Grand Marais has picked up another award. USA Today’s “Best Midwestern Town”. Linda Jurek executive director of Visit Cook County, says the public vote made the difference over four weeks…
“We were not in the lead for about the first four days. And having come off another award about two-years ago, the coolest small town. We knew that we needed to win this because it really highlighted our community.”
There were 20 communities initially nominated by newspaper editors…
“There was one other town in Minnesota which was Lanesboro. We were very happy to see that they climbed into third place during the last five days of the competition. And Lanesboro is very similar to Grand Marais in having a pretty heavy arts and biking focus.”
Jurek says Grand Marais relies heavily on leisure and hospitality…
“Unlike a lot of places that also have wonderful tourism focus like Duluth for instance, our area in northeastern Minnesota is very reliant on tourism and travel. In fact our economy is about 80-to-85 percent based on traffic.”
Grand Marais was noted for being at the end of the state’s North Shore Scenic Drive and the city’s charms including art galleries, quirky restaurants, local shops and diverse lodging. The newspaper also noted the harbor town serves as a gateway to outdoor adventure in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Thanks to MNN Affiliate KDAL.