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: “Rural areas have not quite kept pace with metro areas following the recession, according to a new report from Trulia. According to Trulia, many metros have seen robust growth in jobs and home prices, while rural areas have stagnated. The report explains that this trend began even before the recession, but the divergence between rural and ...

  This week CRPD’s research associate Kelly Asche joins us again to talk about the workforce shortage and how it can turn out to be a positive story. Employers are starting to look at what were previously considered hard-to-employ groups, like people with criminal backgrounds and people with disabilities. There is also the work going ...

EXCERPT: “Access to high-speed internet is still a struggle in rural communities. Fifty-eight percent of rural Americans said it’s difficult to access fast internet in their communities, according to a blog post published by the Pew Research Center on Monday. Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of rural adults see this as a major problem, while 34 percent see ...

EXCERPT: “The problem of finding affordable housing in rural Minnesota has hit home for the mayor of Montevideo. Mayor Debra Lee Fader has decided to withdraw as a candidate for re-election. She hasn’t been able to find an affordable home to buy or an apartment to rent since she and her husband, Bradley, sold the ...