'Nutcracker capital of Midwest' and downtown plaza

Community consultant Roger Brooks recognized the nutcracker collection at Luverne’s History Center as a tourism draw for the community.
“This is flat-out amazing,” he said in his June 9 assessment of the town. “This is worth getting off the interstate for.”
He showed an artist’s rendering of an I-90 billboard, “Luverne: Home of the largest nutcracker collection in the Midwest.”
It sounds far-fetched to some, but Betty Mann, who donated her 2,500-piece nutcracker collection, said travelers are indeed interested in nutcrackers.
The History Center opened its doors this spring before construction was finished on the former Ford Motors building.
In April and May, more than 200 travelers stopped in each month, and that was before the History Center was officially open.
Mann said most of them were I-90 travelers who had heard about the nutcrackers online or in brochures.
In July more than 1,000 visitors came through the History Center, a good share of them drawn in by the nutcrackers.
“They are a unique collection,” Mann said. “The only other one I’m aware of is in Leavenworth, Washington.”
 
Nutcracker Committee meets Sept. 12
On Aug. 15 Chamber Director Jane Wildung Lanphere hosted a meeting to organize a Nutcracker Committee to help Luverne be the “nutcracker capital of the Midwest."
The committee is tasked with working on how to build Luverne as a nutcracker destination.
“The work at their next meeting will focus on trying to expand the nutcracker theme this holiday season and to continue to work on some of the ideas they had for making Luverne a nutcracker destination,” Lanphere said.
The second meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, in the lower level of the Chamber.
 
Plaza Concept Committee meets Sept. 5
In his June 9 community assessment, Brooks also said downtown plazas are a popular way to encourage inner city gatherings.
He shared a graphic of East Main Street's History Center block showing where a plaza might fit.
“Suburban malls are dying,” he said. “Downtowns are back … It’s where we go after work and on weekends. Nothing is more vital than downtown.”
Particularly, he said downtown plazas — with outdoor seating, greenery, a movie screen and even splash parks (with water valves flush with the street surface) are becoming popular.
“At their first meeting, they came up with a whole lot of great ideas about what could be included in a plaza,” Lanphere said about the Aug. 22 organizational meeting.
“I believe that at the next meeting, the committee will work on how to get ideas, thoughts and information from the public about building a plaza in Luverne.”
The next Plaza meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the lower level of the Chamber.
“The Plaza Committee is tasked with developing a concept for size, type, possible locations, amenities and possible programming for the plaza in Luverne,” Lanphere said.
She encouraged more public participation in the committees. “The more the merrier and the better the ideas,” Lanphere said.
To get involved, call the Chamber office at 283-4061.