The Rosenmeier Center for State and Local Government at
Central Lakes College (CLC) will host a Forum on the Economic Development
Future of the Brainerd Lakes Area from 7 to 9:30 p.m., Wed., Sept. 5, in the
Chalberg Theatre on the Brainerd campus. With the country still on shaky
economic footing in the wake of the Great Recession and the city of Brainerd in
its sixth year of double-digit unemployment, this panel will examine how the
Brainerd Lakes Area can and should grow in the next 25 years to become and
remain economically vital in an increasingly competitive and global economy. Scheduled panel participants: Cheryal Lee Hills, executive
director of Region Five Development Corporation (R5DC.); Sheila Haverkamp, executive
director of the Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corporation (BLAEDC);
Lisa Paxton, executive director of the Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce;
Charles Marohn, executive director of Strong Towns; and Mark Ostgarden,
Brainerd city planner.