While the national economic picture seems to darken with each passing day, the greater Mankato regional economy shows signs of stability, if not growth.
That mostly comes from a nine-county region that has a wide variety of economic activity, and is not dependent on any one sector. Many of these trends are detailed in the special Progress 2008 section of today's newspaper.
While housing has been weighing on the national economy, the local economy has not been terribly dependent on the construction industry. In most cases, construction employment in the nine county area is never much more than 10 percent of the work force. While the new home building business may be down, there are on the horizon significant construction projects that may well indeed keep local laborers busy.
The Minnesota Legislature may pass, and the governor may sign as soon as March 15, a nearly $1 billion construction bill, a third of which would go to state universities. Minnesota State University already has two projects under way and may indeed get some more of the state money.
Already approved is a $24-million project for a new Minnesota Department of Transportation building in Mankato. That figure is more than 25 percent of the total building permits issued for the city of Mankato in 2007.
Diversity and a strong manufacturing base also will contribute to the area's continued growth. While most manufacturing industries in the region have lost jobs since 2000, Waseca County has been an amazing story. There, manufacturing has actually gone against the trend and grown, adding 800 jobs from 2000 to 2006, the most recent annual data available.
While Waseca County has been growing jobs in manufacturing, Blue Earth County has been growing even more total jobs every year. From 2000 to 2006, Blue Earth County job growth has been running at an annual increase of 12 percent per year, adding about 650 jobs per year.
Most of that growth has come in the health care industry. At the same time, Blue Earth County retail trade employment and wages also are growing, and make up a full 16 percent of all jobs.
Brown County and Le Sueur County also have strong and growing manufacturing industries. Cambria in Le Sueur County is a growing company producing a new building material demanded all over the world, while Brown County has older, but steady manufacturing business that involve food processing. Demand for food products will not go away anytime soon.
Part of a diverse economy comes from having a mix of public and private economic entities. While Mankato has a good share of private businesses, it also is home to large public institutions including Minnesota State University, South Central College, and St. Peter Regional Treatment Center.
This mix of public and private employers also keeps the area insulated from large ups or downs in any one kind of business, be that public or private.
On the horizon, the partnership of the public and private businesses may be what brings the region above average growth. MSU already is working on alternative fuel technologies and the region is ripe to grow those kind of businesses with its group of nearby ethanol plants. And Mankato's location in the middle of some of the most productive agricultural land in the world will also bode well, particularly now, with farm commodity prices at record highs.
Civic leaders continue their work to make the Mankato region an attractive place to live and do business with downtown renovation projects, new parks, new green spaces and expansion of available outdoor opportunities.
So there may be dark clouds on different parts of the economic horizon, the Mankato region is very well protected from major downturns by the diversity of its economy.
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