Index of University Press Releases

Oct. 16, 2007

Museum visitor numbers better than expected

MITCHELL – Visitor numbers at the McGovern Legacy Museum have been strong in its first year of existence, according to Donald Simmons, director of the McGovern Museum and Center for Public Service located on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University.

“We had a slow start after the big opening last October,” said Simmons. “But with a little help from a state grant our first year was much more successful than we could have ever imagined.”

The McGovern Museum is free and open to the public and does not keep regular visitor counts. However, based on estimates using periodic counts, the museum estimates the Oct. 2006 to Oct. 2007 attendance to be approximately 25,113, which includes the 9,220 who attended the two days of opening events.

Simmons credits much of the success of the museum’s first year of operation to grant assistance from the South Dakota Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, as part of a partnership between the South Dakota Arts Council and the South Dakota Humanities Council.

The small grant provided assistance that helped with initial programming and promotion, specifically materials that targeted tourists. Simmons said former U.S. Sen. George McGovern has a lot of fans across the country and coming to Mitchell is almost a pilgrimage for some.

“Our hope when awarding the grant was to increase tourism dollars in the state while expanding cultural program offerings,” said Dennis Holub, executive director of the South Dakota Arts Council. “We were not surprised by what has occurred in Mitchell.”

Many in Mitchell credit some of this year’s overall increase in city visitors to the McGovern Museum. The Dakota Discovery Museum, located across the street from the McGovern Museum, for example, experienced a 30 percent increase in visitors this year.

Lori Holmberg, the museum’s director, said she believes the marketing by the McGovern Center had an impact on the increase in visitors to her museum. After a year of declining numbers in 2006, the Corn Palace also saw a similar but less dramatic increase.

“I can’t say enough about the programming and promotion help from the state,” Simmons said. “But we also couldn’t have had a great year without the support of the Mitchell community. The Corn Palace Convention and Visitors Bureau does a great job.”