Minnesota’s national reputation for public-private partnerships was defined decades ago by enlightened business leaders, including the five Dayton brothers and William Norris, founder and CEO of Control Data.

The Daytons wanted to operate successful retail businesses and Norris wanted to make his mark in the computer industry. But the Daytons and Norris were transformational figures because they also wanted to be builders and leaders in the communities where they, their employees, and fellow citizens lived.

They didn’t avert their eyes from community challenges. They responded to social problems, created jobs, and supported and developed cultural institutions.

Minnesota’s corporate community led by partnering with public officials and they set a civic standard for future generations of business leaders.

Working across these sectors since 1990, it seemed to me that the real Minneapolis Miracle was not the memorable 2018 playoff catch by Minnesota Viking Stefon Diggs. It was instead a series of breakthroughs led by coalitions of public and private sector leaders. Together they turned around neighborhoods, rebuilt commercial corridors, and introduced partnership approaches to public safety, jobs, development, and infrastructure. After Operation Metro Surge, it’s time to replay the real Miracle.

By 1995, Minneapolis had lost a third of its population from its peak in 1954. The Central Riverfront was largely vacant, the city had earned the title Murderapolis from the New York Times, and the Third Precinct on the city’s Southside endured a record 26 murders.

Chief executives of Honeywell, Wells Fargo, Allina, Children’s and Abbott Northwestern hospitals joined forces with visionary public leaders. Together they drove a Marshall Plan that resulted in $3 billion in investment ($1 billion from the private sector, $2 billion from the public sector). The Phillips neighborhood became the zone of greatest job and housing value growth in Minneapolis, as crime declined by over 60 percent.

The Minneapolis Miracle was not just about one neighborhood. Big projects like the Guthrie Theater, Walker Art Center, Central Library, Target Field, U.S. Bank Stadium and the MacPhail Center for Music were delivered through partnerships. Corporate leaders stepped into policy arenas, launching powerful new approaches:

1. Target led on public safety, launching a statewide criminal database in 1998 with the state of Minnesota and the Minneapolis Safe Zone with the city in 2004.
2. The Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings set records for minority contracting and hiring on two stadium projects.
3. A former U.S. Bancorp CEO partnered with a Minneapolis mayor on the Step Up jobs program, one of the best cross-sector jobs programs in the nation.
4. Metro State University, with Minneapolis College and Saint Paul College, partnered with the Minnesota Business Partnership and the funding community to make college tuition-free for graduates of the cities’ public high schools.
5. Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and Sunrise Banks helped finance Lake Street business development. Ryan Companies purchased the former Sears Tower, then vacant for 14 years, and Allina moved its headquarters there.
6. Across the river in St. Paul, a public-private team secured the funding to allow Catholic Charities to open Higher Ground Saint Paul to address homelessness. Three business executives led the private capital campaign to raise $40 million.
7. To respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Business Partnership convened Minnesota CEOs and the Governor’s Office every Tuesday morning to guide employer efforts, get masks, and generate solutions across sectors.
8. The damage caused by unrest after the 2020 murder of George Floyd was met with over $100 million from corporate foundations. Mortenson worked with 39 Lake Street small businesses to maximize insurance recoveries.

Today, the city of Minneapolis stands with an estimated $203 million in economic damage caused by Operation Metro Surge. The economic toll is much higher when the entire metro area is considered. The Minneapolis Foundation has opened a fund to launch yet another recovery effort.

In times of crisis, corporate leadership has long been our regional superpower. What will be the corporate resolve in the face of Operation Metro Surge?

When business leaders released a letter on the topic on Jan. 25, they didn’t mention specific corporate commitments for the recovery period ahead. If history that I’ve outlined guides the future, we can bet on corporate leaders to think big, give generously, and help small businesses recover.

If not, the Minneapolis Miracle is over.