A New Plan for Albert Lea and Freeborn County

We are excited to announce that we will be developing a joint economic development strategic plan with our partners; the City of Albert Lea, Freeborn County, Albert Lea – Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, and the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau. The plan will bring together a broad group of stakeholders to create a five-year economic development strategic plan.

ALEDA Board president, Sarah Nelson, said of the plan to partner with Ady Advantage and ALEDA partners, “We have a rare opportunity with our new community leaders to collaborate on a strategic plan with Ady Advantage. The fresh ideas and revived energy will be channeled into created a plan that provides guardrails and guidelines for projects – it will provide focus.”

The process will be led by Ady Advantage, a specialized economic development and site selection consultancy that serves the needs of economic development organizations (EDOs) and relocating and expanding companies. Ady Advantage uses their in-depth knowledge of what businesses need to help EDOs craft effective business and talent recruitment, retention and expansion strategies and initiatives.

Albert Lea Mayor, Vern Rasmussen, Jr., is looking forward to “the collaboration of everyone in the community and the opportunity to invite residents to give their input and feedback on the plan. The plan will give us expectations and benchmarks to evaluate the progress our community makes towards securing our future and will lay out the goals of our community and how those goals will be achieved.”

County Commissioner and chair, Christopher Shoff, feels that this is a great opportunity for the county to become an active partner in economic development, noting that “A better growth rate and a better local economy can directly effect the county budget.”

A series of stakeholder engagement activities including roundtable discussions will be conducted on October 8^th. ALEDA invites local business owners and business leaders to be a part of this process.

Later in the process opportunities for public input will be available, including a presentation to the community of the draft report once ready. The dates of the presentation will be announced later this fall. Interested business owners and leaders – please contact Noelle Hagen at 507-373-3930 or noellehagen@growalbertlea.com to participate on October 8^th.

ALEDA is the local economic development organization made up of two separate entities – the City of Albert Lea Port Authority and Greater Jobs, Inc.  If you are a new or expanding business looking for assistance, please contact ALEDA at 507-373-3930 or visit www.growalbertlea.com.