CEDA

By Joshua Schuetz

From June to October 2022, the city of Spring Valley held a monthly block party event called “Wednesdays on Broadway.” The idea, born from a group of about 18 local business owners and community members, several of whom participated in Spring Valley’s Rural entrepreneurial Venture (REV) program, aimed to bring the people together, celebrate community, and have fun.

The “Wednesdays on Broadway” group formalized into the Spring Valley Business Alliance, a registered 501c6, and CEDA team member Chris Hahn and the Spring Valley EDA played a crucial role in helping the group establish a nonprofit status, and coordinating logistics and marketing for the event.

“My role as EDA director is really about community building by connecting people,” Hahn explained. “We have so many assets in this community, so it’s a focus on connecting people with different strengths.”

The first “Wednesdays on Broadway” event was held in June, with three more following in July, August and September. Hahn said local community groups were able to sign up for free, which helped churches and local nonprofits get the word out to potential members and donors. Local businesses benefited from a crowded Broadway Avenue, with food, vendors, live music, vendors and fun activities for families.

“It was important to make sure our local restaurants had the chance to participate, before we looked to bring in food trucks.” stated Hahn. “Some of our local café’s were hesitant at first, but ultimately, they sold out of food, and offered food specials for the remaining events. The only outside food vendor we had was the ice cream truck!.”

The response from the community was so positive that the Spring Valley Business Alliance gave “Wednesdays on Broadway” an encore in the fall. “In September, which was our biggest event, we had more than 70 vendors and we ran out of places to put them,” Hahn said. “People didn’t want it to stop, so the group added an extra event in October complete with fire pits and smores!.”

Registration for this year’s events plans to open in March, and will be on the Spring Valley EDA website. Those interested in registering can do so at the www.springvalleyeda.org.

By Joshua Schuetz

Small communities thrive on relationships-the close ties between people, often built over generations, that help move projects forward. Unfortunately, those relationships can be a snare when disagreements arise and a neutral third party is needed to help business owners, community members and municipal leaders find a path forward.

CEDA stepped up to the plate to address that challenge through its offering of civil mediation services. Regional Director Bryan Stading, who has provided civil mediation services to communities throughout Minnesota since 2008, now provides those services under the CEDA umbrella. Stading previously worked for The Regional Center for Entrepreneurial Facilitation before he joined the CEDA team.

Stading said civil mediation is a process whereby the mediator works with parties involved in a particular issue to set ground rules for discussion, identify opportunities for compromise and, crucially, give everyone at the table an equal voice in the discussion. While mediation services are typically sought due to conflict between parties, Stading said mediators assist with issues like succession planning, which is a major area of concern for small communities in Minnesota and elsewhere.

“Often, lenders, business partners and communities will seek it out when they feel there are financial risks involved,” Stading said. “In essence, the right time to bring in someone like me is when there’s a difference of opinion, because what we try to do is give everyone at the table a voice.”

Rural communities sometimes need mediators to assist with situations where different people or entities have differing or conflicting opinions on what their next steps should be. By offering civil mediation services, CEDA is continuing to help small communities access services that are difficult to source locally and promote economic development in rural Minnesota.

CEDA’s civil mediation services can be provided on a project or retainer basis, as well as within a package of other CEDA services. Clients may include banks, initiative foundations, business partnerships, community organizations and businesses looking at succession planning, among others.

By Joshua Schuetz

The City of Hayfield found a unique way to boost community involvement in planning for a Safe Routes to School grant with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

With a school just off two of the busiest roads in town, the city recognized the need for safer ways for students to walk or bike to school. Hayfield was awarded a Safe Routes to School planning grant through MNDOT, authored by CEDA team member Rebecca Charles. The current project will entail the construction of radar feedback signs and trail development. MNDOT required a community input team for the project, something which the city and school initially struggled to assemble.

Charles worked with city officials to host a bike rodeo-an event to promote healthy, active living, promote the Safe Routes to School project and recruit locals interested in the project to the community input team. Charles sought funding from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation for the rodeo, as well as the purchase of a fleet of bikes to be made available for rent at no cost to community members and visitors.

“The goal was to bring together people who love biking and active living,” Charles said. “We got lots of input and it was so well attended that we were able to build our new parks and trails committee.”

Charles said the new parks and trails committee is engaged on the Safe Routes to School project and other active living programs throughout the city. The committee will determine the best locations for trails, crossings and other safety features.

Looking to the future, the city will continue its work with MNDOT on the Safe Routes to School planning process, after which Charles will work with the city on a full grant application for the program.