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; ...

EXCERPT: “Topped by $100 million for rural Internet and a safety net for farmers on grain sales, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday, May 18, signed an agriculture and broadband spending bill into law. ‘Agriculture is central to our state’s identity, and this bipartisan law will empower Minnesota’s farmers, ranchers, and producers to succeed for ...

EXCERPT: “Big things are happening in small towns across our region, flying in the face of expectations that rural communities have nothing to offer in a modern economy. Reporter Tammy Swift has been documenting these success stories through her reporting. In this episode, she joins host Thomas Evanella to discuss how Halstad, Minn., population 579, is ...

May 2023 By Jesus Gonzalez, Capitol Pathways Intern My name is Jesus Gonzalez, a Concordia College sophomore, and for the last couple of months, I’ve been the Capitol Pathways Intern for the Center for Rural Policy and Development. From start to finish the program and the Center have been great! Now at the end, I’m ...

  Our latest research report explores the decline of newspapers in rural MN and how this affects civic engagement. This one-of-a-kind report explores this important topic and gives ideas to strengthen rural newspapers and civic engagement. You can read the report here. On Wednesday, May 3rd, Marnie Webinar provided highlights from the report and had ...

EXCERPT: “In many areas of the country, there’s simply no nearby place to go to for a serious medical emergency or to give birth. More than 300 hospitals in rural areas have closed in recent decades, leaving tens of millions of Americans an hour or more away from the nearest trauma-care center. Over 2,000 rural ...

The Center for Rural Policy recently released a report outlining the trends of rural newspapers in Minnesota and some of the challenges and opportunities they are currently facing. On this episode, Marnie Werner, Director of Research, discusses the report and what she found while researching this important issue.

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 ...

EXCERPT: “In many rural towns, a grocery store is a thing of the past, as more of these small businesses fold. Yet entrepreneurs and community initiatives are working to turn that trend around. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 76 counties nationwide are without a single grocery store, and ...

In this episode, Marnie Werner interviews Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher for the Center for Rural Policy and Development to discuss the most recent research report- “Shedding Light on the Education Formula“.  They touch on the reason the education formula is complex, that it distributes funds “unequally” by design, and their amazement on how much the ...