One of the most important aspects of Red Wing’s future is its economic growth. The Economic Subcommittee, one of four subcommittees that make up the Red Wing 2020 Committee, is challenged with the task of helping the city continue to grow and to thrive.

Continued economic growth is no small task and the Economic Subcommittee has laid out a series of goals that would help nurture Red Wing’s economic growth. But laying out the ideas is only the beginning. The real work comes with the implementation of those plans.

While the Economic Subcommittee was born directly out of the 2020 board, it has grown to include members of the Red Wing Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Main Street organization. “We’ve done a lot of work and we have our goals,” says Randal Hemmerlin, chairman of the Economic Subcommittee. The Subcommittee has developed four main goals for its part of the overall vision on which the Red Wing 2020 committee has worked for the past several years.

SIGNS

The first need the group recognized is signage. One of the continued concerns in Red Wing is that the beautiful downtown and the nearby historic district can be hard for out of town visitors to find. Travelers who drive through town on Highway 61 might not be aware of all that is available to them only one or two blocks off the highway.

Likewise, visitors who make it as far as the Tyler Road area on the city’s west end, with its continually developing shopping and dining locations, often don’t realize what lies ahead along old West Main Street in the old pottery district and in the historic downtown.

“We’re getting feedback from people from the Twin Cities coming to Red Wing who are saying: ‘Where is the historical downtown?’” Hemmerlin says. The  group’s consensus is that more direction in the form of better signs is needed to lead people further along the highway so they can experience the rest of Red Wing. “People come to Red Wing for the unique character of its downtown,” he says.  Unfortunately many are missing that now because they do not realize where it is.

While seemingly simple at first glance, the goal of more signs is not an easy one to accomplish. The current policies are somewhat restrictive and no one wants signs that don’t fit in with Red Wing’s beauty and its history. While the goal of better signs is an important one, it will take the coordination of the city and the Minnesota Department of Transportation, which has its own rules for highway signs.

Another area of the sign focus is off the Cannon Valley Trail. Like those in cars, bicyclists can find it challenging to find the downtown area if they are not familiar with Red Wing. There are some signs, Hemmerlin says, but the signs need to make directions clearer and they need to be appropriate to fit with the city’s historic appearance.

Business Marketing

The second goal recognized by the Economic Subcommittee is the need for more and better local business marketing in the downtown area. This is especially true during the many events that happen in Red Wing each year. Sometimes the downtown events are so strong by themselves, such as the Fall Festival of the Arts, it creates a challenge for downtown businesses to get customers in the door when there is so much to offer in the downtown streets.

A more coordinated effort on the part of all downtown businesses is one of the possible solutions the Subcommittee is proposing. Naturally, success for this would involve the Red Wing Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Main Street organization. Members of those two organizations have a vested interest in seeing the downtown prosper.

Some of the ideas discussed include common or more regular hours for businesses and a more directed marketing campaign that will target people coming to Red Wing for those special events. The idea is to coordinate among the retailers to make sure they are open during those events and find a way to increase their marketing skills and efforts to generate more business.

Eliminating Obstacles

The third goal that has been identified is a logical, but somewhat complicated proposition. The goal is to remove obstacles to economic development. Step one for this goal is to define the obstacles and answer questions about why businesses are choosing not to move to Red Wing. More important is to recruit businesses that will locate here.

Once again, this goal already has an established organization in Red Wing that could be a vital part of its implementation: the Port Authority. “This goal is geared toward aligning a system that defines roles for who is supposed to attract new businesses and identify retail businesses people would like to see move into Red Wing,” Hemmerlin says.

While the continued need for new industrial and manufacturing businesses will always exist, the subcommittee’s goal focuses more on the retail side. The idea behind this is that while industrial business development creates local jobs, the city must draw in more retail business to make it a destination for visitors.

“The Port Authority is already doing an excellent job on the industrial and manufacturing side,” Hemmerlin says. “The question of the Subcommittee is this: can the Port Authority refocus more of its efforts on bringing in more retail businesses?”

One idea under discussion might be to create a broader selection of dining options, especially in the downtown area. For example one question to be answered is whether there is enough downtown traffic, from both local citizens and visitors, to make something like a microbrewery or a barbeque restaurant viable.

Another area that has been discussed by the subcommittee is more retail shopping choices. For example, with the bluffs, the bike trails and the river, could Red Wing become a destination for people searching for an outfitter-themed store with hiking, camping, canoeing and kayaking equipment and resources?

Again, the goal would be to explore new options for Red Wing, but whether or not the Port Authority could champion this or if a different group would take the lead is yet to be determined.

Executive Council

The fourth goal of the Economic Subcommittee is closely related to the recruitment of new businesses – establish a council of high-level executives who are community leaders in Red Wing. This executive council’s task would be to visit with and ultimately recruit new business owners to Red Wing.

When a business owner is considering a move to Red Wing, one or more representatives of this council would contact the business and explain why they believe it would do well in the community. “We could send a business leader to nudge them into choosing Red Wing,” Hemmerlin says.

Those who already run successful businesses here would be best suited to persuade a prospect with a testimonial about Red Wing and why it would be a good place for them to set up shop.

While the four main goals focus on bringing new businesses and customers to Red Wing, a related fifth goal directed at new business has also been discussed. This would be to establish a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis system within the city. This SWOT analysis – which the City could help a prospective business conduct – would help determine likely business candidates and lay some of the groundwork for their expansion into Red Wing. SWOT is a fairly common analysis method used in the business world to help an organization focus or refocus itself to be more successful.

As part of this step, the goal-behind-the-goal might be to develop a business incubator to assist new Red Wing businesses. Providing economic data and SWOT analysis information is a valid first step in getting new business into the city.

Stewards and Next Steps

The Economic Subcommittee’s goals, while achievable, will require a lot of work to accomplish. The overall plan to implement the various goals of Red Wing 2020 is to find local citizens to act as stewards for each of these goals. The idea behind the steward-based system is that each of the four  subcommittees would find individuals or groups with a vested interest and perhaps even some experience with each goal. Recruiting stewards from the community also gives more residents the opportunity to be involved in the process of making Red Wing a more vibrant place to live.

As an example, the signage goal might find its steward in someone who has experience in this area, or someone who feels strongly about the need for signs and yet wants to maintain the beauty of Red Wing in the process.

A steward from either the Downtown Mainstreet organization or the Chamber of Commerce would best champion the marketing goal. These two organizations already have an interest in making the city’s business area stronger and in making it more of a draw for visitors.

The intent of the Subcommittee is not to reinvent the wheel, but just add a little grease to make it turn more freely. “We want to build on what Red Wing already has,” Hemmerlin says. “The city has wonderful amenities, both natural and already developed.”

The Depot building is an example of one of Red Wing’s unique amenities that will play a role in its future growth – when Red Wing benefits from high-speed rail and commuter rail. Red Wing’s future is to be a place with a variety of businesses to draw visitors and signs to direct them to points of interest. “We want to create an environment so that when someone comes to town, they know where to go to see everything Red Wing has to offer,” he says.

Overall, the mission is to create a greater depth of experience in Red Wing for visitors. More choices for shopping, dining and entertainment will help Red Wing become a destination. Whether a visitor comes to town by car, train, or bicycle, the goal is to help them see the city as a two- or three-day place to stay versus a two-hour whistle stop.

The Economic Subcommittee’s work is far from over. It’s goals, while challenging, are achievable with the proper stewards and with community involvement. For more information or to volunteer to participate as a steward on the Economic Subcommittee’s goals, contact Randal Hemmerlin, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it