Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Like a lot of people, Andrew Storjohann was frustrated when he tried to shop for groceries in Mankato in March. Customers were flocking to stores buying whatever they could get, from toilet paper to bread to canned food and pasta. ‘People are (acting) stupid,’ Storjohann said of the stockpiling. ‘People are just, I think, ...

EXCERPT: “When people in the little farm town of Winthrop, Minnesota, grew tired of slow internet service, they approached the local telephone and internet provider and asked for something faster. The company couldn’t help. Next they went to the county board. They proposed that Sibley County, in the corn and soybean flatland west of the ...

EXCERPT: “The House Greater Minnesota Jobs and Economic Development Finance Division last week approved legislation authored by Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls) to increase funding for high-speed broadband internet across the state. Additionally, the bill, HF 3029, strengthens both distance learning and telemedicine under the COVID-19 pandemic with new investments. ‘Working, learning, and ...

EXCERPT: “Many rural parts of the country have avoided the toll of cases and deaths that have haunted cities like New York — but it may not stay that way. These areas tend to have an older population that typically has higher rates of chronic illnesses and is concentrated in close living institutions, according to federal ...

EXCERPT: “Every Sunday since the coronavirus lockdown started, Stephanie Anstey drives 20 minutes from her home in Grottoes, Virginia, to sit in her school’s near-empty parking lot and type away on her laptop. Anstey, a middle school history teacher, lives in a valley between two mountains, where the only available home internet option is a satellite ...

EXCERPT: “In a conference call on Wednesday, April 22, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., spoke with area school administrators and Paul Bunyan Communications about the roll out of distance learning, technology concerns and rural broadband development. Bemidji Area Schools Superintendent Tim Lutz, Superintendent, Deer River Schools Matt Grose, Red Lake Public School District Technology Coordinator ...

EXCERPT: “The worst impact of the coronavirus as of early April has been in urban areas, but the problem is quickly spreading to less dense regions. Hospitals and public health agencies in the nation’s rural counties, many of which were already struggling before the pandemic took hold, may lack the resources to respond, in part because ...

EXCERPT: “The novel coronavirus pandemic is changing how employers and job-seekers are connecting. Finding and applying for jobs online was common before COVID-19 eliminated much of the face-to-face interaction of our society. So what’s different now? ‘What has changed is how they access our services,’ said Joan Berning, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Field ...

EXCERPT: “The coronavirus pandemic, and efforts to slow its spread, has shuttered many government buildings. But cities and counties need to continue providing essential services, so many local governments are moving to remote, virtual meetings. For some, that’s meant putting meetings online for the first time. Others, like the city of Moorhead, have long broadcast ...