http://brainerddispatch.com Copyright 2007 http://brainerddispatch.com Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:01:33 CST Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:01:33 CST Stories from Brainerd: NEWS Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:26 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209005.shtml
"This is a tentative recovery at best," said Bill Blazar, keynote speaker. "The employment picture really isn't recovering."

The economy has not grown enough to replace the many jobs lost in 2009, said Blazar, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce senior vice president, public affairs and business development.

Blazar said when he moved to Minnesota in 1974 he heard the state was the center for production of computer main frames in the nation and perhaps the world. No longer. Zero main frames are made in the state now. The lesson is the economy is a dynamic, changing force. The big companies of today, won't be the big companies of tomorrow, Blazar said. The challenge is being able to identify the opportunities ahead.

As part of Grow Minnesota, Blazar said visits to 900 businesses, including about 60 in this

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region, have provided insights. The companies coming out of the recession better than others found a way to reach customers outside the United States. Those struggling depend on U.S. retail sales or on the depressed housing market.

About 38 percent of businesses said they'd add employees in the next 18 months, but Blazar said he thought that was optimistic and he noted 62 percent said they'd stay the same or cut employees. Minnesota's economy is homegrown, so businesses leaving the state because of financing issues is troubling, Blazar said as he noted three companies re-located to Wisconsin because of financing.

Blazar divided Minnesota companies in three segments - small business, Fortune 500 companies and those in-between with 50 to 1,000 employees - and highlighted noteworthy areas. The small businesses have a high mortality rate and startups are on a record pace. Fortune 500 companies like Target and 3M, which are good for the state's identity with headquarters here, are unlikely to provide job growth as the bottom line forces cuts and jobs are sent elsewhere. The in-between category is most likely to contribute to growth and makes business retention so important, Blazar said.

Blazar pointed to specialized manufacturing as providing an opportunity and noted Minnesota has great expertise in that area.

Support for small business includes making sure those companies have money to grow, Blazar said. Concerns come from cost of electricity, which Blazar said has a lot to do with Legislative mandates. Ensuring there are no tax increases and streamlining permitting are some of the policy items to focus on along with education reform, Blazar said. He speaks with companies that have concerns about the quality of the K-12 education noting businesses expect to train them but don't expect to have to teach them to read and write.]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:27 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209002.shtml Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:29 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209003.shtml Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:36 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209025.shtml Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:38 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209024.shtml Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:41 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209029.shtml Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:42 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209009.shtml Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:01:33 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209001.shtml Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:58:35 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209004.shtml Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:58:38 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209015.shtml 60 years ago (1950) - It took a lot of battle and an ice pick, but John Arvid Johnson of Cuyuna landed a 15-pound northern while angling on Mille Lacs Lake. The fish was too big to fit through the hole, so he fought the fish one-handed while using an ice pick to enlarge the hole.]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:58:47 CST http://www.brainerddispatch.com/ystories/020910/new_20100209007.shtml