.jpg.aspx?lang=en-US&width=350&height=227 "Attendees at the State of the Region event at Allianz Field in Saint Paul visit before the program begins.")
The 2025 State of the Region at Allianz Field on Jan. 30 was a rousing success, thanks to a diverse group of engaged participants, including those who watched the event in person or online.
Key community stakeholders – including business leaders, elected officials, community influencers, Met Council staff, and other dignitaries – gathered to discuss the region today, emerging trends and opportunities, and ways to build a more prosperous and connected future.
‘We have the capability to be bold’
Metropolitan Council Chair Zelle delivered the keynote address, focusing on key transportation, water, and development issues and initiatives. He called on Minnesotans’ capability to be bold to create a region that is:
- Equitable and inclusive, where every voice matters
- Resilient and dynamic: Adapting to challenges with innovation
- Sustainable: Protecting our natural systems and addressing climate change
"Our strength lies in our collaboration, our shared commitment, our unwavering belief that together, we can build something extraordinary," said Metropolitan Council Chair Charlie Zelle.
Panel focuses on opportunities, challenges, and collaboration
Met Council Regional Administrator Ryan O'Connor led a lively panel discussion featuring:
Dr. Bill McGuire, owner of the Minnesota United professional soccer team- Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter
- Dr. Kate Beane, executive director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art and adjunct faculty in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota
- Alene Tchourumoff, a senior vice president for Community Development and Engagement at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
The group discussed some of the most pressing issues facing the region today – as well as reasons for optimism. Multiple panelists mentioned the importance of collaboration and connectivity as key drivers for the region's future.
“It’s the creation of opportunities,” McGuire said. “I believe opportunities grow from within communities. You have to maximize education, family, work, and just build on those. Our role, I think, across all levels and agendas is in fact to create opportunities in our communities. “
“I think our region has a really profound future ahead of us that we can access only by navigating what we have to acknowledge as rocky roads underfoot,” Mayor Carter said. He cited public safety, housing, support for people experiencing homelessness, and the opioid and fentanyl abuse crisis as challenges we need to continue to work on.
“The strongest trend I see is people across jurisdictions, across the traditional boundaries figuring out how to work together…to address those challenges,” Carter said.
'What are the things that are sustainable'
"I think it's important to think about what are the things that are sustainable, and how do we interact and engage with one another in a way that makes sense and is respectable," Dr. Beane said.
After working with the Met Council on the American Indian Advisory Council, Dr. Beane said she came to realize that the agency is “a connector. That's the kind of work I am really interested in – how do we build connections across divisions, across space, across time, across culture. How do we get to the very real understanding of who are we all and how do we live in relationships with one another…how we have respect for the waterways together, how we have respect for the land together.”
Tchourumoff focused on resiliency, from the personal to the household to the regional level. “What are the systems we need to put in place to support resiliency, because it’s not going to happen on its own. We do need to come together and think about what does the next 50 to 100 years look like…It’s going to need intentionality from all of us as we think about how to build resiliency.”
To hear Chair Zelle’s speech and the entire panel discussion, watch the State of the Region video.
The event also included breakout sessions on topics including transportation, climate, housing, and the Met Council’s data and tools to assist local governments.