Revolving Loan Fund Client Spotlight -

Lykke Books in New Ulm

When Brie Taralson talks about the plans for Lykke Books’ new storefront, her excitement is contagious. As she walked through the new space, which was being renovated, she smiled as she described her vision. The new storefront at 203 North State Street will be the future home of Lykke Books, but also a café, art gallery, bike store, and a private event space.

Lykke Books features many Minnesota authors, but one book by Danish researcher and author Meik Wiking holds a special place in her heart. The Little Book of Lykke is Wiking’s attempt to find what the world’s happiest people do differently. The book is where the store draws its name.

“In the fall of 2021, I picked up a copy of Meik Wiking's book The Little Book of Lykke on a whim and began reading it. ‘Lykke’ is the Danish word for happiness - and because happiness through relationship-building is at the core of what I'm trying to create, I thought it was a fitting name for the place as well.”

The story of Lykke Books is one of steady growth. Brie started the store in August of 2022 as a pop-up shop, setting up in Sweet Haven Tonics’ cocktail lounge one or two times a week. “We were literally hauling out and setting up about 1,200 titles every time we had a shop. It was a wonderful way to build awareness and a customer base without fully taking on the overhead of a brick-and-mortar business,” said Brie.

Her focus on building up a customer base and steady growth led to her outgrowing the shared space. This would lead her to partner with another New Ulm business, The Christmas Haus. This temporary location allowed Brie to keep her inventory set up and saved her almost four hours every day, but also allowed her to organize the books better.

She has found that beneficial partnerships are key to her success and will be the model for the new space. “A mentor of mine regularly uses the phrase ‘90% collaboration, 10% competition’ and it stuck with me. Partnerships are critically important to bring value to customers and the community in a way that does not duplicate services. Partnering for our pop-up shops allowed us as a fledgling business to test the waters without incurring much debt or expense. It was good for Lykke Books, but it benefited the other businesses too, they had more foot traffic, and customers coming into their stores who might not have otherwise made the trip. Additionally, they were able to share expenses with us to some degree, lessening the overhead burden to them as well,” said Brie.

Brie added, “This community hub model takes that idea and builds upon it. By sharing overhead expenses between multiple organizations in a way that attracts foot traffic to all of us, we can operate more efficiently and to a larger market than any of us could individually. It contributes to making the community hub financially profitable, which benefits the surrounding businesses and prompts private and public investment in other services that benefit the community as a whole.”

Lykke Books was able to use RNDC’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to help finance the new location. Brie first heard about the RLF program from the consultants at the Small Business Development Center and her banker. She said working with RNDC has been a great experience.



Brie said, “RNDC has been wonderful to work with. I found the idea of securing financing to be daunting, but Courtney and Ky were there every step along the way to provide guidance and insight that helped me navigate the process. I encourage people with a business idea to utilize these resources. I truly could not have done this without a village of people helping me along the way.”

Brie had an anecdote that helped her make the leap into entrepreneurship. “Before I left my full-time employer, a leader described me as an entrepreneur. I started to explain that I was not an entrepreneur before I caught myself and realized this: entrepreneurs are just people who take a dream or idea and bring it to life. I was an entrepreneur but needed to take that leap. I absolutely am an entrepreneur, I just didn't see that in myself yet. I had to realize that I was not an imposter and that this was my dream and I needed to let the title quit wigging me out.”

Lykke Books’ new space is scheduled to open May 18^th and the official ribbon cutting will take place May 30^th.

RNDC is hiring a Loan Specialist to manage our RLF clients. To learn more visit https://www.rndc.org/loan-specialist

We're hiring! RNDC is looking for a Loan Specialist to manage its Revolving Loan Fund.

The position will focus on marketing the program to local bankers, economic development representatives, prospective clients, and other financing partners in the area. This position is responsible for the underwriting process of new loans, organizing loan committee meetings, preparing closing documents, and the ongoing service of existing loans within the Organization’s portfolio.

Apply today to make a positive impact on Region Nine! Visit https://www.rndc.org/loan-specialist/ or click the button below to learn more.

Convivencia Hispana Awarded Department of Energy Grant

St. James community group Convivencia Hispana was awarded a grant through the Department of Energy to increase local energy understanding and kickstart clean energy action in the community of St. James. The funds were awarded through the Department of Energy’s Community Energy Innovation Prize which emphasizes funding community-based projects that create grassroots clean energy action in disadvantaged communities.

