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From YouTube: February 23, 2021 Ward 1 Community Forum
Description
Ward 1 Community Forum: Ward 1 Cooperatives & the Cooperative Economyā€¯ hosted by Council Member Kevin Reich on 2/23/2021
A
To
that
end,
nexus
has
been
a
great
partner,
exploring
different
ways
that
we
want
to
expand
how
the
city
supports
not
just
startup
cooperatives,
but
existing
businesses
that
have
been
meaningful
in
community,
typically
small
local
entrepreneurs
who
in
many
ways
act
in
the
same
way
a
cooperative
does
inherently
with
their
values
of
connection
to
community
and
family
operation.
A
Well,
a
lot
of
those
organizations
or
companies
may
be
in
a
situation
where
they
are
done
with
their
life
cycle
of
business.
What
does
it
mean
to
capture
some
of
that
energy
and
continue
it
in
a
community-spirited
sort
of
way,
and
I
believe
the
cooperative
model
is
a
tool
to
do
that
intentionally
and
nexus
will,
of
course
speak
to
that
and
then,
of
course,
the
people
who
have
operated
and
done
so
many
successful
things
in
northeast.
A
I
really
wanted
to
highlight
touch,
base
and
sort
of
share
sort
of
an
update.
I
know
several
years
ago
we
were
able
to
host
a
delegation,
an
international
delegation
in
northeast
minneapolis.
It
was
based
in
minneapolis,
but
the
fun
part
of
course
had
to
happen
in
northeast
minneapolis,
where
a
newly
minted
cooperative
brewery
in
a
cooperatively
owned
commercial
space
had
the
international
delegation
cheers
with
one
of
our
locally
made
beers
to
celebrate
the
international
power
of
a
movement,
a
long-standing
movement
of
cooperative
enterprise.
A
So
I
thought,
let's
have
a
mini
version
of
that.
Let's
touch
space,
we're
neighbors,
we
don't
necessarily
get
to
bump
into
each
other
as
well,
and
certainly
not
with
six
feet
of
distancing
we
don't
literally
bump
into
each
other,
and
sometimes
we
pass
not
even
knowing
we've
passed.
I've
had
many
phone
calls.
Where
was
that
you
in
the
grocery
store
and
I'm
like?
Was
it
a
plaid
gingham
thing
with
sunglasses
and
a
red
hat,
yeah
yeah?
That
was
me,
and
so
we
just
passed
sort
of
like
ships
in.
A
So
a
lot
of
informal
conversations
aren't
had,
but
here
we
have
a
chance
to
convene
in
this
format,
I
will
introduce
our
speakers
for
those
who
aren't
familiar
with
them,
beginning
with
benjamin
the
program
director
for
the
worker
ownership
initiative
at
nexus
community
partners,
as
well
as
representatives
from
some
of
our
local
eastside
cooperatives,
notably
john,
the
manager
of
eastside
food
cooperative
evan,
the
state
brewing
cooperative
founder
along
with
his
cohort
jeremy
from
broken
clock,
brewing
cooperative,
founder
and
jill,
one
of
the
many
members
of
the
northeast
investment
cooperative,
a
very
noteworthy
effort
that
gets
a
lot
of
attention.
A
A
So
with
that,
I
will
yield
the
floor
to
benjamin
and
see
where
the
conversation
goes
with
everyone
taking
in
turn.
D
Yeah
thanks
kevin,
so
hey
everybody
thanks
for
joining
us
this
evening.
I'm
benjamin
tsai,
director
of
the
worker
ownership
initiative
at
nexus
community
partners
and
just
wanted
to
yeah,
share
a
little
bit
about
the
work
we
do
and
the
role
we
see
cooperatives
playing
in
community
wealth
building.
So
I'm
gonna
share
my
screen
here.
D
C
D
Yeah,
maybe
we
could
switch
the
order
and
I'll
try
to
get
my
computer.
E
C
C
Okay,
council
member
right,
do
you
want
to
maybe
jump
to
some
of
your
local
friends.
A
I
think
this
was
the
first,
if
you
can
believe
it
the
first
time
I
did
that
today.
In
any
event,
how
about
we
start
with
john
eastside
food
co-op,
of
course,
is,
is
a
story
near
and
dear
to
my
heart
and
it'd
be
great
to
hear
from
john
to
see
what
he
has
to
say.
B
Thanks
kevin,
it's
it's
so
nice
to
be
here
with
everyone
tonight,
so
I
just
it's
really
good
to
be
here
with
this
amazing
group
of
people.
So,
as
kevin
said,
my
name
is
john.
I'm
the
general
manager
at
eastside,
food
cooperative,
hopefully
you're
familiar
with
us,
and
you
know
that
we're
a
natural
foods
grocery
store.
We
specialize
in
organic
and
locally
grown
and
produced
foods
and
eastside
was
formed
like
many
cooperative
businesses.
B
When
a
group
of
community
members
came
together
in
the
90s
and
they
started
to
ask
the
question:
why
don't
we
have
a
grocery
store
that
meets
our
needs
in
our
neighborhood
and
I'm
happy
to
say
that
kevin
was
one
of
those
early
supporters
of
east
side
and
through
these
conversations
and
dinner
parties,
what
started
as
a
question
really
became
a
community
owned
business
and
it
was
designed
to
specifically
meet
the
needs
of
the
flourishing
northeast
arts
and
culture.
Community
eastside
opened
its
door
to
its
community,
including
800
co-op
owners
in
december
of
2003.
B
It
had
2
million
dollars
in
sales
that
first
year
last
year,
our
ownership
counts
grew
to
9
600.
and
the
store
had
17.6
million
dollars
in
sales
through
its
17
years
of
operations.
Eastside
has
listened
closely
to
its
community
of
owners
and
shoppers
and
in
order
to
create
a
store
experience
that
not
only
meets
their
food
and
wellness
needs,
but
also
provides
a
place
where
the
community
comes
to
connect.
For
this
reason
you
know
the
pandemics
has
just
been
a
really
huge
impact
on
our
business.
B
We
we
rapidly
changed
the
way
we
conducted
our
business
last
march,
and
we
continue
to
evaluate
and
adapt
to
the
changing
conditions
that
the
pandemic
provides.
B
It's
been
difficult
for
our
business,
but
at
the
same
time,
we
feel
so
fortunate
that
we
have
jobs,
that
we
can
offer
our
to
our
employees
and
that
our
community
trusts
us
to
provide
them
with
the
safe
shopping
experience
during
these
unprecedented
times.
As
a
result
of
that,
we've
been
able
to
maintain
the
full
hours
for
for
all
of
our
115
staff
members
and
we've
also
been
really
proud
to
offer
our
staff
premium
pay
during
the
entirety
of
the
pandemic.
B
During
our
previous
fiscal
year,
we
ought,
we
paid
over
3.3
million
dollars
in
direct
wages
to
staff,
with
107
of
our
employees
living
within
10
miles
of
the
co-op.
That's
over
3
million
dollars
this
day
is
right
in
our
community.
B
The
co-op
has
become
a
really
important
part
of
building
a
strong
community,
and
it's
on
that
idea
of
building
strong
communities
that
I
just
want
to
dwell
a
little
bit.
As
I
talk
with
you
tonight.
Healthy
communities
that
allow
the
members
of
the
community
to
thrive
must
be
nourished.
B
There
was
a
recent
atlantic
book
review
that
I
read
of
alec
mcgillis
new
book
called
fulfillment
winning
and
losing
in
one
click,
america,
and
it
contained
the
sobering
statistic.
The
world's
billionaires
increased
their
wealth
by
about
a
fifth
over
the
course
of
the
last
year
to
more
than
11
trillion
dollars.
Meanwhile,
a
quarter
of
u.s
adults
said
someone
in
their
household
was
laid
off
or
lost
a
job
because
of
the
pandemic.
B
They
reported
that
before
the
pandemic,
10
and
a
half
percent
of
households
in
the
united
states
said
they.
They
experienced
food
insecurity
at
some
point
during
2019..
An
analysis
by
the
brookings
institution
in
late
june
of
2020
found
27
and
a
half
percent
of
families
with
children
were
food
insecure.
B
Nine
percent
of
households
reported
income
under
fifty
thousand
dollars
with
more
than
seventy
percent
of
those
households
reporting
income
under
thirty
five
thousand
dollars.
Meanwhile,
median
rent
in
northeast
grew
to
fourteen
hundred
and
fifty
eight
dollars
a
month.
To
put
this
in
perspective,
a
household
making
less
than
thirty
five
thousand
dollars
would
expect
to
spend
more
than
fifty
percent
of
their
pre-tax
income
on
housing
when
choosing
to
live
in
northeast.
B
For
these
reasons,
food
insecurity
has
become
a
really
important
issue
for
us
at
east
side,
and
we
were
excited
to
launch
in
october
of
2019
a
program
that
we're
calling
fair,
that's
f-a-r-e
and
it
stands
for
food
access
to
restore
equity.
This
affordability
program
is
designed
to
help
shoppers
stretch
their
dollar
with
an
everyday
discount
on
fresh
produce
and
affordable
staple
items
for
their
families.
B
B
We
wanted
really
simple
verification
methods
to
get
people
signed
up,
and
then
we
really
wanted
people
to
be
able
to
be
at
the
register
and
be
there
with
dignity
and
anonymity,
and
so
we
designed
this
program
in
such
a
way
that
it's
open
to
any
minnesotan
that's
enrolled
in
snap,
mfap,
mfip
or
the
wic
program
participants
receive
their
discount
automatically
at
the
register.
