Three Small Cities Grant Applications Awarded
The City of Granite Falls received funding for a Streetscape project for $600,000. The project will be on Prentice Street (main street) and includes sidewalk replacement for three blocks using exposed aggregate and colored concrete. The plan includes multiple ADA ramps and bump outs with decorative stamping or concrete coloring on the bump outs.
The project also includes removal and replacement of six to nine trees, six to eight natural stone benches, 10 decorative garbage cans, two decorative planters with native species, tree fencing/bike tie ups for four to five trees, and signage on Prentice Street, including historic information for the pump station, the new tree species/information, and other historic sites.
The City of Montevideo received funding to rehabilitate 42 multifamily rental units in the city for a total of $600,000. Housing is a critical issue in Montevideo as the city works to sustain its population and provide safe, affordable housing for LMI residents. Need was very high for this program with five property owners showing interest for 12 buildings with 197 units.
The City of Appleton received funding to rehabilitate 20 Owner-occupied homes and 8 commercial properties for a total of $943,000. A housing study was just completed for the city of Appleton and the top recommendation was to continue to rehabilitate owner occupied homes. The housing stock in Appleton is limited. Only two new homes have been built in the last 20 years, and no new homes have been built in the last five years. Many homes are in poor condition needing major repairs.
Appleton plans to rehabilitate eight buildings in the downtown area. This area has been designated as a slum and blight area, with over 72% of the buildings being deteriorated and in substandard condition.
UMVRDC Assists with Two Successful EDA Disaster Supplemental Funding Applications
Last year, the U.S. Economic Development Administration announced available funding through the FY2023 Disaster Supplemental Funding Notice of Funding Opportunity. The funding is designed to support those regions that were impacted by natural disasters of 2021-2022, including the strong winds that impacted our region in May 2022. Only counties included in FEMA’s federally declared disaster areas were eligible to apply for this funding, which included all five of our counties. The funding was intended to address economic challenges in the declared disaster areas and help communities devise and implement long-term economic recovery strategies through a variety of construction and non-construction projects.
The UMVRDC assisted the City of Granite Falls and Minnesota West Community and Technical College with applications last fall and we were happy to learn that both were awarded funding! Granite Falls received $2,353,292 in EDA funding to replace their two aging hydro-electric transformers and accompanying switchgear to provide a reliable source of power for local businesses and residents. Minnesota West received $1,597,062 in EDA funding to purchase modern, mobile mechatronics and welding training equipment to be used at their Worthington campus as well as all over southwest Minnesota through their Customized Training program. Congratulations to both on receiving these awards!
Meander Art Crawl is just Around the Corner
The 21st annual Meander Art Crawl will take place on October 4, 5 & 6! Meander through the beautiful fall colors of the Upper Minnesota River Valley visiting 33 studios featuring 42 local artists. Browse and shop one-of-a-kind pieces of pottery, jewelry, paintings, photography, woodwork, mixed media, and so much more!
The UMVRDC continues to provide technical and financial management for the Meander since its inception and is pleased to see continued growth and support for the event.
Meander WebsiteUMVRDC Annual Meeting and Tour Success
The UMVRDC Annual Meeting and Tour took place in Ortonville this past July and was filled with places to see, presentations, and networking. The afternoon started with presentations on projects that UMVRDC staff have been working on in Big Stone County – Small Cities Development Program, Renewing America’s Schools, Big Stone County Solid Waste Plan, and the Graceville Sidewalk Safe Routes to School project. The tour portion of the day included stops at Meander artist, Kathleen Marihart’s studio, Ortonville Dairy Queen (RLF Client), the Big Stone Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour and Trail, and GoFasters (RLF Client). The day concluded at the Ortonville Golf Course for supper and the business meeting. Thank you to all board members, partners, and citizens who joined us throughout the day!
UMVRDC Staff Attend North Central Regional Food Business Center Summit
The North Central Regional Food Business Center Summit was held in early August to create connections between the technical assistance providers of the Center. UMVRDC staff were in attendance. It was great meet face to face with others to hear what they are working on.
UMVRDC staff and partners are working together to focus on Farm to School. Some recent work included creating a log to use Pride of the Prairie as the collaboration of local foods in our region, worked on a producers survey, and currently working on a buyer survey.
Click here for more info on the North Central USDA Regional food Business Center.