Convivencia Hispana will utilize the funding to develop a program of community energy navigators who will help organize free energy audits for community members. Energy audits currently cost $70–$100 for homeowners and are difficult to schedule outside of 9 to 5 hours when many community members are working and unable to take time off from work. They hope that organizing these audits as a community can encourage auditors to offer these services at more accessible times such as in the afternoon and evening or weekends. Once the energy audits are completed Convivencia will be prepared to support renters and homeowners with upgrades to reduce their costs for energy to heating, cooling, and cooking in their homes.

Convivencia expects to start outreach to the community in May and hopes to have 200 homeowners and renters registered for the program by July. Energy audits are a great first step for reducing the energy costs in homes because the auditors can identify gaps in the insulation of buildings, holes in the building’s envelope, and technology that is operating inefficiently. They can also educate residents on simple fixes they can make. The energy audit program through CenterPoint Energy also brings weather stripping, LED light bulbs, and programmable thermostats, all of which are great steps toward reducing home energy use.

Do You Live or Work in Sibley County?

Let Your Voice Be Heard by Taking the Sibley County Resident Survey!

The objective of this survey is to gather Sibley County residents’ opinions and suggestions about current and future county needs. Please take 10-15 minutes to complete the survey. Your input will be used to assess the opportunities and challenges facing the community, and it will help guide decisions made about the county’s future.

Your responses will remain anonymous and confidential.

Note: This survey is intended for Sibley County residents or those who work in Sibley County.

Minnesota GreenCorps Member Application for 2024-2025 Program Year are Open! - RNDC Named Host Site!

RNDC has been named a host site for the 2024-25 Minnesota GreenCorps program!

The Minnesota GreenCorps program, coordinated by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), aims to preserve and protect Minnesota’s environment while training a new generation of environmental professionals.

Each year, the program places AmeriCorps members with host site organizations around the state to help communities increase resilience to climate change by:

• reducing solid waste and increasing recycling
• reducing greenhouse gases and other air pollutants
• reducing water runoff and improving water quality
• encouraging eco-friendly behavior
• reducing disproportionate negative impacts from pollution

Minnesota GreenCorps members serve full-time at their host site for 11 months, from mid-September through mid-August. Members implement environmental projects to build climate resilience in one of four topic areas: community readiness and outreach, energy conservation and green transportation, stormwater and forestry, waste reduction and recycling. Sample projects include activities such as coordinating multi-modal transportation events, developing climate action plans, educating community members and youth, removing invasive species, installing rain gardens, benchmarking energy, conducting waste sorts, and more.

All those interested need to apply through the State of Minnesota Careers website. To learn more about the program and apply online, visit www.pca.state.mn.us/mngreencorps. The application guidance and project summaries documents are available on the MPCA website, along with a link to the member application. Please direct applicant questions to mngreencorps.pca@state.mn.us.

Local Restaurants Needed for Local Foods Week 2024

Are you a local restaurant owner in Region Nine? RNDC is looking for restaurants interested in partnering with local producers to create unique menu items for Local Foods Week.

The week-long event will take place from July 21-27 and will feature sustainable crop and livestock producers from around the region. Local Foods Week aims to highlight the partnerships between local food producers and restaurants and tell the story behind the food.

The following farms are looking for restaurants to partner with;

Blissful Bee Pastures - Anna Johnson, Gibbon, MN, Sibley County

Pastured lamb: leg of lamb, lamb chops, lamb shoulder steaks, shoulder roasts, ribs, shanks, stew meat, and ground lamb.   

Blue Dirt Farm - Scott Hasse, Blue Earth, MN Faribault County

Mangalitza hogs: bacon, brats, country-style ribs, ground pork, ham, pork chops, shoulder roast, pork steaks, spare ribs, full hogs, and 100% grass-fed ground beef.

To learn more about participating in Local Foods Week, email Sabri Fair at sabri@rndc.org

Climate Smart St. James Hosts its First Climate Smart Week

Climate Smart St. James hosted its first Climate Smart Week from April 20 to 27. The week was filled with events meant to entertain, educate, and bring awareness to the changing environment.

The Climate Smart St. James group grew out of the Region Nine Learning Exchange with North Rhine-Westphalia. Delegation members Pat Branstad, Jim Branstad, Sue Harris, Paul Harris, and Luisa Trapero identified a shared vision for steps they could take to move St. James towards a climate-friendly future. The group was also inspired by the attendance and engagement at the February 2023 Community Conversations event. The community's willingness to participate led to the group moving forward with planned activities, events, and programming which culminated with Climate Smart Week.

