Meeker County Heritage Tourism Assessment and Planning
To hire a qualified historian to work with program partners in developing a strategic plan for heritage tourism in Meeker County.
Partners: Meeker Development Corporation, Meeker County Historical Society, and Dassel Area Historical Society
Three Meeker County organizations will form a partnership to identify and assess heritage tourism sites, activities, and events in Meeker County and develop a strategic plan to coordinate, promote, and improve access to these sites and activities. This strategic plan will then serve as a tool to promote Meeker County:s historic resources under the umbrella of heritage tourism.
$2,500,000 each year is for history partnerships involving multiple organizations, which may include the Minnesota Historical Society, to preserve and enhance access to Minnesota's history and cultural heritage in all regions of the state.
Available upon request. Contact:grants@mnhs.org
SHORT TERM OUTCOME
In the next 6 months, 50% of identified Meeker County historic organizations will participate in the interview process for the partnership grant and thereby increase their knowledge of heritage tourism. The consultant will track organizations identified and number attending the interviews.
There are an estimated 16 number of groups that could potentially be involved with Meeker County Heritage Tourism. Hoisington Preservation, Inc. has met with 10 groups involved with Meeker County history, or 62.5%. This exceeds the required 50%.
LONG TERM OUTCOME
In the next 18 months, Meeker County will use data from the strategic plan from this project when applying for additional grants for heritage tourism implementation activities.
Meeker Development Corporation will track grants being applied for using data
from the strategic plan. This final report is submitted early and the next request for a partnership grant for agriculture tourism is supported by the members of the partnership and other Meeker County historic groups.
The strategic plan identified several key issues as the next steps to develop Meeker County Tourism and subsequent grants. The plan states a need for a lead agency and Meeker Development Corporation has offered to be the lead agency. The next grant, by consensus of attendees at the strategic plan meetings, will be an agriculture-themed tour with QR codes. After this is completed, a second tour will be the U. S. Dakota Conflict which started and ended in Meeker County.
Available upon request, grants@mnhs.org
MEEKER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Chuck Pease, Dan Johnson, Sam Feistner, Dianne Barka, Connie Lies, Robyn Richardson, Auggie Anderson, Janice Gustafson, Bob Bohrer, Arlyce Deadrickson, Tom Westrum, Robert Schaps
DASSEL AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY::Mary Jane Arens, David Broesder,Jerry Bollman,
David Floren, Maribel Gilmer, Dianne Johnson, Julie Lindquist, John Sandstede, Bob Wilde,
Terri Boese