Business

At a time when the manufacturing industry is gaining momentum, Minnesota's firms are facing more challenges in attracting skilled and qualified workers.

Malt-O-Meal Company began with one product, its Hot Wheat cereal. Today, it produces 10 brands of cereal. To reflect that growth, it officially changed its name to MOM Brands on Tuesday.

This was posted on Malt-O-Meal's corporate site on Tuesday morning:
"Say "Hi" To MOM Brands™

Kathy Bauer was recently elected director of District 7 of Family Dairies USA. FDUSA is a cooperative of midwest dairy farmers for dairy farmers.

Rachel Shold VanDenBoom has been named the new sales manager of Edina Realty’s Faribault and Northfield offices, and she will continue to manage the New Prague office.

• A business owner trying to modernize the tanning industry just opened her second tanning salon — in Faribault.

Faribo West Mall has gone through many changes in its more than 30-year run, including losing its connection to Wal-Mart, losing retail businesses and, most recently, losing Cinema 6.

One of four grocery stores involved in a United for Kids initiative recently started offering a 10 percent discount on fresh fruits and vegetables to all licensed childcare providers in Rice County.

Faribault’s councilors unanimously approved $80,000 worth of tax breaks for B&B Manufacturing, an Owatonna company with its sights set on Faribault for a permanent location.

Jennifer Simpson-Dahl, of Northfield, and Susan Arnold, of Faribault, met while working on their master’s degrees in family therapy.