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Jake Yeager and Bryce Reynolds at the Economic Club Luncheon

Recently, two Winona State College of Business students had the opportunity to attend an Economic Club of Minnesota luncheon in Minneapolis. Jake Yeager (Chair of the Economic Club) and Bryce Reynolds, both economics majors, were invited to attend alongside the Dean of the College of Business, Dr. Hamid Akbari, as well as Carole Burton, an alumna and leadership trainer.

Taking place at the Hilton Conference Center in downtown Minneapolis, Yeager and Reynolds had the opportunity to meet business professionals from across the state. The club holds a similar luncheon every other month. This month’s keynote speaker was Sauli Niinistö, the President of Finland. Niinistö was in town in celebration of FinnFest, a weekend-long event celebrating the 100th anniversary of Finland as a nation-state.

The President of Finland’s speech focused on the importance of trade between Minnesota and Finland. The United States is Finland’s third largest trade partner and Minnesota holds a large share of the direct investment from Finland.

President Niinistö also talked about the issue of climate change and the accumulation of “black carbon” over the polar ice caps. Finland is working with Russia and the United States to cut carbon emissions. President Niinistö also mentioned his meeting with President Trump earlier this month. He said it was a productive conversation about trade, Russia and emissions (although President Niinistö was careful not to mention climate change).

Overall, the speech was very interesting and informative. It was unique to hear a speech from a foreign government’s leader, especially with the political climate in the world right now. To close his speech, President Niinistö focused on the many problems that humanity faces right now and he stressed the importance of working together to solve them.

Going to such world-class events is just one of the many ways WSU’s College of Business students are provided opportunities to meaningful engagement with the world community.