B
Every
time
they
use
their
ebt
card
in
the
store
they
we
automatically
renew
their
eligibility
for
an
additional
90
days,
and
not
only
does
this
make
it
easy
for
people
to
remain
in
the
program.
It
also
provides
them
a
discount
when
they
need
it
most
after
their
monthly
ebt
discounts
have
already
been
exhausted,
as
we
continue
to
develop
and
refine
this
program.
B
We're
focused
on
making
sure
that
it
includes
affordable
items
that
we
know
are
critical
to
for
our
community,
and
we
also
want
to
continue
to
refine
our
pricing
and
product
mix
so
that
shoppers
have
more
options
for
trading
up
or
down
when
making
food
decisions.
B
Coupled
with
some
of
the
classes,
we've
been
able
to
develop
recipes
and
shopping
lists,
we're
hearing
from
from
fair
participants
how
meaningful
our
efforts
have
been
we're
a
little
over
a
year
into
the
program.
At
this
point
and
in
our
first
year
we're
able
to
serve
over
200
households
that
shop
at
our
store.
We
provided
over
ten
thousand
dollars
in
discounts
and
we
and
we've
been
able
to
develop
stronger
partnerships
with
both
local
health
clinics
and
community
organizations
through
this
effort.
B
B
In
addition
to
this
affordability
program,
we're
taking
other
efforts
to
build
stronger
community,
the
reduction
of
waste
has
long
been
a
priority
of
our
co-op.
We're
proud
that
we've
been
able
to
partner
with
several
local
organizations
to
rescue
food
that
would
otherwise
end
up
in
the
trash.
Over
the
last
several
years,
we've
worked
with
east
side,
neighborhood
services,
twin
cities,
food
justice,
the
north
country,
food
alliance
and
food,
not
bombs.
B
B
Finally,
as
we're
getting
ready
to
get
into
march,
I'd
be
remiss
if
I
didn't
mention
east
sides
and
other
co-ops
participation
in
the
minnesota
food
chairs
march
campaign.
2021
is
going
to
mark
the
40th
anniversary
of
this
campaign
that
began
with
an
effort
to
restock
food
shelves
of
the
seven
county
twin
cities
area.
Now,
as
the
largest
grassroots
food
and
fund
drive
in
the
state,
the
march
campaign
brings
together
a
diverse
group
of
people
and
organizations
and
they
stock
nearly
300
food
shelves,
we've
partnered
with
them
the
last
couple
years.
B
Many
of
the
other
twin
cities
co-ops,
have
participated
in
this
program
and
last
year
they
raised
more
than
21
and
a
half
million
dollars
and
collected
7.4
million
pounds
for
the
food
shelves.
The
co-ops,
and
there
was
a
lot
of
minnesota
food
co-ops
that
participated
in
this
program,
provided
just
under
six
thousand
pounds
of
food
and
a
little
more
than
a
hundred
and
sixty
thousand
dollars
in
cash
donations.
B
B
I'd
love
to
spend
time
talking
to
you
about
other
ways
that
eastside's
working
to
build
community,
but
I'm
sure
I'm
getting
near
the
amount
of
time
they
have
allotted
for
me.
But
before
I
finish,
though,
I
do
want
to
mention
that
the
killing
of
george
floyd
really
deeply
impacted
eastside's
cooperative
community
and
caused
us
to
really
further
our
commitment
to
pursuing
diversity,
equity
and
inclusivity
in
our
work.
B
Although
I
know
I
have
a
lot
more
to
learn
in
order
to
better
support
these
ideals,
I
also
know
that
addressing
systemic
racism
must
be
a
priority
and
I'm
really
looking
forward
to
working
with
eastside's
board
of
directors
and
other
cooperative
leaders
as
we
work
to
build
communities
that
are
going
to
allow
everyone
who
lives
in
them
to
thrive
and
on
that
I'll.
Thank
you
for
my
time.
I'm
excited
to
be
here
tonight.
I'm
excited
to
answer
questions
later,
so
thank
you.
So
much.
A
Thank
you,
john,
and
it
just
goes
to
show
how
many
ways
a
cooperative
enterprise
will
be
responsive
to
not
only
its
original
purpose,
but
ongoing
efforts
and
purposes
and
meaning
to
community
as
it
evolves,
and
I
think
your
updates,
I
think,
demonstrate
that
in
very
material
ways.
So
thank
you
I
don't
know
benjamin
are,
is
everything
figured
out.
D
C
D
All
right
so,
starting
again,
so
I'm
benjamin
tsai
with
nexus
community
partners
and
was
hoping
to
just
chat
a
bit
about
the
role
we
see:
cooperatives
playing
in
community
wealth
building
and
first
a
bit
about
me.
So
I'm
the
director
of
the
worker
ownership
initiative
and
I
have
about
18
years
of
experience
in
the
cooperative
sector,
really
starting
with
helping
to
co-found
the
hub
bike
co-op
if
you're
familiar
with
that
down
in
the
south
side.
So
I
use
that
experience.
We
kind
of
I
helped
grow
that
business
and
learn.
D
You
know
not
only
about
running
a
small
business,
but
a
lot
about
worker
co-ops,
and
I
use
that
to
kind
of
bridge
and
do
more
cooperative
consulting,
which
is
what
I
pretty
much
do
now
and
I
did
want
to
share
a
bit
about
what
nexus
does
broadly
because
we're
a
pretty
diverse
organization.
D
And
within
that
kind
of
bigger
mission,
we
do
we
have
a
community
wealth
building
team,
which
is
where
my
work
sits
and
broadly
we
do
cooperative
development
of
many
different
flavors,
and
so
that
includes
supporting
worker
co-ops
real
estate
investment,
co-ops
housing
co-ops.
D
I
just
helped
an
artist
co-op.
So
really
we
are.
We
are
very
excited
to
further
the
the
cooperative
movement
on
many
fronts
and
specifically
my
body
of
work,
though
at
the
worker
ownership
initiative.
D
We
really
focus
on
kind
of
connecting
with
business
owners
who
are
potentially
looking
to
transition,
and
we
help
provide
them
the
opportunity
to
at
least
consider
selling
to
their
employees
and
forming
worker
cooperatives.
D
Our
strategy
is
we:
we
really
want
to
use
employee
ownership
as
a
community
wealth
building
tool,
and
we
we
mainly
focus
on
the
twin
cities
and
especially
with
businesses
who
have
bipac
employees,
and
we
we
have
an
ecosystem
approach.
So
we
do
connect,
you
know
as
an
intermediary.
We
connect,
you
know,
philanthropy
the
public
sector,
the
private
sector
and
we're
really
trying
to
build
a
full
network
of
support
to
help
get
business
owners
this
this
option
of
selling
to
their
employees.
D
If
you,
if
you
sort
of
drill
down
into
that
we're
talking
26
000
businesses
that
might
be
facing
some
kind
of
retirement
or
succession
issue,
and
the
studies
have
shown
that
most
of
these
retiring
business
owners
do
not
really
have
a
succession
plan
drilling
down
a
little
farther.
We've
done
some
studies
of
the
twin
cities
and,
as
you
can
see,
hennepin
county
has
a
pretty
high
ratio
of
businesses
that
are
potentially
facing
this
retirement
issue,
and
you
can
find
some
of
this
data
on
our
website
and
our
partner
project
equity
too.
C
Benjamin
your
presentation
is
not
visible.
I
think
oh.
D
Oh,
my
sorry
about
that,
so
you,
you
probably
didn't
see
any
of
those
previous
slides.
But
basically
you
know
there's
there's
a
a
driving
demographic
issue
that
is
putting
a
lot
of
businesses
locally,
nationally
and
locally
at
risk
of
unplanned
succession.
D
So
the
exit
planning
institute,
for
example,
they
have
found
that
80
of
small
businesses
that
are
listed
never
sell.
Only
a
small
fraction
are
passed
along
to
family
members
and
of
those
that
do
sell
a
lot
of
acquisitions
which
go
to
larger
firms
or
out-of-state
buyers.
They
often
lead
to
layoffs,
restructuring
or
other
issues
and
so
like.
In
summary,
looking
at
these
statistics
we
found
over
300
000
jobs
in
the
twin
cities
might
be
vulnerable
to
unplanned
business
transitions
in
the
next
five
to
ten
years.
D
So
there
are
two
common
forms
of
employee
ownership
we
have
esops,
which
you
may
have
heard
of,
and
worker
cooperatives
esops
tend
to
be
a
better
fit
for
really
big
businesses
and
there's
many
types
of
structuring
it
and
then
worker
co-ops
have
a
really
wide
range
of
application
for
size,
and
that
happens
to
be
the
model
we
focus
on
for
a
couple
different
reasons:
the
worker
co-ops.
D
We
have
found
that
most
business
owners
are
not
familiar
with
these
options,
so
they're
not
familiar
with
the
ability
to
sell
to
their
employees
and
even
even
more
to
that
point,
a
lot
of
the
advisors
that
are
trained
in
these
issues
of
succession
planning.
Unfortunately,
don't
really
know
a
whole
lot
about
employee
ownership.
So
it's
one
of
these
strategies,
which
is
just
yeah,
unfortunately
overlooked
more
often
than
it
should
be,
and
that's
where
we
come
in
so
the
worker
ownership
initiative.
