CHAMBER E-CONNECTION
Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce Weekly Events Newsletter
 
October 28, 2016
In This Issue
Sleep Inn & Suites Business After Hours
Popcorn Time at Bremer Bank
Zombie Night at the Museum
SMO Concert: Voices of Exile
Holy Redeemer Yac 'O' Lantern Event
Food Access Solutions
Chamber 101
Chili Cook-Off
Marshall Lyon County Library Open House
Women's Connect/Young Professionals Networking Event
Cooking & Decorating Show
Annual Meeting Award Winners
Taste of Marshall Award Winners
Read for the Record
Q&A with Mayor Bynres
City Boards & Commissions
E-Connection Policies


Welcome New 
Chamber Members!


1720 County Road 9
Tracy, MN 56175
(507) 829-4436




Have a job posting within 
your company?
Want to post it on the
Chamber website?


 

This is FREE for Chamber Members!

 

Log in to your ChamberMaster account 

and post now!  

Not sure how to log in? 

Call the Chamber at 

507-532-4484 

or email 

erinr@marshall-mn.org

to learn how!

Shop Local
Improve our community by continuing to shop local and make Marshall it's best!  



           

 

 

 
 
 
 
Minnesota Works
Where Talent Meets
 Its Match
 
 
 


 CORE
SW Core Logo
 
 
 
 
SW MN Careers
SW MN Careers
 
 
 
 


 
Grow Minnesota!
 
'Get Ready to Grow' 
Grow Minnesota




  Marshall GreenStep
Marshall GreenStep



| CURRENT/UPCOMING EVENTS |


Sleep Inn & Suites Business After Hours

Thursday, November 3, 2016
4:30-6:30 P.M.
Sleep Inn & Suites
Popcorn Time at Bremer Bank


Friday, October 28, 2016
8:30-4:00
Zombie Night at the Museum
 

Saturday, October 29th
Lyon County Museum

'Scary' Encounter 6-7 PM
'Terrifying' Experience 8-9:30 PM
Southwest Minnesota Orchestra Concert: Voices of Exile
 

Sunday, October 30, 2016
At 4:00PM The Schwan Community Center for the Performing Arts, Marshall High School.  For more information, contact the SMSU Music Program  at 507-537-7103 or go to www.SMSU.edu/Go/Music
Holy Redeemer Yac 'O' Lantern Event

Yac 'O' Lantern event! 

On October 31, our High School Students will be going door to door from  6:30 to 7:30 to collect food for the Kitchen Table Food shelf in Marshall.

Thank you for supporting them and our local food shelf! Contact Dana at 532-3602 for more details.


Food Access Solutions
 

Community Gathering to Discuss Food Access Solutions
 
Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans live in areas with insufficient access to a reliable source of nutritious food-including many residents in Marshall and surrounding communities. The good news is there is no shortage of interest in identifying and supporting local solutions.
 
A new effort called the Good Food Access Fund is preparing to leverage state dollars into local solutions supporting the sale of healthy, affordable food in underserved areas. The Fund will provide grants, low-cost loans, and technical support for food-related enterprises such as grocery stores, mobile markets and farmers' markets, fresh food refrigeration, community supported agriculture, and other innovative community-driven solutions.
 
Join us for a discussion about food access challenges and solutions in the Marshall area.
 
Wednesday, November 2
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Court House
2nd floor- Public Health
607 West Main St.
Marshall, MN 56258
 
Agenda:
  • Overview of the Good Food Access Fund Campaign
  • Updates on related efforts underway in the area
  • Discussion questions:
    • o   What food access solutions would be most impactful in our community?
    • o   What challenges would need to be addressed?
    • o   What resources and community assets can be leveraged? 
  • Next steps in moving forward with solutions
Please RSVP to Leah Gardner:
952-278-7918
Refreshments and materials will be provided.

Marshall Chamber 101

When: Tuesday, November 3rd (8:00-9:00 AM)
Where: Marshall Chamber (118 West College Dr)

Are you interested in learning how to make the most out of your membership or are you just curious as to what the Chamber can do for your business? Join us at the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce Office to hear from Chamber staff and volunteers about the programs, benefits and services that are available to Chamber members. Whether you are a brand new member, a longtime member or just want to learn more about membership this is the event for you!  Also, learn some new enhancements that businesses can now use with their business listing and more!

