Year: 2019

By Julie Tesch, President The weather is hot and steamy in Minnesota, so that must mean it’s county fair time. Growing up, the county fair was my favorite place on earth. It was the place where I got to see my friends, who I hadn’t seen since school let out, ride some rides at the ...

EXCERPT: “A pair of Minnesota business development leaders shared with members of Congress effective efforts they’d taken to boost broadband access in their communities and urged the panel build out the infrastructure that helps people connect to the internet. The comments came as the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit discussed broadband ...

EXCERPT: “In 2014, Minnesota was abuzz with broadband. The state’s newly created Office of Broadband Development had opened its doors, and the legislature was poised to give it an invaluable new tool to extend critical access: the Border to Border Broadband state grant fund. Five years later, the competitive matching grants have connected more than 40,000 ...

EXCERPT: “Have you ever had a great idea for a business or nonprofit that would make a difference? The Initiative Foundation of Little Falls wants to hear from you. It has teamed up with the Southwest Initiative Foundation, which is headquartered in Hutchinson, and the West Central Initiative to search 41 Greater Minnesota counties for ...

By Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research & Operations The beating heart of what we do here at the Center for Rural Policy and Development is our research—research pure and simple on policy issues that matter to rural Minnesota. It’s the beginning of the fiscal year for us, which means a new start to not just ...

EXCERPT: “When Karen Olson’s mother was in her mid-80s, her dementia was getting worse. Her physical health was also declining. She needed around-the-clock care, which was more than the family could provide her at home. So, Olson said the family reluctantly decided to move her to the Twin Valley Living Center, the nearby nursing home. ...

EXCERPT: “For people who live in cities, having access to wireless internet is often taken for granted. But for the farmers who live in rural areas of the United States, access to broadband can be a dire and critical need. ‘Thirty percent of farmers don’t have access to broadband,’ says Beth Ford, CEO of dairy co-op ...

EXCERPT: “Kandiyohi County, Minn., is taking fresh aim at a long-sought goal of widening the availability of high-speed Internet service, especially to neighborhoods that remain unserved or underserved. The County Board voted Tuesday to help fund an engineering study that will examine the feasibility of bringing broadband to rural homes and businesses in Dovre, Mamre and ...

EXCERPT: “As the temperatures climbed into the 70s Wednesday morning, six high school students ran around with a handful of kids from Winona State University’s Children’s Center as the little ones shouted their advertisements for a lemonade stand by the campus gazebo. The students, who make up WSU’s second cohort of its Aspiring Teachers of ...