small business: James J Hill The Great Northern Railroad and its history in St Cloud MN - 07/20/10 09:17 AM
The Great Northern Railroad founded by James J Hill plays a key roll in the history of St. Cloud MN.
James J Hill faced great adversity and turned it into great success. Known as The Empire Builder, he was a Minnesota entrepreneur extraordinaire. The statue in his honor in St. Cloud stands 20 feet tall and is carved out of granite.
Born in 1838, later blinded in the right eye by an accident with a bow and arrow, and forced to quite school due to the death of his father, he gained his knowledge from his work.
In 1873 a severe international economic depression happened. Banks were failing, unemployment hit 14% and Britian was … (6 comments)

small business: St Cloud Civic Center home of The Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame - another reason to love St Cloud MN - 07/03/10 05:22 PM
"If you build it, they will come!" The St Cloud Civic Center is already a destination for events large and small in the heart of downtown St Cloud MN. Nestled against the west bank of the Mississippi River between the new Highway 23 bridge and the Veterans Bridge (St. Germain) the Civic Center connects to the Kelly Inn and the Downtown Radisson and is walking distance to much of St Cloud's nightlife (entertainment venues).
Trade shows, conventions, training seminars, weddings, concerts and graduations all have come to the Civic Center. But few people know this facility also houses the Minnesota Ametuer … (1 comments)

small business: The entrepreneurial Spirit is HERE - another wonderful reason to love St Cloud MN - 07/01/10 06:20 PM
The entrepreneurial Spirit is here - another wonderful reason to love St Cloud MN
With the 4th of July just 2 days away, and after posting about Clemens Gardens yesterday, I got to thinking about all of the entrepreneurs we have and have had in St Cloud and how proud I am to be a part of such a successful community of business minded people.
Minnesotans are a hearty group. Always pushing forward, I do not know if it has to do with the short growing season, or the sometimes deeply cold weeks in winter, but we, generally speaking, have a stick-to-itiveness that never … (2 comments)