News and Events

 

At its regular meeting on February 7, 2012, the Board of Directors for Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) accepted the resignation of Joe Broking, President & CEO, and voted unanimously to name Jeff Borling as Interim President & CEO.

Joe Broking informed the Board of Directors and IEDC Investment Partners of his plans to resign his position on February 1, 2012, after accepting a new role as Chief Financial Officer for Magnetation Inc., headquartered in Grand Rapids, MN. Broking’s last day at IEDC will be March 1, 2012. An Executive Search Committee has been formed and the IEDC Board of Directors anticipates hiring a permanent replacement in Q2 2012.

During the past 18 months, Broking has served as an invaluable asset for IEDC, leading several new business expansion and attraction initiatives on behalf of the organization and its partners from throughout the region. Highlights have included new agreements with future tenants of the Itasca Eco Industrial Park and the Itasca Technology Exchange, as well as several successful consulting projects aimed at helping local businesses increase revenues and expand their employment base in Itasca County.

“It has been an honor to work for this organization and all of the great public offices, foundations and businesses in the Itasca County area,” Broking stated. “This decision was not an easy one, but I am confident in the leadership of Jeff Borling and the IEDC Board of Directors and I look forward to continuing my strong support for the regional economy in my new capacity at Magnetation.”

Jeff Borling has served as Director of Itasca Business Development for APEX and IEDC since February, 2010 and has led countless initiatives on behalf of the two organizations under a collaborative agreement. Borling will assume the President & CEO role on an interim basis beginning March 2nd and will lend the necessary leadership and support to guide IEDC through this brief period of management transition.

Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit formed in 1981, with a mission of helping create quality jobs. Support for IEDC comes from the Blandin Foundation, Itasca County and several local units of government, as well as from many individuals and private businesses.

 

If you would like more information about the President & CEO position at IEDC, or if you would like to submit your resume for consideration, please contact Teri Heikkila: (218) 326-9411 x.20

 

After nearly eight years as President & CEO, Rob West has announced his intention to resign from APEX in mid-2012 to pursue new opportunities.  West informed the APEX Executive Committee of his decision in July of 2011, in order to allow for a full year of succession planning and executive recruitment.

 

On Thursday, November 3, 2011, at a regular meeting of the APEX Board of Directors, West and APEX Board Chair Dr. Tom Patnoe provided members with an update on the management succession plan the APEX Executive Committee has developed in preparation for West's departure. Although none are pleased to be saying goodbye to APEX's founding executive after nearly a decade of successful leadership, APEX members were quick to offer their feedback and support for the executive search process, which will be led by KeyStone Search out of Minneapolis.

 

Rebecca Driscoll, Principal with KeyStone Search, was on hand to provide an overview of the executive search process and to answer any questions members had about the methodology, the types of candidates being sought, and the basic philosophies KeyStone pursues in meeting the needs of their client organizations. At the heart of KeyStone's approach lies a proprietary process to understand, identify and create a common language to describe the client organization's culture and core values. 

 

Rather than relying on their "gut feel" to understand APEX's unique culture, KeyStone focuses on 14 components which must all be executed with excellence and in true partnership with the client organization, before the "right" candidate can be secured. Interviews with APEX members, economic development partners, staff, and other relevant stakeholders were held during the final weeks of 2011, as KeyStone works to assess the culture and core values this dynamic organization upholds.

 

APEX members raised various questions, including several regarding the emphasis placed on candidates with local ties to the region APEX serves.  Although Driscoll acknowledged the importance of place and the need for APEX's next CEO to understand the unique values and characteristics of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, she also noted that as APEX continues to grow, it is important that the next leader be measured against successful executives nationwide. She cited the executive search process KeyStone recently concluded for the Blandin Foundation in Grand Rapids as an example of similar work in the region.

 

Rob West joined APEX nearly 8 years ago and has successfully led the organization from a grassroots campaign led by a handful of local executives, to a regional engine for business and economic development activity in a nine-county territory of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. With support from over 65 of the region's leading private sector employers, APEX, together with its partners, has helped to create or retain more than 2,700 jobs and has spurred on millions of dollars in new economic activity under West's leadership.

 

Although Rob is quick to correct anyone who suggests this is a "retirement," his departure from the organization is indeed pending and the new chief executive is expected to be in place sometime around June of 2012. Over the next several months, we at APEX hope you will join us in thanking Rob for his leadership and his service to the region over the past decade.  There's no telling what will be in store for him over the next ten years, but no doubt his work will continue to benefit the region and all those who work with him. 

