Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan announced a public-private partnership to help meet the technology and connectivity needs of families with school-aged children. According to a release from the governor’s office, the state is working with Best Buy, Comcast, Blandin Foundation, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and the Minnesota Business Partnership ...

EXCERPT: “Minnesota lawmakers on Friday passed a bill to hike the state’s meager reimbursement payments for child care providers that serve low-income families, an injection of new money into a subsidy program that is facing federal sanctions and has struggled to prevent fraud in recent years. While many in the GOP had previously been uneasy about ...

EXCERPT: “The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) today announced Small Cities Development Program (SCDP) grants totaling nearly $19 million for infrastructure and rehabilitation projects in 32 Minnesota cities. SCDP grants are part of the Community Development Block Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The SCDP grants ...

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 ...