Morris, Minnesota, a rural place on the edge of the prairie, is at the forefront of environmental sustainability. In this episode, Tony Pipa visits Morris to discover more about the Morris Model and how its residents and local leaders have set aside partisan politics to build powerful, trusted partnerships to invest in clean energy and conservation practices that improve the town’s economic viability and offer new opportunities to build lasting community wealth.

Featuring:

  • Warrenn Anderson, Attorney/businessman, Morris, Minnesota
  • Troy Goodnough, Sustainability Director, University of Minnesota Morris
  • Blaine Hill, City Manager (ret.), Morris, Minnesota
  • Jacqueline Johnson, Chancellor (2006–2017), University of Minnesota Morris
  • Griffin Peck, Energy and Adaptation Planner, West Central Initiative Foundation
  • Mike Reese, Director of Operations, University of Minnesota West Central Research Outreach Center

Transcript

PIPA: So this is a new one: I’m at the municipal liquor store in Morris, Minnesota. But I’m not here to shop. Those who know me well know that I don’t even drink alcohol! I just came to see the roof. It’s lined with solar panels that power the store.

The city of Morris owns the liquor store here, and it’s one of four city-owned buildings with this technology. It’s just one part of an ongoing community collaboration on environmental sustainability that’s come to be known as the Morris Model, a partnership among the University of Minnesota Morris, the City of Morris, the county, and the local school district.

GOODNOUGH: Part of our goal was to open up this dialogue. And so we said we were gonna work on energy conservation, we were gonna work on clean energy. We were gonna work on community resilience, which again, is a way of talking about climate and climate adaptation without saying climate.

PIPA: That’s Troy Goodnough, sustainability director at the University of Minnesota Morris.

GOODNOUGH: A key aspect of the Morris Model work and Morris Model partnership is geared towards thinking about how do we build community wealth?

Read the full article about the Morris Model by Tony Pipa at Brookings.