Red Wing Ignite celebrates 10 years of local growth – also sneak peek at an amazing mural

Ann Treacy

Oct 16

Red Wing Ignite is an Innovation Center fueling economic development by working with key sectors of the community and by supporting entrepreneurs, businesses, and students. The nonprofit organization was founded by the community of Red Wing in 2013, with the support of local foundations and the City of Red Wing.

From my window, they were important partners in the early days the Blandin Broadband Communities program. They hosted what we think was the first rural hackfest, they connected young techies with local businesses for internships, created so many programs for kids, supported local businesses and more.

Tonight, I learned about how instrumental Blandin Foundation was to the formation of the organization. So many of the speakers, who were integral parts of the organization over the years, started their speech with "we met through the Blandin Foundation."

Red Wing was in an unusual place back in 2013 because they were well served with broadband at the time so they were able to do some very fun projects. Neela Mollgaard, who was the original Executive Director, spoke eloquently about the organization and the last 10 years and Dr Christine Beech spoke on the future…

As an added bonus, I got a chance to check out an amazing large scale mural celebrating the Dakota people and Chief Red Wing, which is a project that Blandin Foundation has funded more recently. It's gorgeous. It was painted in September by Colorado-based Native artists Jeremy Fields and Collins Provost-Fields of Thrive Unltd, who were picked by the Prairie Island Indian Community. The Sahan Journal reports on the mural…

"Each mural section depicts local Indigenous relatives in their natural environments. The sections are divided by a sweetgrass braid and a red willow twist with local native wildflowers and medicines intertwined," organizers said in a news release ahead of the unveiling.

Cole Redhorse Taylor, a Mdewakanton Dakota artist and a Prairie Island member, contributed designs to the painting.

The mural is part of the Honoring Dakota Project, "a process of community conversations and events that provide education to discover shared stories, bridge the communities, and create a space for healing." Partners in the project include the Prairie Island Indian Community, Red Wing Arts, the City of Red Wing and Goodhue County.