Please click on the following links or scroll to the text below to read two news releases distributed by the Minneapolis Community Development Agency today.
MCDA Publishes Guide for Business Entrepreneurs http://www.mcda.org/whats_new/Newsreleases/business_guide.htm The Minneapolis Economic Development Company to Honor Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota for Assisting Small Business http://www.mcda.org/whats_new/Newsreleases/MEDC2001.htm December 6, 2001 For more information contact: Iric Nathanson, Business Finance (612) 673-5183 TTY: (612) 673-5154 Marjorie Casey, Communications (612) 673-5044 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MCDA PUBLISHES GUIDE FOR BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURS (MINNEAPOLIS) - Aspiring entrepreneurs now have a resource guide that can help them plan and operate new businesses in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Community Development Agency's "Starting a Business in Minneapolis: A Practical Guide" helps new business owners navigate through the city's regulatory processes and provides practical information on loan funds, business plans and technical assistance. This 40-page guide, the first of its kind published by a city agency, provides tips on working with commercial bankers and explains how start-up businesses with little or no equity can access community loan funds. The guide also provides a list of useful small business Web sites and the text of city regulations that affect home-based businesses and other neighborhood-based businesses in Minneapolis. "We think the guide will be particularly useful for new residents," said Steve Cramer, MCDA's executive director. "Minneapolis has a wealth of resources to help new businesses, but these resources can be hard to find." The booklet, illustrated by Chank Diesel, a northeast Minneapolis artist who was featured on the cover of the Wall Street Journal last year, provides information about technical assistance, financing and local regulations in one easy-to-read publication. "We have distilled our ten years of experience helping thousands of Minneapolis businesses into this publication," said Bob Lind, manager of the Business Finance Department. Lind said that MCDA hopes to translate the guide into Spanish, Hmong and Somali. Area residents can obtain a copy of the guide free of charge by calling MCDA BusinessLink at (612) 673-LINK (5465). For an online copy of the business guide or more information about the Minneapolis Community Development Agency, visit the agency's Web site at http://www.mcda.org/whats-new.htm. ### December 6, 2001 For more information, contact: Michelle Mueller, MEDC (612) 673-5070 TTY: (612) 673-5154 Elizabeth Haugen, MCDA Communications (612) 673-5121 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDC TO HONOR WELLS FARGO BANK MINNESOTA FOR ASSISTING SMALL BUSINESS (MINNEAPOLIS) - Minneapolis Community Development Agency (MCDA) Executive Director Steve Cramer and Economic Development Director Terrell Towers will present Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, N.A. with the Minneapolis Economic Development Company's (MEDC) leading Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 lender award during the annual meeting of the MEDC membership. The meeting will be at the Courtyard by Marriott at The Depot, Minneapolis, Tuesday, December 11. Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, N.A. will receive the 2001 leading 504 lender award for participating with the MEDC in the most SBA 504 closings for this year. "Wells Fargo is a strong small business lender in Minneapolis," says Cramer. "It has been a consistent partner with the MCDA and the MEDC in assisting businesses to expand. It is a true asset to the community." The MEDC is an SBA-certified development company located within the MCDA, which is authorized to provide access to SBA 504 financing. Since 1983, the MEDC has worked with numerous partners on more than 143 projects, providing over $91 million in construction and equipment financing and creating 3,253 new jobs. The MEDC offers fixed-rate long-term financing for expanding businesses to purchase equipment or buy existing or new facilities. Private lenders finance up to 50 percent of each loan, the MEDC 40 percent, and the owners invest 10 percent. ### Elizabeth Haugen, Communications Minneapolis Community Development Agency 105 5th Ave. S., Suite 200 Minneapolis MN 55401-2534 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (612) 673-5121 _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
