Reda Annual Review 2016-2017

Regional Economic Development Alliance ANNUAL REVIEW

ve Succe ss Collecti

Indivi

dual S trengt hs

2016 - 2017

Indiv idual Strengths.

Collective Success.

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION LET T ER

04

THE TEAM

05

PARTICIPA NT S

06-07 K EY SU C C E S SE S

08-09 PROFE SSIONAL STAF F I NSIGH T

10 YE A R IN REV IEW

11 E C ONOMIC L ANDSCAPE

12-13

S T R AT E G I C AC T I V I T I E S

14-15

MA RKETING & C OMMUNICATION S

16-19

2016- 17 Annu al Re v i e w Note: A l l infor mat ion pres ente d in t his rep or t is for t he p er io d of Ju ly 1, 2016 June 30, 2017 un less ot her w is e note d.

OBJECTIVE To retain and grow the primary economic base of the Greater Mankato Regional Marketplace through business retention, new enterprise, emerging business development and new business development.

PURPOSE It has become broadly accepted, embraced and understood that economic prosperity and activities do not stop at jurisdictional boundaries. Rather our economic and community prosperity lies in the success of our collective and immediate marketplace.

For this reason, the parties wish to facilitate economic development of the communities that make up the greater Mankato regional marketplace. This endeavor will offer a “forum to strategically facilitate regional assets and opportunities” for the purpose of business development, and will enable us to enhance and develop our future economic prosperity.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES • Economic prosperity

• Direct technical assistance

• Atmosphere of cooperation

• Efficient and effective delivery

• Unique strengths and characteristics

• Supportive

4

LETTER OF INTRODUCTION Our regional marketplace, referred to as Greater Mankato, continues to thrive and expand because of strategic business development decisions by our business leaders coupled with deliberate, supportive and cooperative activities in regional economic development. The Regional Economic Development Alliance represents this collective intentionality and enables us to be better and stronger.

On the following pages of this Annual Review we have compiled a variety of information, data, examples and quotes that represent the breadth and impact of our work. You’ll see examples of key successes, regional metrics and data illustrating our region’s powerful presence in southern Minnesota, as well as insights from core professional staff providing a unique perspective on what it means to cultivate relationships, mobilize our marketplace assets and effectively leverage our resources.

The resulting effect is a continually balanced, vibrant and growing economic landscape. It is an absolute honor to be part of regional collaboration focused on offering the greatest potential for business development and related community prosperity. The Alliance is a testament to our rising regional center.

Jim Beal Chair, Regional Economic Development Alliance

Jonathan Zierdt President & CEO, Greater Mankato Growth, Inc.

"Our regional success has come from our individual and collective g r o w t h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . To g e t h e r , w e a r e s t r o n g e r. " - Jim Beal Chair of Regional Economic Development Alliance

5

THE TEAM At Greater Mankato Growth, we work for all of the participating communities of the Regional Economic Development Alliance every day. Think of the staff listed here as an extension of the participating communities, additional staff that are experts in the niche of economic development. They work to provide data, connect resources and to retain and attract vital businesses across the region. Because the staff works with many communities, businesses and organizations, they have a pulse on what is happening across the marketplace and can leverage resources and knowledge for the benefit of all.

Bri dget Norl and

Joh n C onsi d in e I I I Director of Regional Business Intelligence

Director of Marketing & Communications

Jim S antori

New Business Development Director

Affiliated staff members contribute to Regional Economic Development Alliance and participate on an as-needed basis with the group.

Pat r i ck B a ker

S am Z i eg l er

Director of Government & Institutional Affairs

Director of GreenSeam

g reater mankatobu siness .com

“Greate r Mankato Grow th ha s bee n a g reat re s ource for connec ting the reg i onal bu sine ss communit y.

Whe the r it’s connec t ing me to c it y off i ci al s for the Cit y of Madi s on L ake or conve ning round tabl e di s c u ssion on bu sine ss opp or t unit i es , I can count on G MG staff to a ssi st in e x pl or ing and i de nt if y ing pote ntial bu sine ss opp or t unities .”

