For the past year, the stewards of Progress Park Rapids have been asking a lot of questions of our community, and listening carefully for answers. What should Park Rapids be like in 10 years? What do you value about our community? What are our greatest assets?
The purpose for all the questions, for the dozens of community meetings, the community survey and the coffee shop visits, was to help us articulate for Park Rapids our destiny. And we believe our community has spoken.
Who do we want to be? Here is what we heard:
"The Park Rapids lakes area will be a vibrant community with opportunity for all. We will embrace an exceptional quality of life and a growing economy, while protecting our natural environment and small town beauty and charm. Park Rapids will be known as a community that is a great place to live, work and play by: acknowledging our differences, respecting each other's talents, valuing shared prosperity and working together for the broader community good."
We have to be honest, though. This may be who we want to be, but this isn't who we are today. We have much work to do as a community, and Progress Park Rapids is ready to challenge us to move forward together.
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We have identified 17 challenging goals to lead us to our destiny. The goals are diverse and comprehensive, ranging from having a 100 percent graduation rate at our schools to the hospital being ranked in the top 100 in the nation. The goals cover economic development, health, education, sense of community, environment and leadership.
And these are just our ideas. What other ideas are out there to help us build a successful Park Rapids?
A destiny is just a dream and goals are just words if our community doesn't come together, work together and align our resources to get there. That's why now, more than ever before, we need your help!
On Monday, April 24, Progress Park Rapids will be hosting two open houses to unveil the destiny and goals, and listen to community ideas. Most of all, we want to get your help. For each area, there will be an opportunity to become involved. The open houses will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Northwoods Bank.
Please join us in making this great community of ours exceptional.
Dave Hengel
Headwaters Regional Development Commission
