Marnie Werner, VP Research Click here for a printable version of this report. Between 2000 and 2015, the price of farmland in the United States climbed to record levels, driven first by high farm income derived from high demand for corn for use in biofuels,[1] then by high demand for any kind of reliable investment ...

Online sales have permeated everyday life and their impacts stretch beyond convenience of shopping. Local leaders see the evidence every day in their communities: more and more delivery trucks going down their roads, stopping at their neighbors’ or their own houses, dropping off products that were once maybe purchased in their own or a nearby ...

Now that we are beginning to exit the pandemic (hopefully), the data from the previous year and a half are being released. In this episode, Marnie Werner and Kelly Asche discuss what they’ve been seeing in the data. And although the illness and deaths associated with COVID-19 hit hard in our rural areas, some of ...

EXCERPT: “Motorists will see a significant State Patrol presence on freeways around the state through August as troopers focus on excessive speed enforcement and criminal activity. The patrols begin today in the Twin Cities metro area and will continue in greater Minnesota in the near future . . . Troopers stopped 516 vehicles for speeding ...

In many ways COVID-19 has been particularly difficult in rural Minnesota. During this webinar we talk with Mayo Clinic Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. John O’Horo to discuss the trends in rural Minnesota through the COVID pandemic and what to expect as we move forward. Joining him are panelists from around the state to discuss their ...

With the pandemic on the wane and people ramping up their transitions back to full-time work, childcare will be right back where it was before the pandemic—under-resourced and hard to find, especially in rural areas. And it has a real impact on our economy.     By Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research & Operations Here ...

On this episode, Marnie Werner and Kelly Asche speak with the Minnesota State Demographer Susan Brower. The conversation covers how the process of drawing new district and approval differ on paper vs. the reality, how much of rural Minnesota isn’t growing in population, but isn’t really declining either, and ideas on how rural areas might ...

EXCERPT: “When the pandemic hit, workplaces went dark and home offices became the new American job site. Even when employers were allowed to bring their workers back, many chose to keep them working remotely. Part of the reason, of course, was out of concerns with the virus — but a secondary consideration kept offices shuttered, too. ...

Welcome to season 2 of the INTERCONNECTED conversation series hosted by the Center for Rural Policy & Development and the Citizens League. Wherever you live, you have undoubtedly encountered the term “Urban/Rural Divide” that describes a divisive narrative in policy and politics based on geographic differences. In reality, we all want similar things – good ...

  By Kelly Asche, Research Associate If the pandemic has made us realize anything, it’s the importance of hospitals and access to health care across Minnesota. They played a crucial role in deploying vaccines, taking care of our sick, and being a hub of information while the pandemic played out. And now that we are ...