“For that first month, a lot of them just didn’t know if they’re going to get any help at all,” said Hajder in an interview from her home. “So that was a terrifying time for a lot of them.”
Since then, she said her office has been able to compile a list of online resources to help.
The other component of her job is to help recruit, build, and grow businesses in the state’s fourth-largest county, which Hajder said up until the shutdown from COVID-19 was the second-fastest growing county for business behind only Hennepin County. Hajder said Anoka County typically tries to recruit businesses in four major categories: data centers, trucking and distribution, so-called “back office” or call center operations, and manufacturing. She said at least one of those sectors is still experiencing and will continue to experience growth.
“Data centers say they’re in the highest demand right now,” said Hajder. She points to the huge volume of people relying on various platforms and online tools to do work from home, and the need for more infrastructure to support that, no matter how long it may last.
“We’ll see more demand in that permanently, which will mean people are looking to build and expand data centers, and that’s an opportunity for us,” she said.
Watch the entire Conversations episode with Hajder here:
