For immediate release
August 23, 2010
For more information contact:
Brad Finstad, Executive Director, (507) 934-7700
NEWS RELEASE
Center for Rural Policy and Development Releases Latest Issue of Rural Minnesota Journal
“A Letter to the Next Governor of Minnesota” is introduced at Farmfest 2010 in Redwood County
ST. PETER, Minn. —The Center for Rural Policy and Development is pleased to announce that the latest issue of Rural Minnesota Journal is now available for download on our Rural Minnesota Journal page.
Brad Finstad, the Center’s executive director, introduced “A Letter to the Next Governor of Minnesota” at Farmfest 2010 in Redwood County.
Each issue of Rural Minnesota Journal focuses on one topic, bringing together some of Minnesota’s leading experts in their fields. The newest issue includes eight articles authored by leaders of organizations that deal with and look out for rural interests. The articles are written to educate the next governor of Minnesota on issues of critical importance to rural Minnesota.
Lee Warne, executive director of the Minnesota Rural Education Association, has contributed a piece looking at the many questions facing education and how they affect schools, students, teachers and administrators in rural parts of the state.
Chris Radatz of the Minnesota Farm Bureau and Doug Peterson of the Minnesota Farmers’ Union discuss in their articles what the future holds for agriculture in this state and ways to think about keeping one of Minnesota’s major industries strong into the future.
Steve Perkins of Luverne, Minn., is a director of the Minnesota Hospital Association. His piece discusses the impact of hospital closures on rural communities and the many ways that today’s health care system works for and against small towns and their health care communities.
Jim Miller, executive director of the League of Minnesota Cities, talks about the hazards facing our cities in Greater Minnesota in the form of deficits and drastic budget cuts, but also discusses how the state can help these struggling communities.
King Banaian and Rich MacDonald, professors of economics at St. Cloud State University, discuss the results of their annual survey of businesses in St. Cloud and how that city’s economy is indelibly connected with the rural economy around it.
Dane Smith, president of the organization Growth & Justice and a long-time political reporter, makes observations on the challenges and opportunities facing rural Minnesota, especially its businesses, and why it’s worth the investment.
Finally, Brad Finstad, executive director of the Center for Rural Policy and Development and a former state legislator, and Marnie Werner, research manager for the Center and a former Capitol reporter, discuss the effects of policy created in St. Paul on the rest of the state and the law of unintended consequences.
Click here to download a copy of the Rural Minnesota Journal or individual articles. You can also contact the Center to receive a hard copy of the Journal for $3.
The Center for Rural Policy and Development, based in Saint Peter, Minn., is a private, not-for-profit policy research organization dedicated to benefiting Minnesota by providing its policymakers with an unbiased evaluation of issues from a rural perspective.