Exhibit 99.1

# RISK FACTORS

Our geographic concentration is in
the Upper Midwest, and many of the communities we serve are dependent upon agriculture.

Our success depends to a great extent upon
the general economic conditions of the communities we serve in Minnesota, Wisconsin and
North Dakota. Many of the communities we serve are predominantly dependent on agriculture.
We estimate that approximately 35% of our deposits and 29% of our loans and leases
originate in such communities. Agriculture in these communities is affected by many
factors beyond our control, including weather, government policies, fluctuating commodity
prices, energy costs, and natural disasters. Flooding, high fuel costs, and low commodity
prices in recent years in some of the areas we serve have resulted in reduced levels of
economic activity. Similar events in the future may adversely affect our loan quality,
local loan demand and other aspects of our business and results of operations.

Changes in interest rates could
have an adverse effect on our profitability.

Our ability to make a profit, like that
of most financial institutions, substantially depends upon our net interest income. This
is the difference between the interest income we earn on our interest-earning assets, such
as loans, and the interest expense we pay on our interest-bearing liabilities, such as
deposits. When interest rates are rising, the interest income we earn on loans and
interest-bearing investments may not increase as rapidly as the interest expense paid on
our liabilities. Conversely, when interest rates are declining, the interest income we
earn on loans and interest-bearing investments may decrease more rapidly than the interest
expense paid on our liabilities. In either case, our earnings may be adversely affected.

Factors such as inflation, recession,
unemployment, money supply, international disorders, instability in domestic and foreign
financial markets and other factors beyond our control may affect interest rates. Changes
in market interest rates will also affect the level of voluntary prepayments on our loans
and payments on our mortgage-backed securities, resulting in the receipt of proceeds that
may be reinvested at a lower rate than the loan or mortgage-backed security being prepaid.
Although we have an asset-liability management strategy designed to control our risk from
changes in market interest rates, changes in interest rates still could have an adverse
effect on our profitability. At December 31, 2004, based on differences in the timing of
the repricing of our interest rate sensitive assets and interest rate sensitive
liabilities, we were slightly asset sensitive on a consolidated basis.

# We may be adversely
affected by government monetary policy.

As a bank holding company, our
business is affected by the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve Board, which
regulates the national money supply in order to mitigate recessionary and inflationary
pressures. In setting its policy, the Federal Reserve Board may use techniques such as the
following:

- engaging in open market transactions in United States government securities;
- setting the discount rate on member bank borrowing; and
- determining reserve requirements.

These techniques may have an adverse
effect on our deposit levels, net interest margin, loan demand or business and operations.

Credit losses are inherent in our business,
and our allowances for credit losses may be inadequate to cover actual credit losses.

Credit losses are inherent in the
lending business and could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. Every
credit we make carries a certain risk of non-payment. This risk is affected by, among
other things:

- the credit risks of a particular borrower;
- changes in economic and industry conditions;
- the duration of the credit; and
- in the case of a collateralized credit, the changes and uncertainties as to the future value of the
collateral.

We make various assumptions and
judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio and provide an allowance for
potential losses based on a number of factors. The amount of this allowance is determined
by management through a periodic review and consideration of several factors, including:

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- an ongoing review of the quality, size and diversity of our credit portfolio;
- evaluation of non-performing loans;
- historical loan loss experience; and
- the amount and quality of collateral, including guarantees, securing the credits.

If our assumptions are wrong, our
allowance for credit losses may be insufficient to cover our losses, thereby having an
adverse effect on our operating results and perhaps causing us to increase the allowance
in the future. The actual amount of future provisions for credit losses cannot now be
determined and may exceed the amounts of past provisions.

Commercial loans and commercial
real estate loans represent a significant portion of our loan portfolio, and repayment of
these loans may depend on factors outside of our control or the control of our borrowers.

As of December 31, 2004, our
commercial loans and commercial real estate loans totaled $2.6 billion, or 56.8%, of our
total loan portfolio. Commercial lending and commercial real estate lending typically
involve higher principal amounts, and the repayment of the loans generally depends, in
large part, on sufficient income from the borrowers and cash flow from the collateral
securing the loans to cover operating expenses and debt service. Economic events or
governmental regulations outside of the control of the borrower or lender could negatively
impact the future cash flow of the borrowers and the value of the collateral securing the
loans.

Changes in the regulatory
structure or the statutes or regulations that apply to us could have a material impact on
our operations.

We are subject to extensive
regulation, supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency. The supervision, regulation and examination of banks and bank
holding companies by bank regulatory agencies are intended primarily for the protection of
depositors rather than the shareholders of these entities. Our success depends on our
continued ability to comply with these regulations. Some of these regulations may increase
our costs and thus place non-bank financial institutions in stronger, more competitive
positions. Regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in carrying out their
supervisory and enforcement responsibilities. They have also implemented regulations that
have increased capital requirements, increased insurance premiums, required approval of
acquisitions and changes of control and resulted in increased administrative and
professional expenses. Any change in the existing regulatory structure or the applicable
statutes or regulations could have a material impact on our operations. Additional
legislation and regulations may be enacted or adopted in the future which could
significantly affect our powers, authority and operations, which in turn could have a
material adverse effect on our operations.

If we do not adjust to rapid
changes and consolidation in the financial services industry, our financial performance
may suffer.

Our ability to compete successfully
in our market areas will depend in part on our ability to expand the financial services we
offer to meet the requirements and demands of our customers. In addition to the challenge
of attracting and retaining customers for traditional banking services, our competitors
now include securities dealers, brokers, mortgage bankers, investment advisors, finance
companies, and insurance companies who seek to offer one-stop financial services to their
customers. This may include services that banks have not been able or allowed to offer to
their customers in the past. The increasingly competitive environment is a result
primarily of changes in regulation, changes in technology and product delivery systems and
the accelerating pace of consolidation among financial service providers.

We continually encounter
technological change, and we may have fewer resources than our competitors to continue to
invest in technological improvements.

The financial services industry is
undergoing rapid technological changes, with frequent introductions of new
technology-driven products and services. In addition to better serving customers, the
effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to
reduce costs. Our future success will depend in part upon our ability to address the needs
of our customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy
customer demands for convenience, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our
operations. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in
technological improvements. We cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively
implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing these
products and services to our customers.

As a service to our customers, we
currently offer a wide range of Internet-based services to customers. The use of these
services involves the transmission of confidential information over public networks. We
cannot be sure that advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of
cryptography or other developments will not result in a compromise or breach in the
commercially available encryption and authentication technology that we use to protect our
customers transaction data. If we were to experience such a breach or compromise, we
could suffer losses, and our operations could be adversely affected.

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The Otto Bremer Foundations
ownership interest in Bremer is significant, which may affect us in various ways.

The Otto Bremer Foundation, a
non-profit charitable trust, is our largest shareholder. It owns 240,000 shares, or 20%,
of our class A common stock and 10,800,000 shares, or 100%, of our class B common stock.
Holders of class A common stock have full voting rights with regard to all matters while
holders of class B common stock have the right to vote on an equivalent per share basis
with the holders of the class A common stock only with respect to certain extraordinary
transactions. Three of the members of our board of directors are also the only trustees of
the Foundation. As a result, the Foundation may exert significant influence over our
corporate affairs. As a private foundation, the Foundation is subject to tax laws and
other regulations at both the federal and state level. Any change in these tax laws or
other regulations that had a significant impact on the Foundation could also impact us.
The Foundations expectations regarding dividends needed to fund its annual
distribution requirements and our two-class common stock structure may limit our access to
capital and consequently our ability to grow through future acquisitions.