$200K in Polk County resiliency grants recommended by committee
Crookston Times
The Polk County Business Resiliency Grant Program committee for Crookston met Tuesday and approved $200,000 in grants for 39 of 41 applications from local businesses and nonprofits. Applications from DaRoos Pizza, which was previously operating in downtown Crookston, and Resource Management, which operates apartments near the Downtown Square, were denied.
They also looked over 18 grant applications from outside of Crookston and made recommendations for the $100,000 available which will be decided at a later meeting with city and county leaders.
The committee consisted of Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) board members Kurt Heldstab, Craig Buness and Leon Kremeier, City Council members Tom Vedbraaten and Wayne Melbye, plus CHEDA Executive Director Craig Hoiseth and City Administrator Amy Finch acting as liaisons.
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For 5 Questions this week the Herald speaks to Jeff VanGrinsven, who owns Heroes Rise Coffee Company. The business began in Bemidji, Minnesota, and recently opened a location in Crookston.
Construction is going well thus far and the project is expected to be completed in early summer, according to Brian Larson, UND’s director of construction management. After construction is complete, staff will spend the remaining summer months transitioning into the new Memorial Union. Everything should be set to go by the fall semester, he said.
The city’s Economic Development Authority approved on Tuesday, Jan. 19, a forgivable loan program that would dole up to $24,999 to area businesses that have struggled financially during the pandemic. The program is funded by the city government, where several officials have bristled at Gov. Tim Walz’s public health-minded restrictions on businesses statewide. Development authority board members will prioritize businesses affected by tho
COVID-19 restrictions cited as a reason for the restaurant s closing. 10:05 pm, Jan. 2, 2021 ×
Owners of The Cabin Coffeehouse and Café announced the closure of the downtown Bemidji business in a Facebook post on Saturday. Submitted photo
BEMIDJI Owners of The Cabin Coffeehouse and Café announced the closure of the downtown Bemidji business in a Facebook post on Saturday, Jan. 2. Later in the day, the owner of Heroes Rise Coffee Company announced they will take over the space with a second location called Third Street Station.
Brett and Derek Leach of Brothers Group Restaurants made the announcement with a statement and video on The Cabin’s Facebook page. They cited Minnesota COVID-19 restrictions for an insurmountable loss of revenue and asked supporters to urge elected officials to lift those restrictions.
After an impactful year, DCDP envisions a big 2021
Mike Christopherson
Crookston Times
Leaders of the Downtown Crookston Development Partnership used the Crookston City Council’s final meeting of 2020 this week to offer an update on the big year the DCDP had, and detail things they’re looking to do in 2021 to keep the positive momentum going.
“Our sole goal is to revitalize downtown, so it’s a very limited scope. We go from bridge to bridge to bridge and to the overpass,” DCDP Board member Shirley Iverson said at the podium, joined by fellow board member Jess Bengtson. “We want to generate excitement and make people remember our historic downtown.”