Le Pre Chel Salon & Spa
The 1982-93 feel-good sitcom Cheers with know-it-all Cliff, athlete Sam, psychiatrist Frasier and perfectionist Diane was set in a Boston neighborhood bar “where everybody knows your name.” The bar patrons gathered as family.
News
Anne Makepeace
If 54-year-old Anne Makepeace of New Ulm were to choose a song to describe her life, The Beatles’ 1967 chart buster Getting Better with the oft-repeated positive line “it’s getting better all the time” surely would be one possibility.
Bella Donna, Ameradon, Jessica Frein
Emily Baumann-Flitter recruited Melissa Volk to be a Mary Kay beauty consultant in 2009.
In early 2010, Tom Hamberg began Ameradon Services, which offers radon testing and mitigation services.
When Jessica Frein was 15, her father starting a business in Iowa wanted tax advice from a lawyer he could trust.
Feature Story, Features, News, Profiles
Warren P. Smith
Business Person of the Year 2011 – Runner Up
Imagine 63-year-old Warren P. Smith right now as a household appliance plugged into a home electrical outlet. His talkative mouth whirrs like a Sunbeam Blender set on “puree” and his leg and arm appendages gyrate with nervous energy not unlike a Maytag clothes washer on spin cycle.
Cover Story, Covers, News, Profiles
John Roise
Business Person of the Year 2010 – Winner
Tourists enjoying kitschy oddities often travel to Minnesota’s Lac qui Parle County and its 1,200-population county seat, Madison, known as the “Lutefisk Capital of the United States.”
Feature Story, Features, News, Profiles
Darwin Anthony
Business Person of the Year 2011 – Runner-Up
Imagine creating an official account of Trimont, Minn. movers and shakers. Darwin Anthony’s name will be on the first page. There will be mention of his long career in banking and insurance, his agricultural pursuits, his hands-on leadership…
Shady Oak Storage, Pearl Button Primitives, City Grille
Greg Stevens grew up in Amboy helping his father farm and manage Stevens Seed Farm, which began operations in 1965.
Both Long Island, New York, and Waseca, Minnesota, share the heart of 46-year-old Justine Meyer.
City Grille officially opened November 24 in the former Country Kitchen Restaurant, but the impetus for starting this new restaurant came about due to an accumulation of experiences.
Hot Startz!, New Business, News, Profiles
Autotronics, A to Z Lock & Key, The Design Element
While growing up on a farm near Harmony, Arvin Vander Plas was driving tractors at age 6 and rebuilding a John Deere 40 at age 10.
Jon Bregel first became interested in locksmithing while growing up in Fairmont. “My friend’s father owned a lock and key business.”
When age 12, Margo Weyhe was telling people she wanted to grow up to be an interior decorator. “I was always the one decorating the Christmas tree, rearranging furniture, moving knick-knacks, and drawing.”
Wes Clerc
Fairmont resident Wes Clerc (pronounced Clair) serves up more than French fries and Angus Deluxe burgers.
Yes, he and son Rick own and operate five thriving McDonald’s franchises in Fairmont, Blue Earth, St. James, Windom, and Marshall. And yes, 60-year-old Clerc over the last 44 years has been thoroughly batter-dipped and deep-fried in McDonald’s elbow grease, having worked his way up Ronald McDonald’s corporate ladder from being a 16-year-old crew worker to senior business consultant to franchisee.