Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “An updated strategic plan for guiding future development of Greater Minnesota’s regional parks and trails, including ensuring those areas are inviting and accessible to underserved communities, is now available to the public from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission. Established in 2013, the commission identifies regionally significant parks and trails in Minnesota’s ...

EXCERPT: “Minnesota’s hospitality industry says it lost $11 billion over the past year. Now, as the state’s restrictions ease up, restaurants, hotels and resorts are looking to fill jobs — fast. And that means companies are getting creative to bring in staff. About one in 10 Minnesotans have hospitality jobs. Right now, there’s around 100,000 openings, ...

EXCERPT: “The number of Minnesotans who died from drug overdoses rose sharply in 2020, despite a concerted effort to recognize those deaths as public health crisis. According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) a total of 1,008 people died from drug overdoses statewide in 2020, compared to 792 in 2019. That amounts to a ...

EXCERPT: “The COVID-19 pandemic had many vacationers looking for quiet getaways within driving distance of home – resulting in a windfall for rural Airbnb hosts. The COVID-19 pandemic had many vacationers looking for quiet getaways within driving distance of home – resulting in a windfall for rural Airbnb hosts. The online rental service said hosts in Greater ...

EXCERPT: “Beth Ford’s campaign to extend high-speed internet service to rural America gathered more momentum Tuesday when Land O’Lakes announced creation of the American Connection Corps. Ford, president and CEO of the agricultural cooperative, has spearheaded a national coalition’s efforts to close the digital divide, which places many farm communities at a disadvantage to their urban counterparts ...

EXCERPT: “This verdict we’ve been talking about it to put it in context not only heard around Minnesota but all around the world. Yeah. And you don’t have to live in the Twin Cities to know how big of a moment this is. John Lauritsen continues our coverage in Western Minnesota. Here in Willmar about ...

EXCERPT: “Jackson-based Federated Rural Electric is one of many rural electric cooperatives working to keep the lights on for farmers and rural residents of southwest Minnesota. Scott Reimer, Federated’s general manager, knows the industry well and understands how essential it is for farmers. Born in Huron, S.D., Reimer started in the industry 43 years ago, ...

EXCERPT: “When Chuck Tryon took over as president of Owatonna-based Bushel Boy Farms in early October 2020, the U.S. was still a couple months away from an approved Covid-19 vaccine. In late November, Minnesota would go on to experience its worst peak of Covid cases. Like virtually every business at the time, Bushel Boy faced a great ...

EXCERPT: “Many legal-aid programs don’t work in rural areas because they are designed to serve large cities, a new research study says. The result is that low-income rural residents aren’t getting equal access to justice, according to a new paper published in the paper in the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law Policy.  Researchers Michele Statz, Robert ...