The Miller family has run Minnesota-based footwear company Minnetonka for decades. We sat down with the 3rd and 4th generation of the company’s leaders in the latest episode of The Twin Cities Business Show.

What is it like to work with your dad? David Miller, the company’s CEO, and Chief Commercial Officer Jori Miller Sherer talked about their relationship with each other, both as family and co-workers. In this episode, they discuss what it was like when Jori finally told her dad she wanted to come work for the company.

Fashion moves a lot faster than it used to. For companies like Minnetonka, that’s made it harder to keep up with the “micro bursts” that rip through the internet. Trends that used to last three to four years now happen in three to four months. That can make it impossible when a new shoe takes 18 months from concepting to the storeroom floor.

Tariffs have made the lives of retailers harder by making everything they use more expensive and creating an uncertain environment for retailers everywhere. They share shares how the company has tried to plan for and adjust to an ever-changing reality.

A few years ago, Minnetonka made headlines around the world when they acknowledged and apologized for appropriating Native American culture and design. In 2025, the company launched The Reclamation Collaborative, an initiative to uplift Native artistry and redefine Indigenous representation in fashion.

The episode includes:

• 00:00 — Meet the 3rd & 4th Generation of Minnetonka
• 02:23 — What It’s Like Working With Your Dad
• 05:00 — How Minnetonka Became a Cultural Icon
• 08:48 — Is Minnetonka Actually in the Fashion Business?
• 11:57 — Why Fashion Trends Now Last Just Months
• 13:03 — Why It Takes 18 Months to Create a New Shoe
• 16:28 — How Minnetonka’s History Prepared It for E-Commerce
• 19:31 — The Family Business: Why David Initially Rejected Jory
• 24:36 — What Jory Has Changed About the Business
• 32:27 — How Tariffs Have Disrupted Minnetonka
• 34:06 — Minnetonka’s 80-Year Journey Through Business Cycles
• 34:53 — Confronting the Company’s History of Cultural Appropriation
• 39:02 — Working With Native Artists to Redesign Minnetonka Products
• 45:39 — What’s Next for Minnetonka Through 2030
• 46:19 — How Minnetonka Is Using AI
• 48:18 — Why 80 Years Doesn’t Guarantee the Next 80