Region Nine Development Commission (RNDC) is an EDA-designated Economic Development District (EDD) focused on fostering economic development in a nine-county region in southern Minnesota.
Located in Mankato, RNDC’s service area is predominantly white but quickly diversifying. To address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues, RNDC infuses these efforts into its economic development work.
“It’s not just an addendum chapter or vague language in a plan. Rather, we incorporate DEI principles into all the work that we are doing,” said Nicole Griensewic, Executive Director of RNDC.
In 2015, as the population became more diverse, Griensewic was questioned about how RNDC planned to incorporate the changing demographics into their plans to deal with equity gaps.
She quickly got a grant and subcontracted a local non-profit to help them start conversations about race. The result was the Welcoming Communities Program, which includes discussions among stakeholders and DEI training. Other EDA EDDs have since adopted the program.
Griensewic’s eagerness to try new things to make economic development better and more inclusive has helped her colleagues across the country.
“I often seek Nicole out as an innovator in our industry,” said Kevin Byrd, president of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). “She takes a lot of measured risks, which helps our whole industry. She is constantly thinking further out there.”
Frank discussions and DEI trainings are just the beginning, said Griensewic, a native Minnesotan who came to RNDC in 2012.
“We’re looking around the proverbial table and asking, ‘Who is not here?’” she said. “We started with race and are now talking about gender, veterans, and immigrants.”
Being inclusive is smart economic development, she said. According to state data, projections indicate a labor shortage in the RNDC service area that could eventually cost the region and its trading partners roughly $1.7 billion per year. Population declines are trending in six of the nine RNDC counties. Meanwhile, people of color are the fastest growing combined groups in all of the counties.
“I am a very blunt person,” Griensewic said. “Looking at the numbers, if we don’t get ahead of this, we can’t even talk about economic recovery and resiliency. We don’t need a wall; we need a red carpet. This is what businesses are telling us.”
RNDC’s engagement with stakeholders has led to conversations about farmers adapting halal slaughtering techniques, women and transportation, and other issues.
Griensewic’s expansive view of economic development possibly stems from a background that doesn’t include economic development. She previously worked as an in-store executive at Target, and her private sector experience was viewed as an asset by the RNDC board.
Byrd, president of NADO and Executive Director of the New River Valley Regional Commission in Radford, Virginia (also an EDD), said that more female EDD executive directors are taking the helms as leadership changes. In the Chicago region, 22 of the 48 EDDs are led by females.
“We are starting to observe a sea change of leadership,” Byrd said. “Many long-serving male leaders are retiring, and female leaders are being appointed.”
Griensewic is believed to have been the youngest executive director of RNDC when she was hired. She isn’t afraid to ask questions when she doesn’t have the answers or try new things to find a solution.
“I don’t have time to be shy,” she said.
Region Nine Development Commission (RNDC) is an EDA-designated Economic Development District (EDD) focused on fostering economic development in a nine-county region in southern Minnesota.
Located in Mankato, RNDC’s service area is predominantly white but quickly diversifying. To address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues, RNDC infuses these efforts into its economic development work.
“It’s not just an addendum chapter or vague language in a plan. Rather, we incorporate DEI principles into all the work that we are doing,” said Nicole Griensewic, Executive Director of RNDC.
In 2015, as the population became more diverse, Griensewic was questioned about how RNDC planned to incorporate the changing demographics into their plans to deal with equity gaps.
She quickly got a grant and subcontracted a local non-profit to help them start conversations about race. The result was the Welcoming Communities Program, which includes discussions among stakeholders and DEI training. Other EDA EDDs have since adopted the program.
Griensewic’s eagerness to try new things to make economic development better and more inclusive has helped her colleagues across the country.
“I often seek Nicole out as an innovator in our industry,” said Kevin Byrd, president of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). “She takes a lot of measured risks, which helps our whole industry. She is constantly thinking further out there.”
Frank discussions and DEI trainings are just the beginning, said Griensewic, a native Minnesotan who came to RNDC in 2012.
“We’re looking around the proverbial table and asking, ‘Who is not here?’” she said. “We started with race and are now talking about gender, veterans, and immigrants.”
Being inclusive is smart economic development, she said. According to state data, projections indicate a labor shortage in the RNDC service area that could eventually cost the region and its trading partners roughly $1.7 billion per year. Population declines are trending in six of the nine RNDC counties. Meanwhile, people of color are the fastest growing combined groups in all of the counties.
