The key to Northland Connection is its human touch. Not only do we host and maintain a robust website, but we’re on hand to respond to inquiries about the data it presents and beyond. Here’s just a snapshot of the work our staff did in 2019 to assist users:
- Responded to 95 direct inquiries for assistance with data
- Attended 36 meetings on behalf of Northland Connection
- Assisted 27 people with property searches on the website
- Provided economic, demographic, and commercial real estate data to 29 users
- Gave 9 overview presentations on the program
- Most frequent user: APEX (15 inquiries)
- Child care data cited in the Washington Post
Northland Connection data and resources also supported a variety of Northspan projects, including:
- An update to a regular vacancy and rents study for Duluth’s Greater Downtown Council
- A population study for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s Planning Division
- Economic base and cluster analysis for the City of Sandstone
- Content for the Itasca Economic Development Corporation’s new website
- Support for the Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation’s new Shovel Ready program
- Services that facilitated the launch of the Minnesota Opportunity Collaborative (MNOppCo), a statewide platform for opportunity zones
- Support for the City of Duluth Mayor’s Housing Task Force and Coffee and Conversation series, both encouraged in part by the completion of the 2018 study “Housing for the Next Generation of Duluth’s Workforce”
- Ongoing support for regional applications to the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA), including a successful application for Itasca County