– Pam Jag dfeld, Bu sine ss Manag e r, Nif t y Home Pro du c ts

PARTICIPANTS P ho to

Regional Economic Development Alliance has been comprised of seven cities and two counties with Greater Mankato Growth serving as the facilitator. All partners and representatives are committed to serving each of the communities in the Mankato - North Mankato MSA.

cr ed C ha d K ra us

Regional Economic Development Alliance Annual Review

:

CHAIR: Jim Beal VICE CHAIR: Bob Broeder (through November 2016) Mark Dehen (December 2016-Present) President & CEO: Jonathan Zierdt

it

Adv i s or y C ommittee

7

EAG LE L AKE

L AK E CRYSTA L

MA NKATO

Elected Official: Jim Beal, EDA Commissioner and REDA Chair Staff Representative: Brad Potter, Former City Administrator

Elected Official: Brad Ahrenstorff, Mayor Staff Representative: Taylor Gronau, City Administrator

Elected Official: Eric Anderson, Mayor Staff Representative: Pat Hentges, City Manager Affiliated Staff: Paul Vogel, Director of Community Development Kristin Prososki, Economic Development Specialist

NORT H MAN KATO

L E SUE UR

SA INT PETE R

Elected Official: Mark Dehen, Mayor Staff Representative: John Harrenstein, City Administrator Affiliated Staff: Mike Fischer, City Planner

Elected Official: John Favolise, Council Member Staff Representative: Samantha DiMaggio, Community Development Director

Elected Official: John Kvamme, Council Member Staff Representative: Todd Prafke, City Administrator Affiliated Staff: Russ Wille, Director of Community Development

BLU E EARTH C OUNT Y

NIC OLLET C OUNT Y

Elected Official: Mark Piepho, Commissioner Staff Representative: Bob Meyer, County Administrator

Elected Official: Jack Kolars, Commissioner Staff Representative: Ryan Krosch, County Administrator

REGION NINE

DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

Region Nine Development Commission serves as a regional liason.

8

KEY SUCCESSES FROM THE PAST YEAR 105 EXISTING BUSINESS 2016 VISITS JULY JUNE 2017 FACILITATED FOCUS GROUP SESSION WITH 5 AREA

MANUFACTURERS AND ENTERPRISE MINNESOTA

25

33

RFPs SHARED FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

#1 MSA IN REAL GDP GROWTH IN MINNESOTA AND #3 IN UPPER MIDWEST OUT OF 32 (ND, SD, IA, MN, WI

PUBLISHED STORIES HIGHLIGHTING RESOURCES, REGIONAL STRENGTHS, AND CRITICAL BUSINESS INFORMATION.

$514 MILLION IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS ACROSS THE REGION 2015, 2016, 2017 Reg ional Economic D e velopment Alliance Annual Re v ie w

9

27%

284

PER CAPITA PERSONAL INCOME GROWTH RATE FROM 2010-2015

NEW BUILDING & RENOVATION PROJECTS

#1 IN MINNESOTA

57,320

+810

JOBS

NEW JOBS IN THE MSA FROM 2015-2016

HIGHEST ANNUAL AVERAGE JOB FIGURE EVER FOR THE MARKETPLACE (697 MORE THAN 2015)

LOW COST OF DOING BUSINESS

15% BELOW

FULFILLED

the national average

115

54

LEADS FOR NEW BUSINESS AND EXISTING BUSINESS EXPANSION

REQUESTS FOR CRITICAL BUSINESS I N F O R M AT I O N

g reater mankatobu siness .com

" E x te r nally, addressing the re maining 2 0 pe rce nt of economic g row th , we continue to br ing the reg ion to the at te ntion of people throug hout the Midwest, br ing ing aware ness of how unique and thr iv ing our reg ion i s for bu siness and workplace .

We need to continually pu sh thi s mess ag e in an extre mely competitive env ironme nt by utili z ing dif fe re nt - and traditional - communication techniques."

