RIVER FALLS — The building blocks and connecting plates of the City of River Falls were on the docket for the 2026 State of the City address as Mayor Dan Toland and City Administrator Scot Simpson told the story of the past year using the LEGO theme March 3 at Tattersall Distillery.

“If you have ever opened the box of LEGOs, you know the drill. You tip it over, and suddenly you have a colorful avalanche, pieces everywhere,” Toland said. “On their own, it’s just chaos. Together though, wow. Give it a little patience, add imagination, click a few things into place and, suddenly, you’ve got something very awesome. That’s what River Falls is: a little messy at times, wildly creative at times and full of people that love to build.”

Toland gave the welcoming remarks before passing the baton to Simpson to discuss housing, project updates and the collaboration it takes to make progress on those projects.

“To every business owner who took a chance, every volunteer who showed up with elbow grease, every resident who put down roots here, you are the colorful bricks, the connectors, the base plates,” Toland said. “Some of you are the flashy flags and stained-glass windows that make the whole thing sparkle.”

Then, 16-year City Administrator Simpson took to the podium. He led by outlining the long processes that go into city projects. When building LEGOs, some opt to wing it and build whatever they want. Others choose to read the entirety of the instructions before even getting started. Simpson said it takes both of those mindsets and everyone in between to make projects happen.

“What you see today is not the result of some great plan put into place 12 months ago and delivered by an outstanding staff. I’d like to say that’s how fast we can do things, but it takes a lot of planning, and preparation and thoughtful execution,” Simpson said. “One brick, that’s how any project begins.”

Simpson outlined some of the top scores from the National Community Survey, with 87% of residents approving of overall city safety, 85% of neighborhood livability, 90% of electric utilities, 92% of natural environment, 93% of the public library and 84% of paths and walking trails.

“The results of the 2025 survey confirm that the council is listening, building strength in areas that are important to respondents,” Simpson said. “It’s a building block that the council uses in visioning and decision making.”

In April 2023, council approved a Vision Zero resolution, which Simpson said allowed the city to receive a $200,000 federal highway administration grant to create a safe streets for all action plan. Within the plan, areas of safety risk and improvement strategies would be identified. According to Simpson, completion of the plan leaves River Falls eligible for up to $25 million in federal implementation grants.

Another focus of the discussion was the importance of project foundations, patience and understanding of decisions’ lasting impacts.

“Foundations take time, you can’t rush them without risking instability later,” Simpson said. “The foundation plates may not be the most exciting part of the LEGO build, but they’re certainly among the most important.”

That quote was tied into discussion of the first phase of the library renovations and fire station remodel. Simpson said it takes staff and community members from all different departments and viewpoints to pull the large-scale projects off, and they need to be on the same page to make the projects run smoothly.

“Many of you may remember when city hall, the police department, the fire station, the library… were all located next to each other on that stretch, and now only the fire station remains,” Simpson said. “Just like LEGO sets, sometimes you need to smash something to make it better. In this case, that’s exactly what the planning crew did. As of today, the old fire station has mostly been demolished in the name of progress. These renovations are long overdue, and it was time to rebuild.”

In 2025, the city signed a 20-year contract to extend fire services to the River Falls Rural Fire Association’s territory. Simpson thanked the association and the city department for working together to maintain the partnership.

Housing needs were atop the list of discussion items. With the city establishing a need for 402 single-family for sale units, 216 multi-family for sale units, 561 multi-family for rent and 781 senior housing units by 2030 from the 2022 housing needs assessment, the city presentation showed 144 single-family for sale, 135 multi-family for sale, 248 multi-family for rent and 88 senior housing units have been constructed in the city since the assessment.

Recently, The Upland opened with 105 apartment units, The Current opened with 106 units and Brook Green Rental Townhomes opened a first phase of 50 units. The Sycamore Two is under construction to provide senior housing and The Preserve off Powell Avenue will add twin home units. Simpson continued by sharing more 2025 constructed developments and others that are still in the works. He said the state informed River Falls in August 2025 that the previous year was a record setting year for net new construction.

“[Last year] was a big year for housing, and if it seems like I’m saying that every year, yes I have been saying that every year for quite a number of years,” Simpson said. “The city has been tracking our progress toward meeting our housing needs identified in the 2018 and 2022 housing studies, and we’re currently undertaking a new needs assessment.”

The city celebrated 125 years of electric utilities in 2025 as Main Street’s lights first turned on in 1900. Simpson celebrated the affordability of River Falls electricity, coming in at a cost of 12.57 cents per kWh, where the state average is 18.27 and the national average is 17.45. Average River Falls Municipal Utility customers saw 13 minutes of outage in 2015, with the national average at 149 minutes. Of those outages, 40% were caused by squirrels.

Simpson encouraged community members to get involved through calls, emails and attending public forums to have their input on the future building blocks of the city.