DigiKey Helps MN Community – and Its Workforce – Find Child Care Solutions
Sitting less than 100 miles from the Canadian border, the people and businesses of Thief River Falls, MN, know that they often need to solve problems for themselves.
The rural town of about 8,800 people is surrounded by excellent walleye fishing, winter activities, and miles of open countryside. It’s also home to DigiKey, one of the largest distributors of electronic components and automation products.
DigiKey employs about 3,400 people in Thief River Falls and nearly 5,000 worldwide. It’s the largest employer in Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities metro area. DigiKey ships more than 25,000 orders per day to 180 countries out of its more than 2.2 million-square-foot warehouse.
DigiKey started in Thief River Falls in 1972, but having a business that big in a city that small presents unique challenges.
“Child care and housing are things that are constantly on our minds,” says Mark Borseth, Senior Director of Community Development and Corporate Facilities for DigiKey. “We onboard anywhere from 20-50 new employees every month, and they need places to live and child care for their kids.”
Borseth knew the child care need was there, but in order to bring a plan to company ownership, he knew that he needed data. He reached out to Michele Hutchinson, a senior business development specialist for First Children’s Finance, who just happened to live in Thief River Falls.
“We met with First Children’s, and they explained the process that they would use to identify the child care supply/demand gap in Thief River and in the surrounding area. The results showed that the need was even greater than we thought,” Borseth said.
That research showed a need of nearly 300 child care slots in Thief River Falls and nearly 600 in the county.
“We knew the issue was there,” Borseth says. “People were leaving jobs and the city for lack of child care; people were turning down positions because of lack of child care; and people were even deciding to not have kids because there was no child care. But we had to prove it.
“The data provided to us by FCF was key,” Borseth says. “Without data, it’s tough to propose a sound business solution and make a decision.”
When the numbers were presented to company leadership, several options emerged: open an on-site child care center at DigiKey, build a new building, or remodel an existing one in the community.
“The on-site option just had too many unknowns, and the cost for a new build was too high, so we looked for an existing space.”
DigiKey knew it wanted to create a non-profit child care center and needed partners. The city had one existing location that had a waiting list of more than a year.
“We talked with them about how we could partner going forward. We had a workgroup of about 17 people – school, economic development people, businesses, etc. We established smart goals working with FCF that moved us forward,” Borseth said.
“Thief River had a nursing home with an 18,000-square-foot wing that was unused and was about 20 years old. We decided it was a great fit for our vision. DigiKey donated $1 million and financed other funding.”
Re-modeling work started in 2024 and was finished in August 2025; the new child care center opened in October 2025 with space for 156 children. Combined with the old child care center (which is planned for updates contingent on receiving state funds), the total project has a goal of serving 250 kids.
Borseth says that this is a great win for DigiKey and community, but the problem isn’t solved.
“Data show that there are 42,500 child care slots needed in outstate Minnesota. This project ended up costing about $20,000 per child. That’s an $850 million problem in outstate alone. There’s not a lot of money for providers in the child care business. DigiKey just felt like it had to actively move this forward to have our community be a success.
“We’re really proud of what we accomplished and proud of the way everyone came together to make this happen. This isn’t just about DigiKey. We don’t have any guaranteed slots in this child care. Digikey is the largest employer, but we wanted everything to be open. That’s what building community is all about.”