It seems like it’s a big circle because as soon as it ends, we start planning for the next year and trying to make it bigger and better.”

CVB Chairman Justin Olsen

The Cottage Grove Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) heard several updates at its Aug. 25 meeting.
Among them, Cottage Grove lodging tax collections showed a modest increase during the second quarter of 2026, while preparations for the city’s fourth annual Food Truck Festival were nearing completions.
Communications Manager Phil Jents reported that second-quarter lodging tax collections totaled $19,608.91. That represented an increase of $236.91, or 1.22 percent, compared with the second quarter of 2025.
“Not a moonshot of an increase, but definitely trending upward, which we are happy to see,” he said. “If nothing else, stability, but also that upward trajectory.”
The city’s 2026 budget uses a 63 percent occupancy rate when estimating lodging tax collections. Jents said the city tracks collections from quarter to quarter and year over year, although it does not currently have detailed occupancy information for individual lodging properties.
CVB Chairman Justin Olsen asked whether the increase was attributable to higher occupancy or increases in room rates.
Jents said the city did not have the data necessary to make that determination but suspected several factors were involved.
“My educated guess at that would be it’s probably a combination of a few things,” Jents said.
Higher room rates could account for some of the increase, he said. Another factor may be improved collection of lodging taxes from short-term rental properties since the Minnesota Department of Revenue took responsibility for collections.
Jents said the arrangement is helping ensure short-term rentals are properly licensed and remitting required taxes. The state can also send compliance letters to properties that are not properly remitting lodging taxes.
Olsen suggested obtaining more detailed occupancy information in the future could give the CVB another way to evaluate tourism activity.
The board also received an update on the fourth annual Cottage Grove Food Truck Festival from City Administrator Assistant Jaime Mann. The festival scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Kingston Park.
The festival, hosted by Discover Cottage Grove, is capped at 35 food trucks because of available space. As of Aug. 25 there were approximately 26 or 27 trucks had completed their paperwork and paid their entry fees, with expectation that the 35-truck capacity would be met by the festival.
As for sponsorships, these have already exceeded the event's goal. The festival had collected $8,500 against a goal of $8,000. Twelve sponsors were participating, including eight paid sponsors and four providing in-kind products or services.
The festival marketplace was also returning, with 21 vendors or businesses already scheduled and additional vendors still being recruited.
Live music will include Kaitlyn White from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed later by Anti-Skip Protection, described by Mann as playing 1990s rock and grunge-style music.
A variety of children's activities are also planned. Organizers are adding a child-sized doughnut to the festival's photo opportunities and bringing back a giant coloring wall. The approximately seven-foot-tall wall allows children and other visitors to use markers to color a large sheet of paper attached to it.
Strawberry Fest Ambassadors will return with carnival games, while ODB Kids will operate a children's activity area that is expected to include a large bounce house, crafts, possible sensory activities and giveaways.
The Lions will operate the beer garden, while SoWashCo CARES will sell wristbands. Festival organizers will also collect nonperishable snacks for SoWashCo CARES, identified as a particularly important need with students returning to school.
The Mississippi River Valley Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization will hold its Run Walk Ruck for Heroes in conjunction with the day's activities. Participants can choose a one-mile or 5K event, while a 15K “heroes route” will raise money to support veterans and military families.
Olson said last year's inaugural event drew more than 50 runners and organizers hoped to increase participation this year.
“It seems like it’s a big circle because as soon as it ends, we start planning for the next year and trying to make it bigger and better,” Olsen said.
Following the regular meeting, CVB members moved to a conference room for a workshop on redesigning the bureau's website.