5.0. EDSR 12-08-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Developer-December/January 2004 12/2/03 12:16 PM Candy lovers will have one less source to alleviate their sweet tooth cravings after Shari Candies,Inc.closes its doors.The Mankato-based firm,a packager of candies for nearly 60 years,could not find a buyer to continue the operation. So current owners announced the company would close.About 30 employees were laid off in late September;the remaining 20 workers will continue for up to two months to complete existing orders. Mankato-based Hickory Tech Corp has announced that the company will sell all of its wireless business sometime in December.The company is a diversified communications firm employing nearly 500 workers in Minnesota and Iowa.About 35 employees working in several communities in south-central Minnesota will be affected by the sale. Those positions are in sales,sales support,customer care and engineering.However,the new owner,Western Wireless Corp.based in the state of Washington,is expecting to offer some employment opportunities following the transfer of operations.Hickory Tech has provided telephone services for more than 100 years. Plans for expansion at Winona-based Fastenal Co.continue to be aggressive.The company,the largest distributor of fasteners in the nation,owns more than 1,300 stores, almost all in the 50 states and Canada.More than 100 stores have been opened in the past year alone;there are nearly 50 stores now located throughout Minnesota.The newest store location to open will be in New Ulm.Fastenal is now the fastest growing full-line industrial distributor of a wide variety of products.It operates 12 distribution centers and a fleet of nearly 300 trucks to provide cost-effective and timely delivery services to Fastenal customers and stores. back to top • • • • 411 Minnesota Perfect Again on Economic Development Report Card For the third consecutive year,Minnesota scored straight A s on the Corporation for Enterprise Development s(CFED)annual report card,the nation s most broad-based index of the economies of the 50 states.Just two other states—Massachusetts and Virginia—scored as well as Minnesota this year. CFED,a non-profit nationwide economic development organization,uses 68 criteria to measure relative state-by-state economic development success in three main categories: performance,business vitality and development capacity.In releasing its 2003 "Development Report Card for the States,"CFED adopted a generally subdued and cautionary tone about the overall U.S.economic performance.But its assessment of Minnesota s performance was upbeat and encouraging. For example,while the survey suggests that many American families are still struggling financially,with higher unemployment and lower wage jobs,Minnesota"is cruising right along"in categories like employment,earnings and job quality,and quality of life. Minnesota was judged to be a"top performer".In business vitality the state is strong but not invulnerable.And in development capacity the survey found plenty of reasons for Minnesotans to take pride,specifically in the areas of human resources,financial resources and innovation assets. Minnesota ranked among the top 10 states in 27 of the 68 performance criteria and ranked in the bottom 10 in just one category.The complete report card is available at: www.drc.cfed.org. back to top • • • • • Entrepreneur and D&B's 10th Annual List of the Best Cities for http://www.ewald.com/EDAMENL/EDAMENL/EDAMDecJan2004/EDAMDecJan2004.htm Page 13 of 15