Wisconsin native fills commercial lending role at Alerus

He replaces Matt Bradford, who retired last Friday.

Benish, a senior vice president for business banking, said he will continue to be primarily located in Rochester but will be available to help with Bradford’s existing accounts, as well as all new commercial accounts.

Benish said he grew up in the Wisconsin Dells area and graduated from Winona State University. He began his banking career at John Deere Financial, where he worked for eight years. He has worked for Home Federal/Alerus for seven years.

Benish said that although he will not be at the Kasson branch full time, he will be working in tandem with the branch staff to meet the needs of the customers and will be in Kasson when needed.

Kasson businesses are important to the town, he said, and he understands the importance of small businesses.

He said he likes the way the transition has gone and understands that changes can be frustrating to the client, but added he “really takes comfort that Matt is still around town.”

Benish has friends who are teachers in the Kasson-Mantorville district and said he knows a few people in town.

Alerus and its employees are involved in the community, he said, and that will not change.

Benish and his wife, Michelle, who is a nurse practitioner at the Mayo Clinic, have lived in Byron for almost four years. They have two children, one in second grade and one in third grade, and moved to Byron to be in a smaller town. He said the school and community were their reasons for moving to the community.