Southeast’s Partnership with Kwik Trip Keeps on Rolling 

Winona, MN (July 20, 2026) – Anyone living in the northern Midwest is familiar with Kwik Trip, the convenience store chain operating locations in seven states stretching from Illinois to North Dakota.

Far fewer people are aware of the unique partnership Kwik Trip has forged with the truck driving program at Minnesota State College Southeast.

As Southeast truck driving instructor Tom Gierok recalls, the decade-long partnership started with a conversation back in 2015. Kwik Trip was expanding and opening more locations, which meant they needed more drivers to take products to these stores.

“Kwik Trip regularly recruited students from my truck driving classes every eight weeks, so they knew the reputation of our graduates,” Gierok said. "As discussions evolved, the idea was brought up that Kwik Trip would send us students they screened and hired. Shortly after, we started training their Kwik Trip-only cohorts through Southeast’s Workforce Education and customized a curriculum specifically for them.”

After the initial cohort graduated in fall of 2015, the college has trained a few groups every year since, including two cohorts of Kwik Trip drivers this summer. The second cohort runs from mid-July until late August. 

Over the past decade, Southeast has trained more than 500 drivers for the convenience store company based in Lacrosse, Wisconsin.

Gierok said the program has listened to feedback from Kwik Trip and modified the training regimen to meet the company’s needs. Along the way, the partnership has also strengthened the college’s trucking program.

“We have been flexible and open about our program’s delivery and challenges,” Gierok said. “They knew we had equipment challenges so after conversations with our college president, they ended up donating two trucks and furnished trailers and pay for the fuel of their students.”

“Over the past decade, more than 370 Kwik Trip coworkers have completed CDL training through Minnesota State College Southeast,.” said Kyle Schild, Director of Perishable Transportation at Kwik Trip.  “The lasting impact of the program is evident, with more than half of those drivers continuing their careers with Kwik Trip today. This strong retention rate reflects both the quality of the training provided by the college and the success of the partnership in preparing individuals for long-term careers in professional transportation.”

“It’s a partnership that has turned into a friendship,” Gierok said. “We’ve worked together well, and I hope it continues for another 10 years.”

Southeast’s Workforce Education Department works with business and industry partners to provide customized training opportunities available on our Red Wing and Winona campuses or in our local communities. To learn more, visit Workforce Education or contact Rhonda Meyer at rhonda.meyer@southeastmn.edu or 651-385-6341.