Spotlight on community banking: Innovation, volunteerism and cheerleading are distinguishing features

Community bankers are like gardeners, getting their hands dirty in an effort to help their towns grow. While community bankers differentiate themselves with people-focused relationships, they further improve the lives of those who live in their markets with consistent innovation, volunteerism and cheerleading..InnovationIowa bank offers significant support to future farmersCommunity bankers have their ears to the ground, listening to what their neighbors need, and in ag country that can be quite literal. Midwest Heritage Bank, FSB, in West Des Moines, Iowa, created an original program in 2014 to give young farmers a head start. Wayne Martens, vice president, ag and commercial lender, said he and his colleagues at the bank saw the “challenges facing the beef industry, including declining herd numbers, rising costs, and barriers to entry for young producers.“We saw a need to make agriculture, particularly cattle production, more accessible to the next generation,” Martens said. “The Youth Heifer Program was created to spark interest in the industry by giving young people a hands-on, supported way to get started, while building both their agricultural knowledge and financial skills.”.Each year, the bank offers the program to seventh and eighth graders, who can apply for the five-year program. Participants are chosen based on merit, future goals and capacity to care for the herd. Up to five hard-working students receive three bred heifers, a farm operating account, and new this year, an optional $1,000 line of credit at 0 percent interest. At the end of the term, students repay the initial market value of their mini-herd along with any balance on the line of credit.“Financial education is a key component of the program,” Martens said. “Throughout the five years, and beyond, our lenders work closely with participants to help them build confidence, responsibility and long-term financial wellness.”To date, the program has entertained 54 recipients who received 162 heifers valued at $383,250. Some students grew their herd to a dozen or more while others built significant college funds. “While not all participants ultimately pursue careers in agriculture, the program has helped build agricultural knowledge and financial literacy, and in some cases, has led to continued involvement in livestock production,” Martens said.Midwest Heritage, with more than $500 million in assets, is a subsidiary of Hy-Vee, Inc.North Dakota bank bolsters community hopeWhat happens when a community loses its “third place”—a spot used for socializing that’s not work or home? Often it means a small town gets even smaller as it loses part of its economic base and connection as its main gathering grounds are shuttered. When faced with that possibility, Dakota Heritage Bank in Hope, N.D., and the Hope Development Corporation (an economic development corporation) teamed up for the benefit of the town’s 278 people.In April of 2011, the roof of a conjoined grocery store and café collapsed under heavy snow. To help the business owner rebuild, the community created the Renaissance Fund. This allowed current and former residents and area businesses to invest in the restoration project. The bank sent out letters explaining the investment and how funds would be repaid, filled out tax forms, and collected and placed contributions into a certificate of deposit. More than $550,000 was raised through the investment fund, while additional money was brought in by a 1 percent tax. The café and grocery store were rebuilt and a senior center was added. “The investment is scheduled to be paid back to investors this year,” said Dawn Flaten, Hope market bank president. It’s been a “big success,” she said.Then, a few years ago, the community was again faced with losing its gathering place when the café owner wanted to retire. Again bank employees and EDC members worked to create a plan to keep the café going. The EDC decided to rent the space out, and Flaten, EDC treasurer, volunteered to keep the books for the café and write grants.The first few years were rough as there was high turnover in lessees. But the EDC changed its strategy, and things stabilized when a manager for the restaurant was hired. Community members volunteer at the café as wait staff, bussers and dishwashers. The café also makes the meals for the town’s reduced-price senior meal program, which allows recipients to eat in or have volunteers deliver meals to them. While the community would “love to have a moneymaking [operation],” the main goal “is to keep the restaurant open,” Flaten said. It’s currently about break-even, she said.The café boasts a simple menu of American-style soups, salads, sides and sandwiches along with daily specials of tuna melts, meatloaf and knoephla soup, a nod to the area’s German roots.Dakota Heritage Bank is a $424 million bank headquartered in Hunter, N.D., and has 11 offices, one of which is directly across Steele Avenue from the café. Illinois banks engages language-as-a-service Beardstown, Ill., is a town with an estimated population of 6,380—that’s up about 1.7 percent annually since the 2020 census; Caucasians are in the minority, an unusual trait for non-urban areas in the Upper Midwest. More than 40 percent of the population is Hispanic, while nearly 10 percent are French-African. Immigrants have brought new life to the downtown area by opening businesses in empty storefronts and creating community spaces. The school district also has seen a revival and has students who speak more than 15 languages and dialects.The JBS pork processing plant draws in people from a variety of nationalities and ethnicities, said Rich Eckert, president of Beardstown Savings, s.b., an $80 million mutual bank that has experienced organic growth alongside the community’s growth spurt. The bank also has seen an increased need for access to translation services. During covid, Eckert said all of the bank’s bilingual tellers left to join public health. “I woke up one morning and had no one who could speak Spanish. We went from three to zero,” he said. “I was adamant we would never be caught in that situation again.”After researching, the bank partnered with Worldwide Tech Connections, a language-as-a-service company that provides automated translation for 93 languages and additional dialects. The program can be used on tablets, smartphones or desktops through speech or text. “It’s worked out pretty well,” Eckert said, although he admits it’s more of a security blanket. “It’s secondary in a lot of ways. A customer would still rather talk to a person than an app.”