Great City Work? Check. Next Up? LMC Awards Recognition

Your city isn’t waiting to make your community a better place to live, and you shouldn’t wait to help recognize your city’s success stories!

The League of Minnesota Cities offers multiple awards to showcase your hard work, including the City of Excellence Award and the League of Minnesota Cities/GreenStep Cities Sustainable City Award. These annual awards are now accepting nominations through May 5.

City of Excellence Awards
If your city has improved a city service, solved a classic conundrum, modified a solution to fit your city's needs, saved money while achieving great results, or creatively included stakeholders in a decision-making process, this work could be a good fit for the general entry category in the League’s City of Excellence Award program.

Representatives of 10 cities in southwest Minnesota accept a
joint City of Excellence Award in 2016.

Get your City of Excellence entry form on the League's website, and turn in your entries by May 5 to share your good work.

General entries are accepted in three population categories:

•    4,999 and under
•    5,000 to 19,999
•    20,000 or more

The City of Excellence Award program also offers recognition in a different topical category each year. For this year’s topical award category, “Promoting Civility in the City,” the League wants to know how your city fosters civility in city hall or in the greater community. This could look like a program or project that improves council-staff relations, promotes open and respectful community dialogue, or results in successful community conversations about a controversial issue. 

Want examples of award-winning projects? Check out the 2016 winners, featured in Minnesota Cities magazine:

Hastings’ ‘Riverfront Renaissance’ Brings New Vitality
Oak Park Heights Turns Fly-Ash Pit into Fun Park
Belle Plaine Boosts Safety with ‘Tiger Watch’ Program
Collaborative Effort Brings Fiber-Optic Broadband to Rural Region

Sustainable City Award
The Sustainable City Award is also offered by the League and GreenStep Cities partner organizations. GreenStep Cities can submit work they’ve done to help achieve their sustainability goals.

If your city is making green look good, download a Sustainable City Award application and submit your success stories by May 5.

Want examples of sustainability that wowed? Check out the 2015 and 2016 winners:

St. Anthony Village: Sustainable City Through Collaboration (press release)
Oakdale Saves Money While Working to Save the Planet