We wanted to get to know more about the Citizens League, a Twin Cities nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank that has led discussions and developed solutions to policy questions in areas like transportation, education, and infrastructure for more than sixty years. Now they would like to expand their volunteer-based model for solving problems into rural Minnesota, too, ...
Tourism makes up a significant piece of rural Minnesota’s economic pie. Our guest on this episode is Cynthia Messer, the director of the Tourism Center at the University of Minnesota Extension. She talked with CRPD president Julie Tesch about the research they do at the Tourism Center, the role tourism spending plays in Greater MN, ...
By Whitney Oachs, Research Intern As discussed in our recent 2020 State of Rural Report, most farmers were barely getting by before the onslaught of COVID-19. While agricultural land values have remained at historic highs, low commodity prices and increased costs of production have resulted in negative net income, contributing to declining mental health for ...
One of the things people in rural areas talk a lot about is entrepreneurship and building a successful business. On this episode, our president and CEO Julie Tesch will be talking with Lucas and Alise Sjostrum, the owners of Redhead Creamery in Brooten, Minnesota, about their dream of cheese, how they got started in cheesemaking, ...
This is the time of year that I am usually enjoying some county fair food while looking at 4-H exhibits at local county fairs. Obviously, this year that is not happening because of the pandemic. I have been able to track down some fair food, but I’m really missing the sense of community that a ...
Our thanks go out to Tim Penny, president of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and former First District Congressman, for his opinion piece in last Sunday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune featuring our work on cost of living and how your dollar can go further in Greater Minnesota. The study itself is getting a lot of traction ...
Our report, “A brief discussion: Wages can go further in Greater Minnesota”, explored how wages throughout Greater Minnesota can compete with wages in the seven-county metro when taking into account the cost of living. On July 15, 2020, we hosted a webinar where this information was presented. We were joined by Rural Sociologist Ben Winchester ...
An overview of Center for Rural Policy and Development’s cost of living and wage comparison tool. June 2020 By Kelly Asche, Research Associate For a printable version of this report, click here. On July 15th, 2020, we hosted a webinar, “The Case for Living Rural”, which provided an overview of this research. We were also ...
By Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research Since the middle of March, that old Irish blessing/curse has been bouncing around in my head: “May you live in interesting times.” I really, truly understand its full meaning now. The first half of 2020 has been interesting, to say the least. Never would I have guessed back in ...
