 The Brainerd Lakes region is undergoing a shift in its aging population, causing many businesses to become desperate for workers. We asked our Brainerd reporter, Logan Gay, to investigate the issue, and she joins us now with more from Brainerd. Logan? Yes, Dennis. Well, if you live in the Brainerd Lakes region, then you have certainly noticed health, wellness, science, and pretty much every window. While working on this three-part series, I talked with many business leaders who deal with the issue every day. On our first report, I will share with you the struggles of the business community. According to the Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corporation, there are 62,500 people living in Crowing County. With the population of that size, many employers are struggling to find personnel to fill their vacant positions. Across the region, we really are hearing a lot of the same story that employers are not able to find workers to fill their vacancies and that there isn't necessarily the skills that they need in our community. The workforce shortage has created a fierce competition between the local businesses. The success of many of the businesses depend on finding enough skilled workers. It used to be the businesses just competed with each other over customers. Well, that shifted. Now they're competing with each other for workers, and whoever wins that competition is going to be set up for success in the future. So the big question is, how did we get here? Well, the answer is simple. As the baby boomers begin to retire, there are just not enough people to take their place. Of the 62,500 people, over 17,000 of them are over 45 years old. Minnesota's economy is better than many other states, so we have a lower unemployment rate, so there are less workers available to begin with. Secondly, we have the baby boomers aging out of the workforce and are not being replaced in sufficient numbers to fill those positions that are opening up. So that number of working age Minnesotans between 25 and 64 will start dropping next year, 2017, and we do not get back to where we are today in 2016 until 2040. Businesses are not only struggling to find workers, they are struggling to find workers who know how to be a good employee. Do they show up to work on time? Do they get along with people? Do they go above and beyond with their ass to do? Those are all complaints that you hear quite often. The workforce shortage does not affect just one industry. Mayerfield based Cloud Stamping, a prominent manufacturing company that employs over 440 people is seeing historically low applications. I've been here for 30 some years and for the first time in all those years where we've got open positions, we can't fill particularly in second and third shifts. Business leaders believe that in order for business to survive through the shortage, they are going to have to start getting creative. This means replacing humans with automation and even filling a large part of the workforce with recruits from overseas. What we might see is more relaxation of those work visas or even immigration. It's really hard to tell, but I can tell you this, the way things are headed right now, there's no way that we can keep on this path and not have things change. While talking with Matt, the chamber president, he also mentioned that many of the companies in the hospitality business industry are currently the companies who need the most help from overseas. Alright, thank you very much, Logan, for that report from our Brainerd Lakes studio. Now on the next part of this series, we will continue the workforce shortage conversation and learn about how it has affected even our very own hospitals. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.