Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Isenberg.
Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in New Ulm, MN and went to Mankato for college and moved to the Twin Cities after college.
My wife and I settled in New Hope 20 years ago and quickly became integrated into the community starting with setting up a neighborhood watch as block captains.
This was the start of our involvement with the city of New Hope as we started what would become “Toy Fest”, which is our open house every year to collect toys (and eventually cash and gift cards) to support the New Hope Police Department’s annual toy drive. Earlier this month we celebrated year 19 of this event and it has grown to the point where around 200 people come through our house over a 36 hour period to bring toys, cash, and gift cards and stat to enjoy a taco & salsa bar on Friday night, breakfast on Saturday morning, and spaghetti dinner Saturday night. Our guests have donated nearly 9000 toys/items and over $37,000 in cash and gift cards over the years).
Since that time of starting our neighborhood watch, I’ve volunteered for many things over the years. including leading our small group studies at our church, several years on council, most recently as our council president and I spent nearly 10 years on the board of directors of our townhouse association. Recently I’ve also been serving on the board of the Anoka Ramsey Community College Foundation.
In 2015 my involvement with the city of New Hope began to grow when I joined the Citizen’s Advisory Commission which was followed by stints on different committees, a task force, and other opportunities. In 2020, I decided to run for city council and was elected for my first term and was re-elected in 2024 for my second. This lead to me being appointed to the New Hope Crime Prevention Fund Board and the West Metro Fire Board as well. I consider myself to be a very active council member and attend as many things as I can fit into my schedule around the city as well as being involved with the Northwest Metro Mayors Association and the League of Minnesota Cities events.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
On one hand I don’t think anybody’s road is smooth and we all have our own unique set of struggles that most people know nothing about, but I believe it’s those struggles that help us figure out who we are and get us to where we’re supposed to be.
I’m not a fan of the “everything happens for a reason” mantra, but I do believe we can learn from everything and we can learn the most through failures and other struggles. I think one of the big keys to life is unlocking using those hard times to grow as a person and figure out how to better equip yourself to handle adversity in the future.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I honestly never expected to get involved with politics but the more I got involved with my community, the more I started to consider it as a possibility down the road.
During all the craziness in 2020, as I was pondering where my place was in all the events going on, I was asked to run for the open seat on the New Hope city council. I definitely wasn’t ready or comfortable with the idea but when you’re looking for a sign from above, you shouldn’t argue when you get it because it’s out of your comfort zone.
I quickly realized that my time on the Citizen’s Advisory Commission and on board of my townhouse association prepared me very well for life on city council, especially when added to my history of relationship and network building.
I’m very proud of my ability to build community, whether it’s in my neighborhood, within our church, in the city as a whole, or anywhere else it can be done. I love engaging with people in pretty much any capacity and I believe i have a unique ability to connect with most people.
On a personal note, I love to cook and host people at our house and I think that’s one of the keys forging these relationships. I’ve gotten to be pretty good in the kitchen and most people I know love to eat a good meal so it’s always a perfect way to get to know someone, whether it’s meeting them for the same time or just deepening a bond with someone you’ve known for years.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
To me success is the ability to leave your part of the world better than it was before you entered it.
