Thursday, September 17, 2026

8:30 AM Pre-Conference Session

9:00 AM Registration Open - Gorecki Center at the College of Saint Benedict

10:00 AM Welcome & Opening Panel - Gorecki Center at the College of Saint Benedict

11:45 AM Lunch

12:45 PM Breakout Session 1

2:15 PM Breakout Session 2

3:45 PM Breakout Session 3

5:15 PM Reception & Networking

Friday, September 18, 2026

8:00 AM Optional Session / Networking

9:30 AM Breakout Session 4

11:00 AM Closing Keynote - Gorecki Center at the College of Saint Benedict

12:00 PM Boxed Lunch

12:45 PM Breakout Session 1

1A: Entrepreneur Resources Track

Title: Clarity Before Marketing: Building a Brand That Grows With Your Business

Speaker: Kim Windschitl (Founder, Creative Apparatus)

Description: 

Before entrepreneurs invest in logos, websites, or advertising, they need clarity about who they serve, what problem they solve, and why customers should care. This session positions brand-building as a strategic foundation rather than a marketing expense, helping entrepreneurs align their message, audience, and business goals. Through practical examples and case studies, participants will learn how to define their core message, identify their ideal customer, and create simple, consistent brand elements that build trust and recognition over time. The session emphasizes accessible, low-cost tools that entrepreneurs can apply immediately, regardless of stage or budget. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how brand clarity strengthens marketing efforts and supports sustainable business growth.

Location: The House

1B: Place-Based Storytelling Track

Title: The Business of Trolls, Tunes, & Community

Speaker: Amy Stearns

Description: 

Learn about the successes, lessons, and story of how Detroit Lakes keeps unique events local while satisfying curious tourists. Discover how Project 412 is driving cultural and economic growth in the Detroit Lakes area by blending public art, live music, and bold business initiatives. Learn how this local nonprofit acts as a catalyst for community connection—championing creators, supporting local entrepreneurs, and proving that a commitment to "Doing Cool Stuff" can revitalize a region's future.

Location: The LaPlayette Bar

1C: Future Builders Track

Title: Entrepreneurship in the High School Classroom

Speaker: James Schreiner, Sauk Centre High School & Western Stearns CEO Class students

Description:

Minnesota high school entrepreneurship programs are year-long, community-linked courses that immerse students in real-world business experiences - connecting them with local entrepreneurs, mentors, and industry visits while guiding them to develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills and create and showcase their own business projects. Join us to hear a local facilitator and students talk about their experiences, and a board member share how they got the program started at their school. Attendees will learn how these programs work and be inspired by the successes, and also get the practical knowledge it takes to get one started in their own community.

Location: CSB Gorecki - President's Room

1D: Innovation and Creative Economy Track

Title: Business for Good: the transformative power of social entrepreneurship 

Speaker: Christine Metzo, Initiative Foundation

Description: 

Explore how social enterprise blends profit and purpose, delivering strong financial value while creating meaningful community impact. This session highlights models, real-world case studies, and strategies for building and supporting businesses that do well by doing good.

Location: Bad Habit

2:15 PM Breakout Session 2

2A: Entrepreneur Resources Track

Title: The Inner Work of Building a Healthy Business: How the Leader Shapes the Organization

Speaker: Dawn Finn, Community and Life Services

Description:  

Building a successful business requires more than strategy, funding, or hard work. The health of an organization is deeply influenced by the health of its leader.

In this interactive session, participants will explore how self-awareness, thought patterns, emotional resilience, and leadership habits influence decision-making, workplace culture, relationships, and long-term sustainability. Through personal stories, practical reflection, and leadership principles drawn from business and organizational development, participants will gain tools to strengthen themselves while building healthier organizations. 

Whether you lead a startup, nonprofit, small business, or growing team, this session offers a practical framework for developing the internal capacity needed to lead with clarity, resilience, and purpose.

Location: Blush Salon

2B: Place-Based Storytelling Track

Title: Tales of Two Cities: How to brand a small town and an urban neighborhood with your story

Speaker Names: Mary Bruno and Shannon Laing

Description: Business owner Mary Bruno and Minnesota Main Street Manager Shannon Laing will share the stories of how their neighborhood stories helped, hindered, and put their commercial districts on the map. 

