By Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research & Operations (Note: The links in this post are not affiliate links. No one at the Center makes any money if you click on them.) When I saw it was my turn to write the blog post this week and that the assignment was “Why do I live here?” ...

  We asked the all-important question, “What is rural?” The first in our new set of videos on rural issues and research provides the answer! 

EXCERPT: “Thousands of years ago, the vast majority of Minnesota was covered in ice. Glaciers from the north had crept down during the last ice age. When those glaciers melted about 10,000 years ago, they left behind a valuable resource that is used nearly every day in the modern age. ‘Where there is meltwater from ...

EXCERPT: “Ann Burns owns a Chevy Bolt, an electric vehicle that can get more than 200 miles on a charge. She can easily run errands in the St. Cloud area without needing to charge up. ‘The problem for us and many others is that when we go up north to our cabin, which is at ...

EXCERPT: “One of the MnDOT snowplow blades that were signed during the Minnesota State Fair is now being used to clear roads along the North Shore of Lake Superior. There were five plow blades that were signed by thousands of people at the fair last summer. Two were kept in the Twin Cities area and three ...

EXCERPT: “When it comes to feeding her family of five, Stephanie Pocklington leans heavily on Island Market in Pine Island. ‘Cereals, pizzas, beverages, snacks,’ Pocklington said. ‘Generally things we’ll cook for dinner, like pastas and sauces’ are purchased at the lone full-service grocer in the town of roughly 3,400 people. Not that Island Market is ...