“I am a very blunt person,” Griensewic said. “Looking at the numbers, if we don’t get ahead of this, we can’t even talk about economic recovery and resiliency. We don’t need a wall; we need a red carpet. This is what businesses are telling us.”
RNDC’s engagement with stakeholders has led to conversations about farmers adapting halal slaughtering techniques, women and transportation, and other issues.
Griensewic’s expansive view of economic development possibly stems from a background that doesn’t include economic development. She previously worked as an in-store executive at Target, and her private sector experience was viewed as an asset by the RNDC board.
Byrd, president of NADO and Executive Director of the New River Valley Regional Commission in Radford, Virginia (also an EDD), said that more female EDD executive directors are taking the helms as leadership changes. In the Chicago region, 22 of the 48 EDDs are led by females.
“We are starting to observe a sea change of leadership,” Byrd said. “Many long-serving male leaders are retiring, and female leaders are being appointed.”
Griensewic is believed to have been the youngest executive director of RNDC when she was hired. She isn’t afraid to ask questions when she doesn’t have the answers or try new things to find a solution.
“I don’t have time to be shy,” she said.
View the article here.
MPCA Speaks of Benefits of Reducing Food WasteApril 16, 2025 - 3:33 pm
RNDC Receives $100,000 Grant for Regional Effort to Rescue Surplus Food for Food ShelvesDecember 20, 2024 - 11:42 am
Beyer named deputy director for Region Nine Development CommissionDecember 20, 2024 - 10:48 am
April 2021 E-Newsletter
in Newsletter/by Region NineRead Now
Executive Director Griensewic reflects on Mondale’s impact on MN and how we need to continue to fight the “good fight”
in News/by Region NineEconomic development grant helping southern Minnesota
in News/by Region NineBeing proactive and not reactive is the motto for Region 9 Development Commission.
“How are things going right now and what do we see in the future,” Region 9 Development Commission Executive Director Nicole Griensewic said.
Especially with their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.
Each year, they provide the Economic Development Grant for southern Minnesota.
More than $200,000 is invested into the region to prepare the economy for the worst like a natural disaster or economic downfall.
“When those economic shocks happen, we can rebound better. We know who the partners are, we know what kind of works and what doesn’t work, because we know these economic shocks are going to happen. It is just really important that we are here to listen and gather information from all of our different partners,” Griensewic said.
Read the full article here.
Brewery coming to Fairmont
in News/by Region NineFAIRMONT — Fairmont may soon be home to a new business in the form of the Fairmont Brewing Company. Owner and operator Joseph Riemann recently had a request for proposal approved by the Fairmont City Council to secure the Fairmont Senior Citizens building in downtown Fairmont. Riemann grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and went to college in Minneapolis. He shares how he was drawn to Fairmont.
“My wife and I have a blended family, we have about five kids together from previous marriages, and once COVID hit we started thinking about what working from home could look like,” Riemann said. We wanted to get a better work-life balance as well as improving where we lived.
“We really like the lakes up in Minneapolis and so we thought that if I’m working from home, home could be anywhere so let’s look for some lakes and maybe a more affordable place to live.”
Riemann shared that with the riots that took place in the Twin Cities over the summer of 2020, he was looking for a safer place to raise his children.
“So we looked around and found Fairmont. We took a weekend in September and drove into town and almost immediately seeing the logo on the water tower and driving past the lakes we wondered where had this gem of a city been? The idea of a city of lakes and being able to afford living so close to a chain of lakes just seemed exactly like what we were looking for.”
Riemann shares that he moved here in October and got married at the Yacht Club in November. Since then, he’s had his eyes set on becoming a part of, and contributing to, the Fairmont community.
“With the idea of entrepreneurship, we kind of looked around at some things that we liked, and one of those was the craft beer scene in the city,” Riemann said. “We noticed that, unlike a lot of small towns, there wasn’t a brewpub so that was something that hit high on the list.”
With that in mind, Riemann started talking to potential funders and Linsey Preuss, Fairmont economic development director, as well as some others.
“Everyone had the same kind of overwhelming response of saying that we need a brewpub,” Riemann said. “So we were looking at some commercial real estate a couple of months ago and what potential places might look like when we heard about this building [Fairmont Senior Citizens Center] going up for sale, and we jumped at the opportunity.”
Now that Riemann’s request for proposal has been approved by the city, he states that several different financial steps still need to be taken.
