For years, the focus for economic development policy has been about “jobs, jobs, jobs!” Now, businesses and workforce development organizations are saying, “People, people, people!” Communities in Greater Minnesota are now recognizing that strategies focused solely on recruiting and retaining jobs have to change.

  As we close in our final RuralMN Radio in two weeks, we take a look back at how things have changed in rural Minnesota over the last fifteen years, including the advent of broadband and the ups and downs of the economy.

By Julie Tesch, President & