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 ...
An economic and demographic update of rural Minnesota By Kelly Asche, Research Associate & Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research For a printable version of the report, click here. Each year, the Center for Rural Policy and Development provides a brief update on various economic and demographic data pertaining to rural Minnesota. As policy discussions concerning ...
Neela Mollgaard has spent the last twenty years helping entrepreneurs in Greater Minnesota get their business ideas off the ground, first with Red Wing Ignite and now with LaunchMN, a new effort from the state to foster high-tech startups. We talk about what worked with Red Wing Ignite and now what LaunchMN is doing with ...
by Whitney Oachs, Research Intern Following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, communities across the nation held protests in support of people of color and structural change for policing. But while the unrest in the Twin Cities rightly dominated headlines, communities in even the most rural corners of the state also saw ...
Healthcare is a vital service for everyone, but policies meant to make healthcare more affordable have been making it less accessible in rural areas. In our latest explainer video, we show what’s going on and share some ideas on what to do about it. You can read the full report, “Integrating rural into the ...
Our June 3, 2020, webinar on our recent report looking at the impact of mergers and service consolidations in rural health care is on our YouTube channel and ready for viewing. Our report, “Integrating Rural into the New Reality of Health Care,” takes a look at what is behind the wave of health care facility ...
Why the shift in how we pay for healthcare will drive further consolidations of rural healthcare services and what we can do about it May 2020 By Kelly Asche, Research Associate & Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research For a printable version of the report, click here. For a short video providing an overview of this ...
When taking population into account, the rate of COVID-19 cases is just as high, if not higher, in counties outside of the seven-county metro. By Kelly Asche May, 2020 Counties outside of the seven-county metro have some of the highest COVID-19 case rates in the state. But this so far hasn’t translated into a similarly ...
EXCERPT: “St. Louis County is seeking proposals to address mental health, youth substance abuse and food insecurity in the Northland. When a community health assessment was done for the county in 2019, it identified mental health, youth substance abuse, and food insecurity as three priority areas of focus. ‘We were seeing data in the food ...
EXCERPT: “Lynn Barten has been a family child care provider for 22 years, a mainstay in an industry that has a shrinking workforce. Barten first ran the business out of her Alexandria home, but then bought a second house to have more space for the operation. She has earned child care credentials, an associate’s degree, and ...
