Visions of the Future

Large panel deliberates challenges, personal involvement

By KREMENA SPENGLER Journal Staff Writer
NEW ULM — What type of state do you want to leave to your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren?

What are the “got-to deal with” issues if we are going to make that future real?

What would you like to tell Minnesotans 50 years from now that you are personally working on today, to ensure that they have the same or a better quality of life you have now?

These were the questions addressed by a visioning session Thursday morning at the former New Ulm Middle School, as part of the Capital for Day activities in New Ulm.

Sixty-plus people, about half of them adults and about half high school students, participated in the session. The adults included civic and business leader. The students came from all local public and private schools: District 88, New Ulm Area Catholic Schools and Minnesota Valley Lutheran. The session was moderated by officials from the Region 9 Development Commission.

The morning opened with remarks by Mayor Joel Albrecht, who introduced the theme of the session and various key people present.

Then, local historian and activist George Glotzbach gave a witty, fun presentation on New Ulm’s heritage and key facts of local history.

When talking about the future, it is good to know where we come from, Glotzbach, dressed in the traditional attire associated with the city’s German heritage, remarked.

Reggie Edwards, executive director of the Region 9 Development Commission, warmed up the participants, by inviting them to identify some major changes that have impacted the recent past and will play into the future.

Then, in mixed-age groups of six or seven, the participants focused on the issues.

First, they pondered each question as individuals, jotting down their ideas; then, they discussed their ideas in small groups. Lastly, they presented the consensus conclusions of their small-group discussions to the whole group.

Some of the values and assets that the participants want to pass on to future generations included, among others: a strong and diverse economy with a variety of business and employment opportunities; a diverse population, in terms of both ethnicity and age; affordable, accessible health care; stable, sustainable energy sources; quality education; a good energy and transportation infrastructure; a clean environment and good food supply; a strong sense of family and community; a good work ethic, etc.

The issues that need to be dealt with proceeded logically from the participants’ identified values and from the consensus on what’s important to preserve. These issues included, among others: rising health insurance costs; energy costs and energy supply challenges; an energy and transportation infrastructure that needs improvement; reversing pollution; exploring sustainable energy sources; diversifying the community, to enrich it and to deal with anticipated workforce challenges; balancing environmental preservation and new development, etc.

Participants’ answers to the challenge of being agents of change themselves focused on things like: having an eco-friendly lifestyle, by using environmentally friendly products, conserving and recycling resources; being aware of and improving, personal transportation habits; being politically and civically active, by seeking to influence leaders, volunteering or being leaders; living within one’s means; obtaining the best education possible; being physically active; modeling good behaviors and passing on sound values; donating time and resources to worthy causes, etc.

These answers clearly reflected individuals’ professional bias, their larger community role and age, among other things.

The committee in charge of celebrating the state’s 150th anniversary is conducting similar sessions in communities statewide and analyzing the answers, with the goal of achieving a consensus and publishing a blueprint for the state’s future, officials said.

It is seeking to engage “at least a million Minnesotans” in learning about the past, planning for the future and making a personal commitment to achieve the stated goals.