In June 2006, the 44-year-old Guthrie Theater moved to a new building on the banks of the Mississippi. The six-year capital campaign relied on contributions from local executives and more than 4,200 others, including hometown radio personality Garrison Keillor. Workers at the theater’s costume shop even collected change in a jar. “It was grassroots,” says Linda Ahlers, former president of Marshall Field’s department store and a past Guthrie trustee who led the new-building campaign. More than a year later, sales are up by 24,000 tickets, and the theater is filled to 87 percent capacity, on average, across its three stages.