Gratitude for Our Unique Minnesota Cities

It's the season for gratitude and reflection, and to help share that spirit we asked members of the League of Minnesota Cities Board of Directors and the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust Board of Trustees to share something unique in their city that they are grateful for. They didn't disappoint! In turn we are grateful for their service to all Minnesota cities. Their thoughtful responses offer just a peek of all the good things happening in cities across the state! 

Here's what they had to say ...

Fox 9's Town Ball Tour in Sartell on June 29, 2021

Community Buzz Under the Bright Lights

I am grateful that our two Sartell amateur baseball teams were featured on Fox 9’s Town Ball Tour this past summer! St. Cloud Orthopedics Field was full of buzz on June 29 as Fox 9 came to town. 

It was an amazing day full of interviews with local residents discussing the history of the baseball field, the rivalry of the two baseball teams — Sartell Muskies and Sartell Stone Poneys, unique businesses within our city, and the sense of community that baseball brings to Sartell. The night started out with a Youth Baseball Clinic organized by the two amateur teams where they played games and ran drills with 125 youth. Mayor Ryan Fitzthum threw out the first pitch, and 1,000 people packed the stands. Fox 9 gave our community an experience of a lifetime and it was truly inspiring to look out into the crowd and see people from all ages come together to watch America’s past time. This was a display of what community is all about!

Submitted by Anna Gruber
Sartell City Administrator

D. Love, Centerville Mayor

From Parks to Public Safety, A Spirit of Collaboration

I’m so proud of my city and it’s spirit of collaboration. We work with other cities to provide a unique response to public safety. We share our police department with two other cities. We share our fire department with another city, while working with another department to secure our administrative and chief needs. We asked our citizens to get involved, and we recently celebrated over 150 volunteers who gave time to clean parks, plant gardens, plan and work events, serve on boards and give back to their community. Finally, we are working with our local high school to start a junior council member program. These collaborative efforts display what the City of Centerville is all about as we proudly stand “Stronger Together”!

Submitted by D. Love
Centerville Mayor

 A Strong Foundation for the Future

Melanie Mesko Lee,
Burnsville City Manager

I am grateful for our brand: “You Belong Here.” This was adopted in 2019 and to me it represents how we approach our work for and with our community. 

Since then, we have built on a strong foundation and have leaned into how we can value the differences that make a difference. Whether resident, business owner, or employee – we are focused on how we can collaborate to bring the best Burnsville forward. 

I am proud to be part of an organization that understands our diversity is a strength and is committed to making policy and organizational decisions with that lens.

Submitted by Melanie Mesko Lee
Burnsville City Manager

Candy Petersen, North St. Paul
Council Member

Community Support, Community Service

I am grateful for our awesome volunteers!
 

These volunteers are just ordinary residents that step up when there is a need or any opportunity to volunteer! We have a successful toy shelf and food shelf that demands many volunteers. 

We are North St. Paul Pride!

Submitted by Candy Petersen
North St. Paul Council Member

 

 

 

 

A Menu of Hospitality

Amy Brendmoen, Saint Paul Council Member

Saint Paul is a center for world class restaurants and for this I am very grateful. When people ask, “Do you have a suggestion where to go out for a great meal?” I usually offer back four or five options, and that’s after we have narrowed it down a bit. Authentic French? Thai? Mexican? Laotian? Jamaican? Ethiopian? German? Check, check, check! Elegant service and perfect steak? Check. Sloppy ribs and a tasty brew? Check. Steamy bowl of Pho’ and a tall iced water? Got that, too. No matter what you are looking for, there are great options to scratch the itch. 

Submitted by Amy Brendmoen
Saint Paul Council Member

Dave Callister, Plymouth City Manager

Reinvented Veterans Breakfast Receives Rave Reviews

Despite its challenges, the pandemic gave us the opportunity to reinvent some of our recreation offerings. One program that became even better was the annual recognition event for veterans – now a drive-thru breakfast near the Plymouth Veterans Memorial. The event has received glowing reviews from residents.

Plymouth veterans are honored with breakfast, letters of appreciation, and a small gift during the event, and city staff hold up signs to thank them for their service. Plymouth public safety staff also deliver breakfast to veterans in senior living communities who aren’t able to make it to the event. 

"To say that I was blown away by the veterans’ recognition that you folks put on this morning would be an understatement!" wrote Plymouth resident and veteran Gerry Gries in an email to city staff. "It was fantastic – you folks honored us as if we had just come home from active duty. The contents in the gift bag brought tears to my eyes as I thought of my five brothers. In short – thank you and your staff from the bottom of my heart!"

Submitted by Dave Callister
Plymouth City Manager

Visit the GreenStep Display at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair

Look for GreenStep under the big green wheel
located in the Eco Experience building.

The Great Minnesota Get-Together is BACK! Yep, the State Fair is right around the corner, and GreenStep Cities will once again be a part of the action.

Fair-goers can visit the display in the Eco Experience Progress Center building to see examples of how city sustainability work helps make life even better for residents.

Several GreenStep communities will be featured — you'll see some life-size faces and places that you may recognize! In addition, city officials from across the state will be stopping in to share a bit about their work and welcome folks to the booth.

And because everything is bigger at the fair you can also check out the debut of the touring GreenStep block display. Standing about six feet tall, it's chock full of information about sustainable communities across the state.

The Eco Experience is located in the northeast corner of the fair, at the corner of Cosgrove Street and Randall Ave. We'll see you there! 

Need info on visiting the state fair? The MN State Fair Updates page is a good place to start.

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!