Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Porter Simonette carefully placed a dollop of digital hand sanitizer on the hands of the elderly man he saw inside his virtual reality headset. The high school senior mimed opening a container of yogurt, and following the on-screen instructions, began feeding his digital patient. ‘Here’s some more yogurt,’ he said, before asking, ‘You want ...

EXCERPT: “As a second Trump administration promises major reforms across the federal government, advocates for Medicaid access are concerned what trillions in cuts could mean for many American families. A new study released by Georgetown University indicates families in rural areas are more likely to rely on Medicaid health insurance coverage, compared to urban residents in the ...

EXCERPT: “Disappointed in a 2024 legislative session that ended with no bonding bill, Greater Minnesota organizations are encouraging the Legislature to focus on funds for infrastructure projects as this year’s session gets underway.  The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities and the League of Minnesota Cities, whose requests often overlap, plan to push lawmakers to pass a bonding ...

EXCERPT: “A long-running local government collaboration in southwestern Minnesota is helping to insulate the region from the kind of controversies and misinformation that have plagued rural clean energy projects in other states. The Rural Minnesota Energy Board has its origins in a regional task force that was set up during the mid-1990s as the state’s first ...

EXCERPT: “Even as the city of Moorhead has grown, Minnesota State University Moorhead has shrunk. More than 45,000 people live in Moorhead, a 17% increase over the past decade and a 40% increase since 2000. At the same time, the university’s enrollment has steadily decreased for two decades. In 2007, more than 7,500 students were ...

EXCERPT: “Over 500 hospitals have closed their labor and delivery departments since 2010, according to a large new study, leaving most rural hospitals and more than a third of urban hospitals without obstetric care. Those closures, the study found, were slightly offset by the opening of new units in about 130 hospitals. Even so, the share ...

EXCERPT: “As temperatures plummet, some people who are unsheltered and homeless have had to find a way inside to stay safe. It’s a difficult time of year for the roughly 10,000 people in the state who have unstable or no shelter. Often people without stable housing live unnoticed and without the safety and care they need. ...

EXCERPT: “Operating costs are creating challenges for apartment owners and developers in Greater Minnesota, where housing needs are especially acute, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Insurance costs, interest rates and staffing shortages were identified as three roadblocks for rental housing owners and operators in the region, according to the report, which was ...

EXCERPT: “Insurance, interest rates, and staffing are common challenges for rental housing owners and operators in Greater Minnesota, a region made up of 80 of the state’s 87 counties and home to 45 percent of its population.1 That’s according to conversations with dozens of multifamily property owners there this summer. They told us that while ...