Lac qui Parle County Master Plan

The Lac qui Parle County Park just completed their master plan as part of the process of pursuing regional park designation through Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission. Achieving regional designation shows the park meets a very high standard for natural-resource-based outdoor recreation and is part of a regional system across Greater Minnesota. 

Memorial Park in Granite Falls










The UMVRDC continues to assist the City of Granite Falls with improvements to Memorial Park, which was designated a regional park by the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission in 2016. The city is currently working on the construction of Phase I, which includes building a new shower house, improvements on the main park picnic shelter, and reworking the entrance to the park to make safety improvements. The request of $595,613 was funded in the spring of 2017 and this project was implemented in the fall of 2017. 

Maynard Area History Museum Now on the National Register

The UMVRDC has been assisting the City of Maynard with their Historic Maynard State Bank Building. The UMVRDC wrote and implemented a grant for the building to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which was completed in the spring of 2018. Registering the building on the National Register will enable the Maynard History Museum to take advantage of other grants and resources from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Minnesota River Valley National Scenic Byway
Corridor Management Plan

The Minnesota River Valley National Scenic Byway just completed an update to the Corridor Management Plan. The byway runs 287 miles from Browns Valley to Belle Plaine along the Minnesota River, and the byway designated corridor includes ten miles on each side of the river.

 

Center for Small Town
Summer Students

The UMVRDC is excited to once again partner with the University of Minnesota Extension's Center for Small Towns Program this summer. Two students have been chosen to help continue collecting images, interviews, and content of the region. The new imagery can be accessed through Dropbox and downloaded to utilize on websites and/or marketing materials. The UMVRDC is grateful for the continued partnership with the University to help capture the region!
View Case Studies
Revolving Loan Fund

Anderson-TeBeest Funeral Home utilized RLF dollars to purchase equipment and furnishings for their new location in Granite Falls, MN. The $69,720 loan closed in March and was part of a $710,000 financing package that will retain five full time jobs along with creation of a part time job.
 
The UMVRDC's RLF has available funding for new and expanding businesses throughout our five-county region. The RLF continues to provide competitive terms within a financing package to allow for sustained creation and retention of jobs. As a gap financing agency, the UMVRDC partners with private financial institutions and other gap financers to complete these projects.

  Arts Meander Brochures

Hot off the press are the 2018 Meander Art Crawl brochures! The cover art this year was created by Dale and Jo Pederson, honoring our 15th year of visiting Artisan Studios.
 
The brochures will be available online at the  Meander website. You can also receive brochures by  contacting the UMVRDC office at 320.289.1981.

2018 Meander: October 5, 6, & 7 2018
Regional Childcare Case Studies
Finding child care in the Upper Minnesota Valley Region, is a growing challenge.  Statewide, professionals are coining this concern as an actual crisis.  In response to the increased need of child care options, the UMVRDC has documented case studies to provide examples of regional child care facilities. Child care is considered an economic driver in our rural communities and these studies can provide guidance as to how individuals, communities, employers, etc. have rolled up their sleeves to meet the needs of our local families.  
UMVRDC Welcomes Two New Board Members

Carrie Bendix
Carrie Bendix, Executive Director with the Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council, has over 15 years of nonprofit management experience, including 12 years in workforce development. Carrie currently serves on the following boards: Southwest Minnesota Workforce Development, Southwest Minnesota Chief Elected Office WIOA, and Technology and Trades on the Prairie. 

Carrie is a resident of Yellow Medicine County.
Dawn Regnier
Dawn Regnier, Dean of Career & Workplace Solutions, has been with Minnesota West Community & Technical College since 2006. Prior to that she was with St. Cloud State University for 18 years.  Dawn currently serves on the Southwest MN Workforce Council and the Yellow Medicine County Extension Committee. She has also been involved with the Yellow Medicine County 4H, the Forum of Executive Women, and active her in church.
 
Dawn resides on a farm near Canby with her husband and they have two grown children. She is passionate about agriculture, family and the communities we serve.

Mark Your Calendars!

June 26:  RDC Board of Commissioners Meeting @6:30pm
Appleton Civic Center

July 4: Office Closed in observance of Independence Day

July 24:  RDC Board of Commissioners Annual Meeting
Details in progress

Regional Video - Check it Out!

www.umvrdc.org    ||   320.289.1981  Like us on Facebook

Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission 
323 W Schlieman Ave. Appleton, MN 56208