By Lori Ehde
Today's the day Tri-State Insurance celebrates 100 years of doing business in Luverne.
Employees have been digging into company archives, collecting historical artifacts and planning a festive party for the public open house from 3 to 6 p.m.
Regional manager Curt Bloemendaal, who has been with Tri-State for 38 years, compiled an abbreviated history of the company.
"Tri-State's roots reach back to 1902 when a group of mill and elevator owners founded Tri-State Grain Shippers Indemnity," he wrote. "The goal was protection against financial loss in the event fire would damage or destroy buildings and grain."
At the close of the initial year, premium revenue amounted to $7,230. That compares with more than $70 million at the close of 1999.
At the time, the business included more than 30 elevators in Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa. Thus, the name "Tri-State."
That name changed in 1908 to Tri-State Mutual Grain Dealers Fire Insurance Company, and in the 1920s, the firm began writing protection on other businesses besides elevator buildings.
"Eventually, Tri-State added coverage for homes and household furnishings, as well as automobiles, inland marine, workers' compensation and other property and casualty lines," Bloemendaal recorded.
Embracing change
Changes in technology highlight Tri-State's history.
Bloemendaal said one of the first big changes in automation came in 1940 with the introduction of electronic calculators.
Computers changed the workplace in 1967 when an IBM 360 mainframe computer moved into the office. "I was an underwriter in training at the time, and I remember we had these code slips we had to fill out," he said. "All that information had to be key punched into a card, which was then fed into the computer."
Bea Rogness, who has recently retired from Tri-State, was instrumental in key-punching those cards, and ironically, she's the one who's returned to the company in recent months to help with digital imaging of Tri-State's documents.
Bloemendaal said 1974 stands out as the biggest year of changes for Tri-State.
"It was a huge year, because we adopted a new computer processing software system, we changed ownership from policyholders to W.R. Berkley Corporation, and we moved to a new building," Bloemendaal said.
That year, the company moved from 7,000 square feet in what is now Family Chiropractic downtown Luverne to 30,000 square feet in its current building just off Blue Mound Avenue.
He remembers a chaotic work environment in 1974. "We had to pull every file and key information into the new system," he said. "We were doing that as we were moving. We had stacks of files everywhere."
When it became part of W.R. Berkley Corporation in 1974, the name changed from Tri-State Mutual Insurance Company to Tri-State Insurance Company of Minnesota.
Another change took place in 1999 amid Berkley reorganization and Tri-State became a member of Continental Western Group. The Luverne office is now Continental Western Group, Tri-State Region, selling products under the name of Tri-State Insurance Company of Minnesota, Continental Western Insurance Company and Union Insurance.
Changes on the horizon
Tri-State's 100th anniversary will be celebrated in its 1974 building, but its employees will move across the street to the Berkley Technology Services building later this fall.
In exchange for Luverne Economic Development adding 8,500 feet to the BTS building, Berkley will give the $1 million Tri-State building to LEDA and sign a 10-year lease on the BTS building.
Considering Berkley had previously announced Tri-State would leave Luverne, the arrangement is good news for both the employees and for the city.
It's all about people
Today, Tri-State employs 112 people. "Tri-State is proud of its employees," Bloemendaal wrote in his anniversary report.
"Tri-State people are involved in the community in all levels, providing leadership and service to clubs, churches, professional groups and government entities. É I am very grateful for the opportunity of working side-by-side with many co-workers and agents for over one-third of the 100 years."
Open house at Tri-State
from 3 to 6 p.m. today
Black-and-white photos, 100-year-old bank ledgers and canceled checks along with plenty of other company memorabilia will be on hand for viewing at the open house.
Bloemendaal and other Tri-State employees will dress in period attire, and countless party details will provide a turn-of-the-century appeal.
For example, long-time Tri-State employees Ardell Bowman and Al Stoakes will tend a soda fountain built just for the occasion. They'll serve malts, root beer floats, sodas and New York cheesecake, courtesy of Berkley executives.
Local talent will provide entertainment, such as banjo music, barbershop quartet singing and piano playing, throughout the event, and W.R. Berkley will give an address at 4 p.m.
"We're pretty excited about reaching 100 years," Bloemendaal said, "and weÕre gearing up for our next 100."