 

If you have any questions about APEX or the executive search process, or if you have a candidate you would like to recommend, please contact Rebecca Driscoll at: (612) 375-8841

 

On December 16, 2012, Joe Broking, President & CEO of Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), met with Rob West, President & CEO of APEX to discuss the results of the two organizations’ collaborative efforts over the past two years and to renew the contract which defines the agreement. Under the terms of this arrangement, APEX provides a fulltime staff person to serve as a member of the IEDC team in Grand Rapids, with an objective of driving new economic activity and job growth in and around Itasca County.

The contract with APEX, initiated in February, 2010, came on the heels of the IEDC’s decision to purchase the former Ainsworth oriented strand board manufacturing facility in Grand Rapids and has provided a necessary level of support as IEDC completed a period of management transition and worked to redevelop the former board plant for future use. As such, much of the team’s work over the past two years has been focused on redeveloping the site as the Itasca Eco Industrial Park (IEIP), a premiere location for world-class manufacturing operations in the heart of North America.

In marketing this property to new and expanding businesses, the APEX/IEDC team sought to attract companies which would leverage the region’s extensive timber resources, so as to regain not just the production jobs lost through the closure of the Ainsworth operation, but also the logging and supplier jobs associated with the timber demand of the former OSB mill.

Given the sustained downturn in the nation’s housing market and flat growth reported in the region’s paper/pulp mills, the team quickly set its sights on the advanced biofuels, biochemical and biopharmaceutical industries, as among the few areas of notable growth in the nation’s forest products sector. An extensive marketing plan was developed to penetrate these industries and today, the team is pleased to report that a memo of understanding has been executed with one of the world’s leading advanced biofuels producers. Formal agreements are expected to be secured sometime in 2012.

Today, as the APEX/IEDC team looks to renew its contract for the next two years, the 2012-2013 marketing plan has been expanded to focus on a number of other opportunities in and around Itasca County, beyond the work which continues to progress at the IEIP. The APEX/IEDC team will continue its efforts to close the deal with the potential anchor tenant and to market the remaining land parcels to other synergistic businesses, but 2012 will also see the rise of new initiatives aimed at supporting the large mining-related projects in Itasca County and expanding the IT/Computer Sciences sector in the Grand Rapids area.

If you would like to learn more about APEX’s work in Itasca County and across Minnesota’s Iron Range communities, please contact Jeff Borling at: (218) 326-9411, ext. 23

On December 20th, 2011, APEX Members gathered to learn more about the opportunity of hiring from within the Duluth at Work program. With the objective of expanding employer partnerships, the program featured a point of view by Mayor Ness, insights about our future economy from Drew Digby of DEED, two employee/participant testimonials and one employer testimonial. The event was a great success and was well attended by human resources professionals from key employers in the area. As a result of this event, the Duluth At Work program has already yielded five new employer partner relationships, with additional follow-up scheduled for the next few weeks to bring even more connections into the portfolio.

Since 2008, Duluth at Work has focused efforts on two target groups - job seekers and small business owners. A snapshot of the program’s success is as follows.

 
Workforce Development / Job Seekers: 
    • 255 participants 
    • 245 (96%) completed work-related trainings 
    • 192 (75%) successfully secured and maintained long term employment 
    • Results: Increasing incomes, building financial assets, homeownership, higher

      education, reduction in public benefits, career laddering and promotion

 

Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs: 
    • 59 business owner and entrepreneurial participants 
    • 57 completed 9 week trainings, in peer groups and/or received targeted technical

      assistance to more fully develop their business fundamentals and maintain a

      competitive edge in our changing economy 
    • Results: Increasing revenues, new jobs created, storefront renovation loans,

      leverage of new and more diverse funding, expansion into new markets or product

      lines
 
Duluth at Work is a workforce development/poverty reduction model co-facilitated by Duluth LISC and the City of Duluth. To learn more, please contact Emily Larson at: (218) 355-8070

 

On January 31, 2012, APEX is pleased to announce that Dr. Eric W. Kaler, President of the University of Minnesota, will be featured as the keynote speaker at the 2012 Annual Meeting, beginning at 3:00 p.m. at the Kitchi Gammi Club in Duluth.  At this invite-only event, APEX members will review the activities and outcomes of 2011, while looking ahead to another successful year in 2012. 

 

After the regular business portion of the meeting, Dr. Kaler will present the APEX Board of Directors and membership with information regarding his plans for the University system, including the role he sees for more rural campuses like the University of Minnesota-Duluth. With APEX members representing an effective cross-section of the region's business community, questions are sure to arise on the issues of workforce development, investments in the Arrowhead Region, and the potential for enhanced interaction between the University system and the local communities it serves. 

 

Prior to assuming the presidency at the University of Minnesota on July 1, 2011, Dr. Kaler served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and vice president for Brookhaven National Laboratory affairs at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. Kaler received his undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1978 and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1982.