Location: Che La Playette Bar

2C: Future Builders Track

Title: The Youth Engagement Bridge: Connecting Hard-to-Reach Youth to Careers, Community, and Leadership

Speaker Names: Emily Davis (Exploring Potential Interested Careers - EPIC) and Tyrone Reynolds (Youthset)

Description:

Youth engagement doesn’t fall short because young people lack interest—it falls short when opportunities aren’t designed with youth voice, trust, and real ownership. This session brings together Youthset and EPIC to share a practical “youth engagement bridge” model that connects hard-to-reach youth to career exposure, leadership development, and meaningful community involvement through intentional partnerships. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies, partnership ideas, and a framework they can adapt in their own communities.

Location: Jupiter Moon

2D: Innovation and Creative Economy Track

Title: Why Your Town Should Have an Annual Arts Festival 

Speaker: Steven Lemke, Millstream Arts Festival

Description: 

Arts and creativity build a community’s identity in ways other businesses often cannot. For tourists, a unique memory of a location’s art complements a variety of reasons to come to the town. For residents, people want to stay where they have a high quality of life, and an artistic economy gives them that. For artists, while big cities may offer scale and access to the larger worlds, it’s actually smaller communities that afford them the cost of living so they can create meaningful artwork. This session explores the Millstream Arts Festival, its long-running partnerships with the City of St. Joseph, CSB+SJU, and businesses in various forms. Millstream Arts Festival curates extremely high-quality, local, and both new and established artists each year to continue to build the identity of JoeTown as one where the arts enrich life. 

Location: Minnesota Street Market

3:45 PM Breakout Session 3

3A: Entrepreneur Resources Track

Title: Beyond the Bank: Navigating Non-Traditional Financing for Business Growth

Speakers: Panel of GSC, SBDC, Initiative Foundation, Entrepreneur Fund

Description: Entrepreneurs rarely follow a single financing path, and understanding available options can make the difference between stalled growth and sustainable success. This session introduces the non-traditional financing landscape, highlighting how regional partners support entrepreneurs through startup, expansion, and ownership transition. Panelists will discuss real examples of how businesses have combined technical assistance, flexible financing, and local resources to overcome funding barriers. Designed for entrepreneurs and support professionals alike, the session provides practical insight into how to align financing decisions with long-term business goals.

Location: 

3B: Place-Based Storytelling Track

Title: From Orchard to Gathering Place: Agritourism & Place-Based Storytelling

Speaker Names: Peter Gillitzer and Liz Fiedler

Description: Agritourism businesses don’t just grow products — they grow experiences. In this conversation, local entrepreneurs from Milk & Honey Ciders and Sunny Mary Meadow share how they transformed land-based businesses into destinations for connection, learning, and community. We’ll explore storytelling, diversification, challenges, and how rural places can become powerful economic and cultural hubs.

Location: Bad Habit

3C: Future Builders Track

Title: Next-Gen Builders: Candid Conversations with Gen Z Innovators and Change-Makers

Speaker Names:  Panelists - Lilly Goyah; Levi Bosshart and Stephen Rider, Buzz Care owners; Megan Gilsdorf

Moderator - Raj Chaphalkar

Description:

This session brings together Gen Z entrepreneurs for an honest conversation about the challenges, risks, and defining moments that shaped their journeys and what has helped them along the way. The entrepreneurs will share what attracts them to and keeps them in the communities they are in and how communities can attract more Gen Z entrepreneurs.

Location: Jupiter Moon Ice Cream

3D: Innovation and Creative Economy Track

Title: Cooperatives and Employee Ownership

Speaker: Kirsten Kennedy, MNCEO

Description: Minnesota is experiencing a wave of retiring business owners, many of whom own small businesses critical to the fabric of our economy that don’t have viable buyers. This session explores employee ownership as an innovative approach to succession planning that supports employees retaining jobs, the community to retain a core business, and a fair price to exiting owners.

Location: Minnesota Street Market

9:30 AM Breakout Session 4

4A: Entrepreneur Resources Track

Title:  Ten Chats for 10 Hats

Speaker: Ian Carlstrom, Regional Director, West Central MN SBDC

Description: 

Small business owners often wear many hats, and artificial intelligence can serve as a practical tool to help manage those responsibilities more efficiently. This session introduces the “10 Chats for 10 Hats” approach, helping entrepreneurs learn how to use AI safely, avoid common pitfalls, and build simple, repeatable AI conversations that streamline everyday business tasks. Participants will explore real-world strategies they can apply immediately to save time, improve decision-making, and stay competitive. Designed for practical application rather than technical expertise, the session focuses on accessible tools entrepreneurs can use right away in their daily operations.

