City of Elk River staff involved in the Climate Smart Municipalities program, a collaborative initiative with six Minnesota cities and six partner cities in the German state of North Rhein-Westphalia, the University of Minnesota and officials from the State of Minnesota and North Rhein-Westphalia, showed off a handmade gift for their partner city of Iserlohn, Germany.
Planning Manager Zack Carlton is headed to Germany to learn about innovative programs and practices, visit climate-smart energy facilities and work with partner communities to develop specific strategies for reducing our energy footprint while boosting the local economy. Senior Planner Chris Leeseberg crafted the creative plaque which includes city boundary lines, logos and a wind turbine with the two downward blades pointing to the location of each city hall.
The Climate Smart Municipalities program is coordinated by the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment and funded through the German government’s Transatlantikprogramm. What started out as a three-year partnership was extended by the German government for two additional years. The goal of the program is to learn about the unique energy and climate issues the partner cities face, and collaborate to create innovative programs and practices that will push us all toward becoming more sustainable communities, both locally and globally. A delegation of German government officials visited Minnesota last July.
Pictured (left to right): Chris Leeseberg, Senior Planner, Amanda Bednar, Environmental Coordinator, Cal Portner, City Administrator, and Zack Carlton, Planning Manager