mankato

Cover Story
Daniel Vance

Jonathan Zierdt

President/CEO of Greater Mankato Growth

“Once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout,” says Jonathan Zierdt, a boyish grin spreading as smeared peanut butter and jelly all over his facial features. At one time, Zierdt was more than just a highly decorated Eagle Scout. Nearly fifteen years ago, he also oversaw about 1,500 Boy Scouts in dozens of Owatonna-area troops and packs and was this close to becoming a lifelong Scouting executive. With the Scouts, he began applying lessons learned.

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Cover Story
Daniel Vance

Dave Neiman

Disarmingly gracious and soft-spoken, Dave Neiman of Arrow Ace Hardware since 1985 has shepherded—purposefully under the media radar—the astounding transformation of a solitary St. Peter hardware store into a vibrant, money-making, ten-store group effectively competing against big-box stores.

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Hot Startz!
Daniel Vance

Enterprise Minnesota, Uniquely Yours, Studio 34 Fitness

Mankato: Enterprise Minnesota – Enterprise Minnesota (formerly Minnesota Technology) opened a Mankato office in February 2008 staffed by 44-year-old Greg Thomas.

Sleepy Eye: Uniquely Yours – Diane Mullins came to Sleepy Eye looking for love, and the town hasn’t disappointed her.

Sleepy Eye: Studio 34 Fitness – Most people in Sleepy Eye know of 47-year-old Brent Mielke as “The Zoo Man.” Over the last 20 years, he has performed live in front of more than five million people in the U.S. and Canada,

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Feature Story
Carlienne Frisch

National Recognition Products

From brides to businesses, Taylor Corporation has been providing communication products, technologies and services to customers over the last 33 years. Important to Taylor Corporation’s business portfolio is National Recognition Products, a company known for its state-of-the-art class ring designs, industry-leading graduation announcement designs and a selection of those tassels that adorn graduation caps.

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Cover Story
Daniel Vance

Bryan Paulsen

There once was a little boy named Bryan, who lived with his family on a hilltop overlooking ordinary Deep Valley. Bryan enjoyed art best and boldly dreamed of drawing pictures to turn beloved Deep Valley beautiful.

Bryan got older. Bryan’s dad, a mechanic, could fix anything Bryan brought home, even a dented Radio Flyer wagon. Bryan’s mother worked at the Big Factory. His brother traveled across the ocean to a scary place called Vietnam.

In high school, Bryan’s teacher said he could be somebody and a spunky girl said it, too. After Bryan finished college, he came home to Deep Valley and married the spunky girl. Later, he started a company that drew pictures and turned beloved Deep Valley beautiful.

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Feature Story
Carlienne Frisch

Appletree Press

It’s that corner office with a view everyone purportedly wants. Linda Hachfeld has it. She’s convinced having a daily dose of natural sunshine and being able to gaze out onto trees and blue sky when looking up from her computer screen is good for her.

“This is such a nurturing, healthy environment,” says Hachfeld, a business owner, author and publisher. “I see birds, squirrels, deer and an occasional turkey. I’m a country girl at heart and nature is one of my powerful motivators.”

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Cover Story
Daniel Vance

Jeff Thom – 2008 Business Person Of The Year

The post-game television interview we all have witnessed: Famous football quarterback after tossing a key touchdown strike giving credit to his teammates for an emotional victory in The Big Game. Yet that made-for-TV, locker-room speech sometimes seems canned, even obligatory, as if spreading the love around had more to do with the player maintaining an image than a true appreciation of his teammates’ contributions.

With genuineness pressing around every syllable, Jeff Thom, founder and co-owner of $20 million-plus and 55-employee All American Foods, gave due credit in this Business Person of the Year 2008 interview to a number of people for his success.

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