Photo by Jim Tate Mike Imes is the owner of Imes Insurance Agency in Wood Lake, farms 600 acres on the family farm site and is the head girl’s basketball coach at Lakeview High School in Cottonwood.

Free time? That’s a foreign concept to Mike Imes, owner of Imes Insurance Agency in Wood Lake.

Besides owning his insurance agency, the Wood Lake native farms 600 acres — corn and beans — on the family farm site just southeast of town. He’s also coached basketball for 30 years, the last 16 as head coach of the Lakeview girl’s basketball team. He’s an elder at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church-Posen Township. Imes has been on the Wood Lake Township Board for 18 years, the last 3 as chairman.

He attended Southwest Minnesota State University, earning a degree in business finance. He went to work at what is now 1st Independent Bank in Wood Lake for a year, then jumped into the insurance business, working as an agent for Bruce Helgeson for 20 years before starting Imes Insurance Agency in 2018.

His company handles home, farm, auto, commercial and crop coverage.

“We are an independent agency, though we do a lot of business with North Star in Cottonwood,” he said.

Imes was in the last graduating class of Echo-Wood Lake High School in 1991. His high school sweetheart and wife, Robbin (Knutson), was in the first graduating class at Lakeview High School the following year.

He’s been involved with insurance for 28 years, and has seen the industry change dramatically, especially after Covid.

Post-covid has meant larger deductibles and higher premiums, he said. “This is the first year we’ve seen it level off since 2022.”

Inflation has done its part, too.

“Fixing a windshield on a car, something that was a couple of hundred dollars in the past, is over $1,000 now,” he said. “Plus, in 2021-22 there were major wind events in the area.”

Imes has one rule of thumb when meeting with a potential client: listen.

“Find out their situation, listen to them. You don’t want to sell them more than they need. My goal is to get them adequate coverage for a price they can afford,” he said.

The upheaval in the industry has changed things in other parts of the country. “Weather is a huge factor,” he said, pointing to some companies which have pulled out of Florida altogether.

He feels a sense of satisfaction helping customers who do have a claim.

“It feels good to help get them back to where they were — to make it right,” he said.

He has a lot of loyal customers, “and I’ve tried to help them through the ups and downs. I’ve had customers who are now grandparents and are asking about renter’s insurance for a grandchild going to college. I have no problem with them shopping around. I’m fine with that. I hope they find affordable coverage for what they need, and I hope we can be competitive.”

Imes is a huge community supporter.

“I love the Wood Lake community. I grew up here, my kids grew up here, and I try to support whatever is going on in town,” he said. Likewise, he’s shown his commitment as the head coach of the Lakeview girl’s basketball team. “I get a lot of satisfaction seeing how the team progresses and how the players mature and grow up.”

His commitment includes “being involved with anything needed in town,” he said. He’s a constant presence at the Wood Lake Fair in the summer, and together with a few locals, started putting up lights on the trees next to his agency on Highway 6. Today that custom has grown and includes a community tree-lighting event in November.

“It started with Bruce and myself and a few friends and we have a lot more volunteers now. It’s now a community event that we all take pride in, .and it helps get people excited for the Christmas season,” he said.