Year: 2004

Valuing our Rural Colleges (2004)

From my perspective there is little doubt that having a local college or university in your community is a wonderful local and regional asset. However, the true size and scope of its economic value and impact on the community can vary greatly. Access the full blog post on valuing our rural colleges here.   To ...

Job Opportunity Building Zones: Constructing the Framework for Program Evaluation (2004)

One of the first bills introduced in the 2003 Minnesota Legislative session was H.F. 3, creating what is now known as rural Job Opportunity Building Zones, or JOBZ. Announced after its passage as Gov. Tim Pawlentyʼs “marquee” rural economic development initiative, the program partitioned most of the state outside of the seven-county metropolitan area into ...