This is a two-part series on the different school districts in Benton County. You can also read about Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools and their commitment to supporting the next generation of learners.Parents have multiple high-quality public school options in Benton County. Foley Public Schools supports nearly 2,000 students across three...Continue Reading
This is a two-part series on the different school districts in Benton County. You can also read about Foley Public Schools and their commitment to supporting the next generation of learners. Parents in Benton County, Minnesota, have multiple school districts to choose from for their kids, but one top option is Sauk...Continue Reading
The chefs behind St. Joseph's Krewe restaurant and Flour & Flower bakery will be opening their newest venture in St. Joseph next month.Chefs Erin Lucus and Mateo Mackbee will be opening Joetown Smashburger in the new House Food and Tap food hall, bringing a new option of casual American fare...Continue Reading
A new proposed bill from Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, would require additional licenses for delivery services like DoorDash and Instacart to deliver alcohol.Putnam presented the bill Tuesday in the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, which would create a retail license with required liquor liability insurance for third-party delivery...Continue Reading
Understanding your customers' needs, frustrations and praise for your brand is a critical element for entrepreneurs who want to improve their products and generate more revenue. What used to be a simple task through customer conversations and basic surveys is now more complex than ever. Today, audiences with rapidly changing...Continue Reading
The trend across America is for large metro areas to be leaking population, as smaller and medium sized cities see folks moving in. Many in the country are seeking a less hectic, less crowded, better quality of life.Minnesota is loaded with these smaller to medium sized towns that fit the...Continue Reading
Here, I am looking at innovation through the lens of process improvement. The value of most organizations is defined by their intellectual capital rather than their physical assets. The intellectual capital of your organization can be traced through the process maps that enable your business operations.Process innovation is not achievable...Continue Reading
The Risk of Marketing Without a PlanMany rural communities struggle to attract business investment, site selectors, and workforce talent–not because they lack opportunity, but because they don’t have a clear economic development marketing strategy.We’ve seen it happen time and time again. Economic developers in rural America rely on one-off marketing...Continue Reading
While homebuyers and home sellers still see headlines about the housing market being a seller’s market and national home prices reaching all-time highs, a deeper look reveals that several regional housing markets have shifted, giving homebuyers some power.During the pandemic housing boom, from summer 2020 to spring 2022, the number...Continue Reading
Most Minnesota manufacturers expect improving or similar business conditions for 2025 compared to last year, according to an annual survey conducted by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. More than 85% of the survey's 232 respondents expect improvements or similar...Continue Reading
Minnesota is known for its vibrant business community and talented workforce, making it an exceptional place to live and work. Great Workplaces in Minnesota honors some of the state’s most outstanding employers—organizations where employees are engaged and eager to contribute.Great Workplaces in Minnesota is a collaborative effort between Best Companies...Continue Reading
During February, CareerForce draws attention to the many opportunities available to high school students to prepare for employment through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on learning.Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses integrate core academic knowledge with technical and occupational knowledge and skills to provide students a pathway to postsecondary...Continue Reading
The St. Cloud Times is looking for nominations for its annual recognition of the area's top professionals who are under 40.For the 19th year, Local IQ and the St. Cloud Times needs the community's help. Nominations for 5 Under 40 opens Feb. 5.The Times is looking for young business leaders...Continue Reading
CareerForce can help you jump start your job search. Here are five tips to get you started:Develop a plan before you start applying for jobs. What kind of employment do you want? CareerForce can help you with interest and skills assessments plus tips on occupation, industry, and employer research. When...Continue Reading
Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell writes that Scott Bessent “is using all the budget high jinks at his disposal to produce a pseudoscientific plan that’s rosier, more magical and more paper-thin than the past several decades of GOP budget fantasies.” As a former macro trader, Bessent would no doubt share...Continue Reading
The Detroit factory where Henry Ford first began mass-producing automobiles had a transformative impact not just on the auto industry but on manufacturing and business practices across all industries. However, that factory was singular in purpose—assembling a Model T as quickly and uniformly as possible.Today, while optimal efficiency in production...Continue Reading
Two are in California, two are in Texas, and one each is in Washington state and Ohio. One is a seaport, three are airports and two are neighboring border crossings.The Port of Los Angeles, San Francisco International Airport, the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and two nearby border...Continue Reading
As global initiatives place increased emphasis on sustainable construction and built environments, emerging priorities for building projects in nearly every industry are focused on resilience, embodied carbon reduction and achieving net-zero energy. For building owners, the challenge lies in effectively integrating sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies into...Continue Reading
Effective collaboration with local governments is essential for success when planning large industrial developments. These partnerships often determine whether a project moves smoothly through approvals and into operation or encounters delays, budget overruns, and community opposition. For decision-makers overseeing site selection or expansion, building and maintaining strong relationships with local...Continue Reading
On any given Friday night, Jimmy's Pour House will be packed with people. The bar and restaurant is a popular spot for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in downtown Sauk Rapids.And it has all the trappings of a small-town restaurant: High school kids will show you to your seat. You'll recognize...Continue Reading
Benton Economic Partnership (BEP) provides business resources throughout the year to members and local entrepreneurs alike. However, there are plenty of tools you can tap into on your own to guide your business operations. One of the most valuable documents to develop this time of year is a business plan.A business...Continue Reading
As we push through the last stretch of the year, many of us are caught in a relentless “rush, rush, rush, busy, busy, busy” cycle. There’s the pressure to tick every box, meet every deadline, and make it through the end of the year in one piece. But, as tempting...Continue Reading
Sartell is making progress toward its Mill District project as the city council met with consultants Monday night to learn more about potential future steps.The consultants—a team consisting of IAG Commercial, I & S Group, Inc., and Thrive, LLC.—could be tasked with implementing the city’s Mill District Concept Plan and...Continue Reading
A new health clinic in downtown St. Cloud has begun offering services to the area's low-income and underinsured patients.Aslan Health Clinic, founded by local husband and wife Clay and Rebecca White, opened in August to offer general family medicine appointments, such as annual physicals and sports physicals. It also offers...Continue Reading
Testimonials
BEP is a valued partner of the City of Foley. They assist our community with funding opportunities and provide much needed economic development support for our small city. We are particularly proud of the downtown façade improvement program BEP has helped us establish. Through the combination of grants and private investment our downtown buildings are looking beautiful!
