Albert Lea, Minnesota

Hagen: “Albert Lea is a heavy manufacturing community. Our major employers are food manufacturers and their suppliers, and also industrial clients: metal working and higher tech companies. Our economic development agency (ALEDA) owns several buildings that are close to 100-percent tenant occupancy. We continue to work with our industrial clients and our schools to make sure young people in the community are interested in the types of jobs we have here, and that adults are aware of available opportunities. And we’re doing long-term planning for attracting new businesses that complement what already exists in Albert Lea.” Rasmussen: “What’s unique about ALEDA is that it incorporates a public and a private piece. The public part is the Albert Lea Port Authority and the private part is Greater Jobs, Incorporated. ALEDA is located in the Albert Lea Business Development Center which assists entrepreneurs and local start- up businesses through a business incubator. Over the last several decades, ALEDA has been active in constructing buildings, leasing them back to tenants and, at times, selling them to companies. That’s one way we’ve been effective in attracting businesses to Albert Lea.” Gabrielatos: “There hasn’t been an operating tax levy increase in eight years, and during that time we have built a public works building, an airport, and we are just starting to build a new fire station. In terms of housing, we offer a tax abatement program for any new residential construction. In 2018, we also secured a grant for repurposing of a former school into market-rate apartments for rental. And to encourage investment, we just completed a housing study. One question we get from developers is ‘what do you need?’ And the housing study is a good map for those folks to read prior to investing.” BVM: What initiatives do you have from a sustainability standpoint? Rasmussen: “We were the pilot city for a global Blue Zones initiative to make it easier for people pictured Powder coating at Pro Advantage. Photo by Teresa Kauffmann