“Right now we’re in the process of talking with the bank and we’re also working with both the city revolving loan fund and Region Nine [Development Commission],” Riemann said. “We’re also working with SMIF [Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation], basically, the who’s who of normal loan funds who do economic development in Southern Minnesota. So it’s just a matter of tying up all those, which a lot of that was dependent upon an actual physical location.”
Despite all that still needs to happen, Riemann shares that he is excited about the future.
“We really fell in love with Fairmont, and we’re hoping to have the brewery be more than just locally brewed beer. We really want to try and lift up the people and history of Fairmont,” Riemann said. “We’re excited about it.”
For those interested in keeping up with Riemann’s progress, they can sign up for emails at www.fairmontbrewing.com. Riemann states that he hopes to be open sometime in the summer this year.
View the article here.
MDH hosts vaccine clinic in Worthington
in News/by Region NineWORTHINGTON — Worthington was the recipient of a state vaccination clinic Friday and Saturday, with 500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson available each day.
The Worthington Event Center hosted the clinic, allowing patients to spread out throughout the process. Translation services were provided in a number of locally spoken languages, including Karen, Oromo and Amharic.
Shawn Schloesser of the State Emergency Operations Center (contracted with the Minnesota Department of Health) explained that 500 appointments were open Friday and 240 people had scheduled times. As a result, he decided to open the clinic to walk-ins to fill the remaining spaces.
“That’s this community,” he said. “It’s what they prefer, so we’re accommodating.”
Several elements of the clinic are benchmarks of success, Schloesser explained.
“Not wasting any doses,” he said, along with “removing as many barriers as possible, making sure community members are aware and have the opportunity and encouraging people in the priority group” are all determiners, he said.
Read the full article here.
Success Story: Minnesota Economic Development District Executive Director Strives for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Economic Development
in News/by Region NineRegion Nine Development Commission (RNDC) is an EDA-designated Economic Development District (EDD) focused on fostering economic development in a nine-county region in southern Minnesota.
Located in Mankato, RNDC’s service area is predominantly white but quickly diversifying. To address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues, RNDC infuses these efforts into its economic development work.
“It’s not just an addendum chapter or vague language in a plan. Rather, we incorporate DEI principles into all the work that we are doing,” said Nicole Griensewic, Executive Director of RNDC.
In 2015, as the population became more diverse, Griensewic was questioned about how RNDC planned to incorporate the changing demographics into their plans to deal with equity gaps.
She quickly got a grant and subcontracted a local non-profit to help them start conversations about race. The result was the Welcoming Communities Program, which includes discussions among stakeholders and DEI training. Other EDA EDDs have since adopted the program.
Griensewic’s eagerness to try new things to make economic development better and more inclusive has helped her colleagues across the country.
“I often seek Nicole out as an innovator in our industry,” said Kevin Byrd, president of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). “She takes a lot of measured risks, which helps our whole industry. She is constantly thinking further out there.”
Frank discussions and DEI trainings are just the beginning, said Griensewic, a native Minnesotan who came to RNDC in 2012.
“We’re looking around the proverbial table and asking, ‘Who is not here?’” she said. “We started with race and are now talking about gender, veterans, and immigrants.”
Being inclusive is smart economic development, she said. According to state data, projections indicate a labor shortage in the RNDC service area that could eventually cost the region and its trading partners roughly $1.7 billion per year. Population declines are trending in six of the nine RNDC counties. Meanwhile, people of color are the fastest growing combined groups in all of the counties.
“I am a very blunt person,” Griensewic said. “Looking at the numbers, if we don’t get ahead of this, we can’t even talk about economic recovery and resiliency. We don’t need a wall; we need a red carpet. This is what businesses are telling us.”
RNDC’s engagement with stakeholders has led to conversations about farmers adapting halal slaughtering techniques, women and transportation, and other issues.
Griensewic’s expansive view of economic development possibly stems from a background that doesn’t include economic development. She previously worked as an in-store executive at Target, and her private sector experience was viewed as an asset by the RNDC board.
Byrd, president of NADO and Executive Director of the New River Valley Regional Commission in Radford, Virginia (also an EDD), said that more female EDD executive directors are taking the helms as leadership changes. In the Chicago region, 22 of the 48 EDDs are led by females.
“We are starting to observe a sea change of leadership,” Byrd said. “Many long-serving male leaders are retiring, and female leaders are being appointed.”