Kaler has received many awards and recognitions for his research, including election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2010. President Kaler and his wife, Karen, have two adult sons, Charlie and Sam. In addition to traveling with his family, Dr. Kaler loves to read, watch baseball and play with his dogs, Mo and Lida. 

 

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Kaler as the keynote speaker at the 2012 APEX Annual Meeting.  We look forward to visiting with you on the 31st and thank you for your ongoing support. To learn more about the APEX Annual Meeting, please contact Sandy Johnson at: (218) 740-3667 

 

On November 16-17, 2011, Elissa Hansen, APEX Director of Business Development attended the Policy and Progress: Border to Border Broadband conference held at the Greysolon Ballroom in Duluth. Hosted by the Blandin Foundation, the conference opened with an overview of the National Broadband Policy by Tom Koutsy from Connected Nation. Connect Minnesota, a subsidiary of Connected Nation, also provided an overview of efforts aimed at getting all broadband providers in the state communicating effectively with one another. Connect Minnesota has created and kept an updated detailed map of the state's broadband coverage, thereby helping to accurately pinpoint the major gaps within the state. You can learn more by visiting www.connectmn.org

The other major focus areas covered at the conference included the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) projects. The four projects occurring in northeast Minnesota include:

 

1. Cook County: Fiber Optics through the Forest by Arrowhead Electric Cooperative
2. Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative by Enventis Telecom
3. Fiber to the Premise in Lake County by Lake County 
4. Northeast Minnesota’s Middle Mile Fiber Project by Northeast Service Cooperative

 
Each project focuses on creating more connectivity in varying ways across the Arrowhead Region and throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, while further educating the public on the benefits of expanded broadband infrastructure and its capabilities for personal and business use. To learn more about how APEX is leveraging this world-class infrastructure to expand the region's business base, please contact Elissa Hansen at (218) 740-3667

On Thursday, October 25, 2011, Jeff Borling, APEX Director of Itasca Business Development, joined a delegation of regional business and community leaders to testify before the MPCA Citizens' Board in support of US Steel's expansion of the Keewatin Taconite plant in northeast Minnesota. The hearing centered on the approval of two water quality permits associated with the expansion project, which involves the re-commissioning of a portion of the mining operation that was shut down around 1980.

 

Borling represented APEX and IEDC in describing how economic and environmental issues are often inextricably entwined in Minnesota's natural resource-rich Arrowhead Region, resulting in a history of sound planning and development which has balanced the need for jobs against the desire to protect the natural environment in this beautiful place we call home. 

 

In considering the transparency with which US Steel has approached this project and the significant investments the Company has made in deploying new, cutting-edge environmental technology in the State of Minnesota, the majority of testimonials applauded the project and welcomed the much needed jobs and economic activity it will produce. Testimonials were also provided by Rep. Carly Melin, District 05B; Senator Tom Saxhaug, District 03; Jeremy Smolich, Plant Manager, Keewatin Taconite; Bud Stone, President, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce; and Mayor Tom Sampson from the City of Keewatin, among others.

 

After careful deliberation, the MPCA Citizens' Board approved the water quality permits and said that together with the air quality permit approved by the board in September, these actions "show a way forward to protecting the environment while still providing for needed economic expansion." Approval of the air and water permits means the MPCA has removed one of the last remaining barriers to expansion of the Keewatin Taconite operation. All that remain are two wetlands-related permits, one from the MPCA and one from the US Army Corps of Engineers, both of which are expected to be issued sometime in the next 6 to 10 months. 

 

Once final permits are approved and the expansion project begins full-steam, estimates show the potential to create more than 120 permanent high-paying jobs in the Keewatin area, along with 500 temporary construction jobs over the next several years.  More importantly, the approval of these permits shows that northeast Minnesota continues to value the culture and communities built around the region's mining industry - past, present and future.

 

In the meantime, APEX and IEDC will continue to engage with the large mining projects currently underway in Itasca County and across the Iron Range, lending our support in any way possible.  Other activities include playing a supportive role in workforce development and training initiatives through our members and other partners, and we are also actively working with a number of mining suppliers and related manufacturing operations seeking to expand or relocate their operations into northeast Minnesota. 

