Category: Blog

By Julie Tesch, President & CEO March 6, 2019 I recently moved back to rural Minnesota after living in densely populated cities in the Midwest and East Coast for the past 25 years. This was a conscious choice that I made because of my age and stage in life. After living in St. Paul, Indianapolis ...

Feb. 27, 2019 Next week we’ll be releasing a new publication, “Letters to the New Governor,” a collection of essays written by people from around the state on various topics of importance to Greater Minnesota. One of those articles is on the current child care shortage, and the following is an excerpt. You’ll be able ...

One economic issue getting a lot of attention is particularly associated with rural areas: agriculture. Global trade, relationships with countries such as China and Mexico, and agricultural commodity prices have a major impact on ag and farming due to the large quantity of commodity crops we export around the world. Prices for corn and soybeans ...

February 13, 2019 By Kelly Asche, Research Associate Each year, the Center for Rural Policy and Development provides a brief report on various economic and demographic conditions in rural Minnesota. The State of Rural Minnesota 2019  provides data points both current and historical, illustrating how rural conditions have changed and where they are at now. ...

Welcome to the Center for Rural Policy & Development’s new blog! Our goal with our newest tool of communication is to provide more insight into issues facing Greater Minnesota. Blog posts in the future will focus on a variety of topics, ranging from the importance of newspapers in rural communities to the role of women ...

  The Center for Rural Policy & Development’s new president Julie Tesch visits with us to go over the Center’s latest research, including on the workforce shortage.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...