Funding Available to Improve Walking, Biking, or Rolling Infrastructure
If you have a local project in mind that provides infrastructure for people to walk, bike, or roll (strollers, rollerblades, wheelchairs etc), MnDOT has a variety of grant programs to fund sidewalks, trails, ADA improvements and other infrastructure. Grants funding of 80-100% is available depending on the program. Most programs are looking for a letter of intent that will be dur around the end of October with full applications due in January/February 2025. The RDC is also available to assist with grant writing.
Contact Dawn Hegland to find what program is right for your project: Dawn.hegland@umvrdc.org
Walk to School Day is October 9th
Celebrate the 28th annual Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 9th! This event is not only fun for kids but serve as important opportunities to encourage physical activity and promote safety in neighborhoods and near schools.
Join the MnSRTS Photo Contest and share where you love to walk. MnDOT will highlight winning photos all month long.
Funding Available for Business Start-Ups or Expansions
There is currently $1.7 million in loan funds available in the UMVRDC’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). The UMVRDC Revolving Loan Fund is designed to provide gap financing for business and industry starting up or expanding in the five-county region of Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine. The primary focus of the program is manufacturing and industrial-related businesses that will create or retain jobs.
Since 1988, 157 loans have been made for a total of over $10 million providing access to affordable capital through gap financing for business start-ups or expansions. Buying or creating a small business takes money. Many times, the people with the passion and idea to start a business don’t have the dollars. Gap financing through the UMVRDC can help. If you or someone you know is looking at a business start-up or expansion, please contact Dalen Roe, RDC Loan Specialist dalen@umvrdc.org . We are here to help.
Dawn Hegland Celebrates 30 years at the UMVRDC! 
Congratulations to our Executive Director, Dawn Hegland, on 30 years of service to the UMVRDC! Dawn was first hired as the Transportation Planner and worked on many different programs before becoming the Executive Director in 2008. She has played a key role in many of the programs at the UMVRDC throughout her time here including the Meander Art Crawl, Western Minnesota Prairie Waters, Safe Routes to School, Local Foods, and many more. Her passion for helping the region thrive shows through in the amount of energy and dedication she puts into her work every day. We would like to thank Dawn for all her time and important work accomplished in her 30 years at the UMVRDC. Congratulations, Dawn!
Thank you, Paige!
Paige Meyer, a 2023 LQPV graduate and current South Dakota State student just wrapped up her second summer internship with the UMVRDC. Paige primarily worked on putting together a regional housing development inventory which will promote available residential lots in the region along with a description of any available incentives and other relevant information. We are putting the final touches on this project and hope to unveil it later this year.
She also worked on updating our region’s developable properties (sites and buildings) inventory. Once collected, the data was entered into the LOIS database system, which feeds into our Prairie Waters site selector page. She then used this information to create Developable Property Spotlights, promoting some of the region’s properties using our website and social media platforms.
The third task that Paige worked on was updating and organizing the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway’s photo library. The current photos were outdated so she traveled to various sites and attractions and took new photos and organized the digital library of all Byway photos that are used for marketing and promotion of the corridor.
Paige will be entering her second year in the Community and Regional Planning program at South Dakota State University. We thank Paige for helping us out this summer and wish her good luck this school year!
Welcome!
Matt Monson has joined the Loan Advisory Board of the UMVRDC Revolving Loan Fund representing the banking sector in Lac qui Parle County. Matt works at Old National Bank in Madison. He resides in Madison with this wife and daughter.
We are happy to introduce our newest UMVRDC board member whose term started this month. Rebecca Weber is representing Minnesota West Community & Technical College. Becky is a native of Madison. She has been with Minnesota West for 25 years. She is currently the Dean of Student Services & Enrollment. She has worked in the areas of admissions, marketing, counseling, and teaching. Becky has been recognized by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System as Outstanding Academic and Student Affairs Administrator. Becky is involved in the Canby Rotary, Canby Chamber, St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Luoma Leadership Academy, and multiple work groups. Becky has a daughter that graduated in 2019 and a son that is a senior at Lac qui Parle Valley High School.
Upcoming Events
September 24: UMVRDC Monthly Meeting
Appleton Civic Center || 6:30 p.m.
October 2, 3 & 4: UMVRDC Office closed for MADO All Staff Retreat
Staff will be available via email
October 4, 5 & 6: Meander Art Crawl
Upper Minnesota River Valley
October 9: Walk to School Day
October 22: UMVRDC Monthly Meeting
Appleton Civic Center || 6:30 p.m.
November 26: UMVRDC Monthly Meeting
Appleton Civic Center || 6:30 p.m.
November 11: UMVRDC Office closed for Veterans Day Holiday
November 28 & 29: UMVRDC Office closed for Thanksgiving Holiday
