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FAIRMONT - At Monday’s Martin County Economic Development Authority (EDA) meeting, CEDA shared a report recently released on the area’s economic development prospects.
CEDA Specialist Amber Patten, who was interviewed for the report, shared the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s (SMIF) findings for the area, which found that economic development in Martin County is constrained. This is not from a lack of ideas for the area, but a lack of capacity, funding access and infrastructure.
To fix this, SMIF pitched seven different ideas to strengthen economic development in this region.
Build a regional entrepreneur readiness pipeline with training, mentorship and coordinated business support.
Expand flexible and accessible funding opportunities, including microgrants and a simplified funding process.
Invest in shared regional capacity, which could include grant writing assistance, shared economic development staffing and common tools and systems.
Strengthen the connection between housing and workforce development through coordinated planning and investment.
Simplify access to economic development resources by creating centralized information, navigation assistance and practical toolkits.
Expand regional collaboration through stronger partnerships, peer learning and coordinated advocacy.
Increase local engagement by maintaining a visible presence in communities, building relationships and providing responsive programming.
Through these priorities, Patten said the Martin County EDA has already had some of the same priorities.
“The same type of concerns, same type of goals that the other communities in our area also have as well,” she said
Board Member Billeye Rabbe asked what SMIF is doing about these findings. Patten said that is the next step.
“We are going to be communicating with SMIF again,” she said. “We have this. We have time to research. Look it over, show it to our boards. Now what? Now what’s possible?”
Currently, Patten said SMIF has two grants for local areas, one mainly for towns and one mainly for businesses. Ceylon is looking into the requirements for the city-focused grant.
The MCEDA has also chosen to cancel pursuing a Federal EDA Grant to try and net Martin County $320,000 in funding for a $400,000 total project, to assist in the wake of the June 15-24, 2024 excessive rain and flash flooding. Patten said, ultimately, the pieces did not come together to pursue this further.
“You guys wanted us to reach out to them and ask them, ‘Hey, do you guys have this type of manpower? Do you feel that this would be sufficient if the EDA would go out for this?'” she said. “We went ahead and reached out to all the communities. The feedback that we received, it became really clear that many communities would face challenges committing to staff time needed to support the project.”
Board Member Tim Terfehr asked to confirm if Fairmont could not use their own labor to pick up some of the slack, and Patten confirmed they could not do so.
Board Member Richard Koons motioned to approve the cancellation of work to pursue this grant project, and Rabbe seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.
In other news:
-- MCEDA connected on multiple opportunities, including with a repackaging and shipping facility and an anaerobic digester company specializing in swine operations. Currently, the facility is expected to begin operations in Trimont, while the digester company has discussed with CEDA potentially expanding to Martin County.
-- Across June and July, 15 business visits were conducted in Trimont, Truman, Sherburn and Fairmont. The visits, part of an ongoing series, have continued to provide valuable insight into business needs while also connecting businesses with resources and support.