Show 109: Rosenmeier Forum

**Warning -- LARGE file size**

Chuck Marohn shared the stage with four local officials from his hometown of Brainerd, MN, at the Rosenmeier Forum. The forum displayed the difference between the conventional approach towards economic development and the Strong Towns approach advoated by Chuck. It is a long, sometimes agonizing, discussion, but those of you that make it through will get a good sense of how to advocate for substantive change in approach.

Show 109: Rosenmeier Forum (217 MB)

Comments

[Tracy Davis]

Since I actually did listen to the whole thing, I'll lend a helping hand and call out a few places in the forum discussion which I found of particular interest. Much of the conversation about economic development naturally revolved around specific examples local to the Brainerd Lakes area, but the questions, concerns, and approaches will probably sound very familiar to most readers here.

The four local officials taking part along with Chuck are referenced by their first names throughout the forum; they are:

- Lisa Paxton, executive director of the Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce
- Cheryal Lee Hills, executive director of Region Five Development Corporation
- Sheila Haverkamp, executive director of the Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corporation (BLAEDC)
- Mark Ostgarden, Brainerd city planner

The time markers I made note of were:

45:00, Brainerd Taco John's an example of progress -- What municipal governing documents allow or require -- Performance of traditional block vs. Taco Johns for taxes, employment -- How to encourage private sector development

From the audience Q&A segment:

1:55:00, A young man's question about affordable housing, asking what local government can do. Interesting responses from others, with Chuck starting his answer at about 1:59:00

2:06:10, A student tries to summarize what he's heard, and questions whether alternatives to the status quo are realistic. Chuck does a nice job of addressing some misconceptions and clarifies the Strong Towns message, with some crucial economic info at about the 2:09:00 mark.

2:22:00, Question and comment from a Pakistani student regarding his impressions of the area. If you don't listen to anything else, listen to the four minutes starting here.