Case study: Red Wing, Minnesota

A panoramic view of Red Wing, Minnesota, and the Mississippi River taken from Memorial Park.

A sign on the bank of the Mississippi River welcomes arrivals to Red Wing, Minnesota

An artistic mural in Red Wing, Minnesota

A person works in the shared space at Red Wing Ignite in Red Wing, Minnesota

Carved wooden foxes sit in a store window in Red Wing, Minnesota

Historic sports memorabilia hangs on the walls of Hanisch Baker in Red Wing, Minnesota

Susan Langer sits on a bench in Levee Park in Red Wing, Minnesota

Sculptures stand at the Anderson Center Sculpture Garden in Red Wing, Minnesota

A sign outside a Red Wing Shoe plant says, "America. Made in Red Wing."

A sculpture stands on the sidewalk in downtown Red Wing, Minnesota

Roger Sievers laughs while talking about memorabilia in his office

A dog walks inside a bookstore in downtown Red Wing, Minnesota

A panoramic view of downtown Red Wing, Minnesota, taken from Civic Center Park

A person works at a computer on a picnic table as the sun sets over Levee Park in Red Wing, Minnesota

Katie Hardyman speaks while leaning against the wall

Eric Amundson works at his computer at Red Wing Ignite

Tammy Lee holds up a product in the Xena Therapies facility in Red Wing, Minnesota

The former Red Wing Iron Works building looks out at the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minnesota

About the project

Red Wing, Minnesota, is a city of about 16,300 residents along the Mississippi River in southeastern Minnesota, located on the land of the Mdewakanton people of the Prairie Island Indian Community about an hour from the metropolitan areas of the Twin Cities and Rochester. In 2019, Red Wing was a part of the first Rural Innovation Initiative cohort, a technical assistance program run by the Center on Rural Innovation and its sister organization Rural Innovation Strategies, Inc.

This case study investigates how a rural community can promote tech entrepreneurship and tech-centric workforce development by working as part of a larger regional ecosystem.

In rural southeast Minnesota, ecosystem leader Red Wing Ignite and its partners encountered four central reasons for why a regional approach to rural tech-based economic development, once it is adopted, can be so effective:

It can break down the silos between organizations, create greater trust, and facilitate knowledge sharing.
It builds a broader network of contacts, entrepreneurs and tech-centric people who can support each other, creating a virtuous cycle.
It creates a wider array of opportunities for those seeking to pursue a career in the tech space, and support those in need of digital skills.
It can influence the way that money flows to entrepreneurs, tech education, and digital skilling programs.

Red Wing is just one community of many across the U.S. that tell the story of how regional collaboration can promote tech-based growth in rural places. In addition to outlining the processes and strategies that Red Wing took, we offer a toolkit of questions and suggestions for rural communities to consider when thinking about approaches to building regional collaboration.

Read the report:

Case Study-Red Wing_122221

This content was prepared by Rural Innovations Strategies, Inc. using Federal funds under award ED20HDQ3120070 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.