Minnesota House — Transcript

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Story

Explore Minnesota Touts Significant Economic Contributions, $1,000 Annual Tax Savings for Households

Welcome and Introductions of members and staff

Approval of agenda and minutes from August 14th, 2025

Presentation by Explore Minnesota Tourism on Mississippi River Country

Promotion of Mississippi River and Great River Road by Explore Minnesota

International marketing efforts for the Mississippi River region

Membership and activities of the Mississippi River Country organization

Partnership opportunities between Explore Minnesota and the commission

Collaboration on content, marketing, and international alignment

Minnesota's America 250th anniversary initiatives and road trips

Podcast collaboration for promoting Great River Road experiences

Leveraging existing content for the Great River Road Corridor Management Plan

Transition of MRPC management to LCC and filling resource gaps

MnDOT's Great River Road signage initiative

Votes (1)

Approval of the agenda and minutes from August 14th, 2025.

PassedAll in favor ('Aye')

Moved by Unnamed attendee · Seconded by Unnamed attendee

Notable Quotes (7)

You you have no idea how timely this conversation is. Especially if you had to stay if you got to stay for what's coming next you'd you'd see.

John Apitz
Future collaboration/agenda relevanceAfter Lauren Beginty Bennett's presentation, hinting at upcoming agenda items.

I'm going to underscore that we are about to we'll we will have a theme that will revolve around the 250th for drive month this year, which we're going to have later on the agenda. But, that's maybe something not only the outdoor recreation, but also during drive month the emphasis on the 250 experiences that you can have here in Minnesota on the Great River Road.

Ann Lueschen
250th Anniversary, podcast collaborationSuggesting podcast collaboration with the 250th anniversary theme.

The really short version of that is that um what we're going to do for Drive the Great River Road month is build on a project that is up and running now for Minnesota America 250, which is um Min 250 road trips. And we have 10 itineraries with all kinds of history nerd things and not history nerd things.

David Kelleher
250th Anniversary, Min 250 road tripsExplaining the Minnesota America 250 road trip project for Drive the Great River Road month.

So so what I what I saw here was that there's a lot of untapped synergy that that we that we could connect to. I I I'm kind of stunned by I mean I look at all the stuff you're doing that that in is about the road and the river and our site should link to that.

John Apitz
Partnership opportunities, content leveragingReflecting on Explore Minnesota's presentation and potential for leveraging existing content.

It's like, well, we don't have to invent a bunch of new content. There's more content than I knew of that's already there. We just got to bring it in.

John Apitz
Content strategy, resource utilizationEmphasizing the value of integrating existing Explore Minnesota content.

And and everyone will see how important that's going to become in terms of our relationship with the LCCC. I don't know if you know Chris Miller was our executive director for about 17 years. And she did a lot of work. And now we've shifted to the LCCC managing everything. And and there's just a there's a difference between LCCC can do and and a contracted person can do. And we're trying to figure out how to fill that gap.

John Apitz
Organizational change, LCC managementDiscussing the transition of MRPC management to the LCC and its implications.

And you you have you have done Office of Tourism has typically really helped us out on as has the Department of Transportation over many many campaigns in the past. So, thank you.

John Apitz
Historical partnerships, gratitudeAcknowledging past support from Explore Minnesota and MnDOT.

People (20)

John HoffmanSenator

Represents Senate District 34 (Champlin, Brooklyn Park, Rapids, Dayton, Rogers).

Amanda GerberdingTechnical Advisor

Part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Lisa HaberkornRepresentative, Explore Minnesota

Attending another meeting; key contact for commission's partnership with Explore Minnesota. Also referred to as Lisa Havelka and Lisa Lee.

KateRepresentative, Winona

From Winona, joined remotely, attended another meeting with Lisa Haberkorn.

Paul HuguninRepresentative, Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Introduced himself during the meeting.

Andrew GeorgeLCC Staff

Helps administrate the MRPC (Mississippi River Parkway Commission).

Jessica CartwrightLandscape Architect, MnDOT

Started May 4th; familiarizing with Great River Road Corridor Management Plan and meeting key committee members.

Sundara ShevonSEEDS Worker, MnDOT

Helping with a 10-state initiative on signage from the Great River Road to interpretive centers.

David KelleherRepresentative, Minnesota Historical Society

Leading the Minnesota America 250 road trip project. Also referred to as Deva Kellar.

Marnie KarnowskiRepresentative, Minnesota Department of Transportation

Joined after attending another meeting.

Ann LueschenAt Large Commissioner

Suggested including commission representatives on the Explore Minnesota podcast.

CarolExecutive Committee Member

Mentioned as a long-standing member and a resource for new hires like Jessica Cartwright.

PeterExecutive Committee Member

Met by Jessica Cartwright as a resource for her new role at MnDOT.

Chris MillerFormer Executive Director, MRPC

Served for 17 years; her departure led to the LCC taking over MRPC management.

Commissioner StrommenCommissioner, DNR

Co-hosts the 'Explore Minnesota More' podcast with Lauren Beginty Bennett.

Lynn Hill HutchManager, Mississippi River Country

Manages the 10-state Mississippi River Country organization and organizes international trips. Also referred to as Lynn Pilch Barnett.

Jen ShacInternational Manager, Explore Minnesota

Provided as a key contact for international marketing at Explore Minnesota.

Places Mentioned

StillwaterChamplin, Brooklyn Park, Rapids, Dayton, Rogers (Senate District 34)Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)Explore MinnesotaMinnesota Department of AgricultureMnDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation)Iowa State UniversityLund University (Sweden)ColoradoWinonaLake Itasca (Mississippi River Headwaters)Twin CitiesGulf of MexicoMSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport)Haneda (Tokyo, Japan)Los Angeles (LA)United Kingdom (UK)IrelandGermanyBenelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)Nordic countriesJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaCanadaIndiaFort SnellingMinnesota State FairMinnesota Historical Society Website (mnhs.org)Plan Your Trip Website (MnDOT)

Events & Meetings (7)

  • Current Meeting (Remote and In-person, date not specified)
  • Previous Meeting: August 14th, 2025
  • Mississippi River Country Trade and Travel Mission to Japan (February)
  • Meeting with Tokyo-based tourism organizations in LA (March)
  • IPW (Largest international travel trade show)
  • Drive the Great River Road Month Kickoff at the State Fair (typical annual event)
  • Journalist visit from India (last week or earlier this week)
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Minnesota House - Lakeland Recorder