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Information About the Oronoco Virtual Community Center
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How this site came to be
The Mayor and City Council of Oronoco were heavily involved in the State of Minnesota project to upgrade Highway 52 from Interstate 90 to the Twin Cities. Our mayor met Dale Maul, the highway project coordinator. Mr Maul recognized the need for extra help in the Oronoco/Pine Island area to prepare the cities for expected growth. Mr Maul submitted for a Local Solutions Grant for both cities. This grant allows for extra help from State agencies such as Minnesota Planning.
Steve Reckers of Minnesota Planning identified the potential to Oronoco for an LIAA Building a Sense of Place /Joyce Foundation grant. The Oronoco Mayor and City Clerk went to St Paul in August,2001 to learn more about the grant. They were encouraged to work with Oronoco Township and Olmsted County and then to gain Oronoco City Council support, which they did. Steve Reckers was instrumental in Oronoco achieving a grant from LIAA/Joyce Foundation in Novermber, 2001. It was somewhat unusual for such a small city to receive this type of grant. Clearly, MNDOT, Minnesota Planning and the City of Oronoco came together in the right place at the right time.
The mayor and city clerk compiled a list of potential Building a Sense of Place participants from the residents of Oronoco. These people were invited to a community dinner in December, 2001 to be introduced to the project. Fifty people attended the dinner. From this start came the core group who then invited others to join.
Field Teams were organized by area of interest (history, natural resources, etc.) and the work began. Without the help of widespread and enthusiastic participation, this site would not have been possible.
LIAA provided the guidance, software, technical expertise and encouragement to make this all happen. They have been there each step of the way to make this project a success. Thank you, LIAA!
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This page last updated on 1/5/2003.
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