- Jim S antor i Ne w Bu siness D e velopme nt D irec tor Greate r Mankato Grow th

PROFESSIONAL STAFF INSIGHT “According to the Inter national Economic D e velopment C ouncil , the premier ass ociation in economic de velopme nt, 80% of our economic g row th w ill come f rom exi sting bu siness es in our communities. In the last year, we have facilitated di s cu ssion s w ith reg ional employers and res earched and de veloped tool s for workforce de velopment to assi st not only exi sting bu siness es but prospec tive bu siness es as well . Thes e tool s can be put to u s e immediately for exi sting bu siness es, and s er ve as a beacon to prospec tive bu siness es that our reg ion i s mobiliz ed to be a par tner in their g row th.�

- John C on sidine III D irec tor of Reg ional Bu siness Intelligence Greater Mankato Grow th

" The Reg ional Economic D e velopment Alliance of local elec ted of f icial s, bu siness leaders and G MG staf f i s a tr ue collec tive working toward a common v i sion . Utilizing and collaborating our indiv idual streng ths toward organiz ational obj ec tives i s a testament to thi s reg ion’s ability to remain v ibrant and divers e in an e ver- chang ing world."

- Br idget Norland D irec tor of Marketing & C ommunications Greater Mankato Grow th

11

YEAR IN REVIEW RETURN ON INVESTMENT Each dollar invested by Regional Economic Development Alliance participants leveraged $315 of GMG impacted capital investment across the marketplace. These capital investments exceeded $500,000,000 over the last three years. *Based on data in the Business Pipeline Report over a three year period.

BUDGET SNAPSHOT

$319,837 53%

T O TA L R E G I O N A L ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT B Y P A R T I C I PA N T S

(an additional $274,494 comes from private sector investments)

SERVICES & PROGRAMS

$314,882 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

$240,861 OPERATIONS

$38,758

$594,501 T O TA L G M G R E G I O N A L ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT

" C ooperation i s the thorough conv ic tion that nobody can get there unless e ver ybody gets there.�

- Virg inia Burden

g reater mankatobu siness .com

12

ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE To understand our regional economy, it is important to provide the appropriate context of key economic metrics. Our region has unique characteristics that influence our economy in multiple ways. Below are 3 separate analyses, that compare our Metropolitan Statistical Area to others with a similar trait.

Analysis: Similar College Age Population (18 to 24-year-olds) The Mankato-North Mankato MSA ranks 15th out of 382 MSAs for the highest percent of college age residents (20.4%). This comparison analyzed MSAs ranked 5th through 25th. The concentration of college age residents is due to the 5 post-secondary institutions within the MSA. This characteristic is the defining influencer of our regional economy. Age, more than any other demographic, will influence wage. When comparing wages of MSAs with a similar concentration of college students, MankatoNorth Mankato was in the top 38% for average weekly wage ($744.71). (Gross Domestic Product Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2015) (Current Employment Statistics - Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017)

GDP Geography Mankato-North Mankato Similar College Age Population (AVG) *February 2016- February 2017

14-15% Growth

10-15% Growth

2.48%

11.20%

Jobs Change from Feb 2016 to Feb 2017 (%) -0.2%

0.24%

-0.36%

1.5%

“I can’t s ay e noug h p o sitiv e thing s about our e x p e r i e nce w ith Greate r Mankato Grow th . O ur par tne rship w ith GMG ha s b ee n cr u c i al to e n sur ing L ake Cr y stal i s pre p ared and ready to re spond whe n d e v el opme nt opp or t unit i e s ar i s e .”

