Tag: rural

The recent Census of Agriculture shows that ag in rural Minnesota isn’t monolithic. Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher April 2024 A topic that is frequently discussed among rural residents, particularly in agricultural areas, is how much farming has changed over the last 50 years. The technology being used, the crops that now dominate the landscape, and ...

On this sixth episode of the season, Marnie Werner, Vice President of Research at the Center, speaks with Teri Fritsma, the Lead Healthcare Workforce Analyst at the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care within the MN Department of Health. Healthcare workforce is a big issue these days, especially in Greater Minnesota and especially as ...

Marnie Werner Vice President of Research & Operations   My dad once told me his boss had a sign on his door that read: “Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?” When I first started at the Center in 2000, I think rural Minnesota was at a crossroads of sorts. The ...

  A report in partnership with the Center for Rural Behavioral Health, Minnesota State University, Mankato. As suicide rates race upward, rural residents struggle with a lack of services, information, and answers. Marnie Werner, VP Research, Center for Rural Policy & Development & Tracie Rutherford Self, Ph.D., Minnesota State University Mankato February 2024 Click here ...

Is it realistic for rural areas to close the wage gap? Probably not. By: Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher Most of rural Minnesota is discussing ways to grow the labor force. Increasing the affordable housing stock and childcare capacity are two primary strategies being discussed at the legislature. One of the underlying issues that makes these ...

The Center for Rural Policy & Development and the Citizens League are excited to continue our discussions on topics important to both rural and urban audiences. In February 2021, the Center for Rural Policy & Development released a report looking at the state of child care in Greater Minnesota. That report examined why it’s harder to ...

January 4, 2024 By Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher Every December the U.S. Census Bureau releases the new American Community Survey data, representing the previous year. And with that release the Center for Rural Policy can update all the numbers representing rural Minnesota and release the annual “State of Rural” report. The big takeaway again in ...

By Marnie Werner Vice President of Research Click for a printable version of this report. According to a Star Tribune article in January 2022, “For the broader Midwest, inflation was 7.5% in December, far above the 5.9% rate in the more heavily populated northeastern states.” Inflation wasn’t even consistent around the state: “Rochester; St. Cloud; ...

May 2023 By Jesus Gonzalez, Capitol Pathways Intern My name is Jesus Gonzalez, a Concordia College sophomore, and for the last couple of months, I’ve been the Capitol Pathways Intern for the Center for Rural Policy and Development. From start to finish the program and the Center have been great! Now at the end, I’m ...