NEW ULM — For the first time since 2019, the Career Expo will be held in the Civic Center.

This is thanks to the Park and Rec Commission, who voted to waive the center’s usual fees so the expo can be held there.

After 2019, the Expo has been held in the high school gym. The expo is for eighth through tenth-grade students in the New Ulm Area. It allows them to see the breadth of opportunities that exist locally. Park and Rec Director Joey Schugel said the expo had one main reason they wanted to move back to the Civic Center.

“Although it’s a great location at the high school, some of the vendors can’t get some of their really unique or cool items into the facility,” he said. “Thinking of vehicles, tools, and equipment the gym floor can’t handle but our arena is set up to handle. So this request is [the Civic Center] would be their preferred location.”

Schugel said the main fee waived would be their dry show day rental fee, which would be $780. He said this arrangement has been done in the past, and that having the show in the Civic Center would bring more opportunities to New Ulm.

“They do open it up to area schools and bring a lot of people in,” Schugel said, “They get as many vendors out there [as they can]. It’s really to showcase careers in New Ulm and what you could do in the future. To choose a career in New Ulm and all the great things going on here.”

The schools included in the area are all public and parochial schools in New Ulm and Sleepy Eye. Offers to attend have also been extended to the GFW, Sibley East, Madelia, and Cedar Mountain schools.

The career expo board said they have no budget for this event, and the only money they receive is $25 or $50 fees from vendors, which they use to pay for exhibitor’s lunches and student prizes.

Commissioner Jim Jensen asked Schugel about the potential of this request to open the floodgates for other fee waive requests. Schugel said there is potential for that, but the career expo is unique in its history with the building and service it provides to the community.

“We provide the space and they do the setup,” he said. “In the past, they have done a really good job with it. Their goal is not to make a profit on this; it’s more to highlight careers in New Ulm. Some of the other dry floor shows we see are for profit. If you wanted to think about a line, that’s where the difference in this request comes from.”

Jensen made the motion to approve waiving the fees for the Career Expo. Commissioner Kurt Johnson seconded the motion. The expo will be held on March 27.