CEDA

Community Economic Development Associates

Goodhue County

Zumbrota, MN

Zumbrota MN Economic Development

Zumbrota – Minnesota

Zumbrota is located between the Twin Cities and Rochester off Highway 52.

Located along the North Fork of the Zumbro River and is home to the last functioning covered bridge in the state of Minnesota.

  • County: Goodhue
  • Region: Southeast MN
  • Zip Code: 55992
  • City Website
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Kurt Meister

Kurt Meister

Community & Business Development Specialist
Zumbrota, MN
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Kurt became a member of the CEDA team in July of 2022.  As a graduate of South Dakota State University in Brookings (Go Jackrabbits!!) with a Bachelor of Arts in History, and a Masters Degree from the University of Minnesota, Kurt taught AP and regular Human Geography at John Marshall High School in Rochester for 23 years.
Kurt grew up in the community of Hamilton, Illinois and is passionate in helping small communities succeed.  His father was a 3rd generation small business owner (Meister Music - Keokuk, IA) which will aid Kurt as he helps the community of Zumbrota in its growth.

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Munira Alimire

Munira Alimire

Planning Specialist
Zumbrota, MN
Planning Department
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Munira joined CEDA in September 2022 as a Planning Specialist for the City of Zumbrota and the CEDA Planning Department.  As a graduate of Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies, Munira cares about helping communities develop, evolve, and solve long-lasting issues. Munira hails from Rochester, Minnesota and is passionate about preparing Southeastern Minnesota for the future.

Lake City, MN

Lake City Minnesota Economic Development

Lake City – Minnesota

Lake City lies along Lake Pepin, a wide portion of the Mississippi River.

Lake City is located 65 miles southeast of the Twin Cities at the intersection of U.S. Highways 61 and 63 on the Mississippi River at Lake Pepin..

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Cailin Richard

Cailin Richard

Community & Business Development Specialist
Goodhue, MN
Lake City, MN / Port Authority
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Cailin joined CEDA in October 2021 as a Community and Economic Development Specialist for the City of Lake City. Cailin is originally from Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019 with a degree in Real Estate & Urban Analysis and Economics. Before joining the CEDA team, Cailin worked in the retail sector as a Merchandise Planner for Abercrombie & Fitch. In addition to her professional business experience, she has a background in nonprofit management focused in fundraising, youth development and housing assistance.

Cailin has a passion for serving local communities and its residents, and is especially interested in housing, marketing, tourism and community engagement. She is excited to leverage her prior nonprofit and professional experience to integrate herself into the communities she serves and help them grow.

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Ben Strand

Ben Strand

Community & Business Development Specialist
Lake City, MN / Port Authority
Wabasha, MN
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Ben Strand has lived in Winona since 2012 when he started his freshman year at Winona State University studying Journalism and English Writing. While in school he worked at the Winona Daily News for three years covering arts and culture and education. He also spent a year working at the Pump House Regional Arts Center in La Crosse, WI. He started getting involved in Winona’s arts and culture community by hosting monthly open-mic poetry events in 2014 and volunteering for various music and arts festivals in the region. During his last year of school he co-founded Treedome Productions, a multi-media entertainment production company presently located in Rochester, MN. Ben is a cohort of the 2018 Blandin Community Leadership Program and 2019 Leadership Winona program.

Prior to starting with CEDA in June 2022, Ben spent three years at the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce as the Main Street Program Manager working with the city’s downtown district and aiding in its economic development and revitalization.

Ben is extremely passionate about rural community development and rural downtowns. He looks forward to contributing to the growth and development of Lake City and Wabasha in the coming years, as a lot of important projects are in progress that will have drastic and positive impacts on the community.

Pine Island, MN

Pine Island MN Economic Development

Pine Island – Minnesota

City of Pine Island Minnesota is located 15 miles north of Rochester, and 45 miles south of St. Paul..

Located along the beautiful banks of the Zumbro River.

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Mitch Massman

Mitch Massman

Community & Business Development Specialist
Pine Island, MN
Red Wing, MN
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Mitch joined the CEDA team in April as a Community and Business Development Specialist for the City of Pine Island. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with his primary focus in Finance and Financial Industry Management. Mitch’s background is in sales, customer experience, and relationship management. He has spent the last 5 years working at a regional bank where he started as a teller in 2014. His most recent position that he held for 3 years was as a banker where he specialized in loan profiling as well as relationship management.

Mitch is originally from Caledonia, Minn., where he spent his entire childhood. He moved to Winona after graduating High School for college and lived there for 5 years. He and his wife moved to the Twin Cities area for 2 years and then moved back to the Southeast MN area in 2016. He enjoys spending time with his wife, dog, and two cats, as well as getting outdoors both hunting and playing golf.

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Sandra Drees

Sandra Drees

Community & Business Development Specialist
Stewartville, MN
Pine Island, MN
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Sandra joined the CEDA team in June of 2022 as a Community and Business Specialist for the City of Stewartville. Her experience prior to joining CEDA dealt primarily with sales, marketing, and customer relations. This allowed her to grow in the way she builds relationships with those around her, and her ability to get a true understanding of the wants and needs of those she is working with.

Sandra grew up on a small beef farm in Southern Minnesota where her passion for rural economic development stemmed from. In her free time, she enjoys fishing, traveling, and spending time with her family. She is excited to join the CEDA family and to help serve her communities!

Goodhue County, MN

Goodhue County MN Economic Development

Goodhue County – Minnesota

Goodhue County is located in southeastern Minnesota.

  • Red Wing (county seat)
  • Bellechester (part)
  • Cannon Falls
  • Dennison (part)
  • Goodhue
  • Kenyon
  • Lake City (part)
  • Pine Island (part)
  • Wanamingo
  • Zumbrota
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Ron Zeigler

Ron Zeigler

President and CEO
Goodhue County
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Ron is the CEO/President of CEDA and reports directly to the agency’s Board of Directors. He joined CEDA in 2004 after a decade with the Lake City EDA and nearly twenty years experience with both private and public community and economic development. His prior affiliations with a private development company and the public sector, and now a non-profit agency, have given Ron a unique perspective on the many angles of development projects.

Ron is a graduate of the National Development Council and holds a BA from the University of Minnesota–Morris. He is a board member of the Southeast Minnesota 504 Corporation.