Residents of coastal California have long been worried about “The Big One,” referring to the fears that a major earthquake will eventually cause catastrophic damage to the population there.  In the small Minnesota town of Canton, residents are preparing for a different type of “big one.” Every August, Canton holds their annual “Day Off” celebration, and every fifth year, an … [Read more...]

Marsha LaFreniere has a passion for knitting and crocheting that she recently translated into Harmony’s newest storefront on Main Avenue, Homespun Harmony. Originally from Albert Lea, LaFreniere spent 10 years in the Air Force, where she moved around a lot. She met her husband in Rochester and they looked for a place to set down roots. That place was Harmony and a country home … [Read more...]

“We are like a natural foods store that also has pop rocks and some of these weird things that no other natural foods store would have,” says Caleb Lauritsen-Norby of The Parkway Market & Coffeehouse of Lanesboro, Minn., “But that mix works,” he states. Caleb and his partner Blake Lauritsen-Norby purchased the business a couple years ago and opened The Parkway Market … [Read more...]

There’s been a nursing facility in Ostrander for approximately 50 years, but the staff there can tell you that it’s not “business as usual.”  Janice Howe, administrator of Ostrander Care & Rehab explains, “We are a family-owned company, the owners are Grant and Andrea Thayer, out of Batavia, Ill.  They own five facilities in Wisconsin, and then this facility.  And Grant was … [Read more...]

Norman A. Kopperud probably wouldn’t recognize Norman’s Electric Service (NES), the business he started in 1946. “Our dad was a visionary,” Glen Kopperud said. “But even he wouldn’t have predicted how different his business is today. Technology and electronic advances have played a huge role in dramatically changing our work. What he would recognize though, is that we’re still … [Read more...]

When Darrell Peterson was asked what he liked best about the restaurant business, he didn’t hesitate and immediately said the people are. “I love the customers,” Peterson said. “It’s fun to cook for them and see them enjoy a good meal. The very best thing is when they come back and tell their friends and family about it!” That’s what has been happening since Peterson opened … [Read more...]

“We are helping to change lives one person at a time,” said Wayne Stenberg, Executive Director of the Semcac office in Rushford. He states, “In 1966 the Economic Opportunity Act was established and passed by the federal government. Their mission was to fight America’s war on poverty. Senator Walter Mondale awarded the organization their first $30,000 grant to help those in … [Read more...]

People in the Spring Valley and Wykoff areas have probably noticed that Security State Bank is now MinnWest Bank.  The merger official happened on September 21, 2018.  Market President Dwayne Ostrem recently sat down for an interview to explain what this change means to customers. Ostrem explained that the Security banks in Spring Valley and Wykoff were branches of Security … [Read more...]