The third round of small communities have been selected to partner with the University of Minnesota to build their futures together through the Empowering Small Minnesota Communities (ESMC) program. Following on the success of more than 70 projects in the first two rounds, this third round will enable work on an additional 30 projects across all three program pathways. Efforts will continue to focus on support for small communities throughout the state as they work to strengthen their communities’ resilience, build on their assets, and proactively address their challenges.
In round 3, ESMC has committed to work with seven communities on new efforts under the Specific Projects pathway. These are projects to address high-impact needs identified by the communities. In each community, UMN capacity will help make substantial progress toward meeting those needs.
Specific projects:
Cass Lake — This project will help coordinate partners in the Cass Lake fire department service region to guide the design of a new energy-efficient regional fire station building and a sustainable landscape plan that supports community resiliency.
Cannon Falls — This streets and trail-planning effort will identify key areas for safety interventions and connections for pedestrians and bicyclists. This work will also help shape a longer-term plan for transportation infrastructure through deep community engagement and participatory mapping.
Cottonwood County — This project will work with Cottonwood County’s waste management site to identify risks associated with PFAS and to explore ways the county might mitigate those pollutants.
Afton — This project’s team will partner with the City of Afton to advance neighborhood trail planning. Work will include procedural and planning research as well as a series of engagement activities to help establish next steps in city trail planning.
Carlton County — This project will help create a guidebook on possibilities for flexibility in transportation infrastructure projects and standards. This research will include a practical report with insight and guidance on when flexibility or innovation may be allowed.
South Bend Township — This project aims to produce deliverables that help the community understand flood mitigation and stormwater management strategies in a flood-prone corridor. The project will provide information on how to prioritize community-scale interventions and longer-term thinking about the issue.
White Earth Reservation — This project with Aki Giizis Goldenwolf Enterprises will address the community’s housing shortage while also demonstrating ways to support workforce planning and skilled trades development. UMN partners will work with the community on a tiny home design template that could be used to develop building trades training and curriculum as well as provide a potential housing solution.
Each of these efforts will help the ESMC partners build a stronger foundation for requesting future funding and expanding project scopes.
Within the longer-term, more iterative pathway of Community Strategies, round 3 will support 11 projects. Efforts in this pathway are led by teams from the Minnesota Design Center, who guide communities through visioning, planning, and design processes to identify assets and needs. From there, they help formulate potential projects and provide supportive work products to bring those projects to fruition.
Community Strategies projects are purposefully less defined at their inception. A UMN ESMC team and community work together across the life of the project to identify the most strategic assets, needs, and actions. The 11 communities that ESMC will be working with on this pathway in round 3 are:
- City of Motley (Southeast)
- City of Caledonia (Southeast)
- Friends of Fort Snelling (Metro)
- New London Economic Development Agency (Southwest)
- Mahnomen County Economic Development Agency (Northwest)
- City of Lanesboro (Southeast)
- City of Le Sueur (Southeast)
- City of St. Bonifacius (Metro)
- Communities in the SE Minnesota Together Coalition (La Crescent, Le Roy, Oronoco, West Concord, Jasson, Byron, Elgin, Zumbrota, Hayfield, Stewartville, Lanesboro, Preston, Mantorville) (Southeast)
- City of Sandstone (Northeast)
- City of Hinckley (Northeast)
The ESMC team anticipates addressing several smaller project needs through our short-term pathway. Additional specific projects may be added as ideas percolate and if funding remains available.