The Crookston Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) met Thursday morning inside the Crookston Inn in Ballroom #2 as the North Shore Room they usually meet in was occupied by a business meeting. New member Ellie Koepp were absent from the session, while John Bridgeford and Macy Buker joined the meeting via Zoom call.
The Board began by reviewing and approving the minutes of their previous meetings that took place on January 13th and February 10th and multiple payments from January for Lodge Acts and their Regular Monthly Bills.
The Board then made a motion to discontinue their membership with Pine to Prairie Birding Trail due to the cost of $500 not being enough for them to get noticeable advertising to increase the inflow of tourists. They next began discussions on advertising and spending plans with multiple advertising companies. The first one being $299 for website management by Wisconsin Media, then $250 for advertising from KROX, as well as the Tourism Coordinator’s Monthly Payroll of January & February, and made plans to purchase 1000 bags & stickers from Crookston Times and Valley Shoppers for upcoming events like CYBA to handout. Downtown Crookston Development Partnership Representative Jess Bengtson found one quote of $15.78 per bag for 100 bags. The Board then motioned to use those bags as a temporary order for the upcoming CYBA event until the rest were ordered.
The Board then went to approve a Grant Application of $2000 from the Legion Baseball Association for inviting more teams to the town for a Spring Tournament. The Board planned to approve it and grant them the money but sent it back to them due to wanting more details. “We didn’t reject the grant, but we tabled it so they could redo their application and redistribute how they were going to spend their funding and the amount of funding we are going to approve.” explained CVB Chair LaJesse, “We are going to approve the grant for them to get more teams into town for that event. It is a big event, and that’s what we’re here for; to help with the marketing for different events.”
The City Council approved earlier in the week of a change to the Board’s members. The Board presented a change in representatives with Ellie Koepp, the co-owner of Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream, taking Brooke Panzer, an employee of the restaurant’s place on the Board.
The Board then heard from Jess to hear the final report on the Ice Buster Daze, which they had to give back for lack of information. “They didn’t have all their information done, and it got dragged out over two weekends because of the weather,” explained LaJesse, “So some of the cancellations with the Friday event got postponed to the following weekend. But the actual Ice-fishing Day on the River was a success.”
The Board then received a message from guest Bob Baird about plans for Go Karting and Snowmobile races at the Winter Shows Building in Crookston. He gave a quick message that the Go-Kart racing was capable of beginning on Saturday and Sunday at the Winter Shows Building but was unable to get the Snowmobile races ready in time. AmericInn representative Cory Dallager believes that it will be a great event to bring people to the city. “They come from all over from different cities around the area, and it brings some more people into the town, and hopefully some overnight stays since it’s a two-day event,” explained Dallager.
The Board then heard an update from the Blue Line Club by Cathy LaJesse, who had sat in on their last meeting. She told them that the Mite Boys hockey team was participating in a tournament this weekend. Other events like live concerts and shows happened recently in Grand Forks that impacted people visiting Crookston as many people would stay at Crookston hotels and inns before traveling back to Grand Forks for the events they wanted to go to.
The Board then heard from Cathy on an update to the Visitor’s Guide to include a map for good kayaking and cross-country locations and agreed to set a goal for its completion by May.
The Board then heard from Cathy LaJesse again with an update on the Board’s insurance. The Board approved to accept Noah Insurance as its new provider. Then she began with a discussion of the Chamber. Which she reported was more than willing to work with the Board.
The Board then began to go over their “What Brings You to Crookston handout drafts. Each board member provided statistics of why their guests had stayed in Crookston. They found that over 100 people stayed for traveling sports events, like Hockey and Wrestling, and 52 people stayed to go to the University of Minnesota Crookston, either for sports, visits, or campus tours.
The Board finished the meeting with Board Reports from each member about their progress over the past month and their future plans. City Council representative Joe Kressel reported the city had started its search for a new City Administrator. Bengtson suggested a CVB representative help the city advertise itself by updating its website with the latest information and new pictures.
The Crookston Visitor’s Bureau’s next meeting will be on Thursday, April 14th, at 7:00 a.m. at the Crookston Inn.
