West End grants keep on giving

The West End Flourish began with a pebble in the pond. In 2020, the state of Minnesota formed the Artists on Main Street program, designed to provide funding to projects in small town parks and business districts throughout Minnesota. The following year the city of Cloquet and the Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community (OACC) collaborated and received one of the four available grants out of some 41 applicants. Money was available for a two-year cycle.

In spring of 2021 as the Covid pandemic was receding, optimism was on the rise. Cloquet Community Development director Holly Hansen organized a v...