Location: Kensington Bank

4B: Place-Based Storytelling Track

Title: Lessons from the Past: Entrepreneurs Who Built Stearns County

Speaker: Brittany Nash

Description: 

Entrepreneurship has shaped Stearns County for generations. In this session, historian Brittany Merritt Nash will share stories of business owners, risk-takers, and community builders who helped define the region, particularly in St. Joseph. From general stores and mills to the convent and the college, we will explore what today’s entrepreneurs can learn from those who came before them.

Location: CSB (the Pres room)

4C: Future Builders Track

Title: Legacy Planning and Next Gen Ownership

Speaker: Katie Heppner, Regional Director of the North Central SBDC at Central Lakes College, and  Emily Coborn (Kyle Schneider from Sal’s)

Description: 

Legacy Planning and Next Gen Ownership is a practical workshop for economic and community development professionals focused on preparing small businesses and communities for the next generation of ownership. The session uses the 3 layers of Legacy Planning (developed by North Central SBDC) to frame how owners, successors, and support professionals can build readiness, align expectations, and move towards a successful transition. Participants will engage in the interactive Choose Your Own Legacy Adventure activity to see how different transition paths shape long-term viability and hear directly from business owners who have successfully passed the torch to the next generation. 

Location: Sal’s Bar & Grill

4D: Innovation and Creative Economy

Title: The House the Community Built

Speaker: BriAnne Hern

Description: When a distressed corner property came on the market, new owners BriAnne and Craig Hern put up a sign reading “Your ideas coming soon” with a QR Code for gathering community input. The result? A four-station food hall and tap wall where new local chefs can incubate their craft and the public can enjoy each other’s company. This session explores the story of how The House Food and Tap, which opened in 2025, is bringing the community into the work of business planning for a restaurant space, and takes place on site in the new building. 

Location: The House

Given limited lodging in the City of St Joseph, hotel blocks are located in Waite Park (~10 minute drive to St Joseph). A shuttle will be available to take participants from the hotels to St Joseph. Reserve room by August 16, 2026 for block pricing.

Hilton Garden Inn | 550 Division St, Waite Park, MN 56387 

Book your room online via the booking link or call the hotel directly at 320-640-7990 and request group code 903 to get hotel block pricing ($159).

Residence Inn | 450 Division Street, Waite Park, Minnesota, 56387

Book your room online via the booking link or call the hotel directly at 320-640-0200 and request group code CEC to get hotel block pricing ($174).

Where is the conference located?

• Plenary sessions will be held at the Gorecki Center at the College of Saint Benedict (37 College Ave S, St Joseph, MN 56374).

• Breakout sessions are located directly in local businesses to encourage attendees to engage with and learn from the local community. Breakout venue addresses will be provided in the conference program.

Where should I park?

• There is limited guest parking at the Gorecki Center at the College of Saint Benedict and the nearby downtown area. 

• If you are staying in the conference hotel room blocks, we will provide a shuttle to and from St Joseph. We encourage you to take the shuttle to St Joseph to minimize impact on the local community and connect with other conference attendees. 

What should I wear?

Because breakout sessions are located across the downtown area, we encourage you to wear comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing. 

Will I receive copies of speaker presentations?

Yes. All presentations will be shared with participants for review and use after the conference.

Will I be able to get a list of conference participants?

Yes. After the conference is complete, the list of participants and speakers will be posted for further follow up. We suggest you bring business cards, as we provide networking opportunities and highly encourage communities to meet and share information.

Is this conference the right fit for me?

• For entrepreneurs: This year, we've added a breakout session track designed specifically for entrepreneurs. You can find more information about the Entrepreneur Resources track above. Beyond these breakout sessions, this conference also serves to connect entrepreneurs to a broad ecosystem of service providers, economic development professionals, and regional resource partners.

• For out-of-town guests: While we are proud to showcase St. Joseph, this conference is built on perspectives from across Greater Minnesota. We bring in stories and strategies from across the region and state so you can leave with insights to spark action in your own community.

• For community champions (beyond economic development): You don’t need to be a formal economic developer to attend! We thrive when we have a mix of chambers, schools, local government, service clubs, and non-profits in the room. Bringing a diverse team from your town ensures that when you return home, you can bridge the gaps between different sectors to build a truly integrated and resilient support network for your local entrepreneurs.