Our Daily Show Interview! Mayor Morrow! A Look Back at 2024 & A Optimistic 2025
GRAFTON - As 2025 approaches, Grafton Mayor Mike Morrow is reflecting on 2024 and looking ahead at the year to come.
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Morrow shared that it’s been a busy but exciting year in Grafton as new businesses open up, including the Grafton Art Gallery. The city is also preparing for the construction of the National Memorial of Military Ascent, a project started by Morrow. He hopes to see many people come out to enjoy Grafton and the people who make up the city in 2025.
“Grafton has had a fantastic year,” he said. “It’s just a great destination and we’ve had a lot of great events.”
Morrow pointed to the opening of the Grafton Art Gallery as one example of the city’s expansion. He said that the gallery has brought in the art community, and he thanked Jackie Duty and Gene and Donna Smith for their work to make the gallery possible.
He also noted that there are several new businesses in Grafton, including retail stores. He thanked the entrepreneurs, business owners and Chamber of Commerce for their work to improve Grafton through new events and activities for the community. He said that the businesses do a lot for Grafton residents and tourists.
“It’s a well-rounded community, well-rounded opportunities to get out there,” Morrow explained. “As the government, we don’t help people. We take their money. So basically, it’s the entrepreneurs, the businesses that are in town — they’re the ones, when people say, ‘Well, why don’t you do this?’ to me, I say, ‘Well, we can’t do that. You find an entrepreneur that’s going to do that.’ And away it goes.”
Morrow is also focused on the National Memorial of Military Ascent (NMMA), a new project that aims to build a World War II memorial and museum at the current site of the Grafton Visitors Center. He thanked John and Jayne Simmons for their recent $2.5 million donation toward the project; anyone is invited to donate and have their name inscribed on a large wall that will be part of the memorial.
Morrow believes this project will bring in tourists from around the world when it is completed in June 2026. You can visit GraftonMemorial.org to learn more about the NMMA, watch its progress or donate.
“Everybody’s gearing up for this big dedication that’s coming up,” Morrow added. “It’s going to be amazing. It’s not only going to be a regional draw, but it’s going to be a nationwide draw, plus international, because we’ve got commissioners that are in France working on this with us, too.”
Morrow said that local politicians are also paying attention to Grafton’s growth. He recently gave a tour to Representative Mary Miller, and a representative from Senator Tammy Duckworth’s office helped serve a Christmas Day meal out of Grafton’s food pantry.
Morrow is pleased to see so many people with their eyes on Grafton, and he predicts a positive start to 2025 as he prepares to run uncontested for his second term as mayor. He hopes the "wonderful business community” continues to thrive, and he can’t wait to see the NMMA grow as more donors step forward.
“You’re seeing a lot of interest in Grafton as far as from the political spectrum and then also just the entrepreneurs,” he said. “There’s just a lot of good vibes that are coming in for 2025.”
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