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10/31/2018 Art That Sets Us Apart <br />HOME(/INIT'IATIVE-QUARTERLY/) CURRENT ISSUE(/INITIATIVE-QUARTERLY/CURRENT-ISSUE/) <br />ARCHIVES(/INITIATIVE-QUARTERLY/ARCHIVES/) SUBSCRIBE (/INITIATIVE-QUARTERLY/SUBSCRIBE/) <br />ADVERTISE(/INITIATIVE-QUARTERLY/ADVERTISE/) CONTACT(/INITIATIVE-QUARTERLY/CONTACT/) <br />IQ MAGAZINE <br />SHARE lar ...-(bES l/wm.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&pubid=xa-528655dd3R1e2a2) <br />HOMETOWN TRIBUTE: Artist Roger Reinardy's murals enliven Sauk Centre. <br />Art That Sets Us Apart <br />From murals to sculptures to painted fire hydrants, public art showcases what's special about Central Minnesota towns. <br />By Lisa Meyers McCllntick <br />Kahnah'bek, an iconic 20 -foot tall statue of a serpent painted bright green, orange and yellow, rises above <br />Crosby's Memorial Park on Serpent Lake. A fresh coat of paint three years ago took it back to its original <br />colors, from when it was installed in 1977 as a mascot for the <br />town's largest gathering place. Today it's also a magnet for souvenir photos and sel8es. <br />A few blocks aways, a mural completed in 2014 rises two stories high with a collage that blends mining, <br />snowmobile manufacturing and silent sports. "I really think the mural has brought a different feel and theme <br />our downtown," said Lisa Sova, Crosby's administrator clerk treasurer. "It did a nice job of incorporating the <br />history and different eras that have brought us to where we are today. <br />This year, new art greets visitors traveling north on Minnesota Highway 210 in the form of a black -and -white <br />mural of local miners on a brick building in downtown Ironton. A second mural celebrates the boom in <br />mountain biking throughout the Cuyuna Lakes State Recreation Area, which borders both Crosby and Ironton. <br />Towns across Central Minnesota are embracing art projects—from murals and sculptures to artsy bike racks—to showcase what makes their communities <br />unique, to attract visitors and to bring together its residents. "Public art is popping up everywhere," said Leslie LeCuyer, executive director of the Central <br />Minnesota Arts Board. "We're trying to educate local leaders that art is a way to build and take pride in one's community. It makes their place a destination, and it <br />has a strong economic impact, as well." <br />Creative Minnesota, a collaboration of statewide arts and cultural organizations, and Minnesota Citizens for the Art, embarked on an in-depth study in 2017 to <br />measure the impact of the creative sector by totaling the amount of local spending done by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, the amount of money <br />