Rural MN CEP, Workforce Center now own building they call home

Article By: Brian Basham   |   Detroit Lakes Online
 

Rural Minnesota CEP and the Minnesota Workforce Center in the Roosevelt Building in Detroit Lakes officially opened the newly remodeled doors to the building that they now own Thursday morning with an open house and program.

CEP Executive Director Dan Wenner said the plans to buy a building for CEP have been in the works since the board considered the topic in 2008.

After considering several different locations, the board decided to negotiate for the purchase of the Roosevelt Building, which took several months, he said. The building was bought in 2010 with a loan from the City of Detroit Lakes and a donation from former owner Curt Briggs.

The Minnesota Work-force Center was moved into the building, and after a remodel, it started doing business late last fall.

“We’ve already seen a cost savings of $40,000 a year in rent,” Wenner said to a gathering of about 50 people at an open house program Thursday morning. “We have a great location on one of the main thoroughfares in Detroit Lakes. We’re close to downtown, on the edge of the industrial park and in an area close to employers.”

Location is pivotal to help CEP achieve their main goal — matching skilled job seekers with employers who need them.

“Jobs are what the Workforce Center is all about,” Wenner said. “Our job is to ensure that workers have the skills employers need so that both can be successful.”

Sharon Josephson, Rep. Collin Peterson’s representative, congratulated CEP on the purchase of the building. Josephson told the gathering she was hired at CEP in the 1980s and learned her “CEP talk” from former director Larry Buboltz and Wenner.

“Myself and Representative Peterson are still strong supporters of this program,” she said. “Collin (Peterson) is always interested in what’s going on at the Workforce Center.”

The Workforce Center partners work with anyone looking for a job, has special programs for low-income adults and youth, disabled workers, unemployment insurance recipients, those on public assistance, veterans, older workers and those with special needs, Wenner said.

Employers or job seekers can reach Rural Minnesota CEP and the Minnesota Workforce Center at 218-846-7377.