In December, Viet "Henry" Long stopped into Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation's (SMIF) office. He was confused about a couple checks he had received from SMIF. They only totaled $2,500, but both were indeed for Henry, who co-owns Magic Ten Nails in Owatonna. When the 2016 floods came in September, Magic Ten Nails, located right across from the Straight River in Owatonna, was again underwater.

"It was going to take two to three months for the insurance money to come through," said Long. "We couldn't wait that long to get back in business - as a small business, we needed to keep working to keep making money. I had taken out a loan for initial repairs, and was grateful to receive SMIF's funds so quickly to help buy new furniture and equipment."

	Viet "Henry" Long of Magic Ten Nails, who received a Disaster Recovery Grant after the 2016 floods

The grant to Long and 16 other business owners was a small but fast response to the 2016 floods in our region. SMIF's Business Disaster Recovery Grants are based on studies showing that early money is crucial to help businesses decide to re-open. As ever, AgStar was the first partner to contribute. The creation of this disaster recovery response model was one of my first tasks when I started at SMIF in 2007, right after the Rushford floods, and it's since been replicated in many communities around the state.

2016 was a difficult year for main street businesses in Madelia, where there was a fire in February, and for businesses affected by the September rains. Here's to hoping that 2017 is a prosperous year for these small business owners and for the region as a whole.