Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Lawmakers are preparing to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars to Minnesota cities hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The money is Minnesota’s share of $150 billion distributed to state and local governments under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. About $316 million went directly to the state’s two ...

EXCERPT: “The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the financial vulnerability facing small, rural healthcare facilities, many of which were already struggling to stay financially viable, according to a review of health care financial records and interviews with hospital administrators. The pandemic cost hospitals cash they did not have, while at the same time eliminated revenue those facilities ...

EXCERPT: “During Take a Kid Fishing Weekend Friday, June 5, to Sunday, June 7, Minnesota residents can fish without licenses if they take children 15 or younger along fishing, too. ‘Taking your kids fishing is a lot of fun and a great way to get them connected to the outdoors,’ said Benji Kohn, volunteer mentor ...

EXCERPT: “The road construction season churns forward regardless of distractions and crises. Even the heat doesn’t slow things down much, though rain and thunderstorms sometimes get the upper hand. The Highway 14 expansion project between Owatonna and Dodge Center is one of the biggest Greater Minnesota jobs taking place. The Minnesota Department of Transportation along with ...

EXCERPT: “There won’t be a Washington County Fair this summer. Or a Freeborn County Fair in southern Minnesota. So far, about 1 in 3 Minnesota county fairs have been canceled for this summer, with more expected to follow in the wake of last week’s cancellation of the Minnesota State Fair. While 4-H is working on alternative ways for members to present ...

EXCERPT: “Spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, federal policy makers are pushing to spend billions of dollars to close gaps in America’s high-speed internet network. There is one big obstacle: Government officials say they don’t have a clear picture of where service gaps exist, meaning parts of the country will be left out when it is ...

EXCERPT: “If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has done consistently, it has been to highlight weaknesses in various areas, whether that be hospital supplies, food processing businesses or, more locally, broadband access. There have been warnings about all of these weaknesses for years. Local governments and chambers of commerce, for example, have been brainstorming ...

EXCERPT: “For Minnesota rural grocers, finding new ways to operate in the face of COVID-19 is not just a business matter. It’s personal. ‘We know every person that walks through the door here. We are related to many of them and friends with all of them. We want to keep them safe.’ These are the ...

EXCERPT: “Almost 70% of the nation’s more than 1,100 prisons are located outside of metropolitan areas, according to 2017 research by John M. Eason, an associate professor in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A building boom occurred from 1980 through 1999 as struggling towns eyed prisons as economic salvations. But in many of those same ...