Looking to the Future
Bagley, a town of 1,300 in north central Minnesota with its own Lake Lamand, also serves as the gateway to Itasca State Park. Itasca is known as the source of the mighty Mississippi River, yet it’s equally famous for over 3,000 acres of old-growth pine.
Community leaders in Bagley often describe the town by talking first about their children. “I wanted to raise our children in a small town atmosphere,” says one. Or says another, “Basically, I want to raise my children in an environment that is more community oriented, where people sincerely care about their neighbors — plus, of course, the camping and fishing… the lakes. We were traveling Up North anyhow, and living in Bagley, well, Up North is right here.”
Bagley sits just 25 miles west of Bemidji, Minnesota, and although there are real pluses to that, town leaders want to prevent the town from becoming “just a bedroom community.” Instead, they say they want to be a “living-room community.” “Bagley,” they tell people, “is a great place to live.” Meanwhile, schools want to grow and townsfolk are challenged to keep their businesses growing.
From 2003 to 2005, Bagley took part in Horizons, a community leadership development program sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation. “We were stirred up by Horizons,” said one participant. “It forced us to take a look at the long picture, to ask what we want our community to look like in the future. What is our community impression? We want it to be warm and welcoming.”
Now there are local goals like the development of a Web site and new, user-friendly town signage, yet there are also bigger, less tangible effects. One woman who works in community education explains, “Horizons opened doors and had folks who had never talked to each other name their dreams and visions for Bagley. Now I think there is so much more that can happen.” A local bank manager agrees: “We’ve been able to break down barriers that seemed to exist — barriers that are invisible to a lot of people. Everybody was doing their own thing and you come to know people, but we never took the time to really know people. It isn’t until you develop a consistency with one another — then they become part of your circle. That’s what’s really important in any community — people have to learn to find common ground, to name common goals.”
Group process was a big part of Horizons, a fact that frustrated some and pleased others. Says one participant, “All this process happens differently for each person, at different paces. Some can’t move too fast, yet others get tired of the slowness.” This Bagley resident was amazed, however, at how well the process worked. He explains, “When people identify your commitment, that might draw them to change their own attitude. Without a group discussion, it’s easy to slip into the mode of ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it.’ And it’s amazing how when you demonstrate your own willingness, things can actually change.”
These days, a guiding group has evolved out of the Horizons work. They call themselves the HUB or “Helping Unify Bagley.” Through the HUB, everyone is working toward a common vision believing that united they can sustain it. Recently, one of the HUB’s spokes has become a significant goal — the creation of a community fund for Bagley.
Explains one HUB leader, “We’re negotiating with the Northwest Minnesota Foundation in creating this community fund. We had a small pool of funds, and we will add to that the local scholarship funds, early childhood initiative funds and other small funds now managed for our town. Our intention is to create an endowment, to call for local investments in our community and to spend those dollars locally.” This idea has generated a lot of local excitement.
“This community fund will help with credibility, visibility and integrity about what we’re doing. It’ll give it all an established process,” explains one of the high school counselors. “We have had no avenue to generate or raise funds, and our smaller groups such as the county fair or the hockey organizations have fought for their day-to-day operating costs, usually raising just enough each year to make it. This community fund gives us new opportunities because we’ll share the 501(c)3 of the Foundation. And they’ll do a percentage match, so we’ll gain some resources.” Adds the local banker, “I think it’s absolutely necessary and a good tool. We are in an aging community, and our core citizens are at a time in their lives when they want to leave a legacy.”
The community fund will give the HUB a new level of responsibility, overseeing different components and learning fiduciary duties. As a group of core leaders, it appears that they are up to it. They want to be a visionary group representing the community. One HUB member says that it is his personal goal to get the fund to a million dollars some day, and he asks, “Are there people in the community who will help build an endowment? We will see.”
As part of the local planning over the past few years, a few individuals from Bagley took a trip to Australia to learn about models in their rural towns and places. One of the travelers reflected on what that trip taught him: “Australia was an experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It changed me. Not enough people ever capitalize on the opportunity to remove themselves from their comfort zone.
“It takes some strong draw and commitment to choose to live where you live,” he continues. “The trip made me examine how we invest in our home communities. I decided that if everyone can choose to live where they want, why not make it the BEST place to live? And if this is to become true, you have to invest together. You can’t do it by yourself.”
Bagley’s HUB leaders seem most proud of the intangible results following their leadership development years. The real potential for new and younger leaders is among them. “I think the fact that we were able to connect with some young leaders in our community — that was important. I’m most proud that we created a vision; I’ve seen new people step up to the plate,” comments one leader. An educator adds, “I think what happened is that Horizons validated what many were doing; it gave them the courage to say change is okay. Thinking shifted. There are always some who don’t want change, but now they’re not leading the charge. Now there’s support behind new ideas, a vision for progress. That may be one of the biggest changes that I sense — permission and freedom to speak up and support change in this community.”