Category: Blog

Making apple cider at the Inadvertent Cafe

Rural Success in the Making: The Inadvertent Café

In Clinton, MN, The Inadvertent Café is marking its successes one omelette—and one batch of sauerkraut—at a time. By Brent Olson There are four problems with food in a small town. First, it’s hard to keep a grocery store open, because they can’t compete on price or variety with larger stores. Second, people who are older ...

Rural Reality: Who feeds our kids during the summer?

June 6, 2013 School bells across the state are ringing out the last days of the academic year. For most children, the last day of school marks the beginning of the carefree days of summer. For too many families – especially in rural Minnesota – the last day of school is also the first day ...

Valuing our Rural Colleges (2004)

From my perspective there is little doubt that having a local college or university in your community is a wonderful local and regional asset. However, the true size and scope of its economic value and impact on the community can vary greatly. Access the full blog post on valuing our rural colleges here.   To ...