Year: 2023

EXCERPT: “The city of Marshall’s aquatic center has long been a go-to place for swim lessons and family fun, but the center’s 1930s-vintage main pool and supporting facilities have been showing their age. The bath house and concessions building have code compliance issues, mechanical systems are deteriorated, plumbing systems need regular repairs and water line breaks ...

EXCERPT: “Matt Varilek is fortunate as the new commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development to have internet that is fast enough for him to have remote meetings at home in rural Benton County. But not everyone in Greater Minnesota has that ability, which is why delivering broadband across the state is a passion ...

EXCERPT: “Gov. Tim Walz has announced that 36 cities, townships and counties across Greater Minnesota will receive nearly $24 million in Small Cities Development Program grants, with Bagley, Fosston and Kelliher on the list of recipients. The grants will be used for residential and commercial property rehabilitation, upgrading public facilities and other economic development projects. Bagley will ...

EXCERPT: “As this summer has shown, the massive smoke plumes generated by wildfires can dirty the air of regions many miles away. Now a new study is raising the question of whether that pollution is contributing to suicides in rural America. Researchers found a correlation between air pollution from “drifting” wildfire smoke and a rise in ...

  September 2023 By Marnie Werner, VP of Research & Operations We are officially in a new fiscal year here at the Center for Rural Policy and Development and with it comes a new research agenda. The list of issues to research in rural Minnesota seems never-ending and unfortunately, we only have so many hours ...

EXCERPT: “In rural areas where hospitals have shuttered, like Pickens County, the nearest surviving facilities are long drives away, ambulance coverage is sparse, and residents in the throes of medical emergencies often find their situations even more precarious. In May, the rural health research and policy centers released the results of an effort by the Maine ...

EXCERPT: “On the outskirts of Plainview in southeastern Minnesota, a cornfield that sits next to a golf course could be a crucial part of the small city’s future. In theory, it will become a housing development with single-family homes, commercial property and a 43-unit apartment building on 10 acres. The city has a population of about 3,500, ...

EXCERPT: “A new study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) shows that vaccination rates for some racial and ethnic groups lagged behind rates for the state’s white population. The study calculated ‘time-to-vaccination’ outcomes — estimates of the length of time it took to vaccinate ...

EXCERPT: “More than one third of Americans living in rural areas skipped medical care they needed due to the costs, according to a new study. The Commonwealth Fund’s 2020 International Health Policy Survey found that 36 percent of rural Americans did not get the care they needed due to costs, which is more than double the rate ...