D
As
I
said
before,
we
are
business
consultants
that
specialize
in
cooperative
development
and
what
we
really
do
is
we
connect
with
business
owners.
We
help
educate
and
we
help
give
them
the
option
of
selling
to
their
employees
and
transitioning
their
business
into
worker
cooperatives.
D
I'll
just
share
for
those
of
you
not
familiar
just
share
some
super
high
level
pieces
of
what
worker
co-ops
are
they're
businesses
that
are
owned
and
controlled
by
their
employee
owner
members,
and
these
members
get
each
get
a
vote
for
the
board
of
directors,
for
example,
and
they
help
govern
the
business.
D
Hence
the
community
wealth
building
aspect
studies
have
shown-
or
this
is
a
survey
that
was
done
last
year
during
covid,
and
it
has
been
shown
that
worker
cooperatives
are
very
resilient
in
downturns.
It
was
also
found
actually
to
be
the
same
in
2008.
D
D
And
furlough
fewer
fewer
employees,
so
they
they
have
definitely
and
and
their
overall
survival
rate,
was
higher,
so
worker
co-ops
are
definitely
a
strong
option
in
all
economic
conditions
and
they
really
do
promote
a
more
inclusive
economy.
D
These
are
these:
are
opportunities
for
employees
to
get
a
real
stake
in
their
economic
destiny,
get
profit
sharing,
get
control,
and
so
we,
you
know
we
work
on
this.
As
you
know,
as
a
community
wealth
building
tool,
I
did
want
to
talk
a
little
bit
about
how
this
conversion
process
works.
Just
you
know,
so
you
have
a
little
little
more
detail
and
you
know
the
people
that
we're
connecting
with
business
owners.
D
D
And
so
why
do
we
do
this?
The
high
level?
You
know
we
there's
a
potential
buyer
on
site
which,
in
this
in
the
transition
process,
is
pretty
pretty
important
to
you
know
you
have
a
ready
buyer.
The
owner
can
get
a
fair
sales
price.
D
There
are
tax
benefits,
it
gives
the
owner
an
option
to
have
a
controlled
transition,
so
they
can
kind
of
pace
it
as
they
want
and
kind
of
customize
their
transition
and
it
secures
their
legacy.
You
know
the
business
continues
on
and
sort
of
the
process
we
use
to
help
the
business
owners
do
this
first
and
foremost,
just
general
education.
You
know
we're
happy
to
just
tell
them
how
the
model
works,
how
the
transition
process
works.
D
We
do
feasibility
to
make
sure
that
the
finances
and
the
structures
line
up,
and
then
we
actually
help
get
the
deal
done.
We
can
help
pull
in
experts.
You
know
cpas
lawyers,
whoever
is
needed
to
get
the
sale
of
the
business
closed
and
then
we
even
will
provide
post-transaction
support,
making
sure
that
stability
is
is
kept
and
that
the
new
employee
owners
have
the
support
they
need
to
really
to
really
thrive.
D
We
do
have
cdfi
financial
partners
that
help
get
these
deals
done
so
there's
sort
of
a
general
myth.
A
lot
of
people
are
like
sell
to
your
employees.
How
how
they
can't
afford
this
business.
You
know
well
with
our
with
our
partners.
D
We
can
bring
in
lenders
who
will
help
the
employees
buy
these
businesses
there's
actually
one
locally
called
shared
capital
that
we've
we've
worked
with
a
number
of
times
a
little
bit
about
the
way.
It's
done,
though.
Typically
the
seller
does
hold
some
of
the
note
or
it's
it's
somewhat
seller
financed
and
then
the
employees
actually
don't.
If
you
look
at
this
chart,
they
don't
actually
need
to
bring
that
much
money
to
the
table
if
any
at
all,.
D
D
The
owner
gets
a
fair
sales
price,
there's
tax
benefits
and
they
they
have,
they
protect
the
legacy
of
their
business
and
then
the
community
they
get.
You
know,
jobs
are
anchored,
they
get
a
business
that
is
serving
their
community
and
there
is
a
strengthening
to
the
tax
base
too.
So
it's
sort
of
like
a
triple
win
and
you
know
we're
we're
working
with
a
partner
called
project
equity.
To
do
this
work
they're
a
national
level
organization.
D
We
partner
to
get
these
deals
done
and
yeah.
You
know,
as
far
as
how
you
can
help
we
love
it
when
people
you
know,
share
the
word
about
what
we're
doing
and
referrals
you
know.
If
you
know
of
any
business
owners
looking
for
potential
exit
options,
you
know
feel
free
to
refer
them
on
to
us.
So
thanks-
and
I
guess
we'll
take
some
questions
at
the
end
of
this
yeah.
That
is
correct.
A
And-
and
thank
you
for
that
presentation-
and
certainly
you
know,
I
find
this
a
very
intriguing
aspect
for
city
efforts
in
terms
of
our
technical
assistance
program
working
with
nexus
and
and
other
supports
in
this
area,
given
that
we
previously
had
been
focused
on
new
startups
again,
a
very
important
area
there,
but
this,
I
think,
gives
another
front
and
a
timely
front,
given
you
know
some
of
the
key
insights
that
benjamin
shared
in
terms
of
the
demographic
shifts
that
are
a
challenge
and
an
opportunity.
A
So
I
really
appreciate
that
and
of
course
lisa
you
were
about
to
say
something.
C
F
D
Yeah,
it's
a
combination.
There's
grant
funding
some
of
the
steps
there
are.
There
are
fees
involved
and
well
that's
pretty
much.
D
A
Super
lisa
any
other
inquiries
for
this
section.
A
And
and
again
I
look
forward
to
the
cumulative
q
a
it's
always
interesting:
how
how
that
works
out
with
that,
I
think
I'll
go
to
my
producers
evan.
A
I
we
have
our
friends
from
broken
clock
here
too.
Is
that
correct,
lisa.
A
Oh
jeremy's,
here,
okay
yeah,
my
screen's
kind
of
cramped
up,
so
I
suppose
evan
since
you
guys
started
brewing
first,
let
you
guys
start
and-
and
we
can
flow
right
into
the
brewers-
which
of
course
are
producers
but
they're
much
more
than
that
in
our
community,
even
with
their
relatively
shorter
tenure.
G
Yeah
thanks
a
lot
kevin.
I'm
really
excited
and
happy
to
be
here,
and
you
know
thanks
for
thinking
of
me
and
thanks
for
putting
on
this
forum-
and
I
don't
know
it's
really
great-
to
be
reminded
of
that
time.
You
know
what
a
few
years
ago
when
we
raised
those
glasses
with
everybody
from
around
the
world.
That
was
pretty
well,
that
I
don't
know
just
kind
of
forgotten
about
that.
It's
a
nice
nice
little
memory.
G
So
thanks
for
that
yeah,
so
I
am
one
of
the
co-founders
of
fair
state
brewing
cooperative.
We
opened
our
doors
in
the
fall
of
2014..
G
You
know
if
you
think
back
way
back,
then
I
I
think
we
at
the
time
felt
like
we
were
getting
in
really
late
to
the
brewery
game
and
it
turns
out
that
was
not
at
all
the
case.
You
know
there
were.
I
think
we
were
something
like
the
60th
brewery
to
open
in
minnesota
and
now
there's
some
more
than
three
times
that
in
this
state.
So
it's
been
really
exciting.
I
think
to
be
a
part
of
that
movement,
and
you
know
what
really
led
us
to
starting
ferris
state
as
a.
G
Somehow
I
got
muted
there
we
go
was
just
all
the
ways
in
which
you
know
beer
lends
itself
to
community
and
cooperatives,
lend
it
themselves
to
community
and
to
us
that
seemed
just.
You
know
such
a.
I
think,
a
really
exciting
and
fertile
space
to
work
in,
and
you
know
at
the
time
that
we
decided
to
start
this.
G
There
was
only
actually
one
cooperatively
owned
brewery
in
the
entire
country,
and
that
was
black
star
brewing
cooperative,
who,
I
think
you
know,
we
kind
of
all,
owe
a
debt
of
gratitude
to
down
in
austin
texas,
and
you
know
it
really
was
just
kind
of
myself
and
my
co-founders,
going
there
randomly
and
drinking
beer
and
saying
this
is
a
pretty
cool
spot.
G
G
How
well
our
community
understands
and
how
well
our
community
supports
cooperatives
and
then
to
just
see
the
opportunity
that
was
beer
it
just
it
was
really
exciting
to
us
and
really
kind
of
formed
the
foundation
of
what
caused
us
to
say.
Hey,
let's,
you
know,
let's
start
a
cooperatively
owned
brewery,
because
you
know
really,
you
know
beer
brings
people
together
and
it
was.
G
G
How
you
know,
there's
lots
and
lots
and
lots
of
different
kinds
of
cooperatives
and
they
all
operate
in
different
ways,
but
breweries
were
really
unique
because
not
only
did
we
make
the
beer,
but
we
could
have
this
tap
room
this
space,
where
people
could
come
together
and
commune
and
be
able
to
make
of
that
space
kind
of
what
what
they
wanted,
and
so
I
think
you
know
broadly
that's
why
this
idea
was
so
powerful
to
us.
G
A
very
common
question
that
I
get
is
you
know
why
a
cooperative
and
from
I
guess
our
perspective?
