OFF-THE-CUFF
It’s a New Year and reason for economic optimism pervades—at least in southern Minnesota, where, for the most part, the farm economy and farmland prices have been going well. Thank goodness we have agriculture propping up our regional economy. Look for at least two or three Connect Business Magazine feature stories on agriculture-related businesses over the next several issues. That said, buckle your seat belts and away we go….
Again—and frankly, we can’t write this enough—we thank our panel of Minnesota State University College of Business professors for judging our annual Business Person of the Year awards. They chose Wayne Kahler, Paul Wilke, and Brian Fowler from nominations gleaned from readers in September. We began ten years ago without their expert help, but realized soon enough our annual awards needed the objectivity and gravitas only Minnesota State University College of Business could provide. They have been judge and jury the last nine years and played their role exceptionally well…
In one of those Twilight Zone moments, we received a November 14 email from Winnebago-raised Jerry Wilke, a former HickoryTech vice president/general manager (wireless division). He now lives in Wisconsin. It was the first we had heard from him in ten years. Then on the very next day, November 15, we visited River Hills Mall to interview his brother Paul Wilke for winning second in our annual Business Person of the Year awards. According to Paul, Jerry hadn’t known anything about the interview and so the timing of Jerry’s email and Paul’s interview was coincidental. If working in southern Minnesota today, Jerry definitely would be considered for a Connect Business Magazine feature because of his broad accomplishments in the wireless telephone industry. According to linkedin.com, he recently became chief operating officer of Wisconsin RSA #7 Limited Partnership d/b/a Element Mobile. Read his email at the bottom of this page…
True to this column’s ever-changing nature, i.e., it’s called “Off-The-Cuff,” I chose this issue to switch gears and go lighthearted all while trying to mull over the deeper questions I’ve had lately in business and life. Maybe you’ve had some of these same slap-the-forehead thoughts, such as:
What are we going to do with all these old fax machines?
What would happen if the U.S. government printed up $17 trillion in paper to pay back all bondholders at once in order to erase the federal debt?
If the Internet permanently crashed, would younger Americans easily adapt?
Does anyone know why the penny exists?
Why is it U.S. couples earning $80,000 or so combined often delay having children because of financial pressures, yet African couples with an annual household income of only $2,000 can comfortably support three or four children?
How can people say the government is in the business of picking winners and losers in terms of economic assistance for businesses when so many of the “winners” the government picks end up losing and so many of the losers win?
What did we use to do with all the extra money we now spend on gasoline, phones, and cable television?
Why is it the people calling others “extremist” are usually extremists themselves?
Did the people who published encyclopedias sell out in time?
When mentioning the voter gender gap, why do pollsters almost always refer only to women, as if men were culturally inferior or a man’s vote counted less?
With gas sky high, why doesn’t an automaker develop a one-seat car?
And finally, since various government entities have begun regulating the kinds of fats we ingest, our children’s school diets, salt content, and our cola sizes, will they also one day make us eat broccoli?…
Lastly, we mention the passing of pork pioneer Bob Christensen, founder of Sleepy Eye-based Christensen Farms, the world’s largest private pork producer. At the time, Christensen said our in-depth interview with him in May 2006 was his first with local media. He was a great businessman.
Thanks for reading southern Minnesota’s first and only locally owned business magazine, the one founded in 1994 and serving 8,500 business decision makers in nine counties. Come back next issue for regular fare. We hope you enjoyed our special Connect Business Magazine/KEYC-TV Business Person of the Year awards edition.
