Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “The last two years have been pivotal ones for the future of high-speed internet access in Minnesota. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and exacerbated the lack of broadband in many parts of the state as people shifted to remote work and school. Congress poured unprecedented amounts of money into subsidizing construction of new infrastructure like fiber-optic ...

EXCERPT: “The 2022 Minnesota legislative session is coming up fast and organizations representing communities across the state are zeroing in on a bonding bill. Bradley Peterson, executive director of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, said bonding legislation is a big-ticket item for the organization heading into the session. Peterson said the bonding bill is ...

EXCERPT: “Minnesota has a strong tradition of community newspapers, says Lisa Hills, executive director of the Minnesota Newspaper Association. Unlike many areas of the U.S. that are now considered news deserts, most of Minnesota’s rural residents can still pick up a copy of a local paper like the Mesabi Tribune or Sleepy Eye Herald-Dispatch. The 270 members of the ...

EXCERPT: “The new $1 trillion dollar infrastructure package — passed by Congress Friday night — invests billions in spending. For Minnesota, there will be more than $5-billion for road, bridge, and public transit improvements. There will also be tens of millions for broadband, which is expected to have a major impact on the state’s rural ...

EXCERPT: “Greater Minnesota communities and businesses are stymied by a shortage of housing around the state, local leaders told a panel of state legislators on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Limited housing options in more rural parts of the state restricted businesses there from growing since workers can’t find homes nearby. And because the communities have lower ...

EXCERPT: “‘Rural By Choice’ is a new seven-part documentary series that reveals how rural communities in Western Minnesota have experienced surprising population growth — from surprising demographics — in recent years. The story of this rural America rebound is told through the eyes of WCCO radio host Cory Hepola (a native of Otter Tail County), who returns to his ...

EXCERPT: “Successful businesses are eminently salable at a multiple of revenue or profits; restaurants are a notable exception. Most go up for sale when an owner or founding chef departs. Unproven new ownership may lack the ability to maintain the customer experience, which is closely tied to a chef/owner’s vision, and new owners are often ...

EXCERPT: “I have driven 381 miles for a beer. Revelation Ale Works is a small, seven-barrel taproom in Minnesota’s northwesternmost corner, in a blip of corn silos and grain elevators called Hallock (pop. 981). The landscape is practically featureless, a flowchart of sugar beets and soybeans broken by farmhouses and the odd cottonwood. The soil is ...

EXCERPT: “Natalie Saldana would love to put her 1.5-year-old daughter in a quality child care program while she works and goes to school, but the $700 monthly price tag makes it impossible. ‘Seven-hundred dollars is almost my rent,’ Saldana said. Saldana, 22, is a full-time student, single mom and health insurance agent in South Carolina. She’s ...