December's Spotlight is on Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist at the City of Elk River, Minnesota.

It’s the most….. wonderful time….. of…. the year!

Season’s Greetings Mid-America EDC Members. 

We hope you were able to join us for our Virtual Competitiveness Conference and Site Selector Forum.   A reminder to those who were able to attend -  all sessions were recorded and you can access them anytime via the Whova app - https://whova.com/.

As we close the final chapter on 2020, we are excited to spotlight yet another one of our dedicated volunteer board members.  

We miss seeing everyone in-person at our conferences, so we hope these emails serve as a networking opportunity to meet our team that has a diversified background in economic development. 

This month, we are featuring Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist at the City of Elk River,  MN.    Feel free to reach out to Colleen anytime if you think she could be a resource to you!  Contact information below.

Q.1      Tell us about yourself!   How long have you been on the Mid-America EDC board?  What are your economic development interests? 

I have been the Economic Development Specialist with the City of Elk River, MN for almost seven years. I got the economic development bug after working in the chamber world for seven years. I had the pleasure of joining the Mid America EDC board in January 2017.  And I am a Hodag – look it up! I pride myself on the relationships I have built and maintained over the years and the knowledge that I have gained in this position. There is no limit to what you can learn and do when it comes to economic development!

As far as my economic development interests - I love working with our business community and hearing their stories! Elk River is home to over 50 manufacturing companies; several of which started in family garages. There is an innovative spirit among various manufacturing businesses, who saw a need and invented parts or whatever they needed. One of these businesses is now being led by the third generation!

Q.2      What are your professional specialties?  What can Mid-America EDC members call or email you on to discuss?

Business Retention and Expansion, City-Business Partnerships, and Business Attraction (Data Center Industry specific). I have been lucky enough to work with our county on marketing their shovel ready 28 acre parcel. The site is adjacent to two data centers, so naturally we are marketing this site for another data center. Marketing is also in partnership with our municipal utility. I have had the pleasure of attending various data center focused trade shows and conferences and have presented at a couple local summits.

Q.3   Tell us about Elk River and what’s an exciting economic development project right now that you’re working on?

The most exciting and anticipated project is the Elk River Economic Development Authority’s Strategic Plan. We started working on this right when the pandemic hit. The Elk River Economic Development Authority allocated funds to outsource the facilitation of a strategic plan. And to boot the city is working on an update to the city’s comprehensive plan. So 2021 is set to be an exciting time for Elk River. From housing redevelopment projects, to the 169 Redefine (a Corridor of Commerce project which will expand US Highway 169 into a freeway), to a potential downtown redevelopment which would increase retail opportunities and housing in the downtown corridor; Elk River is the place to be in 2021!  

Feel free to reach out to Colleen at  Ceddy@ElkRiverMN.gov or 763.635.1041