– Taylor Gronau , Cit y Admini strator, Cit y of L ake Cr y stal

Wages 2016-2017 % Wage Growth*

4.31%

10.28%

13

Analysis: Similar Total Population Mankato-North Mankato MSA is the 353rd largest MSA out of 382. This analysis compared MSAs ranked 343-363. Mankato-North Mankato is an employment destination. The percentage of workers to total population is much higher than the average metropolitan area of similar size (58%Mankato-North Mankato vs. 44% Average Metro). Additionally, our labor force participation rate is up over 80% and 3rd highest in the country. Therefore, the lack of job growth represents a lack of unemployed available labor rather than a shortage of employment opportunities. Wages are likely rising due to the demand for labor. (Gross Domestic Product - Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2015) (Current Employment Statistics - Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017) GDP

Jobs

Geography

14-15% Growth

10-15% Growth

Change from Feb 2016 to Feb 2017 (%

Mankato-North Mankato Similar Population (AVG)

2.48% 0.02%

11.20% 2.49%

-0.2% 1.4%

Wages

Labor force to population ratio

2016-2017 % Wage Growth*

57.89% 43.94%

10.28% 4.71%

*February 2016 - February 2017

Analysis: Similar Geography The Mankato-North Mankato MSA is compared against the following MSAs of similar geography: • • • • •

Duluth Minneapolis-St. Paul Rochester St. Cloud Fargo

• • • •

Grand Forks Sioux Falls Sioux City La Crosse

Mankato-North Mankato had the third highest increase in weekly earnings (9.32%) among the 10 MSAs, trailing only Minneapolis at 12% and La Crosse at 14.83%. Mankato-North Mankato is well above the average wage increase of 6.4%.

GDP

Jobs

Wages

Geography

14-15% Growth

10-15% Growth

Change from Feb 2016 to Feb 2017 (%)

2016-2017 % Wage Growth*

Mankato-North Mankato Similar Geography (AVG)

2.48% 0.81%

11.20% 6.93%

-0.2% 1.20%

9.32% 6.4%

*April 2016 - April 2017

g reater mankatobu siness .com

“G MG can rec r uit and re pres e nt the reg ion w ell for E conomic D e v elopme nt, w hich i s impe rative w he n the Cit y of E ag le L ake has limited staf f time w e can dedicate to E conomic D e v elopme nt ac tiv ities .

Using the e x pe r ti s e at G MG to complete de mo g raphic infor mation request s among othe r ite m s i s c r uc ial. G MG does a g reat job of pooling the res ources and stre ng th s of indiv idual communities collec tiv ely to make a strong reg ional economic de v elopme nt e f for t.”

- Br ianna Ande rs on , Mayor of E ag le L ake

STRATEGIC ACTIVITIES Over the last year, GMG staff represented and advocated for Regional Economic Development Alliance participants via these events, programs and initiatives:

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT • 'Kato X' – Development of a robust marketing tool to attract and recruit prospective employees, tourists and residents via a virtual tour website • Greater Mankato Talent Initiative – Lead a regional initiative with area businesses focused on the recruitment and retention of employees based on projected workforce shortage numbers • Creation of a Talent Council - Engaged the private sector and mobilized five working groups to develop and implement workforce development strategies • Developed and launched greatermankatojobs.com – a website that matches employers and prospective employees (or interns)

BUSINESS TOUCH POINTS • Manufacturing Industry Focus Group – Convened regional manufacturers for a round table discussion on the state of the region • Economic Barometer - A quarterly update on performance and important issues from regional businesses • Business Walks – Implemented International Economic Development Council’s best practice for business retention and expansion program: volunteers visiting businesses and conducting interviews and passing out the City Center Marketplace Analysis – a promotional publication for the MSA's urban core • Tour of Manufacturing - Elevated the profile of manufacturing across the marketplace through the Tour of Manufacturing event held each October, in conjunction with Minnesota Manufacturing Week • Fulfilled 115 unique requests for critical business information

MARKETING AND PROSPECT DEVELOPMENT • Minnesota Marketing Partnership - Leveraging marketing dollars with MN DEED and others to promote region • Way to Grow Marketing Publication - Produced and disseminated regional marketplace promotional publication • Minnesota Real Estate Journal Summit on Greater Mankato - Greater Mankato's pitch to state Realtors, developers and investors. On April 11, a contingent from Greater Mankato presented the attributes of the area to a number of realtors, developers and site selectors at the Minnesota Real Estate Journal Summit in Golden Valley.

