Litchfield's business community continues to expand, and the Litchfield Chamber of Commerce plays a significant role in the growth of local businesses.

The organization meets each January to celebrate the business community's successes. The chamber banquet provides recognition for businesses and individuals who have made an investment in the community, either through opening a new business, purchasing a business, or investing in the expansion of an existing business.

Chamber Executive Director Dee Schutte makes business referrals and oversees the chamber's college scholarship program.

The scholarship program offers financial reward to a Litchfield High School graduate currently enrolled as a college junior or senior.

And the chamber has more than just a local focus. Schutte maintains the Litchfield Community Page on the Internet. Located at www.litch.com, it draws interest from Web surfers around the world.

The chamber can be reached at (320) 693-8184.

Thriving business area
New businesses and those with longstanding ties to the city have found just what they wanted in Litchfield, a business-friendly kind of town.

"We have a lot to offer," said Chuck Fenton, owner of Fenton Motors Inc. and member of Litchfield Industries, a group dedicated to helping new and established businesses succeed. "We have a low tax rate; utilities are as cheap here as anywhere; our telecommunications is state of the art; in my opinion, there are very few towns in outstate Minnesota that can offer what Litchfield can."

Business and industry owners seem to agree — Litchfield is home to a thriving commercial/industrial community.

"What's so impressive about Litchfield is its diversity," said Terry Anderson, president of Anderson Chemical. "We don't have to rely on the one big industry. That gives us a stability that a lot of other communities just don't have."

Litchfield's proximity to the Twin Cities metro area — just 65 miles east on U.S. Highway 12 — makes it easily accessible for industries concerned about transportation. The closeness to other large cities, such as St. Cloud to the north, Willmar to the west, and Hutchinson to the south, also means employers have a large potential workforce from which to draw.

"Litchfield being in the middle of these larger cities makes us a good location for new businesses and new residents," Fenton said.