Off-The-Cuff
You made it through Election 2008. You survived the senatorial recount—oh, is that another eighteen missing ballots under my desk?
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north mankato
Fred Lutz
North Mankato’s Fred Lutz likes flyin’ high in the western sky in his Beechcraft 33 Bonanza, tail flaps up, headset on, sippin’ straight 7UP through a cocktail straw. It’s another ideal Saturday afternoon for a businessman who still has Uncola coursing through his veins. His 7UP-green Lincoln LS parked next to the green hangar at Mankato Airport has “UNCOLA” plates; and his Beechcraft 33 the registration number “N77UP.” Old allegiances die hard.
Lutz was a high-profile, national figure in the soft drink industry in the ’70s and early ’80s. He served as national president of the 7UP Bottlers Association and also the Dr Pepper Bottlers Association, and as state president of the Minn. Soft Drink Association. And he lobbied Capitol Hill as a board member of the National Soft Drink Association.
Read MoreLindsay Window & Door Company
John Roise avoids credit for the rapid growth and financial success of Lindsay Window and Door Co., which manufactures vinyl and wooden windows in North Mankato.
Despite his lack of experience in the industry, Roise introduced new products that more than tripled sales. Employment escalated from 14 to 65. He’s paid back all the long-term money he borrowed to buy the company in 1989.
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