Can Grand Marais Stay Hot? A Response to the Twin Cities Business Article

On December 30th the Twin Cities Business Magazine did an article concerning whether the "Cool Cook County" can stay hot. The article is well researched and well written and highlights many of the pros we have going for us as well as some of the cons. I have included the link below if you would like to read the whole article.

TWIN CITIES MAGAZINE ARTICLE

Last year I did some predictions for the year 2015 and I think that we did pretty well fulfilling those. The prediction that we didn't do the best on was the "quiet optimism" prediction, but that was mainly because our title as "Coolest Small Town" removed the "quiet" part of that prediction!

I predicted that it would be a year of careful planning. I believe that this was fulfilled. The City Council considered many in and out of the box situations and problems and spent a great deal of time creating a plan for the future that will properly fund our departments and the necessary improvements to our infrastructure. These are all good things.

I predicted that 2015 would be a year of hard work and of fun. It was a busy year! There were more visitors in our town than in past years and you could tell! The Council spent many, many hours in our meetings discussing and hashing through issues to fully understand the perspectives put forward, none of that is easy, but we did manage to have some fun with it as well.


So, let's talk about 2016. I am using the article as fodder for these thoughts, so here we go:

2016 will be a year where arts and crafts continue to make strides forward as an economic driver in our community. I think that the article was right on this one. Through our community partnerships with the Art Colony, North House, and the Playhouse, our community will continue to deepen and and establish itself as an arts destination in the country. The City will do what it can to encourage the arts (and crafts) in our community to further this end.

2016 will be a year where tourism will expand its scope in our county. The article states that 80% of our economy is tourism related. I am not sure that is ever going to change, however, we do have the ability to develop winter season recreation more and more as well as eco-tourism opportunities as well as education tourism opportunities. There is much more we can do in these areas! The City will start looking into things we can do to be a better partner with our businesses as well as those non-profits that buoy up our economy. This will mostly be through policy and practice I believe...

2016 will be a year where local business will expand. That 80% figure is troubling to me. It is a way to make a living, but I am not sure if it is the best way for all of our residents. The article states that logging and fishing are "shadows of their pasts," but there is a legacy we can build on. We need local businesses to be founded based on well-thought-out plans and operated on solid best practices for our area so that they can be successful. We need to continue incentivizing local business development. The Council will continue looking for funding to assist in this as it is currently a big topic of conversation and the State and Federal levels.

2016 will be a year of community conversation. There is a lot to talk about. A Comprehensive Plan. A new boat launch plan with the DNR. A revisiting of the City Ordinance Code. What do we want our community to look like? How are we going to make that happen? What are the things that we do well? What are the things that we don't? These conversations are going to be challenging, but we are going to be starting them this year... at a community level. Small groups, large groups, surveys, public meetings, meals, etc. We will try many different things to get information about our community's thoughts so we can create a plan that can guide our City for many years to come. Our County's leaders are not just our elected officials, they are the people who stand up and speak. Please consider what you will say when the time comes to speak. Your contribution is important!

I think that I will stop there. I am interested in starting conversation about 2016, so let me know what you would like to see happen in 2016. This information will start to inform the City's direction, so it is very important!