Griensewic is believed to have been the youngest executive director of RNDC when she was hired. She isn’t afraid to ask questions when she doesn’t have the answers or try new things to find a solution.
“I don’t have time to be shy,” she said.
Region Nine Development Commission (RNDC) is an EDA-designated Economic Development District (EDD) focused on fostering economic development in a nine-county region in southern Minnesota.
Located in Mankato, RNDC’s service area is predominantly white but quickly diversifying. To address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues, RNDC infuses these efforts into its economic development work.
“It’s not just an addendum chapter or vague language in a plan. Rather, we incorporate DEI principles into all the work that we are doing,” said Nicole Griensewic, Executive Director of RNDC.
In 2015, as the population became more diverse, Griensewic was questioned about how RNDC planned to incorporate the changing demographics into their plans to deal with equity gaps.
She quickly got a grant and subcontracted a local non-profit to help them start conversations about race. The result was the Welcoming Communities Program, which includes discussions among stakeholders and DEI training. Other EDA EDDs have since adopted the program.
Griensewic’s eagerness to try new things to make economic development better and more inclusive has helped her colleagues across the country.
“I often seek Nicole out as an innovator in our industry,” said Kevin Byrd, president of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). “She takes a lot of measured risks, which helps our whole industry. She is constantly thinking further out there.”
Frank discussions and DEI trainings are just the beginning, said Griensewic, a native Minnesotan who came to RNDC in 2012.
“We’re looking around the proverbial table and asking, ‘Who is not here?’” she said. “We started with race and are now talking about gender, veterans, and immigrants.”
Being inclusive is smart economic development, she said. According to state data, projections indicate a labor shortage in the RNDC service area that could eventually cost the region and its trading partners roughly $1.7 billion per year. Population declines are trending in six of the nine RNDC counties. Meanwhile, people of color are the fastest growing combined groups in all of the counties.
“I am a very blunt person,” Griensewic said. “Looking at the numbers, if we don’t get ahead of this, we can’t even talk about economic recovery and resiliency. We don’t need a wall; we need a red carpet. This is what businesses are telling us.”
RNDC’s engagement with stakeholders has led to conversations about farmers adapting halal slaughtering techniques, women and transportation, and other issues.
Griensewic’s expansive view of economic development possibly stems from a background that doesn’t include economic development. She previously worked as an in-store executive at Target, and her private sector experience was viewed as an asset by the RNDC board.
Byrd, president of NADO and Executive Director of the New River Valley Regional Commission in Radford, Virginia (also an EDD), said that more female EDD executive directors are taking the helms as leadership changes. In the Chicago region, 22 of the 48 EDDs are led by females.
“We are starting to observe a sea change of leadership,” Byrd said. “Many long-serving male leaders are retiring, and female leaders are being appointed.”
Griensewic is believed to have been the youngest executive director of RNDC when she was hired. She isn’t afraid to ask questions when she doesn’t have the answers or try new things to find a solution.
“I don’t have time to be shy,” she said.
View the article here.
An Interview With a Fellow
in News/by Region NineWritten by Brianna Sanders, RNDC Intern
Alejandra Bejarano, a current fellow at Region Development Commission (RNDC), grew up in Bogotá, Colombia. She got a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing and management from Dalton State College. Alejandra first joined Mankato’s community in 2018 when she became a graduate student at Minnesota State University – Mankato studying public administration. At MSU, there is a large international student community that helped Alejandra adapt to the new city and feel a sense of belonging. Along the way, she also made strong connections with community members which helped make her feel like a welcomed part of the community. She accepted an internship at RNDC during her master’s degree to get some practical experience in the area. She was recommended to look into opportunities at RNDC by a friend and felt like RNDC had various exciting projects. The variety of projects helped her get a lot of experience in multiple areas. Alejandra enjoyed working on the SPRINT Challenge. Through a collaboration with MSU-M and RNDC, this funding opportunity would establish a regional Economic Recovery Center to help with the crisis caused by the pandemic and to support stakeholders in sustaining economic resiliency. She was able to use her knowledge from her schooling for this project and was able to learn about the grant application process.
