The EDC conducts strategic planning each year to set priority issues and focus the work of its committees and staff. The information we get from local businesses is imperative in our planning process. For the last three years we have had as one of our priorities, efforts to recruit, retain and train workforce for the area. We have worked on that goal in many ways, including the creation of a video to show the fun, food and other amenities available in our area. The video is available to businesses
WILLMAR—A unique poultry education program created by the University of Minnesota, Ridgewater College in Willmar and industry leaders will be launched this fall.
The multi-tiered program includes a series of courses at Ridgewater and the U of M that are designed to provide training to undergraduates and graduate students as well as those already working in the poultry industry.
It’s hoped the program will help create a better-educated workforce, ranging from on-the-farm employees to those who
WILLMAR—Geometry students at Willmar Senior High have seen tangible results of their work this school year.
Students in the 2018-19 school year were assigned a project—redesign the six pods in the building.
Two of them were updated last summer; work on the other four is planned for this summer. The new pods reflect ideas from the work of the geometry students.
For students who worked on it, seeing the finished pods is gratifying.
“I think they ended up pretty nice; it was fun adding creativity
SPICER—It may seem logical that a business that sells electricity should have a vehicle that runs on electricity.
That’s one reason why the Kandiyohi Power Cooperative began leasing a 2019 Tesla Model 3 this fall.
The co-op didn’t want to just “talk the talk but walk the walk,” said Dan Tepfer, energy management specialist with the co-op.
The white, four-door sedan has wrap-around advertising letting people know the car is powered “100%” by electricity.
With the rise in popularity of
Semitractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles keep the economy in west central Minnesota moving, transporting everything from building materials and groceries to corn and livestock. However, those trucks can’t drive themselves, leading to a huge need for drivers with Class A and B commercial driver’s licenses.
“It is really the backbone of the economy out here,” said Jason Duininck, vice president of business development for Duininck Inc. As a construction company, Duininck
WILLMAR — Ridgewater College contributes more than $170 million to the region’s economy, according to a study by the Minnesota State system of public colleges and universities.
The study indicates the college also contributes 1,456 jobs to the area, according to a news release from Ridgewater.
“At Ridgewater College, our top priority is the success of our students and alumni, but our college also plays a vital role in both the state and regional economies,” Craig Johnson,
WILLMAR—A groundbreaking public/private partnership between local companies and Willmar Public Schools has begun with its first dozen students at Willmar Senior High.
The new Manufacturing and Production course this fall will take students who have an interest in areas like welding, drafting, mechanics and construction and give them a hands-on learning experience with five local businesses.
If this first class goes well, the program could eventually expand to other area schools. There’s a
WILLMAR—The Pizza Ranch dining room buzzed with activity Wednesday as a small crowd of new workers learned about their new jobs.
It didn’t take long before the excited members of Community Christian School’s fifth-grade class had settled down to work.
As part of a class project at the Willmar school, the students had written their resumes and sent them to Pizza Ranch manager Jeff Keller to apply for jobs. He interviewed them a week ago and hired them to work there at lunchtime Wednesday.
The
