Waseca breaks ground on workforce center

State and federal lawmakers Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, Brad Finstad, Tom Sexton, Gene Dornink, and Keith Allen were present for the Sept. 25 groundbreaking ceremony for a new regional workforce development center being funded chiefly by a $2.1 million grant from the national Economic Development Authority and located in Waseca.

 

According to information shared during the ceremony, the new facility will provide a flexible space available for long- or short-term use in helping workers acquire skills or certifications needed for their jobs–everything from operating complex machines to career-related sessions for area students. 

 

Area colleges can use the space for courses; health care facilities can arrange for specialized trainings; part of the facility may be made available for child care.

 

Klobuchar told those in attendance she is glad to have helped push for funding to support Waseca County’s “common sense solution” to the problem of worker shortages that plagues businesses and organizations in the less populated areas of the state.

 

Finstad told of meeting with Blair Nelson, who was lobbying for support of the project back in 2022. “That man never stopped working for his constituents,” said Finstad, describing a 10 p.m. conversation with Nelson regarding the workforce center. He went on to say the new center will help encourage workers to stay in the region, “providing opportunities for generations to come.”

 

County board chair De Malterer expressed gratitude to the lawmakers who helped see that the workforce center received funding, then went on to acknowledge numerous individuals, agencies and businesses helping the planning and construction move forward.

 

She spoke of the “persistence, patience, and partnership” which ultimately made the day’s groundbreaking ceremony possible, and specifically named the City of Waseca, Region 9 Development, Waseca County staff and administration, and construction planners and contractors.

 

Excavation and landscape shaping are already underway at the Waseca County Community Services building, located at 1000 W. Elm Avenue in Waseca. The building currently houses the county’s public health and public assistance departments. The workforce development center is under construction on the lowest floor, a previously unused space of about 10,000 square feet. Plans for the new center, due to be completed in the summer of 2027, include a dedicated parking area, entrances, and reception area, so that activities in the county offices and those in the workforce center can proceed without interrupting one another.

 

Once it is fully operational, the facility may provide full or part-time employment for as many as 50 people; they will not be county employees, but are expected to work for the agency managing the center.