Growing the Fair Favorites
How Kelly Miller and John Gotz expanded Strawberries & Cream into Loon Lake Iced Tea—and built a business where culture matters as much as the menu.
Profiles
Cody Pithan: Turning Curiosity into Craft
At 23, the Lime Valley Advertising digital marketing specialist has built a broad creative toolkit. Now he is applying it to an ambitious card game designed to become something larger.
Jen True: The Relentless Builder Behind Southern Minnesota’s Most Recognizable Real Estate Brand
What began as one broker’s leap of faith has grown into a $281 million real estate company. Jen True shares the decisions, challenges and philosophy behind True Real Estate’s remarkable rise.
Todd Benz: Writing the Next Chapter for The Free Press
As the new publisher of The Mankato Free Press, Todd Benz inherits a 144-year legacy at a pivotal moment for local journalism. His challenge isn’t simply preserving a newspaper. It’s reinventing the business while protecting the mission that has served Southern Minnesota for generations.
Jennifer Spaude: Bringing Clarity to Complexity
For nearly 30 years, Jennifer Spaude has helped organizations navigate their most important moments. Now she’s bringing that executive perspective to Connect Business Magazine as a contributing writer focused on leadership and communication.
Inside Volk Transfer’s New Headquarters, Built for the Company’s Next Chapter
Volk Transfer’s new 325,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and distribution center marks the latest chapter in a family business story that began with a single truck. The feature goes inside the company’s major Mankato expansion, with a photo tour of the renovated former True Value facility and a closer look at the growth, employee focus, and legacy behind the move.
Kaelyn Rahe Isn’t Waiting to Be Asked
Kaelyn Rahe is not waiting to be asked. Through her work at MEI, the MarCom Meetup, and her civic involvement, she is building connections, stepping into leadership, and investing her time in the kind of community she wants to help shape.
Building Downtown Differently
The people, risk, and strategy behind downtown Mankato’s $500 million reinvention Photography by Jesse Yeakle For more than two decades,
Kato Roofing’s New Frontman
A former rock musician running a nearly 50-year-old roofing company in southern Minnesota, is trying to change how an entire industry thinks about talent, culture, and what it means to show up for your people. Meet Danny Shaw, former keyboardist for “Matter of Chance,” former tech boss, now CEO of Kato Roofing, Inc. (KRI).