Albert Lea’s business incubator could get another injection of money – this time from the state, as the House passed the Jobs and Economic Development bill Tuesday.

Wednesday, June 27, 2001

Albert Lea’s business incubator could get another injection of money – this time from the state, as the House passed the Jobs and Economic Development bill Tuesday.

According to Rep. Dan Dorman, R-Albert Lea, the bill contains an appropriation of $100,000 for the incubator, stipulated upon a two-to-one match. With the Senate expected to pass the bill today, the state funding appears secure, Dorman said.

&uot;It looks very promising. I think the people involved in this project in Albert Lea made believers out of these legislators,&uot; he said.

For Pam Bishop, executive vice president of Greater Jobs, Inc., the state appropriation is the latest in an impressive list of grants and loans to help the project off the ground.

&uot;We’ve received the kind of support we could only hope for when we first proposed this idea,&uot; Bishop said. &uot;This state support is exciting, and really says something about the importance of economic development in Greater Minnesota.&uot;

Bishop said she heard some skepticism from the community when it was first proposed to approach the legislature for funding. But now that the state has shown its willingness to contribute, Bishop hopes her trip to St. Paul earlier this year to testify won’t be her last.

&uot;We’ll certainly continue to work with our legislators. If we get more opportunities to make our case to the legislature, we’ll try again to take advantage,&uot; she said.

New Greater Jobs board president Steve Waldhoff said the support of Dorman and Schwab was instrumental in receiving the state funds.

&uot;Without their outstanding assistance, there’s no way this project could have had a chance with the legislature. Our local legislators do so much for this county – they deserve some credit,&uot; Waldhoff said.

The incubator project makes good use of existing community infrastructure, Waldhoff said, by refurbishing a facility that the Albert Lea Port Authority already owns. It’s an example of wise use of resources that legislators appreciate, he said.

The state’s contribution of $100,000 comes on the heels of a $240,000 loan from the United State Department of Agriculture and Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services and a grant from the Initiative Fund for $15,000. The Albert Lea Port Authority and Greater Jobs, Inc. have also committed funds totaling more than $600,000, Bishop said.

The incubator, located in the North Aire Industrial Park, will be designed to help start-up companies and individual entrepreneurs develop into solid employers by offering them a modern facility, support services, business resources and technology.