Red Wing, Minnesota Has Some Lessons for Boone, Iowa
July 21st, 2008(Tom Jirik wrote columns in several newspapers in Iowa from the late 1980’s to the mid 1990’s. This column originally appeared in the The Boone Today in the summer of 1988)
Like a lazy snake, sunning under the hot summer sky, the Mighty Mississippi River winds it way under the sandstones bluffs of Red Wing, Minnesota.
A boom-town in the 1870’s, Red Wing thrived on the flow of grain spilling sown from northern Minnesota and the Dakotas. Riverboats, steamed by, billows of smoke streaming across the mighty waters. In the richly –appointed halls and lounges of the St. James Hotel, traders bought and sold wheat and corn for shipment down the river.
As the railroads expanded their steely grip on the nation, the importance of Red Wing as a trading center slipped. The once-grand St. James and the fabulous city opera house declined into second-rate status.
Until 10 years ago, Red Wing, like Boone and hundreds of other Midwestern cities and towns, was slowly losing its businesses and citizens. Citizens of Red Wing traveled the 50 miles to Minneapolis and St. Paul for shopping entertainment, much like Boone residents travel to Ames and Des Moines now.
Then civic-minded Red Wing citizens, with the help of the Red Wing Shoe Company and other businesses and investors, decided it was time to turn the town around. One of the first projects was to restore the St. James to its original grandeur. Its brass accents shine and the dark woodwork glows with new life. From the huge windows in the elegant dining room, patrons watch the massive barges make their way toward the gulf.
Folks come from across the Midwest to enjoy the sandstone bluffs and historic home of Red Wing. A burgeoning bed-and-breakfast industry is doing well. The City Opera House where Garrison Keillor broadcast a few of his episodes of his “Prairie Home Companion,” will re-open later this year, completely restored.
An entire city block of historically significant buildings is being restored to reflect its original appearance. New buildings have sprung up, but city officials, mindful of history, have made certain that they blend into the city-scape.
The revitalized downtown, parks on the riverfront and on the bluffs, and a can-do attitude has brought Red Wing millions of tourist dollars.
There’s a lesson here for Boone. History and tradition run deep here. Where grain and river trade built Red Wing, railroads, coal and agriculture built Boone. Beneath those modern facades in downtown Boone lurks a century’s worth of architecture. Under the brambles and brush of Boone’s rural country-side hides the remnants of a rich coal-mining and railroad industry.
The Ledges and the quiet beauty of the Des Moines River Valley are natural wonders that rival Red Wing’s sandstone bluffs and the Mississippi.
The key to success in Boone is the same as it is in Red Wing- forward thinking leadership with the initiative to formulate a plan and the tenacity to follow through.
The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad, Marnie’s Birthplace and Ledges State Park are steps in the right direction. But Boone needs a plan to pull its tourist attractions together. This spring’s leadership conference was a step in the right direction.
Leaders needn’t think small. A Des Moines River Convention Center maybe the catalyst Boone County needs to become the largest tourist center in the state. With the right attitude and enough planning, tourists could be flocking here from Des Moines, Fort Dodge or even the Twin Cities.
The pieces are all here. Boone just needs to put them together.