EXCERPT: “The number of drivers cited for seat belt violations declines for a fifth straight year during the annual ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign. Between May 20 and June 20 in 2018, Minnesota law enforcement issued over 4600 seat belt citations and 141 for child seat violations. That’s nearly 2,000 fewer than in 2017 and less ...

The main issue with categories such as “metro” and “non-metro” is that the locations they represent change depending on population and migration patterns. Knowing how to compare these categories over time is vitally important since it can paint very different stories about non-metro areas if done incorrectly.

EXCERPT: “While air quality in Minnesota is generally good, a new joint analysis by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) found that air pollution that does occur plays a measurable role in deaths and hospitalizations across the state. The report, titled ‘Life and Breath: How Air Pollution Affects ...

EXCERPT: “Calls to combat Minnesota’s child care crisis intensified this year as advocacy groups, chambers of commerce, business development organizations and parents made the case to lawmakers that they needed to do something to close gaps in care options across the state. Lawmakers took note. As part of a two-year $48 billion spending plan, they ...

EXCERPT: “Twenty-five years ago, Tony Amon and his wife, Mary, both physicians, joined a small family practice clinic in Willmar, the seat of Kandiyohi County in west-central Minnesota. They liked the lakes and open spaces of the region and have never left, raising their four children there. Yet, like many people rooted in rural places, Tony ...

EXCERPT: “Progress for the future generations. The city of Wells has been working diligently on their plans to bring in more day care opportunities to the area after a shortfall of 108 child care slots was recently addressed earlier in February. Across the 20-county region Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation serves, the need for child care is over ...

EXCERPT: “New grants will make child care options easier for parents to come by and WiFi more readily available in pockets of the state that haven’t been able to access it. Farmers will see relief through an ag land tax credit and additional resources that could help offset a tumultuous year for dairy and soybean ...

EXCERPT: “Happy days are here again for small cities that rely on state aid to help pay for essential services such as police and fire protection, and to keep local property taxes down. That’s because the state Legislature approved a bill, expected to be signed as soon as this week by Gov. Tim Walz, that ...

EXCERPT: “By spring 2020, if all goes according to plan, Granite Falls, Minnesota, pop. 2,800, will have something no other city its size can boast of: an artist-in-residence, embedded within local government. The program will be supported in part by a $50,000 Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The artist will live in ...

EXCERPT: “All of greater Minnesota is facing a childcare shortage. In our area, several communities are getting the help they need to continue providing child care around Blue Earth County. Lack of child care has been an issue for years, preventing families from moving to small towns, stifling growth. Thanks to recent assistance, communities can ...