Announcement: New Year, New Look for Our Newsletters!
Welcome to the first edition of the Glenwood Lakes Area Chamber’s monthly newsletter! Here, you’ll find everything from local business spotlights and community happenings to important advocacy updates for Minnesota and announcements about education opportunities for businesses. We’re also thrilled to reopen our popular "Member Spotlight" feature! If you haven’t been spotlighted yet, now’s your chance—fill out this quick form to be featured on our social media, website, and right here in the newsletter.
A friendly reminder: Kay at the Glenwood Lakes Area Welcome Center will continue sharing her weekly Community Comments each Tuesday, so keep an eye out for that as well! If you’d like to unsubscribe from either newsletter, you’ll find an option at the bottom of each email—but we hope you’ll stay connected with us as we work to support our local businesses and community! |
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Start your day with connection and community at Rise & Shine Glenwood, hosted by Glacial Ridge Health Systems on Friday, January 10, at the Glenwood Lakes Area Welcome Center. This monthly networking event begins at 7:30 a.m. and is open to both Chamber members and non-members.
Rise & Shine offers a unique opportunity to learn more about local businesses, connect with fellow community members, and hear updates on Chamber events and initiatives—all while enjoying coffee and a light breakfast. It’s the perfect setting to build relationships, exchange ideas, and discover what’s happening in the Glenwood Lakes area.
Don’t miss the business card drawing and the popular Pot of Gold Drawing, where all Chamber members are automatically entered (must be present to win!). Join us to network, share your story, and make valuable connections that support both your personal and professional growth. We look forward to seeing you there! |
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| Display Your Business on our Business Wall |
Did you know that as a Chamber member, you can display your business cards or brochures on our Business Wall in the Welcome Center? This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your business to the hundreds of visitors we welcome each year—whether they’re locals looking for services or travelers seeking information about what to do in the area. We have open spaces available, so if your materials aren’t here yet, now is the perfect time to drop some off!
If you already have brochures or cards on display, feel free to stop by anytime to replenish and restock. We're here to help promote your business, and our office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM. Take advantage of this simple yet effective way to connect with potential customers and keep your business top of mind! |
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The Member Spotlight is a fantastic way for Chamber members to gain visibility and recognition at no extra cost! Each month, we feature one of our members on the Glenwood Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook and Instagram accounts as part of this initiative. These posts are boosted (meaning we pay to increase their reach) to be seen by a larger audience, including our followers and people within a 15-mile radius of the Glenwood Lakes Area.
As a participating business, you’ll also enjoy an added benefit: your spotlight will remain featured on our website’s Member Spotlight page for at least 12 months. It’s a great opportunity to showcase your business, employees, services, or products and connect with the local community in a meaningful way.
Signing up is easy! Simply fill out the questionnaire at this link and email 1-4 high-quality photos to Sara at sara.hoffner@glenwoodlakesarea.org. These can include images of your team, location, logo, or anything that represents your organization. If you’d like to request a specific month to be featured, include that in your email. Otherwise, spotlights will be scheduled in the order we receive applications.
We hope you take advantage of this free opportunity to connect with the community, gain recognition, and experience the value of being a Chamber member! |
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Message from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce:
Right around the corner, we also have the start of the 2025 legislative session. On January 14, the Legislature will be sworn in, and the next evening, January 15, the Minnesota Chamber will host our largest event of the year, Session Priorities. This program will feature legislative leaders and the governor, and we expect a robust discussion around business policy priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
One thing I’ve pointed out previously is that Minnesotans want a balanced approach to our state policymaking. We want to improve the economy, lower costs for families and businesses, and pass reasonable, bipartisan solutions to the state's challenges. That’s what we’ve heard from voters and the business community. It’s a reminder to the Legislature and the business community that a sustainable approach to balancing the state budget is critical this year.
Why? Because it’s a budget year, and the Legislature will need to produce a budget. By constitutional requirement, it must be balanced, and they need to do this by May 19—which is not that far away. The budget is projected to spend more than it’s collecting over the next four years, based on the most recent budget forecast. Legislators need to recognize that Minnesota businesses and taxpayers cannot afford new taxes to meet this burden. Spending has increased significantly—about 38%, much of which is permanent new spending. Putting more pressure on the economy through new taxes is simply unacceptable.
We also need to address the many additional workplace mandates. In fact, if you look back to the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, 35 new workplace mandates were passed. Legislators should provide greater flexibility in how these mandates affect businesses, particularly the paid family and medical leave law that takes effect on January 1, 2026—just a year away. Employers are already raising significant questions about how this will impact the workforce and their competitiveness compared to other states.
Other state-imposed mandates, from health insurance to energy production and consumption, increase costs and weigh down the economy. We need a more effective, balanced approach to these. It’s important to identify, quantify, and address these growing burdens, which are essentially hidden taxes that increase costs for Minnesotans.
On the topic of taxes, there are steps we can take to reinvest in our economy. For example, we need to enhance the R&D tax credit—research and development—which encourages reinvestment in businesses to boost productivity. With Minnesota’s workforce now flat, reinvesting in productivity through measures like the R&D tax credit is essential for maintaining a competitive and growing economy.
Lastly, I’ll mention that we have a rare opportunity to develop a bipartisan strategy around environmental permitting. This is another topic we’ve discussed in the past. Some progress was made during the 2024 session, and we aim to build on that in 2025. Good, productive conversations are already happening with policymakers ahead of the session. Improving and reforming our environmental permitting process can bring efficiency to government and greater certainty for large industrial projects that benefit our state and communities. At the same time, we can continue to meet the high environmental standards we expect.
This is just a sampling of the issues we’re discussing with the business community and policymakers as we prepare for the January 14 start of the legislative session in Saint Paul. We look forward to seeing all of you at our January 15 Session Priorities event. If you don’t have your tickets, check out our website at mnchamber.com. There, you’ll find our events calendar and an opportunity to register for this exciting event, where we’ll discuss the business issues of the day and hear from leaders of both legislative caucuses and the governor, who we expect to attend.
Again, have a great holiday season and a happy new year! We look forward to catching up with you at our next Minnesota Business Podcast on January 10. |
Have an event or announcement you'd like to share with the community? We'd love to include it! The Community Events & Announcements section is open to all businesses, organizations, and community members—just email the details to us at chamber@glenwoodlakesarea.org.
By sharing your news with us, you’ll reach over 5,000 people every month across our social media channels, website, and newsletter. Whether it’s a fundraiser, open house, special promotion, or any community happening, we’re here to help spread the word and connect you with your audience. Let’s work together to keep our community informed and engaged! |
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Join Pope County Humane Society for a Kitten Yoga Fundraiser on January 2nd at 5pm in partnership with the Minnewaska House and our featured Yoga Instructor, Barb Ostrander. Ticket Price: $15
Purchase tickets: https://givebutter.com/YXxLvF
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Save the Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025 at Minnewaska Area High School from 10 - 2. |
| Join Us for the Rolling Forks Vineyard
Indoor Farmers Market Saturday, January 11!
A Celebration of Local, Fresh, and Handmade Goods
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