Ask business owners in Minnesota what their biggest challenge is today and most will tell you: “finding help.” Economic growth coupled with an aging workforce heading toward retirement and fewer young people to replace them is putting significant pressure on Greater Minnesota’s employers, making hiring significantly more challenging. Over the next several months, the Center for ...

Across Minnesota, the “opioid crisis” is so much more than just opioids June 2018 By Marnie Werner, VP Research & Operations For the executive summary, click here. For a printable version, click here. If there were any doubt that opioids are the major health emergency of our time, two facts can put that doubt to ...

Each year, the Center for Rural Policy and Development produces the State of Rural Minnesota report, a brief update on the economy and demography of rural Minnesota. As policy discussions concerning rural Minnesota unfold, it is important to understand the past, present, and potential futures of our rural regions.

The number of students choosing to open enroll in Greater Minnesota has been trending upward consistently since the policy was developed, but within the last ten years, these patterns have been intensifying, and in such a way that they are impacting how districts plan their programming, busing, and finances.

EXCERPT: “A new study by Minnesota health officials finds virtual medical visits are on the rise. Telemedicine grew at a rapid pace in Minnesota with visits jumping from around 11,000 in 2010 to 86,000 in 2015. That’s according to the Minnesota Department of Health and University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Researchers found uses of telemedicine vary ...

  Frank Douma, director of the State and Local Policy Program at the U of M’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, joins us this week. Frank has been tracking self-driving vehicles for years. The technology for them is out in fields right now, Frank says, and MnDOT demonstrated self-driving buses last year already. We can ...

EXCERPT: “While the 2019 state legislative session will see a different governor and plenty of new faces in the House, one of the top priorities for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities remains the same. As has been the case with recent years, the coalition is once again looking to the Legislature for a boost ...

  Heather Fisher, owner of Salvage Sisters in Mankato, joins Marnie and Jim to talk about Shop Small Saturday and the importance of small businesses to cities small and large in Greater Minnesota.