3,800
views | 28 likes | 8
comments
Scan the QR Code to watch and share the two segments on your Facebook page
Episode 27 Episode 28
Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
www.
owatonna
.org
|
3
GOLF
| Karen Pehrson, Director of Conventions and Tourism
Thank You to All of the 2021
Golf Sponsors!
Thank you to all of our sponsors and golfers who made this
day a success!
Special thank you to our Title Sponsor, Culligan ULTRAPURE
Congratulations to the Gold Metal winning team: Jeff
Hanson, Joe Effertz, Luke Schmidt and Jason Eyberg!
4th Annual Hole Sponsor award went to HomeTown Credit
Union.
Deck Sponsor: Riverland Community College
Golf Cart Sponsors: Culligan ULTRAPURE & SERVPRO of
Mankato/Owatonna
Putting Green Sponsor: Community Bank Owatonna
19th Hole Sponsor: Profinium, Inc.
Hole In One Sponsor: Thrivent Financial- Nick Lewis
Pin Flag Sponsor: Mohs Contracting, Inc./Mohs Homes
Grand Prize Sponsor: Fastenal
Team Ruler Sponsor: Alexander Lumber
Dinner Sponsor: Senator John Jasinski, Struss CPAs, P.C.
& Wells Fargo Home Mortgage-Kara Williamson
Refreshment Sponsors: ABC Seamless of SE MN, Cash
Wise Foods, Graif Clothing, McCarthy Plumbing and
Heating, ServiceMaser by Ayotte, Edward Jones-Josh
Cosens and West Bank
Dessert Sponsor: Black Forest, North Risk Partners-TPS
Insurance Agency, State Farm Insurance -Plemel Agency
and Timberdale Trace
Hole 1-18 Sponsors: Hy-Vee Food Stores, United
Prairie
Bank, HomeTown Credit Union, Reagan Outdoor Advertising,
Home Federal Savings Bank, South Central Minnesota
SHRM, Owatonna County Club, Fareway Meat & Grocery,
Minnesota Secured Title, KOWZ & KRUE Radio, Benedictine
Living Community-Owatonna, Doherty Staffing Solutions,
Steele-Waseca Co-op Electric, Wenger Corporation, Spark Plug
Chargers, Inc., Federated Insurance, U.S. Bank and Bremer Bank
Field Game Sponsors: Brown Insurance Group, LLC (X2),
Fischer Sports & Specialty Apparel, MMP (Modern Metal
Products), Carroll Seating Company, Irish Eyes Studio (X2)
and Edward Jones - Josh Cosens
In Kind Sponsor: SignPro/Auto Trim Design of Owatonna
& Lowe’s
Thank you to Owatonna County Club staff for hosting the event!
Thank you to Young Professionals for being at the refreshment
station and to talk about Young Professionals Group!
Thank you Golf Committee:
Chris Laughlin, Doherty Staffing Solutions; Josh Meillier,
Alexander Lumber Company; Nick Lewis, Thrivent
Financial; Laura Brady, Spherion Staffing Services; Kara
Williamson, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage; Wayne Starman,
Cash Wise Foods; Lori Lair, Carroll Seating Company;
Stephanie Olson, Mayo Clinic Heath System - Owatonna;
Julia Seykora, Owatonna Country Club; Jason Eyberg,
West Bank and Jason Hayden, Fareway Meat & Grocery.
CHAMBER SPOTLIGHT
4
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
Business Brief
Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
MANUFACTURING WEEK
| Brad Meier, President/CEO
Have Ideas for Change? Not Sure Who to Tell?
The new EngageOwatonna.com is set up to give you another way
to constructively voice your opinions. A quick registration (email)
and you’re off. Right now you can give input on current school site,
downtown Owatonna and Diversity/Inclusion. Check it out today.
Mohs Contracting
Building Stronger
In 2006, Scott Mohs started the Mohs Construction
Company in Owatonna, MN, specializing in roofing
and siding. Over the years, the company has grown in
success and size. In 2013, Scott created their full-service
general contracting group that focuses on commercial
construction—Mohs Contracting, Inc. At the core of Mohs
Contracting’s success is a highly experienced team who
puts their expertise and skills to work completing projects
across the region. In addition, Scott started Mohs Homes
for the residential market with services including new
construction, renovations and additions.
Mohs Contracting currently works in the housing,
commercial, municipal, healthcare, and education
industries. Their services include general contracting,
design/build, construction management, value engineering
and trade contracting.
