Committee explores options for Luverne as sister city

There is movement afoot to pair Luverne with an international “sister city,” according to discussion at a community meeting last week.
About 15 people gathered Jan. 7 in the elementary school commons to consider whether or not Luverne should become a sister city and if it could benefit from — and be a benefit for — another city overseas.
Working through Sister Cities International, a local committee has been exploring options — possibly a small town in Germany, and considering implications of a partnership.
Marilyn Bloemendaal led the Jan. 7 meeting and said the first step to initiating a sister city relationship is to measure community interest in Luverne.
“It takes community engagement,” she said. “It can’t be just a few city leaders who think it’s a good idea.”
According to Sister Cities International, “sister cities are relationships that create lifelong friendship that support peace and prosperity among communities through people to people citizen diplomacy.”
The sister city exchanges center on culture, education, business and municipal administration.
That’s why last week’s meeting aimed to include representatives from all those community sectors — school, students, fine arts, businesses, the chamber office and city leaders.
Luverne will likely take cues from Worthington, which is a sister city to Crailsheim, Germany, and has the longest sister city relationship in Minnesota.
According to Sister Cities International, 47 states have sister city relationships in more than 1,800 communities nationwide.
There are more than 130 countries around the globe that have formed sister city relationships within the United States.
Monday’s group broke into three groups of five people to discuss why or why not Luverne should pursue becoming a sister city.
At the end of the evening, all three groups supported the venture and shared individual reasons for their interest.
For example, Luverne High School German students said they’d be interested in delving deeper into German culture and society.
Others at the meeting were interested because they’ve traveled abroad and want to learn more about an overseas community. Some at the meeting said they have experienced cultural exchanges and would like to take relationships like those a bit farther.
Most all the meeting spoke of broadening their cultural horizons and several volunteered to serve on a committee to take the next step toward making Luverne a sister city.
“It can be a great adventure for our community,” Bloemendaal said.
There has been some discussion about connecting with the small German community of Kryllburg, which has similar attributes to Luverne in terms of size and community offering.
Luverne will work with Sister Cities International to ultimately decide on the right city and to properly set up an exchange.
Bloemendaal said the Luverne Convention and Visitors Bureau and Sister City Committee are spearheading the effort.
Luverne Initiatives For Tomorrow and Luverne City Council are supporting the efforts along with Luverne Chamber, Rotary, Luverne Public School and Luverne Area Community Foundation.
Information regarding a sister city relationship will be on the agenda for the LIFT Annual Gala on March 1.