Earlier this week, the Austin Daily Herald reported that the real estate website Movoto.com ranks Austin number 7 of the top 10 most exciting places in Minnesota.

Our community ranked above Rochester, Winona and Mankato for many aspects including our arts and entertainment opportunities.

The news comes at the cusp of our huge week long celebration of the arts this Aug. 16-24; and proves that our community becomes a more appealing place to live and visit when there are numerous arts and cultural activities.

In addition to city rankings, there has actually been much research the ways the arts can strengthen a community.

Last summer I attended a keynote speech at the League of Historic American Theatres Conference by The Kresge Foundation’s CEO Rip Rapson.

He noted that arts and cultural activity is central to defining community life. The arts not only enhance human development, but also can help shape the social, physical, cultural, and economic identity of a community, spurring economic development, creating stronger social cohesion, and revitalize disinvested communities.

Austin has a rich history of tremendous arts and cultural offerings, which have made our community great, and will continue making Austin even better place as new opportunities like the Austin ArtWorks Center are created and supported.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Austin arts throughout the years, and continue to support them today.

Giving the gift of your time, materials, financial support, and creativity, helps make our community a wonderful place to be.