Unusual billboard messages try to encourage travel to Minneapolis

FARGO (KVRR) — You may have noticed billboards around the Fargo metro asking what the fuss is all about and jokingly implying Minneapolis as a ghost town.

It’s part of an ad campaign by Meet Minneapolis inviting people to come to the city for a trip.

They are urging folks to see what the fuss is all about as they try to reclaim the city’s narrative.

They are targeting newcomers and especially people that used to travel to Minneapolis but haven’t in recent years because of negative perceptions from those who do not live in the city.

“We know that a lot of these things can transcend. Our hope really is that someone would take a look at it and say, ‘Okay. You know what? Maybe I have been a little bit silly. Maybe I haven’t really taken a closer look at coming down and checking out the city,’ and you know what? If it takes some folks in Fargo that haven’t been to the center of the city in a while to say, ‘Alright, maybe I should go check out my own hometown, too,’ that’s a win for all of us,” Courtney Ries, Senior VP of Destination Branding and Strategy.

She says the tourism department is not ignoring problems the city has but wants people to see Minneapolis through their own lens.