EXCERPT: “Gov. Tim Walz handily beat Republican challenger Scott Jensen on Tuesday, with preliminary data showing Walz with nearly an 8-point margin. While comfortable, that margin is somewhat diminished from Walz’s first campaign in 2018, when he defeated Jeff Johnson by more than 11% for the gubernatorial seat vacated by Mark Dayton. Below the surface, however, the data ...

Starting with the 2020 Decennial Census, the U.S. Census Bureau is implementing a new framework to ensure privacy of the census takers – essentially, making sure that a nefarious actor can’t identify an individual from published census tables. Although the U.S. Census Bureau has been employing various strategies for decades, this new framework is very ...

EXCERPT: “The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and partners are recognizing dedicated health care professionals who have made significant contributions to the health and well-being of their rural communities as part of National Rural Health Day, Nov. 17. ‘The honorees embody the spirit of service and innovation that has helped Minnesota build a nationally respected ...

By Julie Tesch, President & CEO “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”  – Dr. Stephen Covey, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” Election Day has always held wonders for me. I grew up in southern Minnesota going to our local township hall with my parents. I vividly remember the wood-burning stove and wondering ...

In this episode, Marnie Werner, VP of Research and Operations, interviews Amy Baldwin who works as the Community Development Director for Otter Tail County. Probably one of the top three issues facing most rural community and economic developers is solving the housing shortage. In this conversation, Marnie and Amy talk about Otter Tail’s new initiative ...

EXCERPT: “A decade ago, when it came to high-speed connectivity in rural regions, Minnesota did not have the access it so desperately needed. ‘In 2010, internet connectivity in rural places was spotty and underutilized,’ said Mary Magnuson, the Blandin Foundation’s grants program officer for rural placemaking. ‘Minnesota was ranked No. 23 in the U.S. for ...

EXCERPT: “Dawn Uribe, owner of Mis Amigos Spanish Immersion Preschool in Hopkins, has had to make some hard choices amid an ongoing worker shortage in the child care industry. ‘I want our teachers to have a workable, livable wage, and I’m trying to make it so that our teachers can get paid like elementary school teachers,’ ...

The number of residential housing builders still isn’t at peak levels of 2006. October 2022 By: Kelly Asche, Senior Research Associate Now more than ever we are seeing the linkages between economic development, workforce development, and housing. No matter where you turn, it seems that small communities are trying to crack the code on how ...

In September, the Center for Rural Policy and Development released the results of an environmental scan of child care initiatives taking place across rural Minnesota. In this episode, Vice President of Research, Marnie Werner, interviews Don Hickman, the Vice President for Community and Workforce Development at the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls, MN. As an ...

EXCERPT: “Increasingly, rural communities are realizing the transformational impact the tech economy can have for them. And local leaders in rural places are putting their efforts and resources into economic development programs that can create tech opportunities and entrepreneurship where they live. The U.S. Economic Development Administration’s most recent cohort of Build to Scale (B2S) ...