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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – APRIL 22, 2026 5 <br /> <br />Senior Planner Fransen said all of this feedback will be shared with the Chamber. The June <br />agenda isn’t set yet. She can bring presentation topics or speaker suggestions forward. She <br />suggested the fire department and possibly the event center as places to hold the events. <br /> <br />Council Liaison Rousseau said the Chamber is collaborative. She noted we have a lot of <br />connections with business owners and EDC members from Shoreview. <br /> <br />Senior Planner Fransen said changing the name from a council to a connect event may help <br />attendance. We can increase attendance with speakers and locations. <br /> <br />Commissioner Bonine said common themes are always good. One suggestion is integrating AI <br />into businesses. Bethel has a course about that. He thinks businesses would like to learn more. <br />Mature businesses are always looking for younger perspectives. How can businesses improve the <br />bottom line? What are some common things they aren’t thinking of? In the short term we can nail <br />down some of those topics. We aren’t going to make anyone an expert; we just want to pique their <br />curiosity. <br /> <br />Chair Murchie said we have access to universities. Allowing a 10-minute conversation with a <br />professor or another expert could be a draw to the event. <br /> <br />Commissioner Poelzer recalls going around the room and people introduced themselves and said <br />where they were from. The horseshoe set up for that event makes conversations more difficult. <br />She’d rather see tables of 6-8 people. She thought the event was worthwhile and she enjoyed the <br />fire department presentation. <br /> <br />Senior Planner Fransen asked if the group is okay with cancelling the June 24 EDC meeting and <br />having the June 17 Business Connect event as a special meeting of the EDC. <br /> <br />Chair Murchie said he is comfortable with that. We can make that decision in May when we have <br />a better idea of what to discuss and determine what help is still needed for the 75th Anniversary. <br /> <br />C. 75th Anniversary Update <br /> <br />Senior Planner Fransen said Staff asked EDC members to help with dispersing the sponsorship <br />information to garner support for the 75th event. EDC is being asked to make businesses aware of <br />the program. It’s important to note who has already been asked. The 75th Anniversary Committee <br />is asking for volunteers. She doesn’t have any specific tasks, she was just asked to see if there is <br />any interest from members. <br /> <br />Commissioners Brausen, Poelzer and Isik all volunteered. <br /> <br />Commissioner Poelzer said she visited 25 businesses and has 6 to still visit. She had three <br />businesses provide corporate contacts for soliciting sponsorships. She asked businesses to post the <br />flyers. She outlined the sponsorship levels. She stressed we want the event to be free to residents. <br />People were receptive and displayed the flyers immediately. <br /> <br />Senior Planner Fransen said the 75th Anniversary Committee is meeting regularly. There are <br />more opportunities to promote the event. She said the committee is planning to approach the <br />National Honor Society (NHS) to gauge interest for volunteers.