You
know
we
never
really
wanted
to
start
a
brewery
until
the
cooperative
idea
came
about
we,
you
know
I
I
had
been
a
home
brewer
since
I
was
18.
G
turns
out
it's
legal
to
buy
home,
brewing
ingredients
when
you're
underage
because
they
don't
include
alcohol,
and
you
know
one
of
my
experiences,
and
I
think
this
is
a
pretty
common
experience
is
the
first
time
you
make
a
beer
that
isn't
completely
terrible.
All
of
your
friends
tell
you
that
you
need
to
start
a
brewery,
and
that's
probably
not
true,
but
you
know,
and
so
that
that
was
kind
of
you
know
me
and
our
co-founders.
We
were
just
never
really
thought
that
that
was
in
the
cards
for
us.
G
Until
this
whole
co-op
idea
came
and
then
that's
what
really
led
us
to
think
that
we
maybe
had
something
special
and
the
community,
the
beer
community,
the
co-op
community
in
minneapolis,
really
kind
of
being
able
to
bridge
that
divide
and
rely
on
the
strength
of
those
communities
has
really
helped
boy
us
into
you
know.
Building
the
successful
business
and,
of
course
you
know,
I
would
be
remiss
to
not
talk
about
being
able
to
do
this
in
a
building
owned
by
any
ic.
G
I
think
that
was
you
know,
having
neic
there
to
to
be
our
landlord
to
kind
of
do
this
co-op
within
co-op
model.
Almost
that
we're
doing,
I
think
was
it
was
really
such
a
powerful
thing
for
us
and
being
able
to
do
it
in
the
east
side.
Where
you
know
we
have.
G
You
know
our
communities
are
diverse,
but
they're
also
communities
with
like
a
lot
of
roots,
and
you
know
there's
a
a
really
strong
group
of
people
here,
and
you
know,
I
think
all
of
us
know
that
you
know
this
area.
G
It's
got
just
a
very
special
and
unique
community
to
be
a
part
of
it
and
so
to
be
able
to
kind
of
plant.
Our
brewery
in
the
middle
of
that
and
be
able
to,
you
know,
try
to
be
able
to
provide
that
space
in
a
community
like
northeast
was.
It
has
been
really
really
special,
and
so
I
think
I
think
it's
something
that
we're
you
know
really
really
proud
and
kind
of
humbled
to
be
a
part
of
so
you
know,
I
think
I
think
that's
kind
of
broadly.
G
You
know
who
we
are
where
we
came
from
where
we,
where
we
started,
you
know
so.
Obviously
you
know
it's
been
six
years
that
we've
been
open.
It's
it's
been
quite
quite
a
whirlwind,
quite
a
run,
and
obviously
the
pandemic
has
really
thrown.
You
know,
industry,
our
industry,
for
a
loop.
It's
been
extremely
rough
for
ferris
state
and
I
think
in
a
lot
of
ways,
fish
state
probably
has
it
better
than
a
lot
of
other
breweries.
G
You
know
when
the
pandemic
first
hit.
We
honestly
we
were
running
projections
that
looked
like.
Maybe
our
revenues
would
be
down
something
like
80
or
90
in
2020.,
thankfully,
that
didn't
end
up
coming
to
pass.
But
you
know
for
a
while.
That
was
the
the
world
that
we
were
looking
at
and
you
know
we
we
had
to
make
some
tough
decisions.
You
know,
unfortunately,
you
know
we
had
to
furlough
people.
G
We
had
to
lay
people
off,
I'm
really
happy
to
be
able
to
say
that
we've
been
able
to
bring
very,
very
nearly
everyone
back
and
in
some
departments
we've
actually
had
to
hire
up.
Just
because
of
you
know,
for
instance,
it
takes
a
lot
more
labor
to
fill
a
ton
of
crawlers
than
it
does
to
sell
them
as
pints,
and
so
you
know,
I
think
that
there's
a
lot
of
ways
in
this
industry
where
you
know,
even
maybe,
if
some
of
our
revenues
are
where
they
were.
G
You
know
the
the
cost
structure
has
really
really
changed
due
to
the
pandemic,
and
you
know
our
business.
We
we
have
a
tap
room.
You
know,
I
think,
that's
really
kind
of
the
foundation
of
who
we
are
it's.
You
know
really
the
soul
of
us
as
a
cooperative
business,
but
we
also
sell
beer
to
bars
and
restaurants,
who
many
of
whom
have
been
hit.
You
know
far
worse
than
us
and
are
are
really
really
suffering,
and
you
know
that
obviously
it
causes
effects
for
them.
G
It
causes
effects
for
community,
but
then
it
also
affects
us
as
a
business.
So
you
know
it's.
It's
been,
it's
been
quite
quite,
you
know
difficult
to
manage
through,
but
thankfully
I'm
really
really
happy
that
we
have.
G
You
know
the
team
that
we've
got
working
at
ferris
state
are,
you
know,
I
think,
second,
to
none
they're,
incredibly,
smart,
they're,
incredibly
thoughtful
they're,
incredibly
community
oriented-
and
you
know
everybody
was
really
able
to-
I
think-
come
to
this
pandemic
with
an
attitude
that
you
know
we
should
work
together
and
help
support
each
other
where
we
can
and
I've
been
very
proud,
I
think
to
be
able
to
work
alongside
them.
G
You
know-
and
similarly
you
know-
obviously
I
think
a
lot.
The
community
of
northeast
has
been
really
instrumental
in
keeping
us
alive
and
hopefully
putting
ferris
state
into
a
position
where
you
know
we
can
exit
this
pandemic
as
an
actually
thriving
business
rather
than
one
that's
just
limping
along.
So
you
know
this
past
summer,
we
actually,
you
know,
executed
a
capital
campaign
with
our
members
to
raise
some
additional
funds
to
both.
G
You
know
help
fund
us
through
this
pandemic,
but
then
also
give
us
some
opportunities
to
try
to
actually
expand
our
footprint
and
be
able
to
provide
when
we're
finally
able
to
open
our
doors
again.
You
know
a
better
experience
than
our
members
had
you
know
before
the
pandemic.
You
know.
So
that
is
one
thing,
even
though
we
are
technically
allowed
under
the
state.
G
To
you
know,
do
indoor
service,
that's
kind
of
something
that
we've
chosen
not
to
do
just
for
the
primarily
for
the
safety
of
our
staff,
but
then
also
for
the
safety
of
our
communities.
You
know
that's
an
incredibly
difficult
decision.
I
certainly
I
don't
think
I
could
fault
a
lot
of
the
businesses
who
felt
that
they
needed
to
do
that
in
order
to
stay
afloat.
But
you
know
that's
kind
of
been
the
decision.
G
G
You
know
I
I
you
know.
I'd
be
john,
obviously
mentioned
the
ways
in
which
george
floyd
and
you
know
the
surrounding
issues
and
uprising.
There
have
kind
of
caused
east
side
to
rethink
a
lot
of
the
things
that
they
do.
I
think
we've
gone
through
a
lot
of
similar
processes.
G
You
know
one
thing
that
we
kind
of
did
this
summer
and
fall
was
we
kind
of
undertook
an
initiative
where
we
really
saw
that
there
was
an
opportunity
for
us
in
a
way
that
was
kind
of
directly
related
to
what
we
do
as
a
business
to
push
for
change
in
the
way
that
minnesota
treats
mental
health
and
the
way
that
that
relates
to
police
intervention?
Because
one
thing
that
we
realized
is
you
know
we
have
a
lot
of.
G
We
deal
pretty
regularly
with
folks
who
come
into
the
brewery
who
have
for
one
reason
or
the
other.
You
know
they're
in
some
state
of
mental
distress,
and
we
didn't
really
have
a
lot
of
opportunities
or
you
know
ability
to
seek
resources
to
help
us
deal
with
getting
these
people
out
or
otherwise,
helping
them
beyond.
Just
calling
the
police,
who
would
basically
just
show
up
and
arrest
them-
and
you
know
that
was
not
really
effective
for
anybody.
G
It
was
pretty
disruptive
to
our
patrons
and
you
know
it
certainly
wasn't
a
lasting
solution.
These
people
would
come
back
on
a
regular
basis,
so
it
clearly
wasn't
providing
them
the
support
that
they
needed
and
it
wasn't
providing
us
as
a
community.
The
support
that
we
needed-
and
so
we
you
know,
did
a
lot
of
pushing
with
a
lot
of
great
support
from
a
lot
of
different
people
to
try
to
you
know
get
some
of
those
changes.
G
G
One
thing
that
you
know
we've
pushed
at
from
the
very
beginning
is
to
you
know,
provide
fair
wages
to
all
of
our
employees
and
to
try
to
provide
an
actual
like
real
livable
space
for
people
to
work,
especially
when
we
were
getting
started.
I
think
the
brewing
industry
had
a
bit
of
a
dark
underbelly
in
the
way
and
it's
the
way
it
treated
labor.
G
I
know
a
lot
of
people
who
kind
of
they
got
their
in
in
the
industry
by
working
40
hour
days
illegally
for
free
or
not
sorry
for
40
hour
weeks,
not
40
hour
days,
that
that
would
be
terrible,
but
you
know-
and
so
we
wanted
to
really
push
back
on
that,
and
so
you
know
from
almost
as
soon
as
we
could
dedicated
ourselves
to
you
know
providing
every
single
person
who
works
for
us,
a
living
wage
apologies
for
my
dog-
and
you
know
so,
I
think,
being
able
to
kind
of
take
that
ethos
and
push
it
one
step
farther
by
having
our
staff
unionize
and
recognizing
that
union
quickly.
