EXCERPT: “Like in other places, the emergency department at the Rainy Lake Medical Center is where people come if they think they’re having a heart attack or have broken their arm or find themselves in a mental health crisis. But unlike some hospitals, there’s no special emergency department for people in crisis and no inpatient beds ...

EXCERPT: “If Blue Earth County wants to have rural broadband internet, it’s going to have to pay a potentially unworkable amount of money . . . That’s what consultants recently found in a broadband feasibility study, which they presented to the Blue Earth County Board Tuesday…According to the study, it could cost more than $35 ...

EXCERPT: “Gov. Tim Walz is proposing $293 million in borrowing to help improve drinking water and wastewater facilities throughout Minnesota. The DFL governor announced the plan Friday at the State Capitol. It was the second in a planned four-part rollout of a bonding bill that is expected to reach $2 billion. Republicans have said the ...

EXCERPT: “This week, Beltrami County commissioners made news for being the first in Minnesota to bar refugees from settling in their county upon arrival to the U.S. The vote was prompted by an executive order from President Donald Trump that leaves it up to local governments to decide whether or not to allow new refugees to be settled ...

EXCERPT: “Some Minnesota cities are hoping to court new retailers, whether one or more, to fill their former Shopko spaces. In the rural community of Mahnomen, about an hour from Bemidji in the White Earth Nation, the loss of Shopko means one less place to shop in Mahnomen — and in some cases, one more ...

EXCERPT: “In many ways, rural communities like Necedah have become the face of the nation’s opioid epidemic. Drug overdose deaths are more common by population size in rural areas than in urban ones. And rural doctors prescribe opioids more often by far, despite a nationwide decline in prescribing rates since 2012. Meanwhile, rural Americans have fewer alternatives to treat their very real pain, ...

EXCERPT: “Recent job growth has led to a surge in demand for housing in Windom. Now, The Windom City Council is addressing housing needs. Right now, local companies in the city are hiring hundreds of positions, but the issue has been around for a few years. City officials say that a housing study conducted back ...

EXCERPT: “A recent study from the the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence has ranked Minnesota at 48th in the nation for fire department funding. The average state spends $420 per household, Minnesota spends less than half. Rice Lake Fire chief Mark Niemi says this isn’t a surprise. ‘Disappointed, very disheartened. It hasn’t been a secret for the ...

EXCERPT: “Thousands of years ago, the vast majority of Minnesota was covered in ice. Glaciers from the north had crept down during the last ice age. When those glaciers melted about 10,000 years ago, they left behind a valuable resource that is used nearly every day in the modern age. ‘Where there is meltwater from ...

EXCERPT: “Ann Burns owns a Chevy Bolt, an electric vehicle that can get more than 200 miles on a charge. She can easily run errands in the St. Cloud area without needing to charge up. ‘The problem for us and many others is that when we go up north to our cabin, which is at ...