The group behind a flurry of projects in Austin, Minn., has a new leader.
Gregory Siems started last week as the director of Vision 2020, which bills itself as a "grass roots movement" created in 2011. Vision 2020 coordinates volunteer committees working toward a host of goals, including boosting business downtown and building high-capacity fiber Internet.
"My main task is trying to facilitate that collaboration," Siems said Friday, "trying to make sure that everybody's on the same page, so that we know where we're going and we know how to get there."
Siems, 25, moved to Austin in the spring after his wife, an Austin native, nabbed a job at the Hormel Institute. He recently earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame, with a focus on local government.
He replaces Laura Helle, who had led Vision 2020 since 2012.
Jenna Ross @ByJenna
Lutsen
All I want for Christmas is my own gondola car?
Downhill ski fans can bring an unusual piece of the slopes home — for a price.
Lutsen Mountains is selling 23 red gondola cars that have carried skiers up the hills for the past 25 years. The cars were taken down this fall after a new, state-of-the-art gondola was built. Now the nostalgic red cars are going up for sale online, starting at noon on Nov. 30. The price for each will start at $1,200, but will be lowered to $1,000 on December 7 and $800 on December 14 until they're gone.
Purchasers are responsible for loading and hauling the 300-pound cabins away on their own; Lutsen suggests getting four or more adults to help.
