Dozens of business and government movers and shakers from a small Minnesota city are touring Charlottesville Monday night. They are here for a three-day visit to model what our community is doing right - back in their hometown.
The group from Mankato, Minnesota visited King Family Vineyards in Crozet for a dinner exchange. They got to taste Virginia wine and Charlottesville and Albemarle leaders got a sampling of Minnesota cheese.
The Greater Mankato Leadership delegation explored the downtown mall Monday afternoon. The group includes 73 business owners, non-profit directors, and government leaders. They're visiting sites across Charlottesville and Albemarle County to exchange ideas about economic development, workforce training, and higher education.
Mankato, about an hour and half from the Twin Cities, is home to four higher education institutions and is working on its own downtown redevelopment plan.
Greater Mankato Growth Vice President Barb Embacher said, "Seeing some of the progress you have been making here in Charlottesville is encouraging to our community leaders to go back home and keep working hard at our community goals. So many great people have been intersecting with our group, so it's a great community and we're excited to be a part of it for a couple of days."
The delegation even left a "Mankato Loves C'ville" message on the Free Speech Wall downtown.
Tuesday, the group will spend time at the Senior Center to discuss what it takes to create a livable community for people of all ages. They'll also meet with program directors at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business to talk about developing entrepreneurs in a community.
