Advancing Equity in Historic Preservation: OUR COMMITMENT
MINNESOTA MAIN STREETS
Using the Main Street America Four-Point Approach™, Minnesota Main Streets by Rethos is a program to assist towns, small cities, and urban neighborhood centers maximize both their people and built assets to make their communities more vibrant, livable, and economically stable.
The Main Street Approach is a tried-and-true asset-based economic development program with a focus on preserving the buildings and spaces that make a place unique. Paired with the historic preservation expertise and experience of Rethos, Main Street Minnesota communities have additional resources available to reimagine how a historic building or district can be of use today.
Recognizing that a healthy Main Street is a visible sign of a healthy community, Main Street is about revitalizing districts for the people who are living and working in them now. By providing training, resources, and technical assistance, Minnesota Main Streets helps communities develop their own strategies to stimulate economic growth, build civic pride, and shine a light on what makes their spaces irreplaceable.
Minnesota Main Street Accredited & Affiliate Communities:
Mankato
Mankato
Northfield
Olivia
Owatonna
Red Wing
Shakopee
Wabasha
Winona
Minnesota Main Street Associate & Network Communities:
Brainerd • Cloquet • Eveleth • Faribault • Fairmont • Gilbert • Lake City • Mountain Iron • Virginia
The second round of
LOOKING UP DOWNTOWN grant applications is now open.
If you missed your opportunity to apply for Round 1, you now have a second chance for Paul Bruhn funding.
Please review the bullet points below before applying to help vet your project:
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Awards from $60,000 - $75,000 will be awarded to projects focused on the interior upper floors of buildings located in Main Street Districts. Grants are for shovel ready work yet to be completed and will not be applicable for work done prior to grant award and review by the National Park Service. Work must be completed no later than December 31, 2026.
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To be eligible for the Looking Up Downtown grant, your building needs to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places either individually or contributing to a historic district or be in the process of achieving that designation. It must also be located in a Minnesota Main Streets district in communities with populations less than 50,000 (Eligible cities listed below). Please contact your local Main Street Director for district boundaries. Your Local Main Street program director must be part of the application process and provide a letter of support with all individual applicants.
BRAINERD • CLOQUET • EVELETH • GILBERT• FAIRMONT •
LAKE CITY • MANKATO • MOUNTAIN IRON • NORTHFIELD • OLIVIA • OWATONNA •
RED WING • SHAKOPEE •
VIRGINIA • WABASHA• WINONA
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We anticipate many upper floor projects will be housing-focused, but any interior work to activate upper floor vacant or underutilized spaces is applicable (ex: upper floor event space, new offices, etc.).
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Projects will need to be shovel ready and completed no later than December 31, 2026. Now is a great time to assemble the necessary paperwork and get going with your prep work. We encourage working with architects with historic architecture experience as much as possible.
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You will need photos, both current and historic. Contact your local historical society if you need help finding old photos.
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Due to historic designation implications, this grant will only fund window repair, it will not fund window replacement.
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If you want to be well-prepared for Round 2, please review the materials provided here as well as attending the Round 2 Virtual Informational Webinar being held on Friday, July 17th from 10:30 am - Noon. You can log in using this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/257739807931931?p=F9h2lk1H5GEHDVLo03. A recording will be linked here following the webinar.
How Do We Become A Main Streets Minnesota Community?
MAIN STREET STORIES
Articles from the Rethos Blog and Magazines highlighting Main Street programs, volunteers, events, and businesses.
Minnesota Main Streets by Rethos, a Main Street America™ Coordinating Program, is financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society and the Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment.
