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Economic planners attend conference, make presentation on ESSBY |
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Chris Eng, executive director of the Chisago HRA-EDA, Dave Stutelberg, North Branch finance director, and Tom Willett, North Branch economic development director, participated in the Jan. 17 and 18 Winter Conference of EDAM, the Economic Development Association of Minnesota. The Mission of EDAM is “To advance the economic development profession.”
The city of North Branch and Chisago County HRA-EDA were winners of EDAM’s EDDIE Award for Best Development Partnership Award at EDAM’s Summer Conference. This award was in recognition of the cooperative agreement between North Branch and Chisago County HRA-EDA that resulted in the purchase of 92 additional acres in ESSBY Business Park along I-35 for industrial development. Eng, Stutelberg, and Willett presented the history of the ESSBY development project and plans for its future.
The Winter Conference theme was “Fueling the Road to Economic Development.” Given the increased attention to global warming and record-setting energy costs, this year’s conference focused on alternative energy.
Additionally, the conference provided a track designed to refresh and enhance economic development knowledge and skills.
The conference also featured case studies of the EDAM award-winning projects for redevelopment, business retention and expansion, partnerships, and marketing.
This year’s keynote presentations included an opening address from Elwyn Tinklenberg, of the Tinklenberg Group, who discussed infrastructure investment in Minnesota. DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy closed the conference with a discussion of the Strategic Entrepreneurial Economic Development (SEED) initiative, designed to grow small businesses throughout the Minnesota.
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