Alejandra became a Lead for Minnesota (LFM) Fellow in the summer of 2020. As a LFM Fellow, Alejandra has two components to the fellowship. She works on projects for RNDC and then also some work for the fellowship. Lead for Minnesota is a two-year-long, paid fellowship that places dynamic and diverse leaders, between the ages of 21 to 30, in communities within their home state to work with local, public institutions to improve community well-being. Fellows are given the opportunity to work within public institutions, like RNDC, to gain access to and an understanding of the roles needed to grow and support a vibrant community. She is given tasks, like the listening tour, to look at the community needs and to come up with a project and initiative to help tackle some of the needs in the community. There are also training, networking, and meetings with other fellows. In the future, Alejandra wants to continue to work on projects that impact the community positively. It has been rewarding for her to see the results of the initiatives and the impact that some of the projects have on small communities. The work at RNDC has been very rewarding for Alejandra. Overall, she plans to work in a field that will have a positive impact on communities.
March 2021 E-Newsletter
in Newsletter/by Region NineRead Now
February 2021 E-Newsletter
in Newsletter/by Region NineRead Now
Pandemic creating workforce training opportunities
in News/by Region NineIf there’s one good thing to come out of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s this: Greater Minnesota has more opportunities to train people to fill ongoing job vacancies.
That was what researchers at the Mankato-based Center for Rural Policy and Development told lawmakers Monday during a House workforce and business development committee hearing.
“The data says, essentially, we now have a pool of workers to engage, particularly from occupations in food preparation and service,” said Kelly Asche, research associate at the center. “We also have a significant workforce shortage in nearly all other occupations in rural Minnesota.”
The pandemic and subsequent government regulations have caused significant unemployment among food service, sales and office and administrative support jobs in particular across the state. At the same time, job vacancies have shrunk somewhat in Greater Minnesota but still remain above 3% overall.
That’s a healthy number of open jobs, Asche said. It shows the pandemic hasn’t done much to affect rural Minnesota’s longstanding demand for more workers.
In south-central and southwest Minnesota, there’s growing demand for workers in health care, community and social services, transportation and moving goods, farming, and computer and mathematics-related jobs, according to state and federal economic data.
All of those industries require advanced training, from certification programs to two- or four-year college degrees. While workforce development organizations have resources to help current clients get retrained, Asche told lawmakers many organizations worry about a sudden influx of unemployed workers who want training once the pandemic’s effects lessen.
Greater Minnesota has faced a growing need for workers in recent years as Minnesota’s population shifts from living in rural to urban areas. In rural areas across the state, job vacancies were at 5% or higher before the pandemic, reaching 6% in southwestern Minnesota.
Since the pandemic hit, open job vacancies in our region went from slightly above 6% to about 3.7%.
More people have been leaving the state’s labor pool due to the pandemic than in recent years as well. Labor numbers fluctuate throughout the year as some jobs are seasonal, but those numbers didn’t bounce back as effectively in 2020 compared to 2019, Asche said.
“Having less people participating in the labor force also compounds issues that we had prior to the pandemic,” said Diane Halvorson, executive director of the South Central Workforce Council.
Halvorson and other local workforce and economic development officials say they’re hearing from workers who are afraid to go back to work because of the pandemic or have to remain at home to help children with school.
There are opportunities for those who want training now, however. South Central College and Minnesota State University have recently ramped up their health care programs, while Region Nine Development Commission is working with MSU to research future workforce needs. In addition, Region Nine is focused on developing training programs to address workforce shortages in manufacturing.
“We have focused on advanced manufacturing and really having more conversations about filling labor,” said Nicole Griensewic, executive director of Region Nine.
Food, retail and hospitality unemployment has hit the Mankato area harder than in other communities throughout the region because of Mankato’s status as a rural hub. Yet Mankato is weathering the pandemic better than other communities for that same reason.
“We do have a higher concentration of industries in Greater Mankato that maybe haven’t been as negatively impacted,” said Jessica Beyer, president and CEO of Greater Mankato Growth.
That also means Mankato is uniquely positioned to take advantage of workforce training. Halvorson said it’s relatively easy to cross-train a person who has worked in service industries such as restaurants or retail for a variety of health care jobs as the two sectors often require similar skill sets in dealing with people. And there are plenty of jobs available in health care at the moment, from janitorial work to office support to machine technicians, among other things.
“There’s quite a wide range of needs out there,” Halvorson said.
The Center for Rural Policy and Development recommends lawmakers make workforce funding a little more flexible this session in how organizations can spend state money and what organizations may be eligible for funding.
Asche and other experts also recommend more support to connect workforce development groups with employers who can give input on the workers they need, as well as more help reaching out to unemployed Minnesotans.
Halvorson also recommends unemployed area residents reach out to local workforce development centers sooner than later.
View the Free Press article here.