— City of Foley
When the County needed help to administer COVID-relief grants for Benton County businesses, we immediately turned to the Benton Economic Partnership to manage a grant-making process, knowing BEP would work diligently to get those much-needed funds quickly out to businesses affected by the pandemic. Same with our economic development loan fund and County housing funds. We were confident in BEP’s ability to professionally and efficiently manage both programs, putting County resources to work in our community creating jobs and new tax base.
- Monty Headley, County Administrator Benton County
This grant from BEP will enable us to continue to provide our [video, audio and live event production] services. On behalf of me and my wife Gini, at Kalton Communications, please accept our sincere gratitude for this funding. We are very thankful that due to receiving this grant from BEP, our company will be able to move forward in providing our services.
– Bill
This morning I was pondering how I could pay the lease payment and insurance payments that are due and then your email arrived! This shutdown has affected us much more than last spring so this is much needed and appreciated. It has been slow since the weather turned cold and we no longer had the outside seating. Thank you again for all your help!
– May Kay Buhs
I want to thank you once again for your help in securing our grant from the Benton County Economic Partnership. As a small business, it means a lot to have that expression of encouragement and support from Benton County - especially right now! I appreciate you and Ross taking time to deliver the check personally, and particularly enjoyed meeting you, and our conversation very much.
– S.A. Mahon
This is a personal thank you to you - you have been a light in a very unsure time - you’re not just doing your job - you do it with great care, support and understanding. Thank you so much for all you do. It reminds me that there are wonderful people and you are one of them! You are amazing. Thank you so much!
- Tammy Molitor
Thank you so much for the grant check. I am very thankful to receive it. It will help so much with expenses in a year gone upside down. I look forward to meeting the board and other members. Thank you again.
- Cindy Batteson
I want to extend my greatest thanks for your help and patience getting us through the application process of this grant. We are very grateful and appreciative for the grant that Benton County gave us based on your approval. As everybody knows, it is a tough time for small businesses, and the money is greatly needed to maintain our current staff. Our staff have worked tirelessly to create delicious products and to deliver them to businesses around central Minnesota safely. We hope our work can make this rough patch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic just a little bit better with our homemade sweet treats. We made a huge investment in moving to Sauk Rapids a year ago, and to everyone’s surprise this pandemic has made everything difficult, so we are grateful and recognize that much of this good work would not be possible without your support.
- Jeff Muntifering
I can’t tell you how grateful Ron and I are to all of you. It’s hard to put this into words what it means to us to have the support and care of your actions. You went way beyond doing “your job” in order to show care and concern. We are so appreciative to live in a county with people as yourselves. You are making a difference in our lives. We will work hard at our business to take care of the families as well that support us. Thank you all!
- Tammy and Ron
Thank you so much for the grant funding for the CARE Program. We are so blessed you see the value of our program and how we fill a need throughout Benton County. Our goal continues to provide service to assist seniors live well at home with dignity and the respect they deserve. Thanks again!
- Connie Cardenal
BEP is a great resource for businesses looking to expand or move to the area. Their knowledge of the various grants and economic programs that are available to provide financial support to business owners is invaluable when they are looking for help.
When we developed the old Donlin building from an empty building in East St Cloud into the Harvester Square event center and Iron Street Distillery, Amanda was helpful from the beginning. She helped secure grant dollars for the building, and helped Iron Street Distillery obtain an RLF. Along with promoting the project and submitting the project for multiple successful awards. Amanda and the BEP staff are a great asset to Benton County!
- Kevin Johnson
Thank you very much for the generous grant money for my practice. COVID has really put a burden on us and we are seeing prices of PPE skyrocket! The money is very much appreciated, will be put to good use, and will help tremendously. Thank you again!