Series: Center of Everywhere Podcast

This week on the Center of Everywhere hear researchers Phil Jensen and Kelly Asche discuss the topic of Phil’s newest report, “Why Grandma May Stay at Home: Property taxes and home ownership in rural Minnesota.” Attracting workers to more rural parts of the state is a complex problem, but housing plays a major role. Encouraging ...

On this episode, Julie Tesch is joined by Reed Anfinson – owner and publisher of three rural newspapers in Minnesota – the Swift County Monitor News in Benson, the Stevens County Times in Morris, and the Grant County Herald in Elbow Lake. Also joining the conversation is Lisa Hills, the Executive Director of the MN ...

Now that we are beginning to exit the pandemic (hopefully), the data from the previous year and a half are being released. In this episode, Marnie Werner and Kelly Asche discuss what they’ve been seeing in the data. And although the illness and deaths associated with COVID-19 hit hard in our rural areas, some of ...

On this episode, Marnie Werner and Kelly Asche speak with the Minnesota State Demographer Susan Brower. The conversation covers how the process of drawing new district and approval differ on paper vs. the reality, how much of rural Minnesota isn’t growing in population, but isn’t really declining either, and ideas on how rural areas might ...

This week hear Kelly Asche discuss the rise in working from home, and what telecommuting can mean for rural Minnesota. Features special guests Xinyi Qian and Neil Linscheid of the University of Minnesota – Extension. 

On this episode, Marnie Werner discusses her newest research report coming out in February on the rising values of agriculture lands and the rising property taxes associated with these values. We discuss the disconnect between the value of ag land and farm profitability, the increasing role investors and non-farmers are having on the issue, and ...

In this episode, CRDP researcher Whitney Oachs discusses her new research examining the issues, barriers and opportunities facing rural energy providers in shifting their infrastructure to renewable sources. She is joined by Tim Velde, who sits on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light & Power Association as well as on the ...

In this episode, hear from Kelly Asche and Ben Winchester as they discuss the narrative myths surrounding rural Minnesota, from population statistics, to workforce and housing. 

In our third episode of the Center of Everywhere Podcast, researcher Kelly Asche explores the topic of the amazon effect on retail and local tax revenue with UMN Extension community economics educators Neil Linscheid and Ryan Pesch. Online sales have permeated everyday life and their impacts stretch beyond convenience of shopping. Local leaders see the ...