 According to the last census there are 594 small towns in Minnesota and recently Niswa was voted the best small town by a Twin Cities media outlet. Our reporter Rachel Johnson has more. Fred Heidman, the mayor of Niswa has lived in the small Minnesota town all his life. I grew up here and after high school you know I thought about different places but I couldn't I couldn't find something that seemed to fit me as well as staying here. That's why he was not surprised when he found out that Niswa was voted the best small town in Minnesota. I was really excited about it. I mean I was really excited. The Dulum family has been an integral part of Niswa for generations. I am a third generation born and raised here in Niswa. My grandfather was Martin Dulum and he started the sports shop. He was born right here in Brainerd. We were raised here in Niswa. Went to Niswa Elementary School, Brainerd High School. We love it here. We have our family. We have friends. The support of a small community it's just it's amazing. They agree that Niswa is very deserving of best small town. Not surprised at all. Not surprised at all. It's a great community. I think it's wonderful. I but I think we deserve it frankly so I think I think this is the best small town in Minnesota. Niswa is a small town of just under 2000 people but the population in the summer drastically increases. The visitors that come up they come up year after year and it's become a second home for them and I don't know very many vacation destinations that people think of as home so that's what we have in Niswa. Everyone agrees that there is one thing that makes Niswa so special. It's the people. It's the people. It's the people. It's the people that makes this place wonderful because you can have all of this in other places but it's the people and the relationship that you build that are so important. Niswa offers something for everyone and also means something different for everyone who visits or calls at home. It is a place where there's always activity. There's festivals. There's sporting events. It's a Norman Rockwell community. Niswa is home. Niswa is just home. Reporting from Niswa, Rachel Johnson, Lakeland News. According to the poll a town is considered small if it has 5000 or less permanent residents. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.