Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Cathy VanRisseghem: Disk Golf Course
Cathy VanRisseghem: Disk Golf Course: Disk Golf Course Little Falls should soon have a Disk Golf Course. If you are wondering what Disk Golf is, it is a game which a concave...
Cathy VanRisseghem: Building A Great Trail!
Cathy VanRisseghem: Building A Great Trail!: For many years I worked with the Paul Bunyan Trail Committee with the hope of bringing the Paul Bunyan Trail to Little Falls. Unfortunately,...
Cathy VanRisseghem: Splash Pad
Cathy VanRisseghem: Splash Pad: Where is the City at with the Splash Pad? In 2010, after a community meeting for area youth, it was determined that the kids wanted a...
Cathy VanRisseghem: Disk Golf Course
Cathy VanRisseghem: Disk Golf Course: Disk Golf Course Little Falls should soon have a Disk Golf Course. If you are wondering what Disk Golf is, it is a game which a concave...
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Building A Great Trail!
For many years I worked with the Paul Bunyan Trail Committee with the hope of bringing the Paul Bunyan Trail to Little Falls. Unfortunately, politics got in the way and it didn’t happen.
When I became Mayor of Little Falls in 2007, former Representative Al Doty and I started brainstorming on how we could link into the Paul Bunyan Trail and bring it to Little Falls. I developed the Mississippi River Cross Roads Trail Committee, which eventually became the Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail Committee, and together we developed a plan with a potential trail route from Crow Wing State Park to the Soo Line, wrapping around Camp Ripley.
Within a very short amount of time we enlisted the support of all the counties and cities in Central Minnesota in an attempt to lobby the federal government, as well as the state legislature for support of the CRVST. After lobbying the MN State Legislature In 2009, they designated the CRVST a state trail. In 2012, a corridor study and master plan were completed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and now can be viewed on the DNR website.
Currently, under the direction of the CRVST committee, DNR is working on the first leg of the trail, which will start south of Little Falls, on the west side of the Mississippi River and travel to Mill Park in Little Falls. Thanks to Senator Paul Gazelka, Representative Ron Kresha, and the CRVST Committee, the MN State Legislature passed their bonding bill in 2014 that included $1,732,000 for the CRVST. The funding is for acquiring and constructing land for the CRVST.
The CRVST committee recently hosted an informational luncheon and an ATV Ride to educate state and local officials about the importance of the trail, development of the trail, and the progress the committee and DNR has made. Brainerd Dispatch article.
The Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail Website is now up and available for news and information about the trail. You can see it here. Check us out on Facebook, too.
What are your thoughts about the CRVST? Do you have any questions for me?
When I became Mayor of Little Falls in 2007, former Representative Al Doty and I started brainstorming on how we could link into the Paul Bunyan Trail and bring it to Little Falls. I developed the Mississippi River Cross Roads Trail Committee, which eventually became the Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail Committee, and together we developed a plan with a potential trail route from Crow Wing State Park to the Soo Line, wrapping around Camp Ripley.
Within a very short amount of time we enlisted the support of all the counties and cities in Central Minnesota in an attempt to lobby the federal government, as well as the state legislature for support of the CRVST. After lobbying the MN State Legislature In 2009, they designated the CRVST a state trail. In 2012, a corridor study and master plan were completed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and now can be viewed on the DNR website.
Currently, under the direction of the CRVST committee, DNR is working on the first leg of the trail, which will start south of Little Falls, on the west side of the Mississippi River and travel to Mill Park in Little Falls. Thanks to Senator Paul Gazelka, Representative Ron Kresha, and the CRVST Committee, the MN State Legislature passed their bonding bill in 2014 that included $1,732,000 for the CRVST. The funding is for acquiring and constructing land for the CRVST.
The CRVST committee recently hosted an informational luncheon and an ATV Ride to educate state and local officials about the importance of the trail, development of the trail, and the progress the committee and DNR has made. Brainerd Dispatch article.
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| ATV participants for ATV Run |
What are your thoughts about the CRVST? Do you have any questions for me?
