Small Minnesota communities are set to benefit from the University of Minnesota’s Empowering Small Minnesota Communities (ESMC) program. In 2023, legislation allocated funds to the University of Minnesota for the support of partnerships in small communities. The partnerships will “help identify how individual small communities can utilize their assets to create infrastructure and projects that support and enhance community vitality, identity and resilience,” according to the press release from the University. ESMC will also help communities receive state and federal project funding.
Kyle Shelton, director of the Center for Transportation Studies, was quoted in the press release as saying, “The state recognized that many of our small cities and towns face significant challenges with aging infrastructure, shifting economies and overburdened administrators. As part of the University’s unique statewide service, we created the Empowering Small Minnesota Communities program to meet these challenges head-on. U of M teams will help by identifying existing assets in small Minnesota communities as well as lending capacity, expertise and imagination to strengthen future opportunities.”
ESMC Phase 1 Awards have now been granted to over 75 Minnesota communities. These towns include: Two Harbors, Silver Creek Township, Silver Bay, Town of Crystal Bay, Schroeder, Lutsen, Grand Marais, and Grand Portage in Lake and Cook Counties. ESMC pathways provide collaboration from the College of Design, University of Minnesota Extension, the Center for Transportation Studies, the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, the Humphrey School, as well as other University of Minnesota groups.
The Short-Term Project pathway involved University students and faculty working with a community on a need that could be completed in a short timeframe. The short-term project in Two Harbors, Silver Creek, Silver Bay, Crystal Bay, Schroeder, Lutsen, Grand Marais, and Grand Portage worked with a collaboration of these cities, Cook and Lake County, and UMN Extension. It documented estimated waste amounts and population impacts of summer tourism, and discussed the “evolution of a shared landfill and the possibility of supporting shared recycling and composting facilities”.
The Tactical Action Project pathway fosters “community partnerships with University affiliates and faculty to address identified community infrastructure needs”. In Two Harbors, the tactical action project will work with Friends of the Waterfront and the city to “support the execution of a waterfront development plan”.
Thirdly, the Community Futures Project pathway partners with the Minnesota Design Center (MDC) to “identify existing community assets, review comprehensive plans, and chart a path together for reimagining the future of their community”. In Crystal Bay and Finland, the community futures project focuses on developing a system for residents to be able to afford to purchase or rent livable homes “based on the economic realities of living in a small, very geographically remote area. Community land trust and other models of ownership may be developed as a vehicle for keeping homes in the pool of affordable housing for residents.”
Thank you to ESMC and partner organizations for helping our small communities thrive!
