Year: 2018

  We have a conversation this week with Thad Shunkwiler, assistant professor of Alcohol and Drug Studies at MN State University, Mankato, about addiction problems around the state besides opioids and a few of the issues that need to be addressed to tackle the problem.

EXCERPT: “A new report from the national nonprofit Environmental Working Group says the problem of nitrate contamination in drinking water is hitting small, rural communities like Randall the hardest — and they are the ones least able to afford treatment costs. Randall addressed the problem by digging a new well at the same location, but in ...

Ask business owners in Minnesota what their biggest challenge is today and most will tell you: “finding help.” Economic growth coupled with an aging workforce heading toward retirement and fewer young people to replace them is putting significant pressure on Greater Minnesota’s employers, making hiring significantly more challenging. Over the next several months, the Center for ...

EXCERPT: “You would expect to look up to see Frontier Communications telephone lines in the town of Ceylon, neatly swaying from traditional wood utility poles. But in parts of town, look down. There they are — black cables snaking through the grass. ‘There’s three lines there, that are just laying across the ground,’ said John Gibeau, ...

EXCERPT: “The decline in Local Government Aid for East Grand Forks has caught the attention of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. The lobbying arm for rural Minnesota says a fix in the complicated L-G-A formula is needed during the 2019 legislative session. The Coalition’s Marty Siefert told city council members this week – it’s ...

  Last week Diana Anderson, president of the Southwest Initiative Foundation in Hutchinson, talked with us about the work they’re doing to close the opportunity gap for low-income families in southwest Minnesota. She joins us again this week to talk about their Grow Our Own summit coming up Nov. 8 in Marshall. At the summit ...

EXCERPT: “Not all that long ago, the central Minnesota community of Long Prairie was in a period of decline. The town, anchored for years by agriculture and local employers like Long Prairie Packing, and Dan’s Prize, was struggling. Many downtown businesses were closed, homes were up for sale and, at the local school district, always a bellwether of the economy, ...

EXCERPT: “For women in rural areas, having a baby has become more complicated than it used to be. For years, more rural hospitals have been shutting down maternity units, forcing expectant mothers in small rural and farming communities to travel longer distances to deliver their babies. It didn’t used to be this way. ‘Virtually every ...

EXCERPT: “With a number of regional highway projects — like U.S. Highway 71 north of Willmar — just finishing up, and funding approved for the state Highway 23 four-lane project between Willmar and St. Cloud, transportation officials say there’s much to be thankful for. ‘But there are ongoing needs,’ said Margaret Donahoe, executive director of ...