During this half-day event, there was presentations on our economic history and forecast, livability, workforce opportunity and, of course, how welcoming the area is for new business prospects. There were over 80 attendees.

• Select USA Conference - Attended international event for foreign investors with MN DEED in Washington DC • Area Development Conference for site selectors - Annual meeting on trends and best practices in the site selector field • Community Venture Network - Attended quarterly meetings on potential business expansions, startups for regional consideration • Thriving in the North Advertisement - Produced advertisement for State of Minnesota’s marketing publication for site selectors • Multiple site selector phone calls regarding marketplace opportunities (MSP based commercial realtors) • Provided tour of region to Executive Director of the Minnesota Commercial Real Estate Association

Minnes ota Real E state Jour nal Summit In G olden Valle y, MN

June 19-21, 2017: John C onsidine, Greater Mankato Grow th’s D irec tor of Reg ional Bu siness Intelligence, attended the Investment Summit for S elec t USA in Washing ton, D.C. as a par tner in the Minnes ota DEED booth, shar ing infor mation about the Mankato-Nor th Mankato MSA and GreenS eam.

16

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS The Greater Mankato Growth Marketing staff and the Business Development staff work together like a well-oiled machine – making sure we continue to communicate the most accurate and timely economic development information, relevant to the alliance partners as well as our entire region.

Given the annual website statistics on the opposing page, we see that our business and economic development content remains viable and sought after. The word is spreading!

Our viewers and colleagues trust and depend on us to provide employment numbers, business updates and assets, as well as many other metrics and newsworthy accolades. They are finding the information they seek, resulting in return visits and an increased number of users.

A PORTAL FOR THE MIDWEST

REGIONAL ECONOMIC

GREATER MANKATO IS A MULTI-STATE GATEWAY strategically located for access to and from Minnesota because of its strong transportation grid fueling economic activity in education, health care, manufacturing, retail and agriculture.

REGIONAL MARKETPLACE

EACH OF THE COMMUNITIES IN THE GREATER Mankato marketplace has its own unique characteristics, when combined creates a robust portfolio of regional assets. These communities – the cities of Eagle Lake, Lake Crystal, Le Sueur, Mankato, North Mankato, Saint Peter and the counties of Blue Earth and Nicollet – joined with Greater Mankato Growth to form the Regional Economic Development Alliance (REDA).

Region Nine Development Commission serves as a liaison from REDA to all of south central Minnesota.

It boasts a vibrant state-of-the-art general aviation airport training future airline pilots, growing trucking services and logistics, freight rail access and public bus transit.

By working together we are able to efficiently provide regional as well as individual city and county information to businesses interested in the Greater Mankato marketplace.

Saint Peter

Madison Lake

North Mankato

Mankato

Eagle Lake

Lake Crystal

Nicollet County Administrator Ryan Krosch told Connect Business Magazine the county joined REDA “to be a fuller player at the table with our other regional partners and help see continued prosperity in the region.

“We’re able to provide service sooner, providing fresher products to the customer,” said Wal-Mart DC General Manager Mark Carlson. “It’s a good location to help service (our) network and still have access to good road systems, for not only ourselves but also our vendors.”

Highway 169 moves the equivalent of 30,000 tons of freight by truck per day with an average daily traffic count of 1,200-3,700 heavy commercial vehicles. It also carries the fifth heaviest freight volume of any highway in Minnesota. The top four are I-94, I-90, I-35 and Highway 52.

Highway 14 is one of the original United States highways of 1926 running from Yellowstone National Park to Chicago. It runs four-lanes from Nicollet through Mankato and on to I-35 in Owatonna and is currently being expanded to add additional four-lane segments.

TRANSPORTATION ASSETS Direct access to U.S. Highways 169 and 14, State Highways 22 & 60 with highway connections to Interstates 35 & 90

Le Sueur

Lee

It also provides easy access with four-lane highways (U.S. 14 and U.S. 60 for east and west travel and Highway 169 for transport north and south) to carry goods throughout the Midwest and U.S. markets with easy movement to I-90 and I-35. These were chiefly the reasons why companies like the Wal-Mart Distribution Center and North Central Utility selected the area as a strategic logistics location.

