Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Unlike folks working in literature, music and computer software, city leaders don’t mind if others steal their best ideas. That’s part of the reason the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities moves its summer conference to different municipalities every year. ‘It’s a great chance for our cities to see both serious and fun things that other ...

EXCERPT: “The Minnesota Department of Health has announced new grants for nearly one-third of the counties in the state to increase family home visiting. The programs serve at-risk families such as first-time moms and families facing challenges like mental illness, domestic abuse or substance abuse by providing a nurse or other trained professional to provide ...

EXCERPT: “For the past year, I have been reporting on the rural economy – a broad category that has allowed me to write about a labor shortage in parts of Minnesota, the transformation of an old mining town into a biking destination, and the plight of small-town newspapers, among other stories. In visiting about a dozen small towns ...

EXCERPT: “During a time when immigrants are often under fire, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis had some nice things to say about them this week. During a two day visit to Worthington, Neel Kashkari said immigrants are helping that southwest Minnesota city grow, something many communities in rural parts of the state can ...

EXCERPT: “Federal authorities are proposing to launch a $100 million program to support telehealth and telemedicine programs for underserved populations, including remote patient monitoring programs that have shown past success in treating rural patients with diabetes and veterans. The Connected Care Pilot Program, announced by Federal Communications Commission member Brendan Carr and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker ...

EXCERPT: “Nice Ride Minnesota has ended its run in Bemidji, but the program is living on in other ways. In 2014, the nonprofit bike-sharing program based in the Twin Cities started a pilot project in Bemidji to introduce the concept to Greater Minnesota. The Bemidji program allowed residents and tourists a chance to rent an ...

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 ...