Inventive minds gather in Redwood Falls

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

REDWOOD FALLS -- Underneath the grey roof of the Dacotah Exposition Center was a world of bright new ideas.

Many of them were on display and practically all of them were for sale as the 47th annual Minnesota Inventors Congress opened for its second day in the center at Jackpot Junction Casino on Saturday.

The show was originally started by four farmers and businessmen who were looking for ways to address technological problems.

Although the show originally had roots in new agricultural ideas, this year's show featured many new ideas for homes and recreation.

Karen and Doug Henning brought their Karen's Recipe pasta and potato salad mixes out from Granite Falls for the first year in a row. The idea, said Karen, was to give housewives a break by simplifying the processes for making pasta salads and potato salads.

At the end of the row was Leroy Black, a first-time MIC attendee from Danube, who came to sell his newly-patented Rod Boss, a handled, plastic carrier that can neatly tote five fishing rods at once. Black said he came to the show to sell a few Rod Bosses and hopefully to attract a manufacturer for his idea.

In the stall next door, Dan Ewert of Shakopee demonstrated his remote-controlled beverage cooler. He said his idea was borne out of frustration with carrying a full-loaded cooler and bags of softball gear and from seeing the enjoyment children get our of riding large, battery powered toys. Like Black, Ewert is a first-time MIC visitor who made the trip with hopes his idea would attract attention.

A few rows back and a few rows over from Ewert, Mike Gag of New Ulm is demonstrating the Reminder Reloader, a plastic device that fits over seven-day pill cases and opens the compartment covers as the organizer is pushed inward and holds the compartments open while the pills are loaded through a small hole above. Four years ago, Gag had a step ladder that won the grand prize but never made it to market because of product liability issues.

"This has seen more interest than I anticipated," Gag said of his Reminder Reloader. "I'm also getting input on why people would use it."

Jack Clark of Buffalo stood in front of a table where his Jack-Of-All lay on a table, two yellow shafts sitting next to two large shovel attachments. The entire Jack-Of-All has several different shovels, rakes and other tools that can be attached and removed from either of the two shafts. Clark said he got the idea while he was working in his garage.

"I've had lots of comments," Clark said. "People seem to love the concept. But I have yet to have someone say 'Come with me. Let's talk'. That's what I'm looking for."

Julie Rath, an economic development specialist for the Redwood Area Development Corporation, said the congress often attracts local and international buyers, who come to the congress to look for new products to market and sell. The area also depends upon the congress to help boost tourism and attract new businesses to the Redwood Falls area.

"When this happens, our hotels are filled and so are our restaurants, so this is a good draw," Rath said. "Most of these people are from out of the area and come specifically for the MIC."

Jeff Berthelsen, an inventor support specialist for the MIC, said inventors from 17 states attended this year's congress. He said the exhibits tend to gather interest from marketers and manufacturers because of the MIC's reputation.

Of all the new ideas and products on display at the MIC, at least one is usually bought by a manufacturer for marketing, Rath said.

Among the success stories are Hee Un Lee of Morton Grove, Ill., whose Ultimate Nail Clipper earned him a spot on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and some publicity from People Magazine. Lee said he developed his nail clipper after he got sick of cleaning up fingernail clippings. His clippers are said to catch 100 percent of the clippings and collect them in a small compartment in their handles, which empty out though a small slot.

Doug Higbee has also had some past success with his Freedom golf clubs, which are designed especially for people with arthritis, knee and back problems. He was showing a putter Saturday afternoon that has tools on its backside that can pick up and drop golf balls and tees with the turn of a wrist.

"There's 100 billion people around the world who could use this thing and this is the only club like it," Higbee said.

The Hennings recently signed a contract with an Indianapolis-based company to produce Karen's Recipe for sale in local grocery stores.

"This gets you lots of exposure even if you don't win the grand prize," Doug Henning said.