2021 Annual Conference: No Other Virtual Place We'd Rather Be

The 2021 Virtual Annual Conference is behind us and we just want to take a minute to reflect on this chance to come together as a city community for discussion, inspiration, and reflection. There is no other virtual place we'd rather be! Thank you to everyone from over 115 cities across the state who signed in and participated over four days of events.

City presenters

City officials from the Range Area COVID
Response Team reflect on their work.

Cities were the star of the show throughout the conference educational sessions. We love featuring city stories, and city folks love learning from each other's experience!

City officials from Circle Pines, Hastings, the Hastings Police Department, Marshall, Aurora, Biwabik, Hoyt Lakes, the East Range Police Department, St. Louis Park, Bemidji, and La Crescent all presented.

Additional subject matter experts, included presenters from Ehlers, Bolton and Menk, Iverson Reuvers, and Kennedy & Graven, also shared examples and great city case studies from Proctor, St. Paul, and a whole host of GreenStep Cities. 

Remember, you can find session materials on the League website.

Keynotes

Every keynote speaker's unique background offered a fresh perspective on the city issues we face day in and day out. 

• Gopher Football Head Coach P.J. Fleck opened the 2021 Virtual Annual Conference with a motivating keynote speech. Fleck shared his approaches to leadership and how everyone can overcome obstacles to reach their goals.
  

• Former Viking and retired Supreme Court Justice Alan Page answered questions on his approach to public service, equity in education, and leadership during a Q&A with the League’s General Counsel Patricia Beety.
  

• Governor Tim Walz closed the conference with a Q&A covering a broad range of areas including lessons learned from COVID-19. Walz discussed the need to learn from these experiences and how surrounding yourself with the right people strengthens your leadership.

Elections

The annual business meeting was held on Thursday for Board of Directors elections and
remarks from League leadership. Outgoing Board President Brad Wiersum, mayor of Minnetonka, said his thanks and reflected on a term that was dominated by the challenges of the pandemic and discussions about race equity. 

President D. Love addresses the virtual business meeting.
Photo credit: LMC Deputy Director Luke Fischer

Following the nominating committee report and voting, several city officials were named to the board and the board's executive committee: D. Love, mayor of Centerville; Ron Johnson, councilmember from Bemidji; Jenny Max, administrator of Nisswa; Mary Gaasch, mayor of Lauderdale; Jon Lubke, mayor of Jenkins; Chris Volkers, administrator of Oakdale; Clinton Rogers, administrator of Janesville; Wendy Berry, councilmember from West St. Paul.

In his comments, incoming Board President D. Love emphasized that LMC continues to be a unifier, and that while the League building is physically located in St. Paul, the organization itself is made of all the cities it serves — kinda like a giant joint powers agreement, he joked. 

 Congratulations to all the city officials stepping into or continuing their role on the board, and thank you to all the outgoing directors for your service to Minnesota cities.

Networking

Just for fun, city officials could also pop in to a first-time attendee gathering, trivia night, and a morning "coffee and conversation." No, networking via Zoom isn't quite the same as chatting it up with your table at an in-person event. But we do what we gotta do.

See you next year!

City officials are familiar with making the most of what they've got, and this past year of virtual events is no exception. But the cherry on the sundae of this year's conference is announcing that in 2022 we are planning to be back together again in Duluth. And no, it's not too soon to mark your calendars!

Thanks again for being a part of the 2021 Virtual Conference!

Introducing MemberLearn - The League's New Online Learning Platform

The League of Minnesota Cities has recently launched its new online learning platform, MemberLearn. The League’s Instructional Designer Sam Easterson — key to developing and building out these courses — shares a little about this new program.

What is MemberLearn?
MemberLearn is an easy — and fun! — way for Minnesota city officials to learn online. We believe our courses need to be engaging to be effective. That’s why almost every MemberLearn course contains videos, interactive elements, or games. We think it’s OK to play (and smile) when you’re learning!

How are these courses different than webinars? 
That’s a great question. One way is that online courses often have the ability to cover a topic in a very granular way. We can dive really deeply into a particular subject. Online courses also allow us to deliver learning content in a wide variety of ways, which accommodates a lot of different learning styles. For example, some people like reading text while others like watching videos. Our courses can be designed to meet the needs of a lot of different types of learners. 

Who is MemberLearn for?
MemberLearn courses are custom designed by the League for Minnesota city leaders and staff — everyone from elected officials to city clerks.

What steps did you take to customize these courses specifically for Minnesota cities?
We listen very carefully to what educational content our members need. We only build courses if we determine that our members will find them valuable. We also occasionally customize courses based on member roles. For example, we currently have a data practices course for elected officials, another one for staff, and yet another for clerks. We keep our learners — and their roles — in mind to make sure we’re addressing their specific needs in each course.

An interactive element from the Open Meeting Law course.

Which topics will MemberLearn courses cover — and what does the future of MemberLearn look like?
MemberLearn courses cover a wide range of topics — from public finance to Open Meeting Law. We currently have more than a dozen courses available on MemberLearn. Over time, that number will grow exponentially. In the future, we’ll expand MemberLearn to offer a wide variety of educational content. In addition to courses, MemberLearn will also be a destination for more bite-sized learning experiences like micro-courses, stand-alone exercises, and interactive scenarios. 

How are MemberLearn’s courses specifically designed for adult learners? 
MemberLearn supports adult learning in a variety of ways. First, we realize that adult learners are busy! Our courses are designed to be taken anytime that is convenient for you — they’re available on demand, 24/7. We also strive for applicability in the learning. In other words, we try to provide learning that’s relevant to the actual work you do. Finally, we try to create courses that provide reinforcement of what you’ve learned. We realize that our members often have to know a lot about a lot of different things. Using features like knowledge checks and informal assessments, we try to show you that you know your stuff!

What else do you want us to know about MemberLearn?
Another unique feature of MemberLearn is that courses are driven by some of the latest research being done in the field of online learning. We use this research to steer the design of our courses. From the lengths of videos to the color schemes used in courses, there is usually a reason for why our designs appear a certain way. In the end, this data-driven design optimizes the learning experience for our members. And — because MemberLearn also allows our team to analyze data and feedback in real time — we can even adjust and improve courses while they’re live.

You can learn more about MemberLearn here and browse our current library of courses here. 

Interested in giving the MemberLearn platform a try? View our MemberLearn welcome video, where you can also take a brief (less than five minutes) tutorial.

Happy learning! 

2021 Virtual Annual Conference: Special Delivery

The sessions are virtual. The swag is real. League staff packaged up several hundred "exhibit halls in a box" to ship out last week, all in an effort to make your 2021 conference as friendly and helpful as an in-person event.

We are excited to bring you this year's lineup of sessions, speakers, networking events and more. Let's make the most of this moment! Want to connect with other city officials on social? Share a pic of your virtual conference setup and local gov team (pets included!) on Twitter with the hashtag #MnCities, or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/minnesotacities. 

2021 Virtual Annual Conference info and agenda

Photo credit goes to Mel Reeder, LMC CIO