Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “A decade ago, when it came to high-speed connectivity in rural regions, Minnesota did not have the access it so desperately needed. ‘In 2010, internet connectivity in rural places was spotty and underutilized,’ said Mary Magnuson, the Blandin Foundation’s grants program officer for rural placemaking. ‘Minnesota was ranked No. 23 in the U.S. for ...

EXCERPT: “Dawn Uribe, owner of Mis Amigos Spanish Immersion Preschool in Hopkins, has had to make some hard choices amid an ongoing worker shortage in the child care industry. ‘I want our teachers to have a workable, livable wage, and I’m trying to make it so that our teachers can get paid like elementary school teachers,’ ...

EXCERPT: “Increasingly, rural communities are realizing the transformational impact the tech economy can have for them. And local leaders in rural places are putting their efforts and resources into economic development programs that can create tech opportunities and entrepreneurship where they live. The U.S. Economic Development Administration’s most recent cohort of Build to Scale (B2S) ...

EXCERPT: “Access to maternity care is decreasing in the parts of the U.S. that need it the most, affecting nearly 7 million women of childbearing age and some 500,000 babies. That’s according to a report released Tuesday by March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on maternal and infant health. It finds that 36% of counties ...

EXCERPT: “Minnesota communities, schools and their partners are invited to apply for funding on local projects that enhance transportation goals, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The $12.5 million in federal funding is available through the Transportation Alternatives program in Greater Minnesota (each region has a sub-targeted fund). This program offers a competitive grant for ...

EXCERPT: “New funding is available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for low-income people seeking to buy or repair rural homes. The Direct Home Loan Program helps those who are unable to qualify for traditional financing. It’s available in rural communities of generally 35,000 people or less. No down payment is required, and the interest ...

EXCERPT: “Gunshots on the Midway. Though the public remained largely safe, it was an unwelcome end to the ‘Great Minnesota Get Together,’ and another shot of trauma in a year seemingly riddled with bullets. The violence has left many of us feeling vulnerable. But a new report on gun deaths in 2021 suggests its not ...

EXCERPT: “Between 2010 and 2021, 136 rural hospitals closed, according to the UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center. Nineteen of these closures occurred in 2020, the most of any year in the past decade. That finding, one of several in a new report from the American Hospital Association, highlights the hardships under which rural hospitals have been ...

EXCERPT: “U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is now accepting applications for ReConnect Program loans and grants to expand access to high-speed internet for millions of people in rural America nationwide. The Department is making more than $1 billion available, thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program ...