Tag: rural

April 2022 By Kelly Asche, Research Associate For a printable version of this report, click here. Ambulance services save lives every day, but a report released by the Office of the Legislative Auditor in February of 2022 raises serious concerns about the way ambulance services in Minnesota are regulated, their future viability, and the operations ...

  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 ...

Marnie Werner, VP Research Click here for a printable version of this report. Between 2000 and 2015, the price of farmland in the United States climbed to record levels, driven first by high farm income derived from high demand for corn for use in biofuels,[1] then by high demand for any kind of reliable investment ...

Online sales have permeated everyday life and their impacts stretch beyond convenience of shopping. Local leaders see the evidence every day in their communities: more and more delivery trucks going down their roads, stopping at their neighbors’ or their own houses, dropping off products that were once maybe purchased in their own or a nearby ...

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 2007, Minnesota set a goal of reducing the state’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Since then, electric utilities have been making significant progress, but not enough to meet the state’s interim carbon-reduction goals.   What does this shifting energy infrastructure mean for rural Minnesota? On Thursday, January 20, research associate, Whitney Oachs, ...

by Marnie Werner, VP Research & Operations Between 2000 and 2015, the price of farmland went on a tear. Prices climbed to levels unseen before, making people nervous. Now, after a respite between 2015 and 2020 where prices stayed fairly level, the farmland market is heating up again. These record prices have implications not just ...

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 ...

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 ...