Bicentennial Committee

CITY OF MINERAL POINT BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, February 17, 2026 – 6:00 PM City Hall 1. Call to Order. a. Present: Mike Christensen, Lauren Powers, Cory Bennett, Frank Beaman, and twelve additional members of the community. Christina Kubasta and Dick Poad were not in attendance. 2. Lauren Powers motioned to approve the minutes from January 20, Mike seconded, motion passed unanimously. 3. Welcome to Org Reps; introductions a. Org Reps introduced. Orgs included the UCC Church, Kiwanis, MP Historical Society, AMP, Odd Fellows, Pendarvis, Cedar Rock, Faith Lutheran Church, Opera House, & MP Schools. Approximately 25 organizations had been invited. 4. Status of website, calendar a. The Chamber has added a tab to their website (www.mineralpoint.com) for the Bicentennial. Before our March meeting, a draft of our calendar of events will be included on the website for further guidance on structure. 5. 2027 tentative timeline of events a. Lauren and Mike shared a draft schedule with the committee. The goal is to highlight the bicentennial with a full weekend of festivities, built off of what Mineral Point already does well with some additional pieces throughout. This group is trying to coordinate events to minimize competition between organizations and to provide an opportunity for organizations to collaborate on events. This timeline of events is not all encompassing; that is, organizations can still do their own events throughout the year. Such events are encouraged to utilize the bicentennial logo on all events to help promote the event to bring visitors and locals to each celebration throughout the year. b. There are several events planned for 2027 that still require organizations to pick up and sponsor. Org Reps were encouraged to take these events back to their organizations to decide how best they could get involved. Since the last meeting, Kiwanis are open to taking on the Pasty Ball, possibly in February, as they are celebrating their 100th year in Mineral Point in February 2027. Pendarvis is interested in taking the Cemetery walk in October. This committee would like to see all ideas (or new ideas presented) claimed by our April meeting. c. We reviewed the committee’s list of local organizations and noted which groups we have not had in attendance thus far. Others in attendance said they would reach out to those groups to encourage their involvement. The Democrat Tribune will run a monthly column with updates on the progress of this community, and we are hoping that this will bring greater attention to what we’re doing. Thank you, Democrat! 6. City Decorations a. Dick Poad updated the group on ways the city can be decorated for the months June through December 2027. Families will be able to sponsor one of 110 banners to be hung on High St and Commerce St street lights. Order forms will be available once the bank account has been set up for the committee through the Chamber Foundation. b. The committee will organize sales of bunting for businesses that wish to purchase them. This will be structured the same as holiday garland sales each Christmas season. Businesses can choose to purchase and can either install the bunting themselves or pay a contractor that the committee will choose. 7. Anthology update a. Frank and Sandee Beaman shared wonderful updates with the anthology. Frank says that any submissions must be received by July 1. They are continuing interviews with local Pointers. They shared a sampling of the stories they have gathered and blocked out on paper, and it is promising to be a charming final result. 8. Time Capsule a. It is encouraged for an organization to take on the idea of creating a community time capsule. There can be multiple time capsules if additional organizations would like to do their own. 9. Business Sponsorships & Grant Opportunities a. Business sponsorship models will be shared later this year, and grant opportunities were discussed. The goal is to have the Chamber’s bank account opened before our March meeting. 10. Adjourn; set next meeting date and location a. The next meeting is scheduled for 6:00 PM on March 24 to be held at the Chamber office at 114 High St, Mineral Point.