Potato Days Williams

The 63rd Annual Potato Days celebration will be held this weekend in Williams, Minnesota.

Festivities include a Friday night chili cook off at  the Williams Liquor Store. On Saturday the fun continues with a pancake breakfast, parade, entertainment, potato cook-off, kiddie parade, vendor fair, horseshoe tournament, queen coronation & more. Drawing for prizes will take place throughout the day.

The small town of Williams holds a variety of annual events that attracts locals & visitors from across the country! “Days filled with tradition, family, friends and fun, we guarantee you will feel right at home, no matter if you’ve lived here your whole life, or you’re just stopping by for a visit.”

For more information on events in Williams, MN click here.

Take a Kid Hunting Weekend is Sept. 24-25, 2016

News Release: MNDNR, September 19, 2016

Take a Kid Hunting Weekend is Sept. 24-25

Small game hunting is the focus of Take a Kid Hunting Weekend this Saturday, Sept. 24, and Sunday, Sept. 25, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

During the weekend, adult Minnesota residents accompanied by a youth under age 16 can hunt small game without a license, but must comply with open seasons, limits and other regulations.

“Making sure youth have a good experience is a big part of this weekend,” said Mike Kurre, DNR mentoring program coordinator. “With the focus on the youth, the whole experience becomes important, everything from spotting animal tracks or a bee hive in a tree to hunting safely and having fun.”

Adults can help youth have a good experience by listening to what youth need, and together they can learn the lessons of the forests and fields, added Kurre.

“Having an adult continue over the years to mentor a young hunter is extremely important in helping that hunter continue the pursuit as an adult,” he said.

For more information on small game hunting and hunting regulations, see the MN DRN hunting webpage.

Daycare Providers Needed

Want to make a difference, work from home, own your own business, & care for your own children while earning extra income? Become a licensed daycare provider! Start up grants may be available. Read below for details on becoming a licensed daycare provide or contact Joanna for more information at 218-634-2642.

Why is it important to license child care?

Parents who use child care entrust their children to a care provider for many hours each day. Licensing child care helps protect the health and safety of children by requiring that providers meet minimum standards for care and physical environment.

How do child care centers differ from other child care?

In Minnesota, licensed child care is provided through either family child care or child care centers. Family child care is generally provided in the caregiver’s home and no more than 14 children can be cared for at any one time. A child care center, generally, is characterized by a location other than the provider’s or caregiver’s residence, larger numbers of children being cared for, and staff qualification and training requirements.

Scholarships from Child Care Aware:

Training Reimbursement Scholarships
 Child Care Aware of Minnesota offers scholarships for up to $300 that allow child care providers to take approved* training that meets CDA requirements. Please note: If you are taking the Minnesota Child Care Credential, you are not eligible for the training scholarship.

Turn to them for help with:
• Supplies and equipment grants
• Funding for training and professional development opportunities

R.E.E.T.A.I.N. (Retaining Early Educators Through Attaining Incentives Now)

is designed to offer incentives to keep strong, well-trained professionals in the field and working with the same group of children over time.

R.E.E.T.A.I.N. bonuses are awarded annually. The bonuses range from $500 to $3,500 and can be used to cover program or personal expenses. They are intended to improve the child care professionals’ bottom line.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA

is a higher education scholarship program intended to help early childhood and school-age care professionals increase their levels of education, compensation, and commitment to the field.

Parent Aware

Parent Aware is a quality rating system that helps Minnesota parents find high-quality child care and early education providers.   It works like this:
• Child care providers volunteer to participate in the program and receive a star rating based on a set of quality measures.
• Star ratings are made available to families to use when they shop for child care.
• Participating providers receive support and coaching to improve their rating and maintain top quality.

IDEA Competition

IDEA Competition – Turning Great Ideas Into Great Businesses

Successful business start with hard work, the right connections, and a flash of inspiration. If you have an innovative business idea and want to take it to the next level, the IDEA competition can help. The IDEA competition will add momentum to your business strategy, whether you’ve never started a business or already in business.

How does one enter?

The process to enter the competition is rather simple – fill out and submit the online application form and submit the required $150 application fee. All eligible applications are advanced to round one of the competition. Application fees will be refunded for those applications which are deemed ineligible.

Register by clicking here -> ideacompetition.org
Deadline to register is January 5th, 2017

What do you need to know about the IDEA process?

Application process – the IDEA process starts with submitting an application. Once you have submitted your application, IDEA will review it for eligibility. If your application is deemed eligible, you will be accepted into the first round of the competition. If it is deemed ineligible, your application fee will be returned to you.

Round One – for the first round, you will have to submit a business plan, startup costs, and cash flow projections. The IDEA judging panel will review and score your materials and provide you with feedback on your plan and financials. The highest scoring round one applications will be advanced to the IDEA finals.

Finals – if you are chosen as an IDEA finalist, you will be asked to refine your business plan and financials based on the feedback you have received from round one. You will also be required to create a 30 second video and an oral presentation for the IDEA judging panel. Winning the Competition Based on the final business plan, financials, video, and oral presentation, the final judging panel will select up to three winners which will each receive a $10,000 cash award, valuable professional services (accounting, legal, marketing), and attention in the media. Finalists who are not selected as Grand Prize winners will each receive a $1,000 cash award.

All IDEA participants are winners. Simply going through the process has helped past participants refine their business strategies and better position themselves for commercial success.

For questions or comments contact Ryan Zemek, EDA Director, at 218.333.6541, rzemek@hrdc.org

“Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.” – Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks.

Find Daycare Using Parent Aware

Parent Aware is a quality rating system that helps Minnesota parents find high-quality child care and early education providers.   It works like this:

  • Child care providers volunteer to participate in the program and receive a star rating based on a set of quality measures.
  • Star ratings are made available to families to use when they shop for child care.
  • Participating providers receive support and coaching to improve their rating and maintain top quality.

If you are currently a daycare provider in the area, click here to sign up to become a member of parent aware so new families to the area can find you.

If you are new to the area and looking for daycare options, click here to see those who are already signed up with parent aware.

ANI Pharmaceuticals of Baudette Announces FDA Approval and Immediate Launch of Nilutamide Tablets

ANI Pharmaceuticals on July 18, 2016 announced the immediate launch of its generic of Nilandron (nilutamide) tablets following the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug. This is the first generic of the drug, which is indicated to treat metastatic prostate cancer in combination with surgical castration.

Arthur S. Przybyl, ANI’s President and CEO stated, “The nilutamide approval exemplifies ANI’s strategic focus to introduce high barrier niche generic products.  We are excited to have secured approval for a first-to-market generic that represents ANI’s second entry into the anti-cancer market and leverages our specialized high-potent manufacturing capability at our plant inBaudette, MN.

“The nilutamide launch is ANI’s eighth new product launch since the beginning of the second quarter of 2016. The previously-announced launches were hydrocortisone rectal cream 1% and 2.5%, Inderal® LA capsules, propranolol ER capsules, mesalamine enema, fenofibrate 50mg and 150mg capsules, oxycodone 5mg capsules, and hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection USP 250mg/mL.  The launches are the direct result of internal product development, acquisitions and partnered distribution and represent the combined strategic approach to ANI’s product line expansion.”

ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is looking for people to join their fast growing pharmaceutical company! View current job opportunities at ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. by clicking here. ANI offers full-time employees competitive wages, a progressive work environment with career progression and advancement opportunities, Health, Dental, Vision and Life Insurance, Short-term and Long-term Disability, 401K with Company Match, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Paid Time Off, and 11 Company Paid Holidays, and last but certainly not least, the opportunity to work with the best of the best, and grow and develop right along with the company.