Premier Partners
What began as a side interest in furniture and antiques eventually pulled Cheryl Hamond away from a 20-year nonprofit career. Six years after buying Pond Road Market, she is preserving what people love about the antique business while finding new ways to keep it moving forward.
From southwest Minnesota to Greater Mankato Growth, Elsa-Marie Haley has built an early career around curiosity, relationships and a willingness to learn from the people around her.
Over 25 years, Aaron Hatanpa has grown two small State Farm offices into a three-location, 18-person operation recognized among the company’s top 100 agencies nationwide. Along the way, he has built something harder to measure: a team of leaders, a pipeline of future business owners and a growing collection of places where other entrepreneurs can build something of their own.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