G
A
Thank
you
evan,
I
believe
jeremy's
on,
but
I
think
your
stories
evan
not
only
highlights
some
of
the
things
that
john
and
the
efc
move
in
in
terms
of
responsiveness
and
expansiveness
of
both
needs
and
values,
but
the
resiliency,
the
economic
resiliency
required
to
survive,
challenges
pandemic
and
a
social
racial
reckoning
all
had
an
impact
that
will
define
2020
for
for
years
to
come
how
important
this
model
can
be
in
in
the
name
of
resiliency.
C
H
Awesome,
thank
you
so
much
for
having
us
and
like
evan
said
our
staff
is
probably
first
and
foremost
what
got
us
through
this
pandemic,
so
you're
very
much
correct
in
that
regard.
Well,
our
you
know.
Our
story
begins
a
lot
like
every
other
business
startup,
an
idea
written
on
a
cocktail
napkin
in
a
bar
for
for
us.
H
H
You
know
previously.
I
came
from
an
industry
that
was
extremely
cutthroat
and
really
operated
with
the
mentality
of
of
what's
in
it.
For
me,
and
you
know
for
me
personally,
it
took
it
took
a
pretty
big
toll
to
just
kind
of
see
what
that
did
to
employees
and
what
they
were
doing
and
and
to
me
the
employees
are
the
most
important
part
of
the
business,
and
so
you
know
that's
why
we
decided
to
start
a
co-op.
The
idea
of
a
co-op
actually
came
far
before
even
the
idea
of
a
brewery.
C
H
Was
pretty
interesting
that
evan
kind
of
shared
the
same
story?
You
know
selfishly
the
brewer
idea
probably
came
after
we
were
sitting
in
so
many
tap
rooms
spending
money.
We
figured
why
not
just
start
a
brewery,
because
we
can
save
ourselves
some
money
there,
but
but
yeah
it
was
about
starting
a
cooperative
business
and
it
was
about
starting
a
business
that
really
put
the
focus
on
employees
in
the
community.
So
we
established
in
late
2015
and
then
in
2016
was
when
we
really
set
out
to
raise
money
for
the
brewery.
H
I
suppose
it
was
good
enough
to
to
get
people
to
sign
up,
but
you
know
really
in
the
majority
of
the
time
that
we
spent
was
spending
teaching
people
the
ideas
of
what
what
a
cooperative
is,
what
the
concept
was
of
one
member
one
vote:
it's
it's
a
very
foreign
concept
to
a
lot
of
people
and
it
really
took
us
a
lot
of
work
to
explain
what
it
is
that
we're
that
we're
actually
trying
to
do.
H
We
want
it
to
be
a
community-owned
business,
but
through
all
that
we
were
able
to
build
an
opportunity
support
to
make
an
offer
on
an
existing
brew
house
in
may
of
2017.
We
were
able
to
open
the
brewery
and
then
for
the
first
year
we
were
production
and
distribution.
Only
so
we
because
we
were
so
small
and
because
we
were
so
small
we
weren't
allowed
to
have
a
tap
room.
H
We
had
to
not
only
make
beer,
but
then
we
had
to
go
out
and
sell
it
and
distribute
it
to
anyone
that
would
carry
our
beer
and
through
that
we
were
trying
to
tell
the
the
story
of
what
it
is
to
be
a
fully
community
owned
co-op.
But
luckily
we
had
a
lot
of
success
in
the
in
the
community
really
did
a
great
job
of
rallying
behind
us,
so
much
so
that
in
2018
we
were
able
to
kind
of
take
the
next
step,
which
was
build
a
tap
room.
H
You
know,
I
think
the
proudest
moment
of
being
able
to
build
a
tap
room
was
that
you
know,
with
the
exception
of
some
electrical
hvac
and
plumbing
pieces,
that
the
landlord
had
to
take
care
of.
We
built
the
entire
tap
room
using
volunteer
labor.
You
know
our
all
of
our
members
stepped
up
and
built
the
tap
room
by
hand
which
was
pretty
cool
and
pretty
unique,
but
I
think
you
know
through
this
whole
process.
You
know
we've
learned
a
lot
of
lessons.
H
You
know
mainly,
as
you
heard
earlier,
one
of
the
largest
thing,
one
of
the
most
difficult
things
for
us
to
do
is
to
raise
large
amounts
of
capital
when
you
don't
have
principal
owners
putting
in
the
majority
of
the
money.
So
we
really
spent
a
lot
of
time
figuring
out.
How
can
we
raise
enough
money
to
make
these
massive
capital
investments,
and
so
we
spent
a
lot
of
time
really
focused
on
that,
but
we
also
learned
that
you
know
communities.
H
Have
this
really
amazing
ability
to
rally
when
they
need
to
you
know,
I
I
can't
even
tell
you
how
many
times
we
we
didn't
think
we
were
gonna
hit
a
deadline
or
we
didn't
think
something
was
gonna
happen
because
we
didn't
have
enough
money
or
we
didn't
have
enough
support
or
buy-in,
and
it
was
always
the
community
stepping
up
and
the
employees
stepping
up
saying
you
know
we
can
make
this
happen
and
we
somehow
have
been
able
to
meet
every
single
deadline.
H
Because
of
that
you
know,
I
think
the
the
best
example
like
we've
been
talking
about
recently
is
with
the
pandemic.
H
You
know
when
the
when
the
shutdown
happened.
We
were
extremely
concerned
that
we
weren't
going
to
survive.
You
know
being
the
type
of
business
that
we
are.
We
we
don't
have
a
lot
of
large
cash
reserves.
We
had
just
essentially
spent
all
of
our
money
building
a
tap
room,
and
you
know
it
20
2020
was
supposed
to
kind
of
be
our
growth
here
was
supposed
to
be
the
year
that
we
were
going
to
finally
save
up
some
money
that
we
can
put
it
in
the
bank.
H
In
case
we
need
to
in
case
there's
a
rainy
day,
and
so
we
really
thought
we
were
doomed.
You
know,
like
evan
said
we
were
projecting
to
lose
the
majority
of
of
everything
we
had
and
you
know.
Unfortunately,
we
don't
have
the
same
distribution
footprint
as
a
lot
of
breweries,
and
so
really
what
it
came
down
to
is
us
reaching
out
to
our
members
and
the
community
and
saying
we
need
your
help
and
they
absolutely
stepped
up.
Everyone
came
out
everyone.
You
know
we
were
able
to
keep
all
of
our
employees.
H
We
furloughed
a
couple
of
people
just
based
on
hours
of
not
having
the
tap
room
open,
but
you
know
it
without
the
community's
support
there
there
would
have
been.
We
would
have
never
survived,
and-
and
so
that's
why
anytime,
someone
asks
me
about
co-ops
and
why
I
started
a
co-op
or
why
we
chose
this
model,
and
I
truly
believe
that
it's
I
say
it's
because
of
the
resiliency
that
this
model
offers
to
people
it.
It's
it's
amazing
and
I
truly
feel
like
cooperative
models
are
the
wave
of
the
future.
H
I
think
it's
you
know.
You
saw
the
statistics
earlier
on
on
what
happens
during
pandemics
and
and
when
you
know,
there's
recessions
and
things
like
that.
Co-Ops
seem
to
always
thrive,
and
so
I
I
always
preach
to
everyone.
You
know.
Cooperative
models
are
absolutely
the
way
to
go,
and
then,
of
course,
you
know
just
to
kind
of
piggyback
and
all
all
of
everything
that
happened
this
summer.
H
H
You
know
the
brewing
industry
has
been
pretty
deeply
rooted
in
in
a
lot
of
kind
of
white
males
dominating
the
industry,
and
so
you
know
we
felt
like
we
had
to
do
something
not
only
for
our
community
but
for
the
industry
as
a
whole,
and
so
we
actually
created
a
race
equity
chair
that
it's
a
specific
chair
that
sits
on
our
board
to
kind
of
oversee
everything
that
we're
doing
and
looking
at
it
through
through
the
proper
lenses
that
that
it
should
be
looked
at,
and
you
know
we
teamed
up
with
an
organization
called
brewing
change,
collaborative
to
kind
of
help
us
on
this
journey
and
if
you're
not
familiar
with
them.
H
I
I
highly
recommend
you
look
into
them,
especially
if
you
are
interested
in
craft
beer
they're,
doing
a
lot
of
amazing
things
to
really
bring
diversity
into
the
into
the
craft
brewing
world,
and
so
we
created
initiative
with
them
to
really
just
kind
of
rethink
and
relook.
The
way
that
we
go
about
our
business,
and
you
know
from
a
lot
of
that.
You
know.
H
A
lot
of
our
focus
is,
is
going
to
be
and
needs
to
be
spent
in
bipartisan
communities,
and
so
that's
really
a
lot
of
what
we're
going
to
be
doing
and
the
great
part
about
it
is
that
it
is
really
the
community
and
the
membership
driving
this
entire
thing.
So
it's
not
like
it's
not
like
a
decision
about
one
or
two
people.
