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SECONDARY <br /> Secondary Research <br /> The secondary research report contains information about the City of Elk River as Energy <br /> City from a holistic approach, including Energy City's origin and history, the Energy City <br /> Commission, the 10-year Action Plan, and Energy City's initiatives. We also examined the general <br /> concepts of sustainability and sustainable cities, specifically Energy City as a sustainable city. <br /> Through the secondary research, our team learned that the City of Elk River and the Energy City <br /> Commission have attempted to solidify Energy City's focus through its 10-year Action Plan; <br /> however,some of these attempts have only generated short-term successes. <br /> ENERGY CITY'S ORIGIN AND HISTORY <br /> Prior to the City of Elk River's designation as Energy City, the City of Elk River was <br /> associated with the Minnesota Environmental Initiative's (MEI) "Energy Alley" program. The MEI <br /> is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that works with governments, businesses, and advocacy <br /> organizations to promote environmental policies and programs,while Energy Alley promoted the <br /> development and growth of energy-efficient and renewable energy industries. In 1997, MEI <br /> sought to restructure Energy Alley into Energy City, in order to create a State-wide epicenter for <br /> energy efficiency and sustainability (DeWesse, 1999). The City of Elk River applied for the <br /> designation as Energy City and was chosen by the MEI, over 30 other communities. In 2006, <br /> Energy City was trademarked by Minnesota and two-years later by the federal government <br /> (Energy City, 2016). This federal trademark protects the City of Elk River's usage of Energy City. <br /> However, if the City of Elk River failed to use the Energy City mark in interstate commerce for <br /> 0 <br /> Page 4 UNIVERSITYof ST.THOMAS <br /> EN-ERGYCITY <br /> Opus College of Business <br />