Year: 2020

This is the time of year that I am usually enjoying some county fair food while looking at 4-H exhibits at local county fairs.  Obviously, this year that is not happening because of the pandemic.  I have been able to track down some fair food, but I’m really missing the sense of community that a ...

Our thanks go out to Tim Penny, president of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and former First District Congressman, for his opinion piece in last Sunday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune featuring our work on cost of living and how your dollar can go further in Greater Minnesota. The study itself is getting a lot of traction ...

EXCERPT: “ On Wednesday, Minnesota’s infectious disease director said if we don’t limit the spread now, Minnesota could end up with an outbreak like what has happened in southern states. To help prevent that, Gov. Tim Walz announced that 4 million free masks will go to businesses across the state, though resistance remains present against his mask ...

EXCERPT: “Sandy Thielen is still hesitant to reopen her home daycare business after closing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She misses the kids and the day-to-day routine of the job, she says, but she’s concerned for the safety of her family. Having 10 extra children around, plus their parents at drop-off and pick-up ...

EXCERPT: “It’s a lofty goal. Get internet access and devices necessary for distance learning to 25,000 of Minnesota’s most technologically disconnected students by the end of summer. The ConnectedMN public-private partnership, spearheaded by Best Buy and Gov. Tim Walz, is trying to do just that. But the approximately 25,000 people identified by school districts as ...

EXCERPT: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday it is investing $4 million to build and improve critical community facilities that will benefit nearly 9,000 rural residents in Minnesota. Tracy Ambulance Service in Tracy, Minnesota, Received a $100,000 loan and a $50,000 grant to purchase a new ambulance vehicle and replace a 2009 vehicle that ...

EXCERPT: “Wages in rural Minnesota may lag behind those in the metropolitan area, but they do go farther. When wages are compared to the cost of living, some rural areas of the state actually enjoy an advantage over the Twin Cities metropolitan area, where living costs are much higher. These are the findings released during ...

EXCERPT: “Public water systems in rural Minnesota may be weighing costly upgrades, University of Minnesota researchers told state lawmakers Wednesday, July 15, but private wells are creating issues of their own that regulators currently have no way to address. With agriculture and industry already posing contamination threats to drinking water sources in the state, they ...

Our report, “A brief discussion: Wages can go further in Greater Minnesota”, explored how wages throughout Greater Minnesota can compete with wages in the seven-county metro when taking into account the cost of living. On July 15, 2020, we hosted a webinar where this information was presented. We were joined by Rural Sociologist Ben Winchester ...