H
This
is
an
entire
community
saying
this
is
what
we
need
to
do,
and
this
is
how
we
need
to
do
it,
and
it's
just
been
a
very
humbling
experience
for
me
to
know
that
you
know
this
just
wasn't
something
I
was
thinking
about,
but
we
actually
have
an
entire
community
thinking
about
it,
and
so
you
know
to
be
able
to
have
an
entire
community
that
you
can
lean
on
to
help
you
make
decisions
and
to
help
you
know
guide.
The
future
of
what
we
want
to
do,
I
think,
is,
is
extremely
promising.
H
A
Well,
thanks
for
sharing
all
that
jeremy
again,
another
story
of
resiliency
the
power
of
workers,
as
you
highlighted,
but
it
seems
like
with
cooperatives.
A
A
It
just
seems
to
be
a
natural
extension
of
a
cooperative
enterprise,
at
least
as
I've
observed
it,
and
to
that
end,
one
of
the
things
that
I
think
is
very
interesting
to
think
about
is
not
just
the
the
willingness
of
people
to
come
together
and
strategize
and
do
collective,
resourcing
strategizing
put
into
a
business
model
and
have
a
successful
effort,
and
then
from
that
that
being
a
platform
for
other
initiatives
that
are
meaningful
to
community.
A
One
of
the
things
that
I
think
is
very
important
is
that
we
do
things
in
in
space.
We
do
things
in
a
place
and
a
community
is
a
place,
but
that's
often
defined
by
the
people,
which
is
a
very
important
thing.
A
But
it's
also
the
physical
environment
that
we're
in
the
geographic
environment,
the
proximity
of
place,
and
with
that
that's
my
little
segue
to
the
to
me,
the
critical
and
strategic
importance
of
something
along
the
lines
of
the
northeast
investment
cooperative,
so
critical
that
it's
always
brought
up
and
again,
I
think
I
mentioned
this
earlier
anytime.
I
go
to
a
forum
or
any
sort
of
policy
grouping
or
some
sort
of
study
session
where
cooperative
model
is
being
discussed
once
they
they
hear
that
I'm
from
minneapolis,
let
alone
from
northeast
minneapolis.
A
They
go
right
to
this
thing,
they've
heard
about
the
neic
and
that's
because
I
think
it
plays
such
a
lynchpin
role
into
what
I
think
needs
to
be
expanded
rather
greatly
in
the
same
way
that
business,
local
and
or
family-owned
business
conversions
in
the
cooperative
model
seems
to
be
kind
of
a
great
friend
of
tier
owning
the
spaces
in
which
people
do
the
things
that
carry
the
values
that
we're
talking
about
tonight
is
important
too.
A
We
need
to
do
things
in
place
and
I
believe
those
places
should
be
owned,
cooperatively,
if
not
intentionally
for
social
purposes.
So
with
that,
I
believe
jill
and
anyone
else
from
the
neic
is
here
to
share
some
updates
from
their
perspective.
E
E
I
have
two
of
my
colleagues
here:
melissa,
mound,
michael
darger,
and
I
make
up
the
membership
and
marketing
committee
for
neic
and
we've
prepared
a
fairly
simple
presentation
and
we
hope
it
gives
you
a
little
background
on
the
organization
and
you
know
shares
shares.
You
know
some
of
what
we
what
we
are
for,
what
we
do
and
and
can
can
you
see
my
screen.
E
C
E
This
group
was
founded
in
2011
by
a
group
of
about
10
people,
a
lot
of
northeast
names
that
you
would
recognize
who
had
been
very
involved
also
with
the
food
co-op,
and
so
they
were
very
familiar
with
the
cooperative
model.
They
were
very
you
know
familiar
with
how
it
can
benefit
a
community.
I
suppose-
and
there
were
actually
some
people
involved,
who
work
with
cooperatives
for
their
day
job.
You
know
they
looked
up
and
down
central
avenue.
E
You
know
this
vital
artery
of
our
of
our
neighborhood
in
2011
and
they
said
gosh
there's
a
ton
of
buildings
that
are
vacant.
You
know
underutilized
owned
by
people
that
don't
live
in
our
community,
and
so
you
know
they.
They
started
gathering
people,
they
started
talking
about
it,
making
a
plan
and
they
formed
the
cooperative.
E
You
know
some
of
the
cooperative
principles
that
have
been
talked
about
already
by
other
folks
on
the
call
you
know
we
talk
about
local
capital,
local
profits,
local
ownership,
one
member
one
vote
and
naic
has
an
all-volunteer
elected
board
of
directors
kind
of
the
premise
of
of
northeast
investment
cooperative
is
we
are
a
real
estate,
investment
cooperative.
E
So
far,
we've
done
two
commercial
real
estate
projects,
but
we've
always
said
that
you
know
if
the
right
project
came
up
that
was
either
residential
or
mixed
use.
We,
you
know
we'd
we'd
for
sure
take
a
look.
The
premise
of
this
is
that
you
know
members
of
our
community
invest
in
northeast
investment.
Cooperative
naic
invests
in
local
property;
the
property
hopefully
will
yield
returns.
E
Profits
are
returned
to
to
investors
and
reinvested.
Hopefully
you
get
this.
You
know
virtuous
cycle
many
many
times
where
we
work,
so
we
made
a
deliberate
decision
that
only
people
who
live
within
the
state
of
minnesota
can
invest
in
northeast
investment
cooperative.
E
That
is
a
good
thing.
It
drives
down
complexity,
it
avoids
interstate
securities
entanglements
and
you
know,
regulations
in
that
way.
At
this
point
you
know
we've.
We
call
ourselves
northeast
investment
cooperative,
our
our
focus
has
been
northeast
minneapolis.
E
We
have
two
types
of
shares.
The
basic
membership
share
is
called
an
a
share.
Each
share
is
one
thousand
dollars
it's
required
to
become
a
member,
it
allows
you
to
vote
for
board
members
and
by
law
changes
and
it
can
be
eligible
for
capital
account
allocations.
E
The
other
share
types
are
c
and
d
shares.
These
are
not
currently
available.
We,
we
will
open
a
new
series
of
c
and
d
shares
when
we
are
back
into
fundraising
mode
when
we've
identified
a
new
project.
You
know
for
for
those
of
you
who
keep
asking.
We
we've
actually
identified
a
potential
project,
and
I'm
super
duper
excited
about
that.
But
that's
all
I'm
gonna
say
right
now,
these
these
shares
can
be
purchased
for
five
hundred
or
five
thousand
dollars.
A
share.
Only
members
can
purchase
crd
shares.
E
Multiple
shares
can
be
purchased
c
d
shares
are
given
dividend
price
preference
over
a
shares.
The
overall
value
of
the
share
will
not
change
so
it
a
a
d
share
is
always
worth
five
thousand.
A
c
share
is
always
worth
500
and
you
don't
get
any
additional
votes
when
you
purchase
c
or
d
shares.
E
Okay,
return
on
investment,
so
the
first
return
was
returned
to
members
in
2015,
also
in
16,
17
and
20..
We
just
voted
on
that
last
night.
Actually,.
E
So,
with
the
a
shares
we
give
what
is
called
a
capital
credit
allocation
and
it
it
increases
the
value
of
the
a
share.
E
Those
are
given
on
a
on
a
pro
rata
basis
that
you
know
based
upon
how
long
you've
been
in
in
the
organization.
E
E
What
we
do
so
project
number
one
for
long
time.
Northeasterns
you
might
recognize
this
picture,
it
was
a
pretty
run
down
property.
E
E
This
first
project
was
a
two-part
project.
So
a
few
of
you
long
time.
Northeasterners
also
might
remember
that
a
recovery
bike
shop
used
to
take
up
space
or
used
to
run
a
space
out
of
the
food
co-op,
and
so
we
purchased
this
entire
parcel
recovery,
bikes
purchased
the
left-hand
side
and
then
the
right-hand
side
shortly
became
to
the
next
slide:
fair
state
brewery,
cooper,
brewing
cooperative
and
aki's
bread
house.
E
So
you
know
here's
a
few
beautiful
pictures,
so
you
can
see
you
know
what
was
before
and
what
is
now
who's
in
us
beautiful,
and
we
have
had
a
lot
of
people
joke
to
us
that
these
three
businesses
are
the
hipster
trifecta
bikes,
bread
and
beer
project
number
one
by
the
numbers
we
had
203
members
who
had
invested
a
total
of
two
hundred.
Seventy
nine
thousand
five
hundred
dollars,
total
project
cost
for
the
build
out.
We
we
built
it
to
what's
called
a
vanilla
shell
and
then
fair
state
and
aki's.
E
You
know
took
it
to
the
next
level
as
far
as
how
they
wanted
to
customize
the
inside.
The
building
net
income
is
approximately
25
000
a
year
volunteer
hours
involved,
thousands
a
total
investment
by
all
parties
involved
about
one
and
a
half
million
jobs
created.
E
You
know
in
the
ballpark
of
40
jobs.
We
we
considered
project
number
one
to
be.
You
know,
fireworks
home,
run
all
of
the
good
things.
E
Okay,
talking
about
member
recruitment,
neic
is
kind
of
always
in
the
process
of
recruiting
new
members
additional
members,
it's
very
labor
intensive
without
paid
staff.
We
we
use
facebook,
we
use
social
media,
we
used
to
host
info
sessions.
You
know,
we've
we've
done
a
few
things
on
zoom
in
the
past
year.
A
lot
of
people
are
kind
of
zoomed
out,
but
you
know
it
gets
the
job
done.
We
used
to
host
community
events.
E
You
know
again
that
that
has
kind
of
gone
by
the
wayside
in
2020,
but
we're
hoping
to
you
know
maybe
host
some
outdoor
events
this
spring
or
summer-
and
you
know
recruitment
is-
is
a
big
effort
for
us
tenant
recruitment,
also
largely
worth
word
of
mouth.
The
organization
interviewed
several
prospective
tenants
before
making
the
selections.
You
know
again,
we
feel,
like
we've
won
the
lottery
with
the
tenants
that
we
that
we
have-
and
you
know
it's
just
been
a
great
thing
working
with
both
you
know,
co-ops.
E
We
we
talk
a
lot
about
that.
We
can
offer.
You
know
we
can
take
different
factors
into
consideration
than
a
traditional
just
a
corporation
or
whatnot.
Who
is
only
concerned
about
profit?
You
know
we
can
do
different
things
that
could
help
our
tenants
or
accommodate
accommodate
them
in
different
ways.
E
We've
also
looked
at.
You
know
the
the
possibility
that
we
could
buy
a
building
with
existing
good
tenants
and
you
know
acquire
property
in
that
way.
Project
number
two
ended
up
being
just
across
the
street
up
into
columbia
heights.
This
was
probably
the
best
thing
that
this
building
had
going
for.
It
was
that
it
was
cheap.
We
we
did
a
full
rehab
of
the
building
so
brought
it.
E
E
We
now
have
a
new
tenant
of
vl
vl
builders,
the
owner
victor
labeck,
is,
is
hispanic
and
so
we're
very
pleased
to
have
our
first
tenant
a
bipac
tenant.
You
know
he
he
seems
to
be
a
great
addition
to
the
to
the
neighborhood
in
the
community
he's
hiring
like
gangbusters
right
now.
I
guess
he
is
really
busy.
E
So
that's
all
great
news.
Why
join
okay
and
melissa
or
michael,
if
you
have
anything
to
add,
please
do
otherwise
I'll
just
keep
talking
I'll.
E
Okay,
so
benefits
to
our
neighborhood.
You
know
creating
jobs,
local
ownership,
this
one
for
me
was
a
big
one
when
the
organization
was
started
in
2011.
I
went
to
a
couple
info
sessions
and
I
admit
that
I
was
highly
skeptical
of
the
model.
I
wasn't
familiar
with
co-ops
at
all.
I
thought
it
was.
E
You
know
some
kind
of
a
goofball
idea,
but
I
you
know
look
my
my
husband
lauren
got
on
board
with
it
before
I
did,
and
one
statistic
that
I
recall
at
one
of
the
info
sessions
really
stuck
out
to
me,
and
that
was
that
when
looking
at
our
you
know
commercial
artery
central
avenue,
more
than
70
percent
of
the
properties
within
about
a
a
20
block
stretch
were
owned
by
people
who
did
not
live
in
our
neighborhood,
and
indeed
many
of
them
didn't
even
live
in
our
state,
and
I
said
well,
you
know
someone
who
lives
in
west
virginia
is
not
going
to
care
if
their
parking
lot
is
full
of
garbage.
E
E
E
I
think
kind
of
the
consensus
with
the
group
is
that
development
is
happening
in
northeast,
whether
you
want
it
to
or
not
or
whether
you
think
it's
good
or
bad
or
otherwise.
Why
not
get
involved?
E
You
know
throw
your
hat
in
the
ring
and
have
a
positive
influence
on
it,
and
so
that
that's
my
answer
and
I'm
sticking
to
it.
We
currently
have
293
members,
and
so
we
we
like
to
say
that
our
any
tenants
that
we
have
have
293
people
in
the
community
who
are
already
invested
in
their
in
their
success
or
who
have
a
vested
interest
in
in
the
success
of
our
tenants.
E
We
think
you
know
that
this
leads
to
a
stronger
business
community.
You
know
what
recovery,
bikes
and
ferris
state
and
aki's
have
done
for
just
their
their
block.
Their
their
part
of
the
neighborhood,
you
know,
there's
increased
street
traffic,
there's
light
bright,
friendly
businesses
that
are,
you
know
attracting
people
to
the
neighborhood
and
and
it
it
raises
all
businesses
and
when
it
comes
to
you
know
having
an
influence
on
development
and
having
multiple
bottom
lines.
E
Neic
always
says
that
we
will,
you
know,
definitely
have
a
preference
for
local,
independent
businesses
versus
you
know.
We
we
don't
necessarily
need
a
starbucks,
we
don't
necessarily
need
you
know.
You
know
large
corporate
chains,
we
we
love
the
character
of
of
small
local
and
independent
businesses,
and
and
so
that's
who,
who
we
choose
to
rent
to
financial
benefits.
You
know
I've
said
it
a
couple
times
already,
but
you
know
local
ownership
of
of
northeast
real
estate
profits
stay
local.
In
that
you
know,
we
return.
E
We've
made
a
point
that
any
building
that
we
purchase
we
want
to
improve
it,
make
it
beautiful
make
it
a
part
of
the
neighborhood
that
we
can
be
proud
of.
You
know.
Naic
is
a
way
of
putting
your
money
to
work
in
your
neighborhood
and
we
can
potentially
offer
a
higher
return
than
savings.
We
were
just
looking
at
some
of
the
numbers.
E
E
You
we
also
work
with
snail
mail,
and
so
here
here's
one
slide
that
I
made
kind
of
at
the
last
minute.
After
a
conversation
with
michael
and
melissa,
it
would
be
a
big
miss
on
our
part
to
not
say
anything
about
an
organization
called
cooperative
development
services
or
cds.
E
Cds
is
michael.
Could
you
talk
about
cds
a
little
bit.
I
You
bet
and
thanks
for
putting
the
slide
there,
but
so
cooperative
development
services
has
for
a
long
time
been
the
group
in
minnesota
that
helps
co-ops
across
minnesota,
wisconsin
and
iowa,
and
so
you
know
they
were
the
one
that
helped
both
the
east
side,
food,
co-op
and
northeast
investment,
co-op
in
significant
ways
on
the
ground
and
they're,
located
in
saint
paul
and
so
nexus
nexus.
I
Community
partners
is
a
great
newer
organization
in
the
twin
cities
in
minnesota,
but
I
don't
think
we
should
forget
about
cooperative
development
services,
so
our
ecosystem
for
co-ops
is
increasing
and
that's
the
only
point
here.
Cds
has
helped
two
of
the
three
co-ops
and
maybe
they've
helped
broken
clock
or
fair
state.
I
don't
know,
but
they
but
the
co-ops
really
the
top
of
the
cops.
I
You
know
the
original
co-ops
in
in
in
in
northeast
or
eastside,
food,
co-op
and
neic,
and
in
fact
you
know,
east
side,
food
co-op
kind
of
was
in
some
respects.
The
and
kevin
knows
this.
You
know
they're
the
ones
who
kind
of
looked
out.
They
incubated
that
recovery
bike
shop,
they're
looking
for
a
space
for
it.
So
then,
amy
fields
and
leslie
watson,
who
were
the
original
manager
of
the
co-op
and
one
of
the
top
leaders
on
the
board
in
the
early
years,
food
co-op.
I
I
So
so
cbs
was
one
of
my
partners
on
that,
and
so
they've
got
some
some
workshops
and
webinars
coming
up
this
year
with
the
support
city
of
minneapolis.
And
so
thank
you
kevin
for
that.
But
you
know
it's
great.
We
now
have
nexus
and
we
have
cbs
as
technical
assistance
providers
and
cooperators
on
the
ground,
and
the
only
other
thing
that
I
wanted
to
say
was
before
I
hand
it
back
to
you
jill
is
that
I
put
in
the
in
the
chat,
lisa
or
kevin.
I
So
any
of
you
northeasterners,
who
are
on
the
call,
we're
really
only
interested
in
people
from
northeast
answering
the
survey
because
it's
about
our
neighborhood,
but
the
northeast
investment
cooperative,
is
in
the
middle
of
a
strategic
planning
process
with
leslie
watson,
and
so
I
have
a
link
in
the
chat
and
I
don't
know
lisa
or
kevin
if
other
people
can
see
that,
but
I
would
appreciate
other
people
giving
their
ideas
to
our
investment
cooperative
for
what
kind
of
businesses
and
what
kind
of
you
know
what
kind
of
gaps
are
in
northeast
and
what
other
ideas
they
want
to
give
us
about
because
we're
you
know
like
we're,
looking
for
more
projects
and
we're
thinking
about
what
is
our
future,
you
know
what
should
we
be
doing
next
and
so
can
you
share
that?
I
It's
it's.
You
know
the
bitly
bit
whatever
I.
I
don't
have
it
in
front
of
me,
but
it's
in
the
chat.
Can
people
see
the
chat.
E
Okay,
cool,
okay
and
you
know
so
kind
of
one
one
last
a
little
blip
about
about
cds,
so
kevin
has
mentioned
that
northeast
investment
cooperative
has
gotten
a
bit
of
press
which
is
amazing
and
excellent,
but
we've
had
people
reach
out
to
us.
I
think
we
had
counted
one
time
and
from
17
different
countries
and
from
like
47
states
all
asking
about
how
have
you?
How
did
you
you
know
this
idea
resonates
with
a
lot
of
people
of
a
real
estate
investment
cooperative
and
they
say
how
did
you
do
it?
