MANKATO, Minn. -
Mankato may be small compared to large metropolitan areas, but it has a big city vision.
Twin Cities Business Magazine recently did a several page spread on the key city, highlighting the strengths of the business community and the local economy.
"From my perspective, I've seen it move from a very small town in many ways in terms of population and geographic area but more importantly to one that I think has become more expansive in the way it thinks," Linda Wenkel said.
It seems that way of thinking has pushed the area to a new level. In fact, you can read all about it in the latest edition of Twin Cities Business Magazine.
"To have Mankato in the Twin Cities market magazine is phenomenal," Troy Volk said.
Troy Volk, owner of Volk Transfer, was one of five Mankato businesses featured in the article. Volk's business has grown substantially over just the last year even after expanding to a new 32,000 square foot facility.
"Our business has quadrupled just in the last year actually," Volk said.
It's that kind of success being seen throughout the area. CEO of Greater Mankato Growth, Jonathan Zierdt says it's due to several factors.
"So what's the silver bullet, what the secret sauce? There isn't one. It's not a secret sauce, it's a combination of things," Jonathan Zierdt said.
Some of those things include year after year job growth, access to products and amenities, and local business talent from colleges and universities, in the area and out.
"This is a destination for talent as much as it is a place that creates talent. The talent is one of the most critical factors for business success," Zierdt said.
Zierdt says 52 businesses opened or expanded last year, and the local economy is now over 9 billion dollars. Big numbers helping put a small community on the map.
"I think it's wonderful to get the exposure to get people to see there is more to the state then the Twin Cities metropolitan area," Wenkel said.
Zierdt says the feature in Twin Cities Business Magazine will give the city exposure, which may help attract more businesses and talent to the community.
You can read the article for yourself here: http://tcbmag.com/Leadership/Economic-Development/Doing-Business-the-Mankato
