Envision Minnesota

We approached 1000 Friends for Geographic Information Services (GIS) assistance when we were preparing for our Cookie Walkabout activity. In a very short turn around time they supplied our volunteer Girl Scout troop leaders with hundreds of detailed maps throughout southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin that improved the experience and quality of the cookie program for our girls and leaders. They used our data sets to help girls make smart choices about which streets had a high potential for sales. The girls also had a safer experience thanks to the detailed maps. The maps also were an excellent and fun tool to learn about map-reading and location-finding. 1000 Friends staff were extremely bright and responsive to our short turn around. Their consulting rate was affordable and their results were of very high quality. We look forward to working with them again.

The City of Center City is honored to be working with 1000 Friends of Minnesota. The City first became involved with 1000 FOM when we applied for and received the Community Growth Options Grant. Since that time the City has had the pleasure of working with Sally Wakefield, Vanessa Morrell and Connie Lanphear on our continued journey through the City's first ever Comprehensive Plan, a complete Zoning Ordinance update and we are currently working with the Lakes Improvement District and Chisago County to see how our main access road from Highway 8 can be updated and still maintain the Historical District and incorporate a storm water run off plan that addresses our area lakes quality. The City is rethinking how they do every day business from improving streets (by incorporating green spaces) to trying to go 50% less paper used in the City offices. We credit 1000 Friends of Minnesota with

Helping Minnesota grow without wrecking this wonderful place is a formidable challenge. Yet this is exactly what keeps the fires burning at 1000 Friends of Minnesota. This organization leads one of the most complex and challenging discussions of our time by attempting to promote healthy, growing, economically viable communities while at the same time arguing for thoughtful and careful land use and planning policies at all levels of government. 1000 Friends of MN knows how important jobs and economic growth are but they also know that careless development taints our waters, degrades our air quality, wastes huge tracts of land and places unnecessary fiscal burdens on all of us. They need our support in the face of expanded public infrastructure and deferred maintenance on bridges, sewers and all the other public costs associated with growing inefficiently. The staff at 1000 Friends works to bring these complex public choices into the open so that we can discuss them in the full light of day with as many facts as the system can stand to digest. We know for too long public coffers have been squandered by poor planning and careless development. 1000 Friends works tirelessly to advance the understanding that all communities, our region, our counties and our state must make better public investment choices and plan better for a bright future for all. As the past Executive Director of this organization I know how dedicated the staff and the board are to this important mission. Let’s keep this important organization vital and strong so the state of MN can remain vital and strong.

Dedicated people working to preserve Minnesota’s unique landscape and culture: 1000 Friends of Minnesota is a premier statewide non-profit committed to, “Helping Minnesota grow without wrecking the place”. As a 2009 summer intern in the Lakes Region Office, I quickly discovered the special culture of devotion and enthusiasm within the 1000 Friends of Minnesota circle. The staff, Board of Directors, members, volunteers, and communities working for and with 1000 Friends of Minnesota are passionate about their state and its environment. With growth pressures on the rise, this nonprofit is advocating for exactly what Minnesota’s unique culture and landscape need: better growth solutions. 1000 Friends of Minnesota develops and implements creative programs and services to help communities find a balance between development and preservation, while celebrating the state’s unique sense of place. During my time with 1000 Friends of Minnesota, I worked with Lakes Region Program Director Phil Hunsicker in Brainerd, MN. My time was sponsored by a fellowship from the College of Saint Benedict that required me to serve a nonprofit with civic engagement components. I worked with Phil to jump start a “Voices for the Lakes” essay contest, develop conservation design scorecard outreach and education materials, and participate in meetings ranging from those of lake associations to community planning events. The summer was filled with learning opportunities, challenges, and successes. Looking back, Phil and his colleagues became my mentors, role models, and friends. I am blown away by all they accomplish on a daily basis, and cannot adequately express my gratitude for the inspiration they have provided me. My experience with 1000 Friends of Minnesota was formative in confirming the belief that you can do what you love and love what you do—all while having a positive, substantive impact on the world around you. I wholeheartedly review this nonprofit as one of utmost value to the state of Minnesota.