By Syd Briggs, General Manager, Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric The famous Roman orator and statesman Cicero once said, “Not for ourselves alone are we born.” This leads us into two of the seven principles of the cooperative structure: cooperation among cooperatives and community involvement. There are many efforts, I’m glad to say, by various organizations designed ...

EXCERPT: “Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today unveiled a groundbreaking report, A Case for Rural Broadband: Insights on Rural Broadband Infrastructure and Next Generation Precision Agriculture Technologies. The report finds that deployment of both broadband e-Connectivity and Next Generation Precision Agriculture Technology on farms and ranches throughout the U.S. could result in at least $47 billion in ...

As employers hit the end of what’s known as the “slack in the labor force”—that percentage of the population ages 18–64 not participating in the workforce—they are running up against something new: engaging with and recruiting workers from groups of people living in particular circumstances that make it difficult for them to hold jobs. It ...

EXCERPT: “Supporters of small-town Minnesota grocery stores are hoping for new funding to continue the Good Food Access program. They say the state grants help bring quality nutrition to areas that would otherwise be ‘food deserts,’ and that helps rural communities. Corey Christianson took over one KC’s Country Market several years ago, and another location ...

EXCERPT: “Minnesota’s worker shortage continues to grow more severe. State economic officials report the number of job openings in the fourth quarter of last year rose 20 percent over the same period the year before. The semi-annual tally found 137,000 job vacancies. Greater Minnesota saw a 34 percent increase in openings over the year. The jump ...

EXCERPT: “Sixty-three schools in Minnesota will benefit from $2.3 million in planning assistance and infrastructure grants that support the Safe Routes to School program, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced Monday. Safe Routes to School is an international program to improve safety, reduce traffic congestion around schools, increase physical activity and improve health by making it easier ...

EXCERPT: “Representatives from the Coalition of Greater MN Cities (CGMC) and the Greater MN Partnership (GMNP) are taking advantage of the legislative holiday break this week to make their way across the state and talk about what they feel needs to happen for the upcoming legislative session to have a successful outcome. Their primary focus ...

EXCERPT: “People living in southwest Minnesota know about the challenges of getting a good Internet connection. But in order to help fix the problem, they might need to spread the word about it first. Lyon County officials said this week they’re encouraging people to use a free smart phone app that will help highlight areas ...

By Syd Briggs, General Manager, Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric So let’s start with a brief history lesson on cooperatives. Cooperatives are organizations owned by the customers, employees, or other groups and are organized under a particular set of federal statutes that govern them. Cooperatives have been around since 1498. The earliest one I know of was ...

EXCERPT: “The Greater Minnesota Resiliency Network led a public conversation on April 13 focusing on bettering the Mankato Community. Composed of five community groups, the Greater Minnesota Resiliency Network’s event., Shaping Our Future: A Timely Conversation, consisted of community members of all ages and was a reboot of past discussions. ‘It’s based off a community ...