An important aspect to a company is its company culture,
and Mohs Contracting knows this. At Mohs, the culture
focuses on the clients—as well as the team—having an
exceptional experience and desirable end results. There
is always a quality first mentality that proves time and
time again to foster strong customer relationships and
employee retention.
One fantastic
aspect of
employee
recognition at
Mohs Construction
is the STRIVE
Program. This
program regularly
recognizes valued
employees
and makes sure their hard work is appreciated and
acknowledged. The goal is for everyone in the company
to become better individuals, employees and co-workers.
Scott and his team STRIVE for safety, teamwork,
responsibility, inspiration, values and efficiency. Going
above and beyond in service is simply part of the package
you receive when building with Mohs Contracting.
You can find more information about Mohs Contracting on
their website at https://www.mohscontracting.com/, by
phone at (507) 446-0023, or in-person at their location at
1330 State Ave. NW, Owatonna, MN 55060.
Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
www.
owatonna
.org
|
5
NEW
Members Update | Brad Fischer, Director of Membership
Carrin Kath, LLC
Carrin Kath
130 E Vine ST,Owatonna
507-330-7013
Connors Plumbing & Heating - Waseca
Peggy Hildebrandt
407 5th AVE SE, Waseca
507-835-2540
Happy Tails Pet Store
Barry Benjamin
6750 West Frontage RD, STE 434
Medford, MN 55049
507-363-1596
Media Core
Josh Langmade
2660 Superior DR NW,
STE 104, Rochester
651-564-2169
Pizza Ranch
Tony Madsen
142 W Broadway ST, Owatonna
507-446-9990
tonym@pizzaranch.com
Super 8 Motel
Anand Patel
1150 W Frontage RD, Owatonna
507-451-0380
Super8ow[email protected]
Principal Financial
Geoff Stamp
202 W Bridge ST
STE 203 Owatonna
507-774-9221
CHAMBER
Update
Events Director Ready to Take the Lead!
Welcome to the team Julia Seykora who started her full-time Events Director position on August 9th.
Julie comes with seven years of event sales experience from the Owatonna Country Club. Julia and
her family make their home in Owatona. You will see her at our monthly networking events, Young
Professionals, Owatonna Community Leadership Academy and upcoming signature events. You can
reach her at jseykora@owatonna.org.
DOWNTOWN THURSDAY
Update | Kismet Richardson, Summer Intern
The final Downtown Thursday of 2021 was a
success, complete with a fantastic performance
by Street Talk!
Keep an eye out for information concerning
2022’s Downtown Thursdays next summer!
6
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
2021
Business Brief
Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
320 Hoffman Dr | Owatonna, MN | owatonna.org
P: 507.451.7970| E: [email protected] | F: 507.451.7972
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8 AM–5 PM
Business Brief is published by
the Owatonna Area Chamber of
Commerce & Tourism
Watch for Updates on Social Media & Owatonna.org
September 28
5:30 – 7:00 PM
Sponsor: Spherion Staffing
Location: 134 E Vine ST STE 1, Owatonna
October 26
5:30 – 7:00 PM
Sponsor: Sputtering Components, Inc.
Location: 375 Alexander DR, Owatonna
Chamber Pack Deadline
Supply 550 copies of your promotional
insert by for November/December
mailing; $150 by October 27th.
OCLA New Class of 2021 – 2022 Announced
Congratulations to eighteen eager business leaders who will start their journey in September! Welcome:
l-r: Tamora Klemmensen; Michael Johnston, Allina Hospital; Ed Hoffman, City of Owatonna; Doug Voss, Fame Award
Signs and Specialties; Alli Flath, Hometown Credit Union; Brenton Shavers, Owatonna Public Schools; Tom Worhach,
United Way of Steele County; Annie Granlund, Owatonna People’s Press; Meghan Malchow, RE/MAX Venture; Shannon
Cliff, Mayo Clinic Health System – Owatonna; Christian Fenstermacher, Owatonna Public Utilities; Tanyia Greseth,
Trinity Lutheran Church; Amanda Heaser, Home Federal Savings Bank; Jenna Tuma, Owatonna Park & Recreation;
Kody Ebner, Fastenal; Jodie Smith, Mayo Clinic Health System-Owatonna; Bret Mottl, Federated Insurance Company.
Not pictured: Jeff Hall, Edward Jones-Jeff Hall.
CHAMBER EVENTS
Update