Monday, October 3, 2016
What Can the Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail Do For Central Minnesota?
Little Falls is on the brink of developing one of the largest tourism booms in our history—with the possibility of generating millions of additional dollars into our economy each year. In 2008, a committee was formed to address connecting the Paul Bunyan Trail to the Soo Line Trail, which is a missing 32 mile link. This link, now known as The Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail (CRVST), is the first “State Trail” by law, that will be “multimodal by design” meaning it will accommodate motorized and non motorized trail users. When completed, this “missing link” will have connected numerous other trails to create the “Longest Continuous Paved Bike Trail” in the World and will offer over 400 miles of continuous trail. The trail would not only impact central Minnesota, but create the “link” that would connect many Minnesota communities to each other.
The resulting trail will be a one-of-a-kind system for non-motorized users. A person will be able to go from Fergus Falls to Bemidji or St. Joseph to Cass Lake, for example. Motorized users will also enjoy an enhanced and simplified connection through central Minnesota. Everyone will have to go through Little Falls, the hub city of this network, which means all of central Minnesota will benefit by greatly enhancing their ability to draw tourism.
During warm weather months in Minnesota nearly 1.5 million cyclists, inline skaters, joggers, and walkers use our state trails. The long term goal for the CRVST is to make the trail usable year round by encircling Camp Ripley and linking many equestrian, ATV, and snowmobile trails together.
There’s no doubt the CRVST will have a huge impact on our region. It will do wonders to help our existing base of tourist attractions and businesses by bringing people into our downtowns, but it will also attract other businesses to locate here. Area businesses will see positive growth and there will be much potential for local and national entrepreneurs.
How Other Communities have Benefited from Trails:
A few years ago, a group from Little Falls was invited to tour Lanesboro, Minnesota. Lanesboro is on the Root River Trail in Southeastern Minnesota and is often cited as an example of the economic impact a trail can have on a community. Lanesboro tourism representatives put on a presentation about the impact that the Root River Trail system has had on their community.
When the Root River Trail opened twenty-five years ago, the town of Lanesboro was a virtual ghost town with the majority of their storefronts and many homes boarded up. Today it is a thriving community. The city now has eight restaurants, twelve B&Bs, an art gallery, a museum, and a successful community theater. One of the local restaurant owners told us she is one of the few that stays open all year. In the winter months she employees six full-time employees. In the summer she employees sixty.
Impressive Figures from some articles I recently read:
Gary Sjoquist of Quality Bicycle Products - The Economic Benefit of Trails
Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota
Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota - Benefits of Parks and Trails
Our Goal:
There is great hope for the CRVST and what it will do for Little Falls and central Minnesota. Our primary goal is to make the connection between the Paul Bunyan and the Soo Line Trail as soon as possible. It will take many years to complete all aspects of this trail, but I believe we are well on our way.
Questions for you: Do you use trails? How important are trails to you? Do you think this is an important feature to add to central Minnesota? Why or why not?
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| Cuyuna Paved Bike Trail (courtesy of City of Crosby) |
During warm weather months in Minnesota nearly 1.5 million cyclists, inline skaters, joggers, and walkers use our state trails. The long term goal for the CRVST is to make the trail usable year round by encircling Camp Ripley and linking many equestrian, ATV, and snowmobile trails together.
There’s no doubt the CRVST will have a huge impact on our region. It will do wonders to help our existing base of tourist attractions and businesses by bringing people into our downtowns, but it will also attract other businesses to locate here. Area businesses will see positive growth and there will be much potential for local and national entrepreneurs.
How Other Communities have Benefited from Trails:
A few years ago, a group from Little Falls was invited to tour Lanesboro, Minnesota. Lanesboro is on the Root River Trail in Southeastern Minnesota and is often cited as an example of the economic impact a trail can have on a community. Lanesboro tourism representatives put on a presentation about the impact that the Root River Trail system has had on their community.
When the Root River Trail opened twenty-five years ago, the town of Lanesboro was a virtual ghost town with the majority of their storefronts and many homes boarded up. Today it is a thriving community. The city now has eight restaurants, twelve B&Bs, an art gallery, a museum, and a successful community theater. One of the local restaurant owners told us she is one of the few that stays open all year. In the winter months she employees six full-time employees. In the summer she employees sixty.
Impressive Figures from some articles I recently read:
Gary Sjoquist of Quality Bicycle Products - The Economic Benefit of Trails
Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota
Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota - Benefits of Parks and Trails
- Minnesota’s non-motorized trail users spend approximately $2.7 billion annually on trips and equipment, and support 37,000 jobs statewide.
- Trail-related expenditures range from less than $1 per day to more than $75 per day, depending on mileage covered. Trail users are willing to spend money to have a good time while using the trails.
- Trails can bring at least one million dollars annually to a community, depending on how well the town embraces the trail. For a town like Lanesboro, a trail can mean an annual economic impact of more than five million dollars.
- 70% of real estate agents use trails as a selling feature when selling homes near trails. 80.5% of them feel the trail would make it easier to sell.
- The U.S. National Parks Service notes that increases in property values range from 5 to 32% when adjacent to trails and greenways.
- Researchers estimate homeowners are willing to pay an additional $4,000-$9,000 to be located within a thousand feet of a trail.
- 80% of home buyers say walking trails are a top community characteristic when choosing a new home.
Our Goal:
There is great hope for the CRVST and what it will do for Little Falls and central Minnesota. Our primary goal is to make the connection between the Paul Bunyan and the Soo Line Trail as soon as possible. It will take many years to complete all aspects of this trail, but I believe we are well on our way.
Questions for you: Do you use trails? How important are trails to you? Do you think this is an important feature to add to central Minnesota? Why or why not?
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
"Red Letter Campaign"
We are on a quest to get the
Governor, Legislator, County Commissioners and City Council's attention about a
very important tourism asset for the Central Minnesota Area - the Camp Ripley
Veterans State Trail (CRVST).
For twenty five years we have
been trying to develop a recreational trail system in central Minnesota.
For the past ten years we have been actively developing the Camp Ripley
Veterans State Trail.
Shortly after I became Mayor in
2008, I developed the CRVST Committee. The committee has been attempting
to connect the Soo Line Trail to the Paul Bunyan Trail, with a long term goal to encircle Camp Ripley as well. The CRVST is a very important
“missing link” between seven other existing bike trails. The CRVST will also link
many equestrian, ATV, and snowmobile trails.
When completed, this one of a
kind trail system will become the longest, continuous paved trail in the
World. With over 400 miles of off road, multi use trails, the CRVST has the
potential to draw thousands of bikers, snowmobilers, ATV’s, hikers, walkers,
and more to central Minnesota from all over the world. This 3.2 billion dollar a
year industry will benefit Little Falls greatly as it will be the hub city of
this network.
We feel it is extremely important
to get the trail completed for the potential economic impact it will have on
Little Falls and the surrounding area.
In order to get the word out about the CRVST, and seek support from people in central Minnesota, we have developed the “Red Letter Campaign.” We have drafted a letter of support for the CRVST, printed it on red paper and are now distributing it throughout Little Falls and central Minnesota for people to sign. We hope to generate thousands of “Red Letters” to send to the Governor, Legislator, County Commissioners and City Council in hopes that they will take the development of the trail seriously and help us complete it. The development of the CRVST will have a major economic impact to the central Minnesota area.
In order to get the word out about the CRVST, and seek support from people in central Minnesota, we have developed the “Red Letter Campaign.” We have drafted a letter of support for the CRVST, printed it on red paper and are now distributing it throughout Little Falls and central Minnesota for people to sign. We hope to generate thousands of “Red Letters” to send to the Governor, Legislator, County Commissioners and City Council in hopes that they will take the development of the trail seriously and help us complete it. The development of the CRVST will have a major economic impact to the central Minnesota area.
Be sure to watch for the "Red Letter" at area businesses or download the PDF Red Letter, sign and drop off at a participating business.
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