Category: Our Research Reports

December 2024 By Sarah Harstad, Ph.D. The future is here Minnesota is facing a threat to the economic and social life of rural areas. According to data from the U.S. Census, 53% of Minnesota business owners are over age 55.[1] The state boasts over 525,000 businesses,[2] but due to this “silver tsunami” that has already ...

Demand for nursing facility beds is growing while the supply is shrinking November 2024 By Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher Click here for a printable version of this report. All of us are guilty, at one point or another, of taking our health for granted. We lean into the belief that we will always be able ...

By Marnie Werner, Vice President of Research Rural families face a number of headwinds when it comes to accessing mental health services for their children. The heart of the problem, the lack of mental health workers in rural areas, is complex, and the solutions aren’t cheap: higher pay for mental health workers, more opportunities for ...

  A report in partnership with the Center for Rural Behavioral Health, Minnesota State University, Mankato. As suicide rates race upward, rural residents struggle with a lack of services, information, and answers. Marnie Werner, VP Research, Center for Rural Policy & Development & Tracie Rutherford Self, Ph.D., Minnesota State University Mankato February 2024 Click here ...

The data show that the choices students make in high school and that paths they take after high school can predictably guide them to specific states of meaningful workforce participation later on. November 2023 By Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher | Marnie Werner, VP of Research & Operations For a print version of this report, click ...

By Marnie Werner Vice President of Research Click for a printable version of this report. According to a Star Tribune article in January 2022, “For the broader Midwest, inflation was 7.5% in December, far above the 5.9% rate in the more heavily populated northeastern states.” Inflation wasn’t even consistent around the state: “Rochester; St. Cloud; ...

By Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research April 26, 2023 Click here for a condensed two-page summary of this report.  Click here for a printable version of this report. Click here to register for our upcoming webinar on Wednesday, May 3, 2:30 pm. In January, Abdulla Gaafarelkhalifa was the only reporter left at the St. Cloud ...

How the K-12 general education revenue program’s complexities work for rural districts March 2023 By Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher For a printable version of this report, click here. To watch a short video about how the education formula works, click here. To read a short blog post about the research, click here. Increasing education funding ...

  A report in partnership with the Center for Rural Behavioral Health, Minnesota State University, Mankato. Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research, Center for Rural Policy & Development Thad Shunkweiler, LMFT, LPCC, Associate Professor and Director, Center for Rural Behavioral Health, Minnesota State University Mankato Tracie Rutherford Self, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Center for Rural Behavioral Health, ...