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Karlstad Chamber of Commerce
July 15, 2026
Karlstad Chamber July Meeting Minutes

July 14, 2026
Hosted by Super Market Foods

Business Spotlight: Super Market Foods

The Karlstad Chamber of Commerce was welcomed by Store Manager Holly for a behind-the-scenes tour of Super Market Foods. Holly has been with the store for more than 20 years, beginning by stocking shelves and unloading trucks before working her way into management.

Chamber members learned about the history of the business, its growth into a one-stop destination with groceries, Thrifty White Pharmacy, Marathon fuel, off-sale liquor, and a full-service deli, as well as the store’s commitment to customer service and community involvement.

Special thanks to Holly and the entire Super Market Foods team for their hospitality and for sharing the story behind one of Karlstad’s longest-standing businesses.

Meeting Recap

Hallock Main Street Visit

The Chamber welcomed special guests Brianna and Jorja from Hallock Main Street.

Both organizations shared ideas about membership, volunteer engagement, community events, and business promotion. The discussion focused on ways Karlstad and Hallock can collaborate to strengthen businesses and create opportunities that benefit all of Kittson County.

The Chamber looks forward to continuing this partnership and exploring future county-wide initiatives.

Membership Update

  • Chamber membership continues to grow, with approximately 20+ participating businesses, many joining through the new Moosefest Button Hunt initiative.
  • Members discussed simplifying membership tier descriptions to better reflect business size and specifying “full-time” employees as the marker.
  • The group agreed to continue personally inviting businesses to meetings and encouraging membership.

Chamber Communications

The Chamber’s new email newsletter is officially up and running!

Members are encouraged to:

  • Submit community events, promotions, sales, and announcements.
  • Encourage customers and community members to subscribe.
  • Add the Chamber email address to their safe sender list.

The group discussed publishing newsletters on a bi-weekly schedule, with the potential to move to weekly communications as content grows.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Marketing & Social Media

Marketing continues to be one of the Chamber’s strongest member benefits.

Highlights included:

Business Spotlight Performance

  • 6,000 views 
  • 2,657 viewers 
  • 1,247 engagements 
  • 1,110 clicks 
  • 85% of viewers were non-followers, helping introduce Chamber businesses to new audiences. 

Top Audience

  • Women 65+ (27%) 
  • Women 35–44 (19%) 
  • Women 45–54 (17%) 
  • Women 55–64 (15%) 

This continues to validate that our business spotlight series is reaching the audiences most engaged with our local community.

Karlstad Chamber Social Media Growth

Last 28 Days

  • 10,158 page views 
  • 1,363 engagements 
  • 316 total followers (+2.8% growth) 

Last 90 Days

  • 89,462 page views 
  • 12,613 engagements 
  • 95 content shares 
  • 66.7% of engagement came from non-followers, significantly expanding the Chamber’s reach beyond our existing audience. 

Takeway:

Our Chamber isn’t just growing followers—we’re reaching new people. More than two-thirds of our engagement over the last three months has come from non-followers. That’s exactly what we want for our Chamber members because it means their businesses are being discovered by people who weren’t already connected to the Chamber.

Moosefest Button Hunt

Planning is well underway for the Chamber’s newest community initiative.

Highlights include:

  • 200 collectible Moosefest buttons
  • $5 per button
  • Approximately 50 door prizes
  • $500 Grand Prize drawing
  • Participating Chamber businesses will host prize baskets throughout Moosefest weekend.

The Button Hunt is designed to encourage residents and visitors to explore local businesses while supporting Chamber members.

Additional promotional materials, business maps, and signage are currently being finalized.

Ribbon Cutting Program

The Chamber continues developing its ribbon-cutting program.

Upcoming efforts include:

  • Scheduling ribbon cuttings for current Chamber businesses.
  • Pairing membership certificates with ribbon-cutting photos to welcome new members.
  • Completing ribbon and ceremony supply purchases.

Financial Update

Recent Chamber expenses included:

  • Email marketing platform & new chamber email
  • Moosefest Button Hunt materials
  • Social media advertising

A printed financial summary will be prepared for future meetings.

Community Initiatives

The Chamber discussed several opportunities to expand its impact, including:

  • Educational workshops for businesses
  • Social media training
  • Vendor show education
  • Workforce development partnerships
  • Increased collaboration with Hallock Main Street and other organizations throughout Kittson County

New Business

The Chamber also discussed:

  • Creating a Moosefest Parade Float Contest
  • Continued support of the Karlstad Farmers Market
  • Future participation in county-wide events, including the Kittson County Fair

Next Meeting

Date: To Be Determined

The Chamber will continue focusing on business promotion, membership growth, Moosefest preparations, and community partnerships.

Thank you to Super Market Foods, Holly, and our special guests from Hallock Main Street for a fantastic meeting!