40 Square Cooperative Solutions is excited to announce a new chair for early 2022. At its January board meeting, the 40 Square Board of Directors elected Springfield farmer Cole Trebesch to preside as chair. Trebesch, who replaces Robby Gieseke, previously served as vice chair. “I’m humbled and grateful to have the confidence of my fellow…
At the Jan. 13 meeting of the 40 Square Cooperative Solutions Board of Directors, the board voted – due to the ongoing COVID-19 surge variants – to not hold an in-person annual meeting for 2022 for the protecting of our members and potential visitors. The co-op will be providing an annual report by email and…
Leading the Way: 40 Square Begins Fifth Open Enrollment Season 40 Square Cooperative Solutions is first in its class. The organization is proud to be Minnesota’s only agricultural co-op focusing exclusively on providing farm families, agribusinesses, businesses who provide direct support to production agriculture – and their employees – access to self-funded health plan options.…
One of the many challenges highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the urgent need to boost access to mental health care in rural Minnesota. A blueprint for positive change is now available thanks to a group of mental health professionals and other stakeholders who started working on the access issue even before the pandemic…
Minnesota farmers who want to improve safety on their farms can now apply for funding through two programs from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) that help with the cost of buying, shipping and installing eligible safety equipment. “There’s very little that can comfort a family who has lost someone due to a preventable accident…
Throughout October, 40 Square Cooperative Solutions is celebrating National Co-op month. We are proud of our unique status as the first – and only! – Minnesota agricultural co-op focusing exclusively on health plans for farm families, agribusinesses and their employees through access to self-funded health insurance options. Minnesota is home to more co-ops than any…
Farming has become Therese Romsdahl’s second act in life. After 30 years working in the Minneapolis suburbs as a records supervisor for Shakopee Police Department, Therese married Brian Romsdahl, a lifelong producer in Watonwan County, and reinvented herself as a farmer. “It was a change of life for me, a lot of transitions, but I’m…
When COVID-19 first shut down in person learning, educators and parents got a glimpse into different digital challenges. Among them, kids aren’t immune to developing tired, dry eyes from concentrating on laptops and electronic tablets for extended periods of time. The discomfort drove some of them to their ophthalmologist, looking for relief. As students and…
Five years ago, exploding health insurance costs forced many employees at Minnesota Pork Inc. (MPI) Farms to forgo coverage. “Previously, we weren’t very capable of providing affordable health care for our employees,” says MPI Business Manager Ashley Winkelman. “A lot of them are 20 and 30 somethings who were going without health care because it…
‘Ducks in a row’: 40 Square Informational Meeting goes virtual For the first time, 40 Square Cooperative Solutions held its year-in-review meetings virtually. Though not ideal, the meetings went off without a hitch, as dozens of co-op members logged on to hear an update on the past fiscal year and a look-ahead toward 2021. “Our…