Albert Lea being listed in the top 10 micropolitans for its ecomonic success is great news for our community.

Site Selection magazine has been using Conway Data, which serves as an information link between corporate facility planners and area developers and service providers, for the last 50 years to track information on the top 100 micropolitans.

To be named one of the 100 micropolitans, cities needed to meet one of the three criteria: see $1,000,000 in new capital, create 20,000 feet of new business space, or creation of 50 new jobs. Albert Lea met all three.

A micropolitan is a largely self-sufficient, rural, regional economy, where most of the people who live there commute to jobs based there, according to the magazine.

There are about 700 micropolitans around the country.

Albert Lea was the only Minnesota city to make the top 10 list.

Being on the list is advantageous for further growth. Site Selection magazine, and the list of the top 100 micropolitans, are sent out to a select group of nationally known corporate real estate groups. Approximately 44,000 directors of corporate real estate receive the information.

This has the potential to give us a huge boost in economic development.

It gives us national recognition and could increase jobs and the numbers and the types of developers looking at us.

We applaud our local officials for their economic development work so far, and urge them to continue to put their best foot forward.