Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “On the east side of Barnesville, in a grassy lot soon to be surrounded by homes, a sign picturing silhouetted children doing summersaults announces that the site will soon be a neighborhood park – the 12th park in this small town in western Minnesota. This summer the city plans to spend $250,000 on maintenance and new equipment ...

EXCERPT: “‘Thriving by Design, Rural and Urban Together,’ was a large scale and innovative three-day gathering at the Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort co-hosted by OneMn.org and Growth & Justice. Participants and Delegates willing to carry the events mission forward, converged for three days to begin developing a comprehensive ‘One Minnesota Equity Blueprint, a policy agenda ...

EXCERPT: “The candidates Minnesotans send to the governor’s mansion, elect to the U.S. Senate and pick for other statewide offices will depend on something obvious come November: who gets the most votes. What’s less obvious — and what campaigns for the people vying for those positions will be working out over the next several months ...

EXCERPT: “Senate health appropriators proposed a $2.3 billion hike in HHS funding for this year in a bill that marks a step toward regular order for appropriations. The plan emphasizes telemedicine for rural areas and adds almost $150 million in funds to battle the opioid epidemic. The Senate’s $179.3 billion proposal, which earmarks $90.1 billion for ...

EXCERPT: “Though the amount of homeless teenagers is higher in the Twin Cities and most metro area cities, teens facing homelessness in greater Minnesota face different challenges and ones that often make them more vulnerable. The further from the Twin Cities, the harder it can be for teenagers to connect with resources. They are more likely to ...

EXCERPT: “Rural counties — particularly in the Midwest and Northeast of the U.S. — are losing people due to higher death rates than birth rates and more people moving away than moving in. The outlook: The 2020 census is likely to show the extent of this drastic trend. ‘Barring a significant reversal in the next few years,’ ...

EXCERPT: “Just outside tiny Sheffield, Iowa, a modern steel and glass office building has sprung up next to a cornfield. Behind it, there’s a plant that employs almost 700 workers making Sukup brand steel grain bins. The factory provides an economic anchor for Sheffield, population 1,125. Charles Sukup, the company’s president, says that even though workers ...

EXCERPT: “City Administrator Dana Lietzau looked out the window of her office and counted the empty buildings along First Avenue, the street that runs through the business district of Gibbon. Twelve buildings, four of them empty. ‘Our downtown is really struggling and has been for a while,’ she said. ‘The question is: ‘How do you find businesses to ...

EXCERPT: “A green giant in a loin cloth would seem an unlikely indicator for what some describe as a revolution under way in the heart of America. But the Jolly Green Giant statue on Highway 169 in rural Minnesota wears a 48-inch (1.2m) smile for a reason. Accompanied by the slogan Dream Big, he typifies a sense ...