Join us in welcoming our Business of the Month, the Heartland Lakes Development Commission/Pine Crest Apartments!

"Northwoods Bank has been a long-time partner in the work being accomplished by our organization and are committed to making the Heartland Lakes region a better place to live, work, and play."

Formed as a partnership between Hubbard County, City of Park Rapids and the local business community the organization seeks to “Inspire and Retain Economic Growth” that will make the Heartland Lakes area an outstanding place to live and work. Our most recent project, Pine Crest Apartments, was developed in response to the overwhelming need for local employers to attract and retain workers. The goal of the project was to create attractive housing options that are affordable to the positions that local employers need to fill. The project is a partnership between Hubbard County, City of Park Rapids, Park Rapids Area Schools and opened August 2024.

HLDC is also currently working to address the shortage of quality affordable childcare in the community by leading an effort called Rural Child Care Innovation Program (RCCIP) that will recognize, celebrate and support current providers and support the creation of additional slots in the community by working to find innovative solutions brought forward by community members.

HLDC also operates “The Hangar”, which is a cooperative workspace that provides a wide array of services for entrepreneurs, small businesses and remote workers. The space has private, semi – private and open workspace, a conference room with video conference capabilities as well as high capacity and large format printing. Daily use passes as well as access packages are available to meet the needs of the users. 

Learn more at https://heartlandlakesdevelopment.org/ and https://www.pinecrestpr.com/.

Northwoods Bank of Minnesota has an interesting history.

Chartered over a century ago in the small town of Dorset MN, the bank successfully navigated through the depths of the depression, the expansion years of the 1980’s and 1990’s, a charter re-location and name change, and most recently, the “great recession”.

Throughout the years, the bank has grown and prospered under the ownership and management of five generations of the Hewitt family. Please take a few minutes to learn about our history, as described in our 100 year anniversary video.