Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Chris Hernstrom was brewing in the craft beer mecca of Bend, Ore., when an ad caught his eye: Want to live somewhere gorgeous and make beer for a small community? ‘It just seemed like an interesting challenge to come out to basically the exact opposite of Bend, some place where the brewing industry is ...

EXCERPT: “A new Farm & Rural Helpline is now available to Minnesota farmers and rural residents. The service, funded by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), is free, confidential, and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The toll free number is (833) 600-2670. Farmers and rural communities face unique stresses and emotional ...

EXCERPT: “Minnesotans buying health insurance next year can expect rates to remain stable or go down slightly, but those living in the southeast region will continue to face the highest rates in the state. The Minnesota Department of Commerce announced the 2018 rates for the individual insurance market on Monday. Statewide, premiums will range from ...

EXCERPT: “The golden shovel kick-off event with Fillmore County and AcenTek representatives was held the morning of September 22 in Lanesboro. Construction to install the necessary infrastructure to bring wireline high speed internet to the city of Whalan and sections of Carrolton and Holt Townships is expected to begin in early October. It will be ...

EXCERPT: “If the Highway 14 Partnership has its way, a lot more funding could be flowing to regional road projects. That’s a goal many transportation-related organizations share next year, even though the Legislature plans to concentrate more on policy issues during the 2018 session. Still, everyone from local lawmakers to transportation experts is gearing up for ...

EXCERPT: “The high-school graduates who head off to campus in the lowest proportions in America are the ones from rural places. Understanding and addressing this ‘is critical to our future, not just for employment but for civil discourse and kids feeling like they can contribute and achieve and not feeling lost and ignored,’ said Jeff Hawkins, ...

EXCERPT: “In the entryway of Chandler Industries, just north of downtown Montevideo, a framed newspaper clipping from the local newspaper, the Montevideo American-News, hangs on the wall. Yellowed by the years, it announces the company’s 1969 expansion in this southwest Minnesota town of 5,300. Over the half-century since, Chandler has been a stable employer, with nearly 100 people ...

For part 3 of our talk with Mike Maurer, chief deputy and emergency management director for Blue Earth County, Mike tells us what we can do in our own homes to prepare for a disaster in rural Minnesota. Three days is key. 

EXCERPT: “Metropolitan areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin have seen significant declines in the number of impaired driving offenses, but the rate of drunken driving in rural areas remains high. Minnesota’s Dakota, Washington and Hennepin counties saw the steepest reductions in chronically impaired drivers between 2015 and 2016. Hennepin, Minnesota’s largest county, experienced nearly a 100-person ...