Chili Cook-Off

Calling all Chili Chefs and Connoisseurs!!


WHAT:  CHILI COOK-OFF to support the United Way of Southwest Minnesota
WHERE:  BREMER BANK, 208 E. COLLEGE DR., MARSHALL, MN
WHEN:  Thursday, November 3rd - 11 AM - 1 PM

Do you have a chili recipe that is just screaming to be shared? We would love to have you enter your creation in our competition!  Don't want to cook?  We also need LOTS of chili lovers to come and help us eat all these wonderful entries.  This is a free will donation lunch with all proceeds going to support the United Way of Southwest Minnesota.  Bring a friend and cast your vote for your favorite pot of Chili.  Register to enter your chili by October 27th.  Contact Sara Haney, (507)537-0236 or sjhaney@bremer.com


Marshall-Lyon County Library Open House
Friday, November 4, 2016
4:00-6:00 P.M.
 
Women's Connect/Young Professionals Networking Event

When: Thursday, November 10th (5:00-6:30 PM)
Where: American Legion Post 113 (412 W Main)

Connie J. Goers, President of SMSU, will be joining us as we take this opportunity to thank you, as members of Women's Connect and Marshall Area Young Professionals, for your support and participation over the past year.Please come and spend some time meeting new people and reconnecting with others. We will provide appetizers and you provide the conversation. After the election, there should be no shortage of things to talk about.
Please RSVP by Tuesday, November 8th.

   
Cooking & Decorating Show


7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15
Marshall Middle School
Tickets available at Hy-Vee and the Marshall Independent
 
| BUSINESS NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS |
  
 



Annual Meeting Award Winners



Thank you to the following award winners that have dedicated their time to the Marshall Area Chamber and our community!

Exiting Board Member: Jeremiah Jans (Western Print Group)
Rookie of the Year: Patty Ebnet (Open Door Health Center)
Volunteer of the Year: Diane Buesing (Wilson O'Brien Realtors-not pictured)
Business of the Year: Lockwood Motors (Don Atcher, ABRA pictured)
All Star Award: Jon Knochenmus, Ralco (Niter Knochenmus pictured)




Taste of Marshall Winners



Best Product:  American Legion Sliders

Most Unique Item: Bello Cucina - Italian Nachos

Best Booth Display: 1st Place-Hitching Post
Best Booth Display: 2nd Place-The Daily Grind

See our photos from Taste of Marshall in our Facebook Album.




Read for the Record



Three of our staff read the book 'The Bear Ate Your Sandwich' to students at Holy Redeemer School for  Read for the Record.




Let's Connect



Let's Connect networking event at AmericInn. Join us for this event every other month on the 3rd Thursday!
Contact  bradg@marshall-mn.org   for more information.




Q&A with Mayor Bob Byrnes

Searching for answers in all the right places.
One thing the Chamber attempts to do is find answers to commonly asked questions or answers to rumors that seem to get everybody's attention. There seems to be a lot of people talking or wondering about some specific questions around the Red Baron Arena and a couple other topics. So we decided to go directly to the mayor and get the facts and share them with you. 


1. We hear budget numbers about the Red Baron Arena from it being way over budget to under budget.  Can you clarify? Why is there a perception that it is over budget? 

The total construction numbers are still being pulled together.  We anticipate being $300,000 under budget overall and on time.  I think mostly because of the process that we chose to use where we hired a construction project management group. So the city actually becomes the general contractor. In this method everything is bid separately so we end up with more local people securing the work. It also means we have to go through numerous change orders which has been very public and gives the appearance that all these change orders are above budget. That isn't always true and in fact some of these changes saved the project money and also none of these would have been visible if we weren't the general contractor.
 
2. It seems like there has been a lack of activity at the Red Baron Arena.  When and how will that change?
The Arena is still being finalized and has not really been ready for events. There are still details and changes being made to accommodate events. For the next 6 months, the Arena will contain 2 sheets of ice and will not be hosting events that aren't ice-related other than in the club or meeting rooms.  However, at the end of October, we will be hosting the State Legion convention which will be a large event happening right before the second sheet of ice is put in.  We also have a number of smaller events such as the Ralco Tru Shrimp and University of Minnesota SPARKS event and various meetings.
 
