Minnesota Main Streets Deep Dives

Minnesota Main Street programs do so much for their communities, and a lot of it is unseen work. Being the district go-to means fielding questions from “why hasn’t my street been plowed yet?” to “I’m thinking of retirement. Do you know of anyone who would be interested in buying my business?”. This is not uncommon during the day in the life of a Main Street director. And sometimes, these inquiries also need to remain confidential, making it a little tricky for the director to get the information requested without inadvertently sharing their stakeholder’s information.  

This wide-ranging scope of responsibilities is why we offer Deep Dive presentations as part of the Minnesota Main Streets program. Most of our Third Wednesday meetings feature an expert speaker on a topic relevant to Main Street issues, offering another avenue for information and connection – a multi-part extended conference over a year’s time, if you will.  

By making sure we are touching all the Main Street Four Points™ (Design, Economic Vitality, Organization, Promotions) over the course of the year, there are sure to be subjects that are current for some programs. As a bonus, we also open some of the Deep Dives to our Main Street stakeholders. Not only is this a value-add for Minnesota Main Streets districts, but it also underscores the valuable trusted resource district stakeholders have in their directors.  

We are proud to have provided Deep Dives on the following topics over the past year: Make Your Storefront Shine, Volunteer Engagement 101, Employer Reasonable Accommodation Fund (ERAF), Parking, Transformation Strategy Development, Board Retention, Take the Emotion Out of Events, The State of Rural, and Business Succession. We are also grateful to the experts we feature who share their wisdom with us, and who become another go-to for our district leaders as part of our resource pool. We look forward to learning more in 2025 and beyond.