Design

The purpose is to encourage the improvement of the Main Street District's physical appearance. Click here to see their list of plans for 2022. The chair of this committee is Gayla McCool.

Selfie Spots: Have you noticed “selfie spot” decals around Coon Rapids and wondered what they are? Main Street Coon Rapids has identified 19 locations around the community that make for great backgrounds in selfie photos. Each location is tagged with a decal showing visitors the best place to stand to capture a good selfie photo. We have beautiful, unique and interesting attractions in our community that we want to share with the world. What better way to share them than organically through a selfie spot campaign. We encourage visitors to Coon Rapids and locals to take photos of themselves at these locations, share them on social media and tag us so others see the wonders of our community. Click here for more instructions on taking selfie spots and entering the contest.  

Main Street Murals: You may have noticed some new artwork taking shape on Main Street in the last couple months. After several years of planning, preparing and fundraising, the Grain Bin Art Project is officially a work in progress. Mark Bauer has begun painting the mural on the two large bins owned by Todd and Charlotte Heck at the corner of 6th Ave and Highway Street along the railroad tracks. This is going to be a wonderful addition to the landscape of Main Street and enhance that entrance to Coon Rapids. Adding more color to our Main Street landscape, Carrie Bluml, owner of Nature Ammil, has also painted a mural on the east side of one of her buildings. Be sure to check out these two new fun art projects taking shape on Main Street.



New Signs Bring Back Memories: As you are stocking up on groceries, take a look at the two new signs installed on the storefront of Frohlich’s Super-Valu. These retro signs might bring back memories for you. 

Boulevard Display: As the seasons change, so does our boulevard display. In August, the boulevard committee along with the Street Department put the big yellow school bus back in the boulevard to welcome students back to school at CR-B. After school started, the bus display was replaced with a large Coon Rapids banner that matched the light pole banners. Be sure to scoop the loop on Main Street to see what is on display now.

Veteran’s Day Banners: Main Street Coon Rapids salutes all those who have and are serving our country in the US Armed Forces. To honor men and women, banners will be placed on 25 light poles in the downtown area for several weeks surrounding Veteran’s Day. Residents were invited to purchase a banner for a Veteran and within 48 hours of the first notice in the Coon Rapids Enterprise, the banners sold out. Watch for these coming soon.  Here's a sneak peek at one of the banners.

Mini-Grants: Just a reminder that mini-grants are still available for any business wishing help with updating signage or the fronts of their buildings. This could be as simple as listing business hours to helping update doors and windows. Click here for more information on the mini-grants.

Want to lend a hand? We can always use more help and ideas. If you would like to help clean up, decorate, make plans for the future of our Main Street or have any skills you’d like to lend, we more than welcome your help.

To volunteer for design projects, click here to email Gayla McCool.

Economic Vitality

Hands-On Social Media Training: This quarter we hosted our second social media training. Shelly Greving from Emerge Marketing Solutions trained Coon Rapids business owners on taking their digital marketing strategies further. They practiced using Meta Business Suite, creating social media ads, and learned how to leverage their efforts by understanding analytics and insights. The training was well attended. 

Culinary Contracts: In July we wrapped up our very successful three months of Culinary Contracts. During the final month,  we highlighted one restaurant a week to help drive local support for our restaurants so they can achieve their goals. The citizens of Coon Rapids were up for the challenge agreeing to dine in/take out from the featured restaurant one time more that week than they already do. As a result, the restaurant owners have committed to make interior/exterior improvement plans to their physical locations.

Christmas in July: Throughout the month of July, Santa visited Coon Rapids to hand out Coon Bucks to unsuspecting customers shopping in our district. This Christmas in July promotion rewarded those who shopped and dined locally. Shop locally all year round to keep your place on Santa’s nice list! 

Organization

Annual Pledge Drive: Main Street Coon Rapids is celebrating its third anniversary as a Main Street Iowa community. As such, our initial three-year pledges ended last year. So that MSCR can keep our budget healthy for projects and to further benefit our community, the Organization Committee is currently collecting pledge renewals for this year’s pledge drive. If you donated previously, you have received a pledge form in the mail or if you are a resident of Coon Rapids, you also received a card in the mail with pledge information. Please consider pledging to MSCR so we continue revitalizing downtown. You can also donate online by clicking here.

Dash & Dine: The Second Annual Dash and Dine Fundraiser was held on Saturday, September 3 at the American Legion on Main Street. The Dash and Dine event consisted of an adult scavenger hunt throughout Coon Rapids, a social hour, diner and dueling piano entertainment. This year we also had an auction for two quarter beefs and edible treats from Coon Rapids residents as well as a Kiss the Barnyard Animal auction (see photo above of Katie Mason kissing a frog during the auction). This year's event was attended by over 120 people and raised $5,000 for Main Street Coon Rapids. The auctions also raised an additional $6,000 for a grand total of $11,000! Thank you to all of the attendees and event sponsors as well as the volunteers who gave their time and talents!

Downtown Harvest Party: As we strive to make Coon Rapids a stronger community, we know we couldn’t do it without volunteers and financial investors.  MSCR celebrated our many blessings and thanked our volunteers and VIP investors with a farm-to-table meal on Sunday, September 18 called the Downtown Harvest Party.  Anyone who volunteered time to MSCR between August 2021 and July 2022 or was a VIP donor, was invited to attend at no charge. Over 150 guests attended the diner where one long table stretched from Sixth Avenue to Fifth Avenue down Main Street. They enjoyed good food grown locally and prepared by Coon Rapids chefs. Live music was provided by Chad Elliot and Kathryn Fox. Click here to view the list of local producers, cooks and more. 

Fall Sidewalk Sales: Saturday, September 24, Main Street retailers took to the streets with Fall Sidewalk Sales. Customers enjoyed the farmer's market feel of the day and the options to purchase gourds and pumpkins from CR-B FFA students.

Promotion

The purpose is to market the downtown district by establishing a unified image and implementing a variety of activities. Click here to see their list of plans for 2022. The chair for this committee is Natasha Adams.


Circus Visits Main Street: In August, we welcomed the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus to Coon Rapids! The Circus Clown, Skeeter, came to town on Friday, August 19 to promote the circus. She visited Thomas Rest Haven, Coon Rapids Public Library, Frohlich's and Jamie's Daycare. Skeeter even did some balloon animals at the library after her magic tricks. The circus came to town on August 29 where over 700 people from surrounding towns came together to enjoy the entertainment. The morning of the circus, the CR-B K-5th grade students watched the tent raising, learned some facts about the circus and saw the big cats up close! 

Chalk the Walk With Pride: On September 21, we set out baskets of chalk and  invited artists of all ages to chalk the walk for homecoming. The Main Street sidewalks were filled with Crusader Pride matching the decorated storefronts. Thank you to all of the businesses and students who participated in the storefront displays. 

Crusader Career Connection: The Crusader Career Connection kicked off this fall. Local participating businesses are paired up with a classroom PK-5 or with a high school content specific class for the school year. Students will do various activities with business owners throughout the school year and learn about local career opportunities through a special tour or discussion. Thank you to CR-B and participating businesses! 

Upcoming Events: As we gear up for the holiday season, be sure to attend these events on Main Street! 


Treats on the Streets- Saturday October 29 at 10a.m.

Christmas in a Small Town - Saturday, December 3 to include live reindeer, children's activities, live reading of The Night Before Christmas, Santa sightings, cookie decorating, lighted Christmas parade and more! You won't want to miss it!  Click here for details.

To volunteer for promotions events, click here to email Natasha Adams.