Minnsights Blog

We’ve had a terrific week at the Chamber, but today I want to reflect for a minute on a recent conference that I attended for state chambers of commerce from across the country. The Association of State Chamber Professionals held its annual conference last week, and I’m so pleased to report that the Minnesota Chamber was honored during the program by the Association made up of our peers with its inaugural Pathfinder Award.

Learn more about this year's class of Leadership Minnesota participants.

The business community should be paying attention now, not waiting until November. The next Legislature will face important questions around taxes, regulation, workforce, energy, health care and the overall cost of doing business in Minnesota. This election is especially important because Minnesota’s economic competitiveness will depend on the policy choices made over the next several years. Businesses need policymakers who understand how those decisions affect employers, employees and communities across the state.

We had a terrific week because we were with our Board of Directors down in Hastings at the Confluence Hotel and Conference Center, where our Board met for its annual planning retreat. It was a very productive and very important meeting as we set the future plans for the organization.

I'm coming to you this week from Colorado Springs, where I'm participating in the national program of the Conference of State Manufacturers Associations, better known as COSMA, where we've been meeting here in Colorado Springs over the weekend. This is my peer set. These are the other organization leaders that head up manufacturing associations across the country. In the case of the Minnesota Chamber, we're not just the Chamber, we're the state’s manufacturing association as well. And I’m very pleased to be here learning and connecting with and sharing our work in Minnesota with our peers across the country.