SMSU to host the Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Student Entrepreneurship Field Day

High school and college entrepreneurs will be meeting at Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) on Friday, March 25 to network with one another, pitch business ideas, get feedback from seasoned entrepreneurs, and tour local businesses.

According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, 94% of all Minnesota businesses employ less than 50 employees. Small business start-ups are critical to the economic vitality of southwest Minnesota. SMSU, local high schools and regional businesses are working together to create an entrepreneurial culture in southwest Minnesota. Students are being mentored by local business owners and working toward launching their own businesses. This event will provide students with the opportunity to pitch their business ideas and receive feedback from other students and veteran entrepreneurs.

Keynote speaker Austin Brooks is the executive director of Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship. The event also includes a tour at local industries Action Trackchair and Walnut Grove Mercantile.

Several groups are partnering to plan and host this event:

• SMSU Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship — Promotes developing the entrepreneurial mindset through experiential learning and community outreach with a goal to enhance the economic viability of the 18-county area of the MN Southwest Region.

• Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce — The largest professional business membership organization in Lyon County that supports the interests of 580+ members and advocates for a strong community.

• Midland CEO Chapters (Southwest and West Central) — A year-long high school course designed to utilize business partnerships to teach business development and the entrepreneurial processes.

• Launch Your Future Today (LYFT) Pathways — An 18-county career and technical education initiative to help high school students find meaningful careers that match our regional economic needs.

• Southwest West Central Service Cooperative — A regional education service agency that provides a wide variety of services to 50+ public and private high schools in an 18-county service area.

• Minnesota West Carl Perkins Consortium — A partnership of 38 high schools and 5 colleges campuses, working with our partners, to help improve the quality of career and technical education in the region.

SMSU to be site of Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy

Southwest Minnesota State University will be the site of a Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy Regional Learning Center.

The Learning Center will be housed in the Individualized Learning (IL) building on campus, said Dr. James Smalley, associate professor of Social Work.

The Child Welfare Training Academy is a collaboration between the Child Safety and Permanency Division at the Department of Human Services and the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

“In the past, child protection workers in the various counties went to the Twin Cities for training. There is a need for training every few months,” said Smalley. “This will benefit the 18 counties in the Southwest Region by allowing those workers a more central and convenient training site.”

The first training at the new site will begin in April, he said. “Hosting the Regional Learning Center on campus fits well with the university’s mission,” said Smalley.

Smalley said that the trainer at the SMSU site is Kristin Malin, who was formerly with Southwest Health and Human Services.

The SMSU site brings to three the number of Child Welfare Training Academies in the state. Through legislation passed in 2019, four regional academies are to be established, and one in the metro area. Other sites include Duluth and Detroit Lakes.

Smalley said he’s happy to have the Regional Learning Center at SMSU.

“We have a child welfare program through our Social Work major,” he said. “What we do is get students ready to work in child protection and child welfare. They put out an RFP (for the Regional Learning Center), and we submitted a bid and were selected. It’s a nice fit.”