Summer 2023 5 BUSINESS connections Renovated Buildings Enhance Hiawatha When Andy andWendy Pederson see a need in Hiawatha, they like to do what they can to help. An excellent example is the renovation work they’ve done to give these old buildings a new life: • Former Maple Lanes Bowling Alley: The Pedersons purchased the building in 2022, and it’s being remodeled to be used as a meeting or community space. The south exterior wall welcomes visitors to town with a mural. For details, see page 6. • Former Carpet Plus Retail Store: This project involved cleanup, office gutting, rebuilding storage space, installing doors, reinsulating, and adding new tin to the exterior. It’s now a storage and staging building. • Flairfold: To renovate the property that was once a wooden shutter plant, extensive work was required—removal of remaining supplies, tearing down of buildings, replacing windows, concreting the lots, and more. It now features usable space for an office, meeting area, seed and chemical storage, seed treating, and data management. Owner Andy Pederson noted, “By making historical buildings more attractive and functional, it helps our town look updated to visitors and make a good first impression. Plus, I think the renovations help Hiawatha residents feel prouder of our little community.” Teaming Up for Growth How would Pederson describe the growth of the company from 2000 to today? He replied, “Perhaps the best way to describe our growth is slow, methodical, and calculated. Every employee through the years has positively contributed to where we are today. The local community has supported us from day one, and we’ve tried to build a team that complements and represents the community. Pioneer Seed has also been a key component of our overall business strategy and helped Pederson Seed & Services grow.” It’s that team approach that makes Pederson most proud of the company. He explained, “We focus on the farmers and help them be the best they can be. Our team’s attitude and willingness to jump in and help each other and our customers makes me very proud.” Rainbow Solutions To stay connected and working efficiently, Pederson Seed & Services uses two Rainbow communications solutions—Fiber Internet and Business PremiumWi-Fi. “Rainbow’s Fiber Internet has been a great help to us. It allows for rapid movement of large files and easy Internet access for meetings, and its stability has supported our business. In addition, Rainbow’s commitment to farm networks in the community has helped us better access data more quickly, enabling us to promptly deliver data/recommendations to our customers and their teams. Our goal is to provide our customers with timely updates, and Rainbow’s Fiber Internet is key to accomplishing this,” said Pederson. What does he appreciate about Rainbow’s Business Premium Wi-Fi? Pederson answered, “It provides us with excellent access to the Internet for multiple users at a time, over multiple buildings. The area that Business PremiumWi-Fi covers allows us to operate all Internet-based software across our properties, and this range helps us better serve our customers.” “Give What You Can” It’s clear that serving customers goes hand in hand with serving the community for Pederson Seed & Services. Pederson said, “Our team is heavily invested in supporting the Hiawatha community, including our local school districts, in many ways. Wendy and I believe giving back is how we make the community better. Give what you can, while you can, for as long as you can.” You can read about some of the ways Pederson Seed & Services gives back to Hiawatha below and on page 6.
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