Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster, who has criticized government handouts, received a $1.55 million federal loan forgiven under a pandemic relief program last year.
The loan was provided to Conklin Company’s manufacturing operations and distribution warehouse in Shakopee, Minnesota, through the Paycheck Protection Program. Herbster is the owner and CEO of Conklin, as well as other farms and agriculture-related businesses.
The loan was forgiven under the terms of the pandemic relief program, which required businesses to keep employees on the payroll and spend the money for certain types of expenses.
But Herbster, who aligns himself with former President Donald Trump, denied any contradiction between taking the loan and his position on “government handouts.†He described that position in an April radio interview, saying that “every time we ask for a handout from the federal government or even the state level, we give up something.
People are also reading…
“President Trump’s Payroll Protection Program was not a government ‘handout,’†he told The World-Herald. “It was developed in response to a once-in-a-century pandemic that forced business to shut down and workers to be shut out.
“The Conklin Company filed the appropriate paperwork and was approved to participate in the PPP,†he continued. “It saved 104 jobs. Without this program, our nation stood to lose everything. President Trump’s strong and steadfast leadership supported over 50 million jobs across the country, and kept small businesses, the heart of America, alive. The Conklin Company was one of them.â€
The federal PPP loans were created to help small businesses and nonprofits weather the economic storms created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nebraska entities got 114,684 PPP loans during two rounds in 2020 and 2021. Statewide, the loans totaled $5.39 billion.
The Conklin loan was not part of the Nebraska total and was not included in a World-Herald analysis of Nebraska loans. It was the only PPP loan to a Herbster-related entity.
Two other GOP gubernatorial contenders also received PPP loans.
University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen got pandemic loans totaling $7.8 million for 16 businesses affiliated with his Columbus-based Pillen Family Farms. Those loans also were forgiven; however, Sarah Pillen, co-CEO of Pillen Family Farms, said the businesses later returned $5.08 million of the loans.
Former Sen. Theresa Thibodeau, the newest entrant in the race, got two loans totaling $440,745 for her corporation, Anjoel. The company operated her day care business, the Primrose School of La Vista. She has since sold the day care.
Thibodeau said in an email that she used 100% of the PPP money for payroll, which far exceeded her total loan amount.
Student enrollment was reduced 50% because of pandemic restrictions, Thibodeau said, adding that she did not charge tuition for children who could no longer attend. Similarly, she did not charge tuition when classrooms had to quarantineÌýbecause of a positive COVID-19 case, she said.
While some teachers chose to take a leave of absence out of fear of the virus, Thibodeau said she brought back all those teachers who wanted to return. She also paid teachers who were outÌýbecause of COVID-19, rather than deduct paid time off.
“Because of the 50% loss in income and the fact I kept the teachers who wanted to stay, and increasing costs, if not for the PPP money my business may not have survived,†Thibodeau said.
Herbster, a Falls City native, said that he used the PPP money as intended — “to meet business expenses and make payroll so that our employees, forced out of the workplace, received compensation.â€
Candidates in the 2022 gubernatorial race declined to comment on opponents’ use of PPP loans, including fellow GOP contenders Pillen and state Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha and Democratic candidate Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue.