​As much as Minnesotans don’t like to be prideful, we have much to be proud of, even beyond our Olympic athletes. We have a strong business legacy of entrepreneurship and innovation that provides a high quality of life for citizens in every corner of the state.
 
Douglas County employers and employees have weathered the storm of the last year and a half, and so has Minnesota’s economy. And despite enormous challenges this legislative session, business leaders spoke up and policymakers passed policies that will help our economy continue to persevere and create jobs and opportunity well into the future.
 
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 190,000 businesses accepted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, so they could not only keep their businesses afloat, but keep employees on payroll as well. It was up to the Legislature to conform to federal tax law, or these loans would be taxed, penalizing these businesses.
 
Businesses from this area and throughout the state stepped up to show lawmakers exactly why these loans were important, asking them not to be taxed.
 
Legislators stepped up, and came together on a tri-partisan basis to conform with federal law and prevent these loans from further taxation. We join the hundreds of thousands of affected businesses in thanking legislators for making this happen.
 
We want to thank the local business people and business advocates who made their voice heard at the Capitol this year, and the lawmakers who listened. We remain committed to working with our elected officials to help Minnesota’s economy – and both employers and employees – come out of the COVID-19 pandemic strong and set up for long-term success. 

Chad Meyer is one of the owners at Garden Canter Lanes, Fat Daddy's Bar & Grill, and Broadway Ballroom Event Center. Garden Center Lanes has 34 lanes, a large arcade, and a full service pro shop. Garden Center also offers a casual dining restaurant, Fat Daddy's Bar & Grill. This restaurant features an American style menu and 30 different draft beer selections. Broadway Ballroom Event Center is a banquet center with capacity to seat 500 guests ready to host a wedding, holiday party and more!

By Jess Ptacek, Program & Events Coordinator, Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce

The Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce recently launched a new online Job Board. This board acts as a hub for local job openings. With quick apply, location, industry and employment type searches, job alerts, resume upload and more, it has several great features that make it a desirable option for both job seekers and employers. Read on to learn more…

Employers:

• Chamber members may post jobs for free; non-members pay a fee to post.
• Post open positions including job description, salary range, and attach documents with additional information.
• All posted jobs are immediately shared to the Chamber’s social media pages.
• Upgrade to a featured listing to really boost a post. Featured listings are pinned to the top of the board, highlighted and submitted to the Google Jobs Network. Chamber members receive a discounted upgrade price for featured listings.
• Enable ‘quick apply’ to view all applicants in one place, get notified when someone applies, and easily approve or reject candidates with the click of a button.
• Select the number of days the job should be posted (30, 60 or 90). After the selected number of days, the post will automatically deactivate.
• Easily renew, upgrade, or edit the job post by signing in and clicking on ‘manage posts’.
• Review applicants and number of views from the ‘manage posts’ section.
• Newsletters are sent every 2-4 weeks highlighting newly posted jobs.

​Job Seekers:

• View available jobs and the information provided by employers right from the home page.
• Create an account to easily view jobs and utilize the ‘quick apply’ option, which allows easy flow from one open position to another and fast applying.
• Post a resume to the ‘Resume Bank’ for employers to view as they seek candidates for open positions.
• Sign up for job alerts using your email address to receive emails when a new job is posted.

 
The new Job Board is user-friendly and easy to navigate. To get started, visit www.alexandriamn.org and click on Jobs from the Live Here dropdown menu. Reach out to the Alexandria Chamber if you have questions or need help with navigation. Email info@alexandriamn.org or call 320-763-3161.