EXCERPT: “State reports record drug overdose deaths in 2021 Increasing prevalence of fentanyl thought to be a contributing factor Minnesota public health officials reported a record number of overdose deaths in 2021, following an alarming pattern seen in many other states in recent years. According to a new report issued this week by the Minnesota ...

EXCERPT: “CANNON FALLS, Minn. — Two months after giving birth, Jennifer Magee noticed a change in her baby’s feeding routine that scared her: She was starting to drink more formula, almost every hour. Increased appetite is normal for growing infants, including Magee’s daughter, Aubrey. But amid the national formula shortage, Magee, 25, had only one ...

EXCERPT: “Some Minnesotans are struggling to put food on their table. This includes areas in greater Minnesota where food shelves are seeing more demand now than they did during the height of the pandemic. Community Pathways of Steele County in Owatonna has seen a 65% increase from last year. ‘We’ve been seeing about 250 families each week ...

Ulises Linares, Zoe Martens, Kerim Örsel In collaboration with: Dr. Greg Lindsey, the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and the Center for Rural Policy and Development    In 2021, the Center for Rural Policy and Development worked with students at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs to publish, “Building Community Embracing Difference,” ...

EXCERPT: “When the COVID-19 pandemic began, ridership of the Northstar Line commuter rail service between Minneapolis and Big Lake was decimated. Since then it has averaged between 100 and 300 weekday riders, making it one of the lowest performing commuter/regional rail routes in the country. Facing an uncertain future, the Metropolitan Council will be conducting ...

EXCERPT: “The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars on several rounds of programs to upgrade internet speeds in rural areas over the past decade. Despite those efforts, many residents are still stuck with service that isn’t fast enough to do video calls or stream movies—speeds that most take for granted. Many communities have been targeted for ...

EXCERPT: “Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is asking the state Legislature for $1.8 million to fund seven more full-time prosecutors and two legal assistants to provide help in county attorney’s offices statewide. In the Attorney General’s Office Criminal Division there are currently three full-time prosecutors, up from one when Ellison took office. When counties can’t handle ...

By Marnie Werner, Research Director So, what keeps you up at night, worrying about rural Minnesota? Is it economic development? Housing? Access to healthcare? Long-term care? Child care? The deepening workforce shortage? These are the types of concerns the Center was created to research: subjects that may be universal for the whole state, but have ...

EXCERPT: “Job openings in Minnesota climbed to a record high in fourth quarter 2021, surpassing 214,000 total openings even as Minnesota employers continue to add jobs, according to figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) . . . The seven-county Twin Cities metro had nearly 127,000 job vacancies (59% ...

EXCERPT: “Buckling up. It’s a two-second step that helps parents come home to their kids, teenagers graduate and pursue their dreams, and families avoid the heartache of losing a loved one in a crash. Too many Minnesotans skipped that step the last two years and the consequences are permanent and tragic. The number of people ...