For the owners of Friesen’s Family Bakery and Bistro in Old Town Mankato, their business model is not just a part of their business strategy, it is the very heart of it. A business model based not on how money will be made, but how it will be spent.
Locally.
As Steve Kibble looks back over the last 27 years, he’s still not sure just exactly what happened. When he graduated with a business marketing and management degree from MSU Mankato he had no intention of getting involved in the family business, Mankato Implement. His dad had owned the local John Deere dealership since 1973, so Steve grew up watching his father navigate the highs and lows of the business.
Nearly everyone can remember the excitement of going to eat at McDonald’s as a kid: the bright yellow-and-red interior, the colorful indoor playground, the Happy Meal (and, most importantly, the toy that came with it). It was a special treat, a place to celebrate a birthday or a good report card.
The Wisconsin native first discovered his love for team dynamics in high school, playing on the football team. He pursued that passion into college, playing as the tight-end on the college football team for four years even though his school didn’t offer football scholarships. After he graduated, he looked for a job that could offer him that same team spirit, and he found it in a rather surprising place: Walmart.
Business Person of the Year 2016
The 1800s were a century of great discovery, exploration, resourcefulness and achievement. Millions of immigrants arrived in America, drawn by the country’s promise of equality and freedom. While some settled in established cities along the East Coast, others braved untamed wilderness as they pushed farther west into states such as Wisconsin, Indiana—and Minnesota.
You could say that New Ulm brothers Jace, Kyle and Franz Marti have beer in their blood. After all, they’re the sixth generation of the August Schell Brewing Company—a family-owned business that stretches back to 1860.
