Eighteen Itasca County citizens met at the Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids, Minnesota each day from 8:30am to 5:00pm, starting Thursday, May 14th, 2015 and concluding Saturday, May 16th, 2015, to study and discuss local climate and weather issues. Participants were randomly selected and stratified to include a balanced representation of the Itasca County population. All were paid $375 plus expenses for the three days.
The group was tasked with deciding how the Itasca region could best adapt to future extreme weather and a changing climate in order to remain a healthy, resilient, and prosperous community. To respond to this charge, community panelists identified and prioritized significant challenges to the long-term prosperity of the community, opportunities to respond to those challenges, and individual and community actions to directly address challenges or realize opportunities. Outcomes were based on information provided by experts and the collective wisdom of the group. Check out those challenges, opportunities, individual actions, community actions, and key weather information along with other important outcomes from the three days on our website and in the Itasca Climate Dialogue Final Report.
The group drafted the following statement to summarize their experience of the Itasca Climate Dialogue:
The Itasca Climate Dialogue is the second in a series of Dialogues across Minnesota. You may read more about the first Dialogue on our Morris Area Climate Dialogue page.