Connecting Southern Minnesota Business People Since 1994
Neck ties are how Randy Appel made his mark in the apparel world. Family ties, though, make up the fabric of his being. “I do all of this for the family,” reflects Appel, as he looks around at the rows and rows of ties, shirts and sweaters that will soon be shipped out to destinations all around the world from his 12,000sf distribution center in North Mankato. Appel owns F/X Fusion, an international apparel designer, manufacturer and distributor.
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The Fallenstein family turns their obsession with Halloween from a hobby into a business. The scene opens with mom, a seamstress named Jenice, sewing costumes and her three daughters, Julie, Lisa and Heather, renting them out from the family garage. Then the youngest sibling, Tom, starts getting involved with the business called Costumes Galore. It is a huge seasonal success in the region. Tom coming of age just as a somewhat futuristic tool known as the world wide web starts to emerge.
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Nicollet native Christy Bode has always enjoyed taking pictures, capturing moments from big events but also just from everyday life. When her three boys came along, that love intensified. But it wasn’t until she started taking pics of other people’s kids that something clicked.
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Spinner’s Bar and Grill on Belgrade Avenue in lower North Mankato has new ownership after almost 13 years, but new owners Clay and Sandra Oachs say Spinners will remain the same beloved neighborhood bar it’s always been.
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Nathan Stolt has strayed a bit far from the plans he made as an undergrad. The New Ulm native started out studying illustration at MSU-Mankato, but all that changed when he purchased his first computer in 1994.
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Imagine being seven years old and permanently having to leave behind your mother, sister, and extended family, fearfully flying to an unfamiliar land, and beginning life anew with a foreign family you had never faced.
Read moreJill Klooster and Kelly Begalka in October 2013 bought in as majority owners with what had been called Kitchenmaster & Co. Klooster joked in a telephone interview, “We’ve saved the Kitchenmaster name because of Bob’s (Kitchenmaster) longevity in this area, and have added our own names to let people know we don’t have anything to do with kitchen remodeling or appliances.”
Read moreLightly run fingertips over the adjective-laden menu at swank Number 4 American Bar & Kitchen inside downtown Mankato’s art deco Landkamer Building and you might first discover the creative “Nicoise” salad, which features pan seared Yellowfin tuna, herbed fingerling potatoes, haricot verts, hard cooked eggs, kalamata olives, mixed greens, and lemon thyme vinaigrette.
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The year 1994 was the worst and best of times in the life of Jeff Flood, owner of Calendar Specialists of Minnesota and Sportsman’s Specialties, both operating from his rural North Mankato home.
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