Nisswa Named “Best Small Town In Minnesota”

Fred Heidmann, the mayor of Nisswa, has lived in the small Minnesota town all his life.

“I grew up here, and after high school I thought about different places but I couldn’t find something that seemed to fit me as well as staying here,” said Heidmann.

That’s why he was not surprised when he found out that Nisswa was voted the “Best Small Town in Minnesota” by a Twin Cities media outlet.

“I was really excited about it – I mean, I was really excited,” added Heidmann.

The Dullum Family has been an integral part of Nisswa for generations.

“I am a third-generation born and raised here in Nisswa. My grandfather was Martin Dullum and he started the sports shop. He was born right here in Brainerd,” said Teresa Berg, the current owner of Martin’s Sport Shop Owner in downtown Nisswa.

“We were raised here in Nisswa, went to Nisswa Elementary School, Brainerd High School. We love it here. We have our family. We have friends, the support of a small community,” said Debra Cruz, owner of Adirondack Coffee. “It’s just, it’s amazing.”

They agree that Nisswa is very deserving of “Best Small Town.”

“I’m not surprised at all, not surprised at all. It’s a great community,” added Berg.

“I think it’s wonderful. But I think we deserve it, frankly. I think Nisswa is the best small town in Minnesota,” said Cruz.

Nisswa is a small town of just under 2,000 people, but the population drastically increases in the summer.

“The visitors that come up year after year and it’s become a second home for them, and I don’t know very many vacation destinations that people think of as home,” said Berg. “That’s what we have in Nisswa.”

Everyone agrees that there is one thing that makes Nisswa so special.

“It’s the people. It’s the people that makes this place wonderful because you can have all of this in other places, but it’s the people and the relationships that you build that are so important,” added Berg.

Nisswa offers something for everyone, and also means something different for everyone who visits or calls it home.

“It is a place where there’s always activity. There’s festivals, there’s sporting events,” said Heidmann.

“Nisswa is home. Nisswa is just home,” said Berg.