Feature Story - Connect Business Magazine

July 1, 1997 Daniel Vance

Arneson Distributing

Al and Rae Ann Arneson seek their vision of the future where others rarely look – in the past.

They’ve dusted off historic labels and rescued long-lost recipes, freshening the tastes of thousands. Their searches led to 1919 Root Beer, Buddy’s Orange, Buddy’s Grape and Ulmer beers. Now they’re returning Hauenstein beer to New Ulm, where it was brewed until the company folded in 1972. “We’re bringing products back from years gone by, good products,” Al said. “We’re bringing back memories.” Rae Ann adds that “what’s fun about the products we sell is that good memories get better over the years. We’re making good memories better.”

Feature Story

May 1, 1997 Roger Matz

Southern Minnesota Construction

Every Spring, Southern Minnesota Construction’s massive equipment snorts out of hibernation, eager to rearrange earth, rock and asphalt into long ribbons of roads. It’s happened every Spring since 1914. But that’s no longer the beginning of SMC’s year, and when freezing temperatures force the graders and pavers back into storage, that no longer signals the close of a year’s business.

Feature Story

May 1, 1997 Roger Matz

Emerald Travel Management

If you think the Internet is a passing electronic fad, pay attention to the experience of Joe Farnham. Farnham, president of Emerald Travel Management (ETM) in Mankato, put ETM on the Internet last December. (That’s the modern equivalent of putting it “on the map.”) Within a month, new customers from as far away as Georgia and Connecticut began booking flights through ETM. It’s opened corporate doors where he’d never thought of knocking, and it’s put ETM where he wants it to be: “Staying ahead of the curve in this industry.”