Can leaders make something happen?

I just got back from beautiful Grand Rapids, Minn., after spending a week with 23 other people from the Mankato area who have positions of leadership in their organizations.

It was a program fully paid for and sponsored by the Blandin Founation, a group that has an endowment of $400 million and a goal of improving communities in greater Minnesota and rural areas.

Our goal was to learn how to mobilize a community to solve common problems. It's easier said then done, and of course, the role of a newspaper editor is different than the role of say, someone at Greater Mankato Growth. I'm charged with more of the gathering of information and framing the issues than actually mobilizing people at meetings and other events.

Still, lots to contemplate. The group was fairly enthusiastic about the greater Mankato area as a place to live, raise family, have fun. But there were several fairly significant problems discussed as well.

The group will be gathering more information on the issue of young girls in our region who, according to a major survey, have lots of feelings of hopelessness, even suicidal thoughts.

Another group will look to define more clearly the issue of childhood obesity and what can be done locally about that.

And a third group will try to understand and move forward on getting more people of color and diverse ethnic backgrounds to become part of decisionmaking groups in local institutions.

The meeting of 24 people from such different institutions, half women, half men, was sort of an amazing event. Our trainers pointed out it may be the last time all of us are in a room together for one-hour, much less five days.

There's got to be some good that comes from that.