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<br />Request for Action <br /> <br /> <br />To Item Number <br />Economic Development Authority 6.1 <br />Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by <br />General December 17, 2018 Amanda Othoudt, EDD <br />Item Description Reviewed by <br />Commemoration of Ebner’s Bait Cal Portner, City Administrator <br />Reviewed by <br /> <br /> <br />Action Requested <br />1. President Tveite to commemorate Joanne Rousseau, as long-standing business owner of over 69 <br />years in the Elk River community. <br />2. President Tveite to invite comments from the public. <br />3. President Tveite to present the plaque to Joanne Rousseau. <br /> <br />Background/Discussion <br />Joanne Rousseau’s grandparents, Alfred and Laura Ebner, founded and built Ebner’s Bait in 1949 and <br />sold it to Joanne’s parents, Ronald and Norma Ebner, who owned the operation from 1968 to 1992. <br /> <br />Joanne Rousseau and her brother, Mark Ebner bought it in 1992. Joanne took full ownership in 2007 and <br />continued operations through November of this year. Ebner’s Bait was open 24 hours a day. <br /> <br />It all began with Joanne’s grandparents trapping minnows out of ponds and rivers and raising sucker <br />minnows in ponds they leased on local farms. The Ebners lived in a home attached to the store. It wasn’t <br />unheard of for Ron to get up and wait on customers in his pajamas and bathrobe in the late evening or <br />very early morning. <br /> <br />After many dedicated years to Elk River, Ebner’s Bait officially closed their doors on November 18, 2018. <br />Joanne plans to do some volunteering and join the YMCA. <br /> <br />Financial Impact <br />N/A <br /> <br />Attachments <br /> None <br /> <br /> <br />The Elk River Vision <br />A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional <br />service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity <br />