Brainerd, what to do with it, how to revitalize the downtown.

First, stop listening to the fools who brought us here, the city council.

Second, sell it. Business tombstones saying Close Converse show it is for sale.

Brainerd has never been a tourist town. Rail and timber are not tourist attractions, though the history of them can be. Brainerd needs to become a tourist destination. Re-invent Brainerd is what needs to be done. Downtown was spiffed up under the assumption, ‘if we build it, they will come.’ What you build is a discerning factor in this.

The days of quaint shops in downtown thriving and customers flocking to them are in the past. It is the past we need to build on, our rich history.

Branson Missouri had nothing to attract tourists, now it is a destination for them.

Sell downtown to developers and investors that will revamp it into an entertainment area. Events all summer set in the 20’s and founding days. The apartments above turned to high end week or weekend rentals for tourists. Lay some track and put a steam locomotive on it touring the area. Bring Paul into downtown, an amusement park to rival Valley Fair. Uff-Da days, Scandinavian history events, re-enactments of Baby Face Nelson and the days of prohibition. Local police in the uniform of the day. Shops like Nisswa only to our new theme, restaurants and bars themed the same. Steam events with old tractors, model A’s and T’s, stagecoaches and such. Our own version of the French Quarter and Branson.

Drastic times call for drastic measures. If you’re going to do something, do it big, else the section 8 housing and slum Brainerd has become will grow.

Steven Wolff

Brainerd