Wabasha Mayor Emily Durand honored with the 2022 Emerging Leader Award from the League of Minnesota Cities

(June 24, 2022 – St. Paul, MN) City of Wabasha Mayor Emily Durand was named as the 2022 Emerging Leader Award recipient yesterday by the League of Minnesota Cities. The award was announced at the League’s Annual Conference of city officials in Duluth.

Durand took office in 2019 and is the first female mayor in the city’s history. Early on, she played a key leadership role in supporting a $6 million expansion for the city’s National Eagle Center, a world-class interpretive center located on the banks of the Mississippi River. Mayor Durand previously served on the Eagle Center’s Board of Directors and helped the city partner in the expansion project through securing bonding funds and making land available for the Center’s new amphitheater.

Recognizing the challenge of child care availability, Mayor Durand led an initiative to offer grants to child care businesses. She also encouraged a city-wide dialogue about how the community could come together to create more child care openings.

Mayor Durand has also been a leader in the Minnesota Futures planning study which established conceptual plans and community support for the rerouting of Highway 60 and the redevelopment of an underutilized area of downtown.

The League’s Emerging Leader Award is presented in recognition and encouragement of elected and appointed officials who are early in their service to municipal government, have made meaningful contributions to their city, and show promise for continuing service and leadership. This is the first year of the Emerging Leader Award, and officials that have served for eight years or less are eligible for consideration.

The League of Minnesota Cities is a membership organization dedicated to helping cities throughout Minnesota build quality communities through effective advocacy, expert analysis, trusted guidance, and collective action. The League serves its more than 830 member cities through advocacy, education and training, policy development, risk management, and other services.