Category: Rural Headlines

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 ...

EXCERPT: “More than $10 million in grants are available to fund infrastructure and other enhancements for Greater Minnesota’s regional parks and trails, including $750,000 to make them more inviting and accessible to underserved communities and people with mobility or other challenges. Two Douglas County parks would be eligible to apply for the funding – Lake ...

EXCERPT: “When the economy takes a turn for the worse, there is a plan in place. Being proactive and not reactive is the motto for Region 9 Development Commission. ‘How are things going right now and what do we see in the future,’ Region 9 Development Commission Executive Director Nicole Griensewic said. Especially with their ...

EXCERPT: “Nearly 75% of Minnesotans rely on groundwater for their water supply, but that supply can become strained as population grows, land-use changes, and climate change affects precipitation and groundwater use and recharge. These factors mean that many in the state could find groundwater in increasingly short supply in the coming decades— an issue some ...

EXCERPT: “The coronavirus relief law signed by President Biden last week pours nearly $50 billion into child care in a bid to keep struggling daycare centers from closing just as the people who rely on them return to work. Child-care providers will get about $40 billion for operating expenses and tuition assistance for the children ...

EXCERPT: “Broadband access remains insufficient for many in rural America. And northern Minnesota cow/calf rancher Miles Kuschel tells Brownfield the COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the issue. ‘If it’s given us an insight into one thing, it’s the absolute need for high-speed broadband across all of Rural America. Whether it’s distance learning, telemedicine, Zoom conferences or annual ...

EXCERPT: “Following the February arctic blast, the Minnesota Department of Commerce will increase the maximum annual crisis benefit for qualifying households from $600 to $1,200. The Energy Assistance Program crisis benefits can be used for covering past-due utility bills, utility disconnections and emergency fuel deliveries, according to a Department of Commerce news release. The program ...