One of the lead organizers, Pat Branstad said, "A goal of Climate Smart Week was to offer a wide variety of opportunities to acknowledge, encourage, educate, inform, and celebrate ‘climate smart’ activities and practices that help St. James become a more sustainable and resilient community, and to promote Climate Smart St. James as a group committed to those efforts."

Jim Branstad said, "We wanted to educate people and get them to an action level."

The week had many highlights that concluded with an expo at St. James High School. Paul Harris, another lead organizer said one of his favorite parts of the week was how many people attended the ribbon cutting for the city's downtown electric vehicle charger. Sue Harris said that the expo and learning more about sustainable products was a highlight for her. Sue added, "Another highlight was the variety and number of people who worked at and came to the week's activities."

The week was a success not only due to the hard work of the lead organizers but also the presenters, industry experts, and volunteers. RNDC's own Sabri Fair led a session on single-use plastic, food waste, and making beeswax container covers using natural and upcycled materials.

Climate Smart Week was also supported by regional organizations including the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. Pat said, "Funding from a Small Towns Grant from SMIF and donations from local organizations like Rotary, Sertoma, and Smithfield Foods have been crucial to the work of Climate Smart St. James and played a big role in our ability to implement this Climate Smart Week. We appreciate the financial support as well as the collaborative efforts with the City of St. James, St. James Public Schools, Watonwan County Library, Meadowlark Prairie Outdoor Lab, UMN Extension 4-H, along with the resources and expertise from RNDC. Without these partnerships, Climate Smart Week would not have been the success that it was."

Climate Smart St. James will continue to organize educational events to work towards the goal of awareness, engagement, and 'climate smart' decision-making on a personal and community level. The group's next event will focus on home pollinator planting on May 20th.

Follow the Climate Smart St. James website or Facebook page to stay up to date on events and things you can do to be climate smart!

Minnesota's First-Generation Homebuyer Loan Program is Now Open!

Minnesota Housing’s First-Generation Homebuyer Loan Program has funding to serve approximately 1,500 eligible borrowers on a first-come, first-served basis. The program will be available until funds are exhausted.

The program offers loans up to $35,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance. Borrowers are required to use a Start Up first mortgage loan to access the First-Generation Homebuyer Loan. Start Up program eligibility requirements apply, including income limits, credit score requirements, and homebuyer education.

The loan is a deferred, interest-free, and forgivable loan. Half of the loan is forgiven after 10 years and the rest after 20 years. To be eligible for forgiveness, the borrow must reside in the home through the forgiveness date and meet all the terms of the note. The First-Generation Homebuyer Loan balance becomes due immediately and in full when the property converts to non-owner-occupancy, or if the borrower sells or refinances the home.

28 Wastewater Treatment Plants in Region Nine Recognized by MPCA for Outstanding Operations

Every year the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recognizes municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants for outstanding operations. 28 Wastewater Treatment Plants in Region Nine were recognized for consistently complying with monitoring, operations, and maintenance requirements, submitting accurate, on-time reports to the MPCA, and employing staff certified by the MPCA in wastewater operations.

Minnesota has approximately 1,600 municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities. A total of 767 facilities, from communities of all sizes, were reviewed, with 253 qualifying for the outstanding operations recognition.

The following Region Nine wastewater treatment plants were recognized:

• Altona Hutterian Brethren WWTP – Henderson, Sibley County
• Blue Earth WWTP – Faribault County
• Comfrey WWTP – Brown County
• Elmore WWTP – Faribault County
• Elysian WWTP – Le Sueur County
• Evan WWTP – Brown County
• Gaylord WWTP – Sibley County
• Le Center WWTP – Le Sueur County
• MG Waldbaum Co – Gaylord, Sibley County
• MG Waldbaum/Michael Foods Lake Prairie – Le Sueur, Nicollet County
• Montgomery WWTP – Le Sueur County
• New Auburn WWTP – Sibley County
• New Richland WWTP – Waseca County
• New Ulm WWTP – Brown County
• Northrop WWTP – Martin County
• Pemberton WWTP – Blue Earth County
• Saint Clair WWTP – Blue Earth County
• Saint George District Sewer System – Gibbon, Nicollet County
• Saint James WWTP – Watonwan County
• Seneca Foods Corp – Montgomery, Le Sueur County
• Springfield WWTP, Brown County
• Truman WWTP – Martin County
• Vernon Center WWTP – Blue Earth County
• Waldorf WWTP – Waseca County
• Waseca WWTP – Waseca County
• Waterville WWTP – Le Sueur County
• Winnebago WWTP – Faribault County
• Winthrop WWTP – Sibley County