Tag: community development

By Marnie Werner, Research Director So, what keeps you up at night, worrying about rural Minnesota? Is it economic development? Housing? Access to healthcare? Long-term care? Child care? The deepening workforce shortage? These are the types of concerns the Center was created to research: subjects that may be universal for the whole state, but have ...

By Marnie Werner, VP Research, & Kelly Asche, Research Associate Access to emergency medical services in Rural Minnesota is the topic of our latest report. In it, we analyzed data collected by the Minnesota Department of Health in their 2016 survey of EMS agencies around the state. We wanted to see how delivering EMS services ...

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 ...

By Phil Jensen Job vacancies in Greater Minnesota continue to rise, and at a faster rate than in the seven-county metropolitan area. Attracting workers to more rural parts of the state is a complex problem, but housing plays a major role. Encouraging workers to relocate to Greater Minnesota depends on the availability of housing. That ...

By Phil Jensen Owning a home outright, or without a mortgage, can relieve strain on a household budget. Households without a monthly housing payment can achieve a higher standard of living with the same earnings, or can get by more easily with lower incomes. For these reasons, outright homeownership can especially impact households with smaller ...

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 ...

  Marnie Werner, VP, Research Two years ago last week, I sat glued to my TV watching the governor and his cabinet as they announced our first covid lockdown. I sat there wondering how this was going to play out, who would get sick, who wouldn’t make it through to the other end. Sitting in ...

Welcome to season 2 of the INTERCONNECTED conversation series hosted by the Center for Rural Policy & Development and the Citizens League. Wherever you live, you have undoubtedly encountered the term “Urban/Rural Divide” that describes a divisive narrative in policy and politics based on geographic differences. In reality, we all want similar things – good ...

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 rural Minnesota unfold, it is important to understand the past, present, and potential futures of rural regions. This report provides historical data points that illustrate how rural conditions ...