You
know?
E
Would
you
share
your
material
which
we
have
put
you
know
our
bylaws
and
some
of
our
formation
documents
online
so
that
people
can
see
it?
We've
actually
made
a
tab
on
our
website.
That's
called
forming
a
cooperative,
but
you
know
people
ask
us,
would
you
would
you
review
these
legal
documents
for
us
and
then
there's
where
we
say
hold
on
hold
on
here?
E
Here's
where
you
really
need
some
expertise,
because
a
cooperative
is
you
know
it's
a
legal
vehicle
for
you
know
it's
a
legal
entity,
so
we
we
do
recommend
that
you
know
you
need
to
talk
to
some
professionals.
You
know
whether
it
be
an
accountant,
a
lawyer.
You
know
people
who
do
this
on
a
day-to-day
basis,
even
consulting
a
lawyer.
E
A
lot
of
lawyers
are
not
familiar
with
cooperatives,
and
so
you
know
working
with
a
team
that
could
start
off
your
your
organization
on
the
right
path
with
the
right
things
considered
is
so
important,
and
so
we
get
a
lot
of
these
inquiries,
probably
at
least
one
a
week,
and
we
we
bounce
a
lot
of
them
over
to
cds.
To
just
say
you
know,
we
are
in
all
volunteer
board,
we're
unable
to.
E
We
are
unable
to
review
your
legal
documents
and
tell
them
if
tell
you
if
these
are
appropriate,
and
you
should
speak
to
a
professional
here.
Here's
a
a
good
contact
for
you,
and
so
I,
like
I
said
I
I
added
this.
This
slide
to
our
presentation
kind
of
at
the
last
minute.
E
A
Thanks,
thank
you
and
michael
any
questions
for
any
of
our
panelists.
As
we
close
out
this
very
rich
forum.
C
A
F
Hey
again,
thanks
for
that
presentation
about
the
northeast
investment
cooperative,
I
have
a
question
about
corporate
types
like
me,
who
have
our
investments
tied
up
in
401ks?
Is
there
a
way
for
us
to
bring
our
wealth
to
you,
or
is
it
stuck
in
exxon,
mobil
stocks.
E
I
we
would
love
to,
we
would
love
to
have
you
join
us
and
you
know,
like
I
said
we,
we
have
gone
into
fun,
fundraising
mode,
each
time
that
we
have
started
a
new
project.
We
are
kind
of
on
on
the
cusp
of
where
we
we
may
be
able
to
do
that
again.
But
you
know
we
we
say:
bring
your
your
patient
capital
to
us.
You
know,
don't
don't
buy
a
share
with
your
rent
money.
E
We
you
know
we
we
would,
you
know,
incorporate
it
with
293
other
people
within
your
community
and
try
to
make
decisions
about.
You
know
development
that
reflect
the
values
of
the
community.
I
guess
is
kind
of
our
pitch
so.
F
F
I
E
And
I
would
say
I
am
not
a
financial
advice
giver,
and
so
I
would
say
you
know
if
you
would
choose
to.
You
know,
make
an
investment
with
us.
You
know
it's
a
one
thousand
dollar
membership
share
and
there
would
be
other
opportunities,
like
I
had
said
about
the
c
o
d
shares
that
could
you
know
we?
We
have
awarded
dividends
and
we,
you
know,
the
a
shares
do
grow
in
value
over
time,
so
that
that
might
be
something
that
you're
interested.
C
A
Oh,
thank
you,
I'm
not
seeing
any
well,
and
I
should
note
that
I
did
not
intend
this
to
be
the
last
forum
or
conversation
on
cooperatives.
This
was
just
to
get
the
sort
of
the
wheel
spinning
in
a
particular
direction
and
touch
base
with
those
closest
to
our
east
side
community
here
that
are
involved.
A
I
certainly
know
the
importance
of
cds,
north
country
investment
and
so
many
other
people
who
were
the
the
real,
the
wise,
active
people
who
guided
us
to
the
eastside
food
cooperative
effort,
which
has
been
mentioned.
That
was
the
platform
for
so
many
other
considerations,
including
neic.
A
So
the
way
I
contemplated
it
would
be
another
follow-up
with
you
know
something
where
we
would
talk
with
local
business
communities,
who
may
be
in
a
position
for
transition
and
create
a
forum
for
that
stakeholder
group
to
get
an
information
session
and,
of
course
the
broader
public
would
be
invited
and
cds
would
definitely
be
a
part
of
that
phase
of
the
game
and
then,
of
course,
if
there's
any
sort
of
initial
effort,
that's
now
how
we're
trying
to
address
new
efforts,
be
it
a
fundraising
campaign
for
neic
a
specific
sort
of
outreach.
A
A
You
know
it's
everything
from
day
care
to
mountain
climbing
clubs
to
you
name.
It
are
active
not
only
in
our
own
community
but
regionally
and
so
to
give
that
that
broader
array
was
another
concept
we
had,
but
I
wanted
to
get
one
out
there
now
and
I
thought
this
would
be
a
good
way
to
do
it.
I
think
back
I
did
mention
when
dane
pauline
green,
who
was
the
head
of
the
international
consortium
of
cooperatives,
did
tip
that
glass
very
early
on
at
ferris
state,
and
we
had.
A
We
had
the
world
of
cooperative
players
here
in
northeast.
It
was.
It
was
a
moment
of
pride.
Of
course
I
had
to
be
a
little
bit
hastened.
I
was
in
my
civic
pride
zeal.
I
was
saying
that
ferris
state
was
the
first
cooperative
brewery
and
I
got
a
tap
on
the
shoulder
and
it
was
from
someone
from
san
antonio
or
not
san
antonio
austin
said.
Actually,
no,
that's
not
correct,
and
he
was
very
authoritative
in
correcting
me
in
that
sense,
but
we
did
get
it
first
with
the
cooperative
union
combo.
A
It
was
an
interesting
conversation
where
two
different
perspectives
found
a
core
set
of
values
to
move
forward,
not
unsurprising,
but
it
still
needed
to
be
done
and
a
lot
of
conversation
around
that-
and
I
would
say
also
there
are
other
people
who
are
looking
to
some
of
the
things
we've
done.
Just
as
jill
said,
there
are
people
around
the
world,
I'm
not
surprised.
A
We're
able
to
share
space
in
fair
state
to
talk
about
that
effort
and
even
though
there's
fits
and
starts
with
some
of
these
efforts.
That
effort
has
new
leadership
and
is
moving
forward,
and
I
will
continue
to
put
my
full
shoulder
into
that
effort,
because,
just
as
important
as
is
to
have
access
to
the
things
you
need
like
food,
the
ability
to
produce
things-
and
I
think
beer
is
a
very
necessary
thing
to
produce
and
we
can
do
it
locally.
A
I
could
enumerate
the
different
ways
of
which
distribution
of
money
creates
harm
and
extraction
and,
of
course,
there's
distribution
which
creates
empowerment,
enrichment
and
sustainability,
and
so
not
only
did
village
financial
trust
break
bread
with
us.
They
are
continuing
their
efforts
and
we
will
continue
with
their
efforts
and
just
as
an
aside,
we
were
going
to
be
joined
by
angela
rose,
myers
who's,
the
new
president
of
the
minneapolis
chapter
of
the
naacp,
and
she
was
intrigued
by
what
we
were
doing
too,
and
it
was.
A
You
know
in
a
conversation
where
I
reached
out
to
her
by
way
of
introduction
to
a
new
leader
in
our
community,
and
it
just
so
happens
that
she
is
very
well
versed
in
the
power
of
the
cooperative
model,
not
only
personally,
but
she
comes
from
two
generations
of
economic
economists,
both
in
terms
of
practitioning
and
then
of
course,
teaching
at
the
academic
level
and
very
familiar
with
the
power
of
the
cooperative
model
for
the
rondo
community.
A
Her
family
members
are
directly
connected
to
that
that
effort
and
the
conversations
about
trying
to
renew
and
revive
something
that
was
lost
to
be
regained
again
in
that
community,
over
in
saint
paul
and
they're,
looking
to
bring
those
sort
of
resources
insights
to
join
some
of
the
efforts
around
village,
financial
trust
in
terms
of
na
double
cp's
mission,
but
at
the
bottom
of
it
there's
so
much
there
in
both
of
the
educational
component
and
the
economic
empowerment
component,
and
this
is
a
new
leader
who
seems
very
very
intrigued
in
both
areas
and
she
places
the
cooperative
model
right
in
the
middle
of
that.
A
So,
of
course,
I'm
very
intrigued
by
that
wanted
to
give
her
a
shout
out
because
she's
already
watching
what
we're
doing
over
here
on
the
other
side
of
the
river
in
an
intriguing
way-
and
I
know
the
cooperative
model
says,
cooperation
among
cooperatives
is
paramount.
It's
it's
not
even
negotiable.
A
I
think
conversation
matters
it's
harder
now
in
this
current
situation,
but
it
doesn't
mean
we
we
shouldn't,
do
it
and
can't
do
it.
So
I'm
very
very
grateful
for
people
taking
their
time
to
meet
in
this
format,
and
if
we
have
to
meet
again
in
this
format,
we
will
but
boy.
I
really
look
forward
to
when
we
can
come
together
in
space
and
see
each
other
physically.
I
really
think
that
matters
as
well,
but
for
now
thank
you
everyone.