3. We've heard about potential hotel development.  Can you shed any light on that subject?
There have been several different opportunities for different name brands as well as size and function in addition to rooms. The city has recently approved a study done by an outside firm to bring us the actual information needed to determine the right size, need and potential. As we build more events especially when we only have one sheet of ice on all summer we believe we can drive the need for more rooms.

4. Are taxes collected to fund the Red Baron Arena coming in above or below expectations and how are they being used?
The local option sales tax (.5%) is up roughly 10-15% from projected amounts.  The food, beverage and lodging tax (1.5%) is slightly above estimates. This is good news as the estimates were done on the most recent dollars being spent in Marshall. This shows us that there are more dollars being spent in Marshall than planned and more people are seeing us as a regional hub. Please keep in mind that these taxes are used for both the Red Baron Arena and the Merit Center.
 
5. How is Tall Grass Liquor doing? 
The numbers look very good for Tall Grass Liquor.  For January-September 2016 total sales are up 15.4%.  That number is actually a little low because tobacco was sold in the old store and isn't in the new store.  If we included the holidays and grand opening, the sales would be up even higher.  With numbers like this there is the potential to shorten the bond indebtedness from 15 years to 9 years.
 
6. Is there anything else you would like to add?
We constantly hear about taxes in Marshall even though our tax rate has stayed the same for 8 years. Growth is part of the reason we have been able to hold the tax rate. The more we grow the more taxes can be collected through new businesses and people without additional burden going to existing business or people. Continued growth is very important to communities that thrive to become relevant to new generations that basically become our future. 
 
One other area we know we will need to address is parking at the Red Baron Arena. Additional parking has been added behind the facility to be shared with the new ball fields but additional parking needs are being addressed. 




City Boards & Commissions

CITY OF MARSHALL
ANNOUNCES OPENINGS
                  ON THE FOLLOWING COMMISSIONS/BOARDS/AUTHORITIES
 
Adult Community Center - 2 openings
         (1) 3-yr term to expire 5/31/19
  (1) unexpired term to expire 5/31/17
        
Community Services Advisory Board - 4 openings
         (1) unexpired term to expire 2/28/18
         (3) 3-yr terms to expire 2/28/20

Convention & Visitors Bureau Board - 2 openings
            (2) 3-year term to expire 12/31/19

Library Board - 2 openings
         (2) 3-yr terms to expire 12/31/19
 
Planning Commission - 3 openings
         (1) unexpired term to expire 5/31/18
 
These positions represent an opportunity for interested residents of Marshall to become more involved in local government activities.  Positions are nonpaying.  Interested residents can obtain additional information and applications from the City Administrator's Office at the Municipal Building, 344 West Main St., Marshall, MN. (Call 537-6760) or at the following website:  http://www.ci.marshall.mn.us.  The completed application should be returned no later than Friday, October 28, 2016.  Appointments will be made by the Mayor and City Council as set forth in policy statements.
 
            APPLICATIONS FROM WOMEN AND MINORITIES ARE ENCOURAGED
 
Mayor & City Council
City of Marshall



Chamber E-Connection Guidelines and Policies

Newsletter Goals and Audience
The purpose of the Chamber E-Connection newsletter is to share our members' events with  other business and community members. It is an informational newsletter and helps to promote  our member businesses and their events.
Each Friday, our newsletter is sent to over 1,500 individuals. Our separate emails are sent to  the same list, but are held especially for our Chamber events and Business After Hours.

Newsletter Policy
E-Connection events are included based on requests from the member business. The following criteria are requested by the Marshall Area Chamber for event submissions:
  • Events flyers or submissions must be an actual event. We do not include sales or promotions.
  • Events can be included in the E-Connection for 2 weeks Free of charge, and you have the option of adding one additional week for $10. 3 weeks is the max per event.
  • Submissions must be sent the Wednesday prior to that Friday's
    E-Connection to be included to chamber@marshall-mn.org

  • All event flyers are for Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce members only. 
Any Chamber member businesses events can be submitted to the Chamber website as well here. Click submit new event.
Chamber Member Job Postings             

Any Chamber me mber may submit job postings! Ask about your login by 
emailing chamber@marshall-mn.org or c all the Chamber at 532-4484.

 
Sincerely,
 
Chamber Logo
Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce
118 West College Drive
Marshall, MN 56258
(507) 532-4484