WILLMAR—Now that streets, utilities and a “shovel-ready” certification are in place for the development of a new section of the Willmar Industrial Park, a reinforced marketing campaign is underway to get the space filled.
At its recent meeting, the joint powers board of the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission was shown a newly completed promotional flier the EDC will use to promote the 241-acre site.
A color-coded map on the one-page document identifies
NEW LONDON—Two tax abatement hearings are scheduled for next month on a proposed $7.8 million project to build a hotel, event center, restaurant and new pro shop at the Little Crow Country Club near New London.
A hearing will be Oct. 4 during the meeting of the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners, when a request for a 10-year county tax abatement totaling $750,812 will be reviewed.
The New London-Spicer School Board will conduct a similar hearing Oct. 10 on a request to abate $272,882 in taxes
WILLMAR—Northern Kandiyohi County has been selected as the preferred area for a broadband expansion project that will be submitted next month for possible state grant funding.
The proposed target area was unveiled Tuesday to the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners.
Deciding on a service area is one of the key steps as the county and Consolidated Telephone Co. of Brainerd, the county’s private-sector partner, ready themselves to apply for a share of $35 million through the state’s
WILLMAR—A proposal to grow fresh lettuce and herbs year-round with nothing more than air, light and a fine mist of water and nutrients was presented last month to a local ag-based committee that is more familiar with growing crops in soil.
Aeroponics, which involves growing plants by having roots exposed to oxygen and fed with a mist of water, could be an answer to consumers who want locally grown product and an answer to an entrepreneur looking for a new business, said Dana Anderson, CEO of Living
Willmar Industrial Park is 31st site to receive designation in Minnesota
ST. PAUL—An industrial park located on the west side of Willmar has been certified for the Shovel Ready Program by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
The 181-acre site in the Willmar Industrial Park is the 31st site designated in Minnesota and the second site in the nine-county area around Willmar to be certified under the program. Shovel Ready certification means planning, zoning,
WILLMAR—An angel investment group that will have up to $3 million in funds to focus on agricultural development in Kandiyohi County could have enough investors to launch a project yet this year.
In the works for two years, the newly named West Central Angel Fund 1 has 13 initial investors who have worked with a capital investment consultant in recent months to create a formal limited liability company structure for the fund.
All that behind-the-scenes-work has placed the investment group in a position
WILLMAR—At a panel discussion Monday with Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, stories of local broadband woes crackled with a frustration that has become familiar.
Speaker after speaker described the shortcomings with their rural internet service—slow speeds, inadequate bandwidth and sometimes no service at all unless they drive into town to find a free wireless hotspot.
The broadband gap increasingly puts rural Minnesota at a competitive disadvantage, said Aaron Backman, executive director of the Kandiyohi
WILLMAR—The Willmar City Council has approved the city’s participation in the Minnesota Department of Economic Development Shovel Ready Certification program for the Willmar Industrial Park.
The city’s share of the professional services needed to become certified is $8,026. The Kandiyohi County and city of Willmar Economic Development Commission will pay the remaining half of the professional services and the $3,250 for the program’s application fee.
Aaron Backman, EDC director, hopes to
WILLMAR—A $25,000 grant from the Blandin Foundation has been awarded to study the lack of broadband Internet service in Kandiyohi County.
Word that the grant had been approved came Wednesday, said Connie Schmoll, business development specialist with the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission.
Schmoll told the EDC operations board Thursday that the Blandin grant will be matched with $25,000 from Kandiyohi County and $12,500 from Federated Telephone Cooperative based
