Woodland Bank, Grand Rapids, Minn., is celebrating its centennial anniversary in business with events sprinkled throughout the 2020 calendar year, giving back and thanking its customers.
The $107 million bank is family-owned, and traces its roots back to the logging days of the 1920s in northern Minnesota.
“We’ve always been a forward-thinking bank with innovative products and services and we are always evolving to better serve customers’ changing needs,” said Brian Nicklason, president and CEO. “So while we celebrate our past, we look forward to the future.”
Initially chartered in 1920 as Shovel Lake State Bank, the bank acquired and merged with the First State Bank of Swatara in 1924, when the Nicklason family’s historical footprint was planted at the bank.
After the acquisition, Gotfred Nicklason worked at the bank as a cashier. Robert Nicklason, son of Gotfred, became president in 1966, and his son and current president Brian Nicklason stepped into leadership in 1991.
In 1993 the bank, then known as Security State Bank, changed its name to Woodland Bank to reflect its logging history and branch strategy, which focuses on Itasca County and its surrounding area in Minnesota.
“Our success truly comes from supporting our customers and community,” Nicklason said. He believes the bank’s longevity has been harvested by the modern philosophy of community banking.
“When our communities thrive, we thrive,” Nicklason said.