ProGrowth History

Our People Make the Difference!

For more than a century, ProGrowth Bank has proudly served the financial needs of our customers. Honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of our business.

ProGrowth Bank, with offices in Gaylord, Mankato and Nicollet, has a rich and vibrant history. It all began in 1904 when Citizens State Bank of Gaylord opened its doors. Instead of entering customer information into the computer like we do today, “cashiers” (as they were called back then) had to post all records by hand in ink. Some of these general ledger books are still housed in the bank today!

On January 8, 1918, Irving M. “Brit” Nelson became an employee of Citizens State Bank of Gaylord. He was promoted to Assistant Cashier six months later and to Cashier two years after that. In 1945, he became President, a position he held for the next 50 years. In total, he served the bank for 77 years and, in 1990, made the decision to purchase Nicollet State Bank.

Gaylord Bancorporation, Ltd. acquired Nicollet State Bank on August 30, 1990. The two banks slowly but surely began to combine operations and other functions. In order to unite the entire organization, the parent holding company name was changed to Progressive Growth Corp. in November of 1994. In June 1999, Nicollet State Bank opened a branch in Mankato. The two banks officially merged together in 2002 and were renamed ProGrowth Bank. Phil Keithahn, Brit’s grandson, serves as chairman and CEO of ProGrowth Bank. Sue Keithahn is President of ProGrowth Bank.

We are proud to have been able to serve customers in Nicollet since 1903, in Gaylord since 1904 and in Mankato since 1999. We donate 5% of our pre-tax profits to charitable organizations. ProGrowth’s vision continues to be that of Creating Value for You. We work hard everyday to be a valuable resource for our communities, just as our communities have provided us with the reason for our existence.