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1 week ago | 
herald-journal.com | Brian Haines
The year was 1935, and the outlook for the United States of America was bleak at best. The Great Depression had ravaged the nation. Unemployment was at a staggering 20%, and the economic growth rate was on a steady decline. To fill the void of unemployed workers, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made an executive order May 6 for the creation of the Works Progress Administration, or WPA for short.
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2 weeks ago | 
herald-journal.com | Brian Haines
The year was 1856, and McLeod County, which had only been in existence for one year, was about to be the site of a skirmish between Dakota and Ojibwa natives. In July of that year, nine Dakota/Sioux men departed their reservation on a hunting trip in the big woods of McLeod County. The group was a mere two miles north of Hutchinson, when they encountered nine Ojibwa/Chippewa. According to the Dakota hunters, the Ojibwa had traveled south to raid the isolated cabins that dotted the landscape.
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3 weeks ago | 
workdesign.com | Brian Haines
Just 20 years ago, organizations seeking to understand how their office space was utilized had to conduct manual surveys that involved walking through the space and counting how many people occupied different areas. To gather meaningful insights into usage patterns and trends these types of manual surveys needed to be performed regularly. Today, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors do the job in real time, offering insights not just into where people are, but why they’re there—or not.
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1 month ago | 
herald-journal.com | Brian Haines
The year was 1861, and the United States was in the beginning stages of a bloody Civil War. Tensions between northern and southern states over issues of federal overreach and slavery erupted April 12 when southern Confederates opened fire on a Union garrison at Fort Sumter, SC. Two days later, President Abraham Lincoln sent out a call for 75,000 volunteers for the Union Army. “. . .
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1 month ago | 
herald-journal.com | Brian Haines
The year was 1857. Enoch and George Holmes, two young natives of Pittsburgh, PA, had just arrived in Minnesota. The two brothers set their sights on Carver, where they opened a general store under the name of “Holmes Brothers.” The store was an instant success, and with the money he made, Enoch Holmes invested in some real estate across the county line in McLeod County on the shores of Kennick Lake.
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1 month ago | 
herald-journal.com | Brian Haines
They called it the “swinging 60s,” and for many, it was the decade of decades. The 1960s were marked by significant social change, political movements, and cultural shifts through the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the rise of counterculture. It was the decade of the Beatles, the height of the baby boom, flower power, and the space race. For the first time in the 20th century, the American public was confronted with widespread political disillusionment.
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1 month ago | 
herald-journal.com | Brian Haines
David Ells was one of the earliest McLeod County settlers. Ells was born in Nova Scotia Aug. 5, 1823. He was the son of Benjamin and Mary Ells. Ells was reared in his home country and received his early education there. By 1850, however, the young man decided it was time to leave his home and strike out for the west. In May of 1850, he began the long trek to Wisconsin. Ells found a home in Walworth County, where he began farming.
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2 months ago | 
glencoenews.com | Brian Haines
History is filled with many bizarre moments that make us scratch our heads. Oftentimes, an old story is so unusual that it makes you wonder if it’s even true. Believe it or not, many of these stories are grounded in reality – they happened, and were just as crazy as they may sound. With that in mind, this week I’ve decided to share three of the most absurd tales I’ve ever come across.
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2 months ago | 
forbes.com | Brian Haines
Brian Haines, Chief Strategy Officer, FM:Systems. Finding the right integrated workplace management system (IWMS) takes time, patience and a collaborative approach. These platforms come in so many different shapes and sizes that finding the ideal one for your organization—now and in the future—is challenging. Procuring one can be so difficult that many organizations end up either picking the wrong one or trying to wring the last bit of use from an outdated system.
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2 months ago | 
herald-journal.com | Brian Haines
Few among us today can make a claim that we are as tough as those sturdy pioneers who settled on the Minnesota frontier. With meager belongings and humble aspirations, the people who settled this part of the country were steadfast in their ability to overcome whatever the wilderness could throw at them. They survived sickness, war with the Indians, grasshopper plagues, prairie fires, pestilence, and more – all the while, never taking an eye off the future.
