Chamber News & Announcements

Good morning,

It is a beautiful day in Lanesboro. As we get further into May, we are definitely seeing an increase of guests in our visitor center, people strolling our streets and bicyclists enjoying the trail. It is exciting to see our season getting off to such a beautiful start.

First of all, we would like to announce that our visitor guides and maps are now available at the visitor center and throughout the community. We are in the process of getting them out to local businesses and regional visitor centers and businesses. 

We have several exciting events coming up in Lanesboro and hope you will join us for some fun. Just a few things to note are the upcoming Spring Boutique and Business Crawl this weekend; the Bluff Country Gathering next week, May 18-21; and the Rhubarb Festival on June 3. Scroll down to our Ear to the Ground section for more upcoming events you will not want to miss.

Finally, I’d like to ask our members and other businesses to provide some information through a survey being conducted by Explore Minnesota, Hospitality Minnesota and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. This survey is about business conditions among tourism and hospitality businesses and will help each organization better shape policies and programs that touch your business. Look for an email that may be sent directly from one of those organizations with a link to the spring business conditions survey or simply click on the link and take the survey now. It should take no more than five to ten minutes to complete. You and your survey responses are anonymous. Explore Minnesota will provide a report of survey results in a future edition of their EMT Express electronic newsletter. The survey closes on Tuesday, May 16.

- Tuesday Tune Ups are offered every second Tuesday of the month at 11 a.m. Members are welcome to come to the Chamber office for training sessions for ChamberMaster tasks, such as how to update your hours, profile information and post events to our calendar. The next session will be June 13. We’ll do our best to make it fun.

- The May Walking Tour is next week! Join chamber members on Thursday, May 18, as we visit the downtown businesses to learn more about what may be new this year. Business owners and employees will be available to answer any questions you may have. Meet at Sylvan Brewing at 5:30 p.m., where we’ll start and end the evening! Sign Up Here! If you can't join the tour, please join us for the social hour and networking after the tour. Get to know the Chamber staff and board of directors as well as share ideas with your fellow members.

Lanesboro In The News

Lanesboro-area businesses and organizations have received some media attention lately. We have some exciting things happening in our area and multiple news outlets have highlighted our great corner of the state.

Driftless Hiking Trail

One mile at a time, outdoor enthusiasts create new Driftless Area hiking trail

Featured on MPR News

Nestled in a Fillmore County valley is a 200-acre farm that will soon become part of a 100-mile hiking trail from Chatfield to the southernmost tip of the Mississippi in Minnesota. 

“It is some of the most beautiful land in the county,” said Marty Walsh, who is spearheading a volunteer effort to establish the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail.

Continue reading: Click Here

SOAR Winter Tourism Workshops 

UMN conducts winter tourism study with Lanesboro

Featured in The Minnesota Daily

With a grant from the Blandin Foundation, the City of Lanesboro hired the University of Minnesota Tourism Extension to help develop winter tourism strategies for the southeastern Minnesota town.

Continue reading: Click Here

Sinkholes, history, beer, community!

Sinkhole tourism could bring economic boost to southeastern Minnesota

Featured on MPR News

MPR News reporter Catharine Richert stopped by Fountain last week and local individuals shared some interesting sinkhole stories. Featured are Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center Executive Director Colleen Foehrenbacher, Fillmore County Historical Society Executive Director Sara Sturgis and Karst Brewing Owner Eric Luoma. Fountain has long-styled itself as the Sinkhole Capital of the U.S. But sinkhole tourism, and the economic boost that it could bring, has never materialized. Now, some residents are working to change that.

Continue reading: Click Here

Member Updates

Just a reminder that History Alive, Lanesboro! has canceled the Pop-Up Plays that had been planned for Memorial Day weekend. Please help spread the word as advertising and promotion had already been placed when the decision to cancel was made.

Root River Rod Co. has provided a fishing update for local streams. Because our Chamber staff seems a bit naive with the terminology, we have opted to include the update with a direct quote! Thank you to Lance Prado for the latest conditions. "Caddis flies are starting to appear in large numbers. Nymph fishing is very good. Streamer bites are picking up and the river is in perfect condition.”

Congratulations to Lori Bakke and Granny’s Liquor! They just celebrated Granny's Liquor's eight-year anniversary! Granny’s is going as strong as ever. It is a bedrock business in Lanesboro with some of the most friendly staff in town. We think that comes from Lori’s love of the town she grew up in, combined with 28 years of running a business in Lanesboro. “I still Love Lanesboro,” said Bakke “I always have, and we continue to grow, and move forward. I love that we just keep moving forward in the right direction!” Thank you, Lori, for all your support of this community. And thank you also for your wide selection of beer, wine and spirits. Be sure to swing by Granny’s when you get into town. (Right after you swing by the Visitors Center).

The Aroma Pie Shop in Whalan will be opening for the season this Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Click here for More Information About Lanesboro Chamber of Commerce News - May 11, 2023