Brainerd/Baxter Riverfront Visioning Process

Brainerd/Baxter Riverfront Visioning Process

Brainerd/Baxter Mississippi River Vision
The Brainerd-Baxter Area Mississippi River corridor should be a place where residents and visitors can easily access and enjoy year‐round natural scenery along with a variety of passive and active recreational opportunities in harmony with a healthy river environment.

Facilities (public or private) within the river corridor should be in character and scale with the places in which the river passes; natural, agricultural, residential and urban.
Design and construction of facilities within the river corridor should employ state of the art environmental practices to meet or exceed national, state and local rules and regulations.
Local, state and federal agencies should cooperate with area non‐profit groups to manage and maintain the river corridor as effectively and efficiently as possible.

The Mississippi River is a unique natural, transportation and recreational resource for the communities of Brainerd and Baxter, MN. Over the years the river’s role has evolved and its importance has ebbed and flowed much like the river itself. Recently, the 2009 Brainerd Class of the Blandin Leadership program identified the “Revitalization of the Mississippi River’s role within the community” as a focus project. Working with other interested stakeholders and area citizens, the group is embarking on a six-month process to envision a revitalized future for area’s river front.

Funding for the visioning process is being provided by the Blandin Foundation. Facilitation and planning is being provided by the consulting firm, Short, Elliott, Hendrickson, Inc. Planning and Urban Design Director, Bob Kost is serving as the lead facilitator for the visioning and planning process.

Major steps in the visioning and planning process include: