It’s a time for the gathering of the tribes.

With many parts of our region facing unprecedented challenges, community and business leaders from the Mankato area will gather for a two-day retreat starting on Sunday in Chaska.

Why?

Well, according to the committee’s stated goal, it is to “strengthen our commitment to creating the Greater Mankato region as a thriving place to live, learn, work and do business.”

Put more directly, things aren’t the way they used to be and we can’t count on them returning to the same place. It’s time to learn more about what is happening, hear the best guesses about what is going to happen and prepare to make the best choices that can affect what should happen.

I will be at this meeting and, given its importance, will be reporting real-time on our FreePressNotes blog while the event unfolds.

According to the draft agenda, attendees will hear what challenges face those economic areas critical to the region including agriculture, energy, retail and hospitality, health care, banking and finance, education and manufacturing. Where do we stand? What effects are we all feeling? What plans are in the works? How can we work together to better the situation for our region? It’s a tough world out there and we need to be sure we are stronger and better prepared.

A chunk of time has been set aside on the second day to address the challenges already facing the region’s nonprofits, seeing cuts in donations and with some worried about their own survival. Sessions are designed to examine ways to help.

To the earlier critics, this is no junket.

It’s an intense schedule with buses leaving Sunday at 8:15 a.m. (sharp! I might add), arriving at 9:30 a.m. and starting immediately with an opening session on goals and introductions. Speakers include some heavy hitters such as Jean Taylor of Taylor Corp discussing manufacturing; Dave Brennan, retailing expert from University of St. Thomas discussing retailing; Rebekah Kent of Bio-Business Alliance on energy and agriculture; John Elmore, US Bank vice president of community banking on financial industry and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor Jim McCormick on education.

There will be back-to-back meetings throughout the day, ending with Congressman Tim Walz scheduled to speak until 8:30 p.m. on the economic stimulus package and what it means for southern Minnesota. That’s a pretty full day by anyone’s count.

Monday’s featured sessions start at 9 a.m. and include such speakers as Peter Hutchinson, CEO of the Bush Foundation and John Pratt, CEO of the Minnesota Council on Nonprofits, as well as an economic report from Dan McElroy, commissioner of the state economic development arm DEED. Meetings will be held until 5:15 p.m. when buses head back to Mankato.

While I’m there (and if the Internet gods are smiling), I will be providing highlights, insights and observations throughout the meeting and posting it at FreePressNotes on www.mankatofreepress.com. Come check in from time to time and follow the progress.



Jim Santori is publisher of The Free Press. Contact him at jsantori@mankatofreepress.com