The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) recently approved a $20,000 grant to fund an eNavigator position to provide regional entrepreneurial guidance for the City of Winthrop in 2026.

Looft said Winthrop received SMIF funding for business guidance for the second year in a row.

“We accomplished two goals with the grant funding last year–We hired an eNavigator to build a website (https://17mileedc.com/ and hold in-person meetings with businesses and work on financial details,” he said.

Looft said Winthrop’s eNavigator (Former Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce President Mary Hodson) has been really good about reaching out to entrepreneurs and doing business in Winthrop, Gibbon and Fairfax.

Staff photo by Fritz Busch Winthrop City Administrator/EDA Director Michael Looft is pictured in front of The Lavender Boutique, a women’s apparel, accessories and gift store on 2nd Street East in downtown Winthrop.

“It’s about connecting all three communities,” he said.

Looft said city administrators and EDA directors wear so many hats now days. “It’s nice to have one person do this. It’s more affordable for all three communities to work together. If we each did it along, the cost would be tripled,” he said. “There’s a lot to do with economic development, especially agricultural businesses starting up. Our eNavigator Mary (Hodson) visited with 36 businesses for us. She will continue to work for us with economic development in 2026.”

According to the 17 Mile EDC website, the eNavigator first objective is to support entrepreneurs while they begin their business journey by meeting with them, providing business plan sources and support, directing them to property entities to set up their business, review and advise business plans and provide feedback.

The second objective is to build relationships and community goodwill with topic specific resources for support, education and opportunity. Then the eNavigator reviews and advises on business needs and opportunities, provides feedback on business documents and creates educational opportunities based on common business challenges.

The third objective is to provide each city with data on community challenges and opportunities for great engagement and education.

The 17 Mile Economic Development Corridor (EDC) is a regional initiative dedicated to fostering economic vitality in Fairfax, Gibbon and Winthrop. The mission is to unite local civic organizations, businesses and residents to collaborate on projects and initiatives to strengthen the region’s economy, create new opportunities and improve the quality of life for everyone.

Thooft said goals for 2026 include starting the networking process with more in-person meetings with businesses and letting Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop (GFW) High School students know they have options to start their own businesses in their hometowns.

“It’s pretty rare for three communities to work together on something, but we have the opportunity to do it. We have some new business owners in town starting from the ground up. They’re connecting with similar businesses in larger towns like Hutchinson and New Ulm,” he said. “We’re trying to build other connections too, with things like police, fire and ambulance services. Winthrop has a police K9 unit, which is pretty rare for a town of its size. We help out other cities with it too. We’ll need to work on other projects too. It’s too costly to do everything alone.”

Thooft said SMIF is really excited about the regional approach of Winthrop, Gibbon and Fairfax.

The City of Blue Earth also received a $20,000 SMIF grant for its Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) program to coordinate initiatives, support business and leverage partnerships to strengthen the local and regional economy.

For more information, visit https://17mileedc.com/#top.