 

If your business is poised to grow alongside Minnesota's bustling mining and manufacturing sector, please contact Jeff Borling today to find out how APEX and IEDC can support your success: (218) 326-9411 ext. 23

       

On September 1, 2011, Commissioner Mark Phillips, head of the Minnesota Dept. of Employment & Economic Development (DEED), was featured as a guest speaker at the regular meeting of the APEX Board of Directors. With a theme of "Minnesota Moving Forward," Commissioner Phillips opened his presentation by describing how he obtained his position as Commissioner of the State's leading economic development agency: After being nominated by local community and business leaders, Phillips traveled to St. Paul to interview for the position with Governor Dayton. In this discussion, Phillips emphasized the need to focus on job creation in coming years, and only when Governor Dayton assured him that jobs would be a priority in the administration, did the Commissioner accept the offer to lead the Dept. of Employment & Economic Development.

 
Since that time, Commissioner Phillips has implemented several new initiatives and was a leader in setting up the Governor’s statewide Job Tour to find out what the real issues are concerning jobs and need to support the State's vital private sector employers. As a result of these conversations, Phillips has begun to focus on “five buckets” in spurring new job growth and economic development initiatives across the state:

 
1) Access to Capital
2) Exports 
3) Development of a Competitive Tool Kit 
4) Infrastructure Investments
5) Workforce Development

 

The Commissioner described how all of the challenges Minnesota currently faces fit within one or more of these five core areas, before outlining the Dayton Administration's goals for addressing these challenges in the next several years. Above all else, Phillips said that as Minnesota strives to compete in the global economy, workforce development will present the greatest challenges for the State. As we move quickly from a period of significant unemployment to a time where workforce shortages will become the known, Commissioner Phillips stressed the need for Minnesota to develop innovative methods for aligning available workers with the 21st Century skills they need to serve our dynamic employers.

 

Afterwards, the Commissioner took questions from APEX Members, including LHB's Bill Bennett, who asked about the outlook for the construction and professional services sectors. Although the construction industry on average accounts for only 5% of the State's workforce, Commissioner Phillips reported that a disproportionate amount of the State's current unemployment - nearly 40% - was represented by this group. He noted the Governor's support for a bonding bill to kick-start the construction industry and further outlined how DEED’s efforts to increase access to capital will also help to support this industry segment.

 

Other questions touched on the Commissioner's unwavering support for the PolyMet mining project in Hoyt Lakes and his view of how the Arrowhead Region compares to other areas of the State, before Board Chair Tom Patnoe thanked him for his time and for his leadership in the State.

 

On July 14, 2011, at the regular meeting of the APEX board of directors, Involta CEO, Bruce Lehrman, presented information about the Company and its plans to build a state-of-the-art data storage facility in the Duluth Technology Park. With a mission focused on building, owning and operating data centers in the Midwest, providing superior facilities and expertise, Lehrman described how Involta uses geography as a core competitive advantage, relying on the strengths of communities like Duluth to achieve its mission.

Although potential exists for acquisitions and mergers at some point in the future, the Involta business model is based on organic growth, with the company reporting strong profits throughout its lifecycle thus far. The Company has existing and pending facilities in Iowa, Ohio and now Minnesota. In answer to the question, "Why Duluth?" Mr. Lehrman cited four basic elements: a relatively cool climate that helps keep costs in check; cost-competitive, reliable electric utility rates; a strong business community, with partners like Minnesota Power, Essentia Health and many others; and the support shown by APEX, St. Louis County and the City of Duluth.

More than just another company, Mr. Lehrman went on to discuss the role he sees for Involta in future economic development work in Duluth.  With a personal appreciation of start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses, Lehrman talked about the success they've had at their Iowa headquarters in pulling companies from larger markets like Chicago and the West Coast.  He expressed an interest in seeing Involta work with APEX and other organizations in the region to lend expertise and otherwise assist with ongoing efforts to grow the IT business cluster in the Twin Ports and beyond.

Other topics covered at the board meeting included approval of the annual audit, discussion surrounding the management succession strategy for APEX, and a review of the APEX deals sheet with information about current projects.  If you are an APEX member and would like to learn more about topics covered at the July board meeting, please contact Sandy Johnson at: (218) 740-3667

Beginning in May, 2011, Amanda Ringer joined the APEX team as a Summer Intern.  Ringer graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth this past spring, with a B.A. in marketing and a psychology minor. In addition to extensive work experience in the retail sector, Ringer's academic studies have focused on advertising and marketing communications, business-to-business marketing, consumer behavior, marketing management strategy, and more.

Ringer's duties at APEX will involve project management and content development work on various marketing campaigns, along with the many day-to-day responsibilities associated with a fast-paced office in the business/economic development sector. 

As a Pine City native, Ringer enjoys living in Duluth and is excited to learn more about the city and surrounding communities through her work at APEX. She maintains a second job at Rush City Foods, working as a cashier and administrative assistant, and is an active volunteer who has enjoyed working with the students and teachers at Lowell Elementary School this past spring.

Please join us in welcoming Amanda Ringer to the APEX team!