CONGRESSMAN
COLLIN C. PETERSON
Minnesota - 7th District       http://www.house.gov/collinpeterson/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 20, 2003
CONTACT: Allison Myhre/218-847-5056 or 218-731-1657

(WASHINGTON, DC) - U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson will be sponsoring meetings in late June and early July to raise the visibility of business assistance and financing resources and to promote rural business and community development. The meetings are for anyone who is involved in government, community development, rural business, or is an entrepreneur.

"Since I've been in office, I've been working with communities and businesses to let them know about resources available in our rural areas," Peterson said. "These meetings are just another way to reach out to everyone who might be interested in community development and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship will also be the key to job growth and retention in rural areas in future years."

The first meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, on Friday, June 27 at Paul Bunyan Telephone in Bemidji. The second meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, on Thursday, July 10 at Arvig Telephone Company in Perham.

Minnesota Rural Partners will be there to talk about their new Virtual Entrepreneurial Network and BizPathways. These programs connect entrepreneurs with business resource providers in their community via the internet. Other local, regional, state and federal resource representatives will be on hand to talk about their programs.

There is no cost to attend these meetings, but to sign up please contact Peterson's Detroit Lakes office at 218-847-5056 or e-mail Toni.Merdan@mail.house.gov

-30-