This report summarizes The McKnight Foundations exploration of the impact of the arts on eight Minnesota towns with populations from 500 to 13,000: Bemidji, Bigfork, Fergus Falls, Grand Marais, Harmony, Lanesboro, Montevideo, and New York Mills. While each has a unique story, they all demonstrate how big a factor the arts can be in a communitys ability to survive challenging social and economic changes ﾝand how they can even play a critical role in revitalizing communities already suffering from these changes. Our research found that the arts in Greater Minnesota can achieve the following: Create important opportunities for engagement among citizens, visitors, neighbors, friends, and families. Enhance the ways in which citizens collaborate and create community solutions through diverse leadership. Help shape a communitys identity. Contribute to the development of a new rural economy. These interrelated effects illustrate how a process that begins with citizens as artists and audience members can end with towns whose unique identities make them interesting places to live, work, and play. (From Authors Note)

This report summarizes findings from a McKnight Foundations study which examined the impact of the arts on the community and economic health of eight rural Minnesota towns.