Early-bird rates for booth space end Friday, Feb. 15, for businesses that seek to showcase their products and services at the 2013 Brainerd Lakes Marketplace, April 5-6 at the Brainerd Area Civic Center.

The Brainerd Lakes Marketplace, hosted by the Brainerd Lakes Chamber, is expected to draw more than 5,000 attendees. This annual consumer trade show experience will offer demonstrations, presentations and prizes, all in a climate-controlled, park-like setting.

Find out more about the event at BrainerdLakesMarketplace.com.

Central Lakes College has scheduled a Going Into Business For Yourself class at the Business and Industry Center in Brainerd from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 9.

This session covers all areas of business start-up, helpful advice on how to get your dream off the ground and stay profitable, including financing a new venture.

Follow-up counseling is available to qualified individuals from the Small Business Development Center’s team of consultants at no charge to the individual. Tuition is $49 per person plus $29 for each additional business partner. Instructor is Jay Bock.

The Crow Wing/Cass and the Aitkin-Itasca Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices have moved to a paperless news distribution system.

Producers are asked to enroll in the new GovDelivery system, which provides notices, newsletters and electronic reminders instead of a hard copy through the mail.

FSA, like many other organizations, is trying to work smarter and be more efficient. Moving to electronic notifications via email helps conserve resources and save taxpayer dollars. 

Cuyuna Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Crosby and Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin welcome a new urologist, Dr. Christopher Boelter, of Adult & Pediatric Urology.

He joins Dr. Shawn McGee and Cindy Hauser, nurse practitioner, in seeing urology patients in Aitkin and Crosby.

Boelter has a special interest in urological cancers, women’s health, as well as laparoscopic and minimally invasive surgery.