Our Story

United Prairie has its roots in rural Minnesota. The organization started to take shape in 1973 when former President, James G. Sneer, bought Farmers State Bank of Mountain Lake, Minnesota. That original bank charter began in the year 1919. The bank was run with a strong emphasis in superior customer service, financial integrity and community involvement.

Some years later, Mr. Sneer began to acquire other banks in towns around in the region, bringing the strong values and business practices that brought early success. In some cases, failing banks were rescued and resuscitated to once again become strong promoters of their local economies. In 1992, the banks owned by Mr. Sneer were changed to the now-familiar United Prairie Bank.

In 2002, Stuart J. Sneer, the son of James and Susan Sneer, took over the presidency of the company after many years of individual bank management and system management as vice president. Today, the third generation of the Sneer family is involved in roles within the company.

Over the years, United Prairie began to build insurance and financial planning resources for its customers as well offering those services across its footprint. Currently, the company has 16 total locations in 14 communities across Minnesota. Company headquarters are in Mankato, Minnesota. Scott D. Bradley is the President and Chief Executive Officer leading the company to seek its vision for now and the future.

Our Leadership Team

United Prairie News

bastian and buchele promoted

November 22, 2022 – United Prairie Bank in Owatonna is pleased to announce longtime Waseca market leader, Nate Bastian, is taking the helm. Bastian will now be leading both the Waseca and Owatonna banking teams as Market President. Bastian has been with United Prairie for eight years providing strong leadership and ag and commercial lending expertise.

Longtime Retail Manager, Marcy Buchele, has been promoted to Branch Manager of the Waseca location. Marcy’s continued leadership will help maintain the high level of service our clients have come to expect in the Waseca location.

Congratulations to Nate and Marcy on their promotions!

Witte Recognized with ‘Top Women in Finance’

November 4, 2022 -

Finance & Commerce recently recognized Lisa Witte, United Prairie’s Chief Financial Officer, as part of their Top Women in Finance of 2022. The Top Women in Finance program recognizes women making an impact in their profession, their community, and society at large. An outside panel of experts reviewed the nominations and helped to select the honorees.

Maureen Wieser, United Prairie’s Chief Operating Officer, commented on Witte’s nomination, “Lisa adds incredible value through her strategic vision and her leadership in developing and executing company strategy. Congratulations, Lisa, and thank you for the example of professionalism you show us every day!”

The women will be profiled in the Top Women in Finance magazine and honored at an awards event in Minneapolis.

reports of texts about debit card activity

A number of United Prairie Bank clients have reached out regarding some messages they've received via text stating to call a phone number listed regarding "Unusual activity on #DebitCard - Limited Alert". These messages are not originated from United Prairie Bank. See an example of the text below.

• United Prairie Bank will never ask you to call in an automated phone system to enter your card or account information regarding debit card activities. If you are ever unsure about a contact claiming to be your bank, please reach out. 

be aware of online banking scam

The FBI and other consumer protection agencies have published information about a new ongoing scam that involves con-artists contacting bank customers to falsely inform them that their online banking account has been compromised. The scammers ask the customers to login to their online banking account to change their password to a specific. Once it's reset by the customer, the attacker accesses the customer's account and can drain their funds in a number of different ways. 

PLEASE NOTE:

• United Prairie Bank will never contact you with a password to use or ask you for your online banking account password. You are always in control of your account passwords.
• A best practice to help keep safe from scammers who use social engineering by using information from your social media account is to review your privacy settings on social media and restrict who can interact or view your pages. 

Here is an informative article for more information about this scam.

United Prairie Bank Nationally Ranked in Ag Lending

July 15, 2022 -

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) recently released its rankings of the top lenders for 2022. United Prairie Bank was ranked 14th in the nation in the Ag lending category of its peers. This ranking places United Prairie in the top 1.06% of banks in this peer group, which consists of community banks with $300 million to $1 billion in asset size.

The ICBA created these rankings based on a lender score out of 100 for each community bank based on FDIC data from 2021. The score combines the average of the bank’s percentile rank for lending concentration and for loan growth over the past year in the lending category and adjusted the score for loan charge offs. United Prairie Bank received a score of 89.86 out of 100.

United Prairie President and Chief Executive Officer, Scott Bradley commented, “United Prairie Bank has always been a champion for ag producers in our markets. I’m so proud of the work and dedication our entire team puts forth every day to help keep our agricultural clients thriving.”

This ranking places United Prairie Bank as the top Ag Lender in the State of Minnesota in the asset size category. It’s a milestone the company doesn’t take lightly.

“At the end of the day, we are in the people business. When we can deliver expertise to our clients that helps them grow, we grow as well,” added Bradley.