Mankato Regional Airport

REDA partner city Eagle Lake’s City Hall.

DEVELOPMENT greater MANKATO

LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION.

“We felt like it was a good use of resources to help the regional marketing efforts of Blue Earth County and Nicollet County. Their website is full of data for us and they’re able to provide marketing info, statistics, etc., on how to build our resources and data that we have and to be aware of what’s happening in the other communities.”

“Any support we can provide our regional partners in promoting the area is a win for everybody.”

REDA Chairman Jim Beal added that, “The cities that have participated feel a connection and a collaboration which is so important to the success of what we’re doing.”

Access to two Class I freight rail lines

8

PARTNERS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EAGLE LAKE

MANKATO

BLUE EARTH COUNTY

LAKE CRYSTAL

NORTH MANKATO

NICOLLET COUNTY

LE SUEUR

SAINT PETER

greatermankato.com

Pages 8 & 15 of the Way To Grow Publication

15

17

WEBSITE STATISTICS GR EATER M A NK ATO GROW TH W EBSITE:

340,301 PAGEVIEWS UP 3.7%

168,412

The greatermankato.com website and the blog greatermankatoblog.com saw an increase in web traffic over the 2016- 2017 time frame. Website visitors from the United States alone make up for 97% of our visitors. The other 3% of visitors were mostly from India, Canada, Philippines, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

106,210 USERS UP 18% BUILDINGS & SITES PAGE

COST OF LIVING CALCULATOR

PAGEVIEWS

PAGEVIEWS

436 905

SESSIONS UP 12%

62%

31 OUT OF THE TOP 50, OR 62%, OF THE TOP 50 VISITED WEBPAGES WERE RELATED TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

1,072

NEW & E X PA NDING BUSINESSES PAGE

PAGEVIEWS

CURRENT PUBLICATIONS Many print and digital marketing pieces are used to promote the region's assets. These tools are utilized by area realtors, developers and businesses for everything from employee retention and recruitment to attracting national retailers.

"Greater Mankato: The Way to Grow", a business, economic and livability piece was updated this year and released at Greater Mankato at the Capitol in March.

City Center Mankato has attracted significant investment in the past decade. This marketplace analysis has been shared with numerous City Center businesses on "Business Walks", a new initiative started in 2017.

INFOGRAPHICS

Indiv idual Streng ths.

Collective Success.

H O W. W H A T . W H Y. Using best practices, such as Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA) which includes marketing to site selectors, realtors, developers and business, to retain and grow the primary economic base of the Greater Mankato Regional Marketplace through business retention, new enterprise, emerging and new business development.

B U S I N E SS D E V E LO PM E N T P RO C E SS BEGINNING Respond to changing project parameters.

DURING Facilitate communication with local partners.

END Encouragement, follow through, clarification and problem solving.

Request for Proposal (RFP) submitted to Greater Mankato Growth (GMG) Review project parameters set by client Work with partners to present requested site information Compile critical business information & Respond to RFP Arrange community visits for prospects Soft handoff to partners and/or private partners for sale

ACTIVIT Y

#

1

GDP growth rate in the state of Minnesota and #3 in the upper midwest

PA R T N E R S

+596

new jobs in the MSA from 2015-2016

56,354 jobs Highest annual average job figure ever for the marketplace

$

491+

million in total project investments 2014-2016

# 1 IN MINNESOTA

27%

Per Capita Personal Income Growth 2010-2015 greatermankatobusiness.com

The Greater Mankato regional marketplace includes Blue Earth and Nicollet counties and the communities immediately adjacent. Each of the communities and counties in Greater Mankato has its own unique strengths, which together combine to create a robust portfolio of regional assets.

In 2009, a progressive group of these communities and counties joined together with Greater Mankato Growth, this group is known as the Regional Economic Development Alliance (REDA).

Region Nine Development Commission serves as a regional liaison.

The “Greater Mankato Economic Highlights� were presented at Greater Mankato at the Capitol and the GMG Annual Meeting.

REGION NINE

DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

The Regional Economic Development Alliance One-sheeter continues to be a resource used to bring awareness about what 'REDA' is, why we do what we do and who are the 'REDA' partners.

19 ADVERTISING MARKETING MINNESOTA REAL ESTATE JOURNAL

your

greater

#

1

OPEN for BUSINESS V

M A N K ATO

The Regional Economic Development Alliance uses best practices and markets to site selectors, realtors, developers and business, to retain and grow the primary economic base of the Greater Mankato Regional Marketplace through business retention, new enterprise, emerging and new business development.

GDP growth rate in the state of Minnesota & #3 in the upper midwest

#

1

in M

Since 1984, MREJ is the only standalone commercial real estate publication in Minnesota. This full page ad was published in the May 2017 issue.

Welcome to

GREATER MANKATO

GREATER MANKATO is a multi-state gateway in a strategic location because of its strong transportation grid, fueling economic activity in education, health care, manufacturing, retail and agriculture.

TALENT

380+

A

491+

NESOT

Per Capita Personal Income Growth

IN

27%

THRIVING IN THE NORTH

Surplus of business graduates

2010-2015

125,000

$

Employees available within 45 minutes

million in total project investments

POPULATION

2014-2016

100,016

PA R T N E R S

Mankato - North Mankato MSA

City of Eagle Lake City of Lake Crystal City of LeSueur City of Mankato City of North Mankato City of Saint Peter Blue Earth County Nicollet County Region Nine Development Commission is the communication liaison for south central Minnesota.

greatermankatobusiness.com

ECONOMY Greater Mankato boasts it has the lowest cost of doing business in the fastest-growing economy in the state of Minnesota.

2.5%

WORKFORCE AND LIVABILITY The south-central Minnesota region is home to five higher education institutions with an annual enrollment of 26,000 students and cutting-edge innovations in technology.

GDP Growth 2014 - 2015

15%

Below nation — lowest cost of doing business in Minnesota (Moody’s Analytics)

$1.3 Billion

Top Tier — Retail Trade Center in annual retail sales (University of Minnesota)

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Some High School 4.7% High School 24.6% Some College 23.7% Associate Degree 13.3% Bachelor’s Degree 22.4% Post-Graduate 11.3%

REDEFINING AGRIBUSINESS It’s a part of the foundation of our economy. Greater Mankato is located within the GreenSeam, which is surrounded by agriculture production and that is a core reason why many ag-related businesses call us home.

Long before there was any concept of a place called the “GreenSeam,” people of this region were innovating.

Advances in farming techniques, developments in production, equipment and technological breakthroughs all had roots in the minds of those inhabiting this GreenSeam.

greenseam.org

facebook.com/GreenSeam | @greenseamregion | #greenseampride

LEARN MORE AT GREATERMANKATO.COM

Advertisement placed on pages 2-3 in Minnesota’s ‘Thriving in the North’ annual publication.

Staffed by

PLAT BOOKS Individual Strengths. Collective Success. greatermankatobusiness.com

'SELECT USA' GEO-FENCING

REDEFINING AGRIBUSINESS Advertisement the 2017 Blue Earth Become Part of in the Movement greenseam.org County and Nicollet County Plat Books.

Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa

ECONOMIC BAROMETER (2016)

GREATER MANKATO BLOG

30

91,498

2,000 BU SI N E S SE S SU RV E Y E D

E C ON OM IC DE V E L OP M E N T P O ST S

241

TOTA L C L IC K S

345

R E SP ON SE S

5,357

0.26%

72%

36+

I M P R E S SION S / V I E WS

C L IC K T H RO U G H R AT E

C L A I M E D WOR K F ORC E TOP C ON C E R N

g reater mankatobu siness .com

V I E WS

C O U N T R I E S R E AC H E D WOR L D W I DE

Compiled and created by Greater Mankato Growth Published: September 2017 greatermankatobusiness.com