.VolunteerismS.D. bank promotes veterans housing projectMore than 30,000 veterans experience homelessness every night. In 2016, four combat veterans began brainstorming what they could do to help. The Veterans Community Project started small by providing more than 1 million rides its first year in existence. But the dream was to expand to provide transitional housing and access to wrap-around resources. With a supportive community in Kansas City, Mo., the organization built its first tiny-home neighborhood on a former driving range across from its headquarters.VCP broke ground on its fifth community in Sioux Falls, S.D., in 2022. The first three homes were occupied in 2023, but it wasn’t until this spring that all planned 25 houses were completed, 15 designed for individual veterans and 10 designed for families.“First National Bank [in Sioux Falls] was one of the first partners for the Veterans Community Project of Sioux Falls, committing to sponsoring a house before the organization had even hired local staff,” said Kara Tesch, content strategist for the $2.1 billion bank. “Our teammates have also volunteered with the VCP every year since 2023, and we held a donation drive in 2023 to furnish a home.”“Giving back is a cornerstone of our culture at First National Bank. Likewise, veteran support is a constant need in the Sioux Falls community, as it is in many. The mission of the VCP aligns with our values, and since we proudly employ multiple veterans and active service members, the relationship was a natural fit,” said Bob Baker, bank director of corporate affairs. Three of the participating bank employees volunteering at VCP were Scott Hirsch and Jeff Weber, U.S. Army and Navy veterans, respectively, and Air National Guard member Kade Larson.This year, the bank used the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines’ Member Impact Fund to match its donation and was able to present VCP with a check for $43,750.CheerleadingRace Day takes off in southern MinnesotaDirt track racing is believed to be the most common form of auto racing in the United States, and Fairmont Raceway in Fairmont, Minn., is home to what is billed as the fastest half-mile dirt track in the United States. A 2025 survey estimates that racing has an economic impact of nearly $10 million on Martin County, Minn., a county of about 20,000 people of which Fairmont is the county seat. But the impact on the area goes much deeper. For many, racing is a family tradition with generations growing up side-by-side tinkering on cars to get them ready for the local track.Race Day, held annually on a Friday in mid-July in the State Bank of Fairmont parking lot, is an opportunity for those families to show off their cars. Local and circuit drivers are invited to meet fans who can sit in the cars and ask questions. “A lot of people look forward to it,” said Bill Blomster, president of the $150 million bank. “It’s a chance to showcase the drivers, mechanics and others involved behind the scenes.”The event started in 2000 with one driver sponsored by the bank and now includes 15 to 20 sprint and stock cars. Half the drivers are from within the county—many of them sponsored by the bank—while others come from South Dakota, Iowa, Oklahoma and even as far away as Australia. The final number of cars at any particular event is always a surprise, Blomster said. Some scheduled to come can’t due to blown engines or broken-down rigs while others who hear about it word-of-mouth just show up.Patrons can also get a soda and pork patty, usually grilled by the Martin County Pork Producers. Martin County is the self-proclaimed Bacon Capital of the United States. This year, the bank plans to grill 900 patties for the estimated 1,000-plus people who will attend the two-hour event.Because of his strong, continued support for the industry, Blomster was inducted into the Fairmont Raceway Hall of Fame in 2024..Shop, eat and bank localGreenleaf, Wis., is a bedroom community of 865 people about 15 miles south of Green Bay, and just north of Appleton.This April, the $155 million GreenLeaf Bank, with offices in Greenleaf and Wrightstown, Wis., promoted its Shop-Eat-Bank Local program. Nineteen businesses joined the bank in its quest to promote the commercial ventures in the two communities which are, as Midwesterners gauge distance, about six minutes apart.All businesses in the surrounding areas of one of their branches were invited to participate. Those who signed up this year included LedgeStone Vineyards, Gnarly Cedar Brewery, The River Coffee and Cream, the bank, and a variety of other entertainment, food and service providers. Each location had a box where customers could enter a drawing for a $50 gift card purchased by the bank from that business. Patrons could enter once a day per location. On May 1, the bank then drew the winners.The bank has staged this program six times, although they weren’t all in consecutive years, and some modifications were made along the way, according to David Krutz, bank president and CEO. While businesses have not commented specifically on whether they saw increased foot traffic, “feedback has been primarily appreciation for doing it and spotlighting local businesses,” he said. David’s brother, Michael Krutz, director of strategic partnerships, coordinates the program.