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Commissioners highlight signage, QR guides, events and Lindbergh House efforts
Summary
At the Brainerd‑to‑Elk River MRPC meeting, commissioners discussed new signage with Avenza QR guides, tracked roughly $92,000 in recent economic activity tied to river outreach, noted Little Falls’ efforts to reopen the Lindbergh House, and MnDOT announced a Nov. 7 letters‑of‑intent window for Great River Road projects.
Commissioners and staff at the Minnesota Mississippi River Parkway Commission’s Brainerd‑to‑Elk River regional meeting described recent outreach and partnership work designed to boost access and tourism on the Great River Road.
Tim Terrell of the Mississippi Headwaters Board said the board has installed signage at public river accesses that shows where paddlers are, where they’re headed and estimated paddle times, and links to offline maps via an Avenza QR code. "We put all that's on the Internet... and we put it on signage at the access," Terrell said, and reported the program has helped the region track economic activity "like $92,000" over the last two years compared with roughly $40,000 in 2022–23, an increase he attributed to more events and partnership marketing.
Terrell described new paddling events and "resourcetainment" programming — from history paddles to paddles-and‑pints — and credited collaboration with Visit Grand Rapids and influencer‑style videos for substantially increasing reach. He said the approach is focused on partnerships and in‑person outreach as much as digital promotion.
Sabrina from the Little Falls Chamber and Tourism updated the commission on the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum in Little Falls, saying the Minnesota Historical Society has closed the site and that "there is community action on how to reopen that site as a, a huge draw to our community." She said the city and local stakeholders are working on options and that she expects an update within a month; she will include commission staff on related press releases.
Johnny Empson, the commission’s vice chair and chair of the 10‑state pilot, urged expanded partnerships and outlined plans to engage with National Mississippi River Day on June 2. He also described outreach to Corn Belt Ports and other organizations to explore federal funding synergies for work on highway segments that overlap river road corridors and asked that transportation experts be invited to brief the MRPC transportation committee.
Peter McDonough, MnDOT’s Great River Road program manager, asked communities to submit letters of intent for potential Great River Road programs across 20 counties and 43 communities; the solicitation window closes Nov. 7 and contact information was provided during the meeting. Diane Henry Weinstein said the commission will host a small reception honoring outgoing staffer Chris Miller before the Nov. 20 full MRPC meeting.
Commissioners encouraged communities to request letters of support from the MRPC for local projects. Several speakers noted volunteer capacity is a constraint for some local events and historic sites, and they discussed models for phased or seasonal reopening where full museum operation is not immediately feasible.
The meeting closed with reminders about upcoming events and a prompt to submit project ideas for Great River Road programming.
