Spotted: More Bright Ideas From 2017 Regional Meetings

City officials gathered in Granite Falls and New Ulm on Oct. 11 and 12 to share bright ideas and shed some light on pressing city government issues (see what we did there?). Here are a few snapshots taken on the road!

Thanks to our Granite Falls hosts for a great Regional Meeting!

Heather Corcoran, IGR staffer, and Sue Hilgert,
mayor of Olivia, put their heads together for local gov.

Lively topics at the 2017 Regional Meetings include next generation
leaders, technology, LMC services, and a legislative review.

New Ulm City Manager Brian Gramentz offers a comment
while IGR Director Gary Carlson facilitates the mic-passing.

A big thanks to the staff and elected officials from host city
New Ulm for attending.

City officials and business partners have some bright ideas
for the future of Minnesota cities!

City officials from Stewartville, Nerstrand, and Spicer were ready to learn
and share local gov know-how.

The 2017 Regional Meetings will be gone in a flash! Check out the final dates to register for a location near you.

Photo credit goes to LMC staffers Heather Corcoran, Gary Carlson, and Danielle Cabot

A Crystal Clear View of Water Infrastructure Data

The State Auditor Infrastructure Stress Transparency
Tool is ready for fall, and for your data needs.

A tech dispatch from Mel Reeder, chief information officer at the League:

Do you find data to be clear as mud? Actually, information about city water treatment is now clear as clean water! The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) recently released their interactive map tool. This quick tool was given a long name: “State Auditor Infrastructure Stress Transparency Tool Version 2.0.”

Don’t let that scare you—accessing enormous amounts of information is quicker than saying the tool’s name.

Here are just a small handful of the filters available
to hone in on just the info you need.

By using one click of your mouse (ok, maybe two clicks) you can display data onto a map of Minnesota and quickly gain insight about drinking water, water treatment, and the infrastructure within Minnesota cities, counties, water basins, or watersheds. It’s all there! The age of sewer systems is displayed in three colors for easy identification. By using color and graphics large amounts of data about Minnesota’s water becomes crystal clear.

In addition to infrastructure age, you can dig into other significant details and compare city systems side-by-side. Too much information? No problem, there is a filter for that too.

I encourage you to venture into the OSA tool. You will quickly get a clear picture of your city water and treatment infrastructure too.

City-specific data. Oh yeah.

The tool was launched about a year and a half ago and was developed with feedback collected by the State Auditor during statewide tours (one of the stops was here at the League!). The update was supported by a grant from the Bush Foundation.

Watch a video overview of the State Auditor's Infrastructure Stress Transparency Tool Version 2.0

Check out the Minnesota State Auditor's Infrastructure Stress Transparency Tool

Spotted: Bright Ideas Being Shared at the 2017 Regional Meetings

The 2017 Regional Meetings are officially underway! We've kicked off this first week in Thief River Falls, Ottertail, and Melrose. Here are a few scenes from the road:

League of Minnesota Cities staffers Gary Carlson (Intergovernmental Relations Director)
and Laura Harris (Training & Conferences Manager) arrive to a beautiful day in Thief River Falls.

Little Falls City Administrator Jon Radermacher shares
his key messages from a small-group communications activity.

LMC Communication Coordinator Danielle Cabot discusses
strategies for how best to communicate change to your community.

Thief River Falls City Administrator Rod Otterness and Bemidji Councilmember
Nancy Erickson talk about ways to identify and support future leaders in our communities.

Ottertail Mayor Myron Lueders welcomes attendees to his city.

Andrew Martin, Regional Director for Sen. Amy Klobuchar,
talks with city leaders during a break.

Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Member Relations Coordinator
Heather Corcoran shares what is on deck for the 2018 Legislative Session.

Brian Fredrickson, Extension Educator with the University of Minnesota,
leads city officials in a discussion about how to build trust in our communities.

Thank you to our conference sponsors, Business Leadership Council
members Bolton & Menk and Ehlers, Inc.

The meetings are off to a great start! Will we see you at one of the remaining locations? We hope you'll join us to share bright ideas about how to propel Minnesota cities into a brighter tomorrow!