Category: Blog

By Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research Since the middle of March, that old Irish blessing/curse has been bouncing around in my head:  “May you live in interesting times.” I really, truly understand its full meaning now. The first half of 2020 has been interesting, to say the least. Never would I have guessed back in ...

by Whitney Oachs, Research Intern Following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, communities across the nation held protests in support of people of color and structural change for policing. But while the unrest in the Twin Cities rightly dominated headlines, communities in even the most rural corners of the state also saw ...

When taking population into account, the rate of COVID-19 cases is just as high, if not higher, in counties outside of the seven-county metro. By Kelly Asche May, 2020 Counties outside of the seven-county metro have some of the highest COVID-19 case rates in the state. But this so far hasn’t translated into a similarly ...

By Kelly Asche To watch a webinar presenting this research and a Q&A with healthcare experts, click here. A citizen protest reveals the need for a policy change Before the COVID-19 crisis began, the Center for Rural Policy and Development was gathering information and analyzing the impacts mergers and acquisitions among health care providers have ...

MN Department of Ag is offering a cost-share program to help eligible farmers markets keep things safe and sanitized School sports are canceled and it doesn’t look good for professional sports, concerts or other summer fun. Even the Great Minnesota Get-Together is at risk of being cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. What’s left? Well, ...

University of Minnesota’s Extension service is offering up several different series of webinars for Minnesota business owners and leaders to help them get their rural communities through the pandemic. These webinars aimed at tourism, small businesses and community leaders are free and each session is only 30 minutes long. Minnesota’s Extension service is packed with ...

By Kelly Asche To watch a webinar presenting this research and a Q&A with healthcare experts, click here. State legislators are increasingly looking at controlling health care costs by regulating hospitals, which could increase consolidations of services even more. Before the COVID-19 crisis began, the Center for Rural Policy and Development was gathering information and ...

We wanted to pass along this April 17 post from the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development’s blog. DEED is taking suggestions from business owners around the state on how they can operate safely during the pandemic.  As we continue careful planning for how to get more Minnesotans safely back to work, it’s been ...

By Kelly Asche To watch a webinar presenting this research and a Q&A with healthcare experts, click here. Before the COVID-19 crisis began, the Center for Rural Policy and Development was gathering information and analyzing the impacts mergers and acquisitions among health care providers have been having on access in rural areas. We were a ...