Year: 2023

EXCERPT: “Dr. Cindy Firkins Smith doesn’t mince words: ‘Rural health care is on the precipice of a crisis,’ she said. Smith, a vice president and physician at CentraCare, has been practicing dermatology in Willmar for three decades. In all of that time, she’s always recruited other doctors to join her ranks in Greater Minnesota. ‘It’s been ...

EXCERPT: “At the University of Minnesota Morris, psychology faculty have known for some time about the severe shortage of addiction treatment professionals in rural parts of the state. This year, they’ve developed a way to help address that problem by creating a new program designed to train and prepare students to sit for the state’s licensed alcohol and drug ...

EXCERPT: “From his rural court about an hour north of Duluth, Minn., Judge Robert Friday regularly oversees cases in which people face losing their homes, divorce disputes and debts they can’t pay. One or both parties regularly show up without a lawyer. Individuals representing themselves don’t always understand how to present their cases or—sometimes, more important—how to ...

By Marnie Werner Vice President of Research Click for a printable version of this report. According to a Star Tribune article in January 2022, “For the broader Midwest, inflation was 7.5% in December, far above the 5.9% rate in the more heavily populated northeastern states.” Inflation wasn’t even consistent around the state: “Rochester; St. Cloud; ...

EXCERPT: “Topped by $100 million for rural Internet and a safety net for farmers on grain sales, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday, May 18, signed an agriculture and broadband spending bill into law. ‘Agriculture is central to our state’s identity, and this bipartisan law will empower Minnesota’s farmers, ranchers, and producers to succeed for ...

EXCERPT: “Big things are happening in small towns across our region, flying in the face of expectations that rural communities have nothing to offer in a modern economy. Reporter Tammy Swift has been documenting these success stories through her reporting. In this episode, she joins host Thomas Evanella to discuss how Halstad, Minn., population 579, is ...

May 2023 By Jesus Gonzalez, Capitol Pathways Intern My name is Jesus Gonzalez, a Concordia College sophomore, and for the last couple of months, I’ve been the Capitol Pathways Intern for the Center for Rural Policy and Development. From start to finish the program and the Center have been great! Now at the end, I’m ...

  Our latest research report explores the decline of newspapers in rural MN and how this affects civic engagement. This one-of-a-kind report explores this important topic and gives ideas to strengthen rural newspapers and civic engagement. You can read the report here. On Wednesday, May 3rd, Marnie Webinar provided highlights from the report and had ...

EXCERPT: “In many areas of the country, there’s simply no nearby place to go to for a serious medical emergency or to give birth. More than 300 hospitals in rural areas have closed in recent decades, leaving tens of millions of Americans an hour or more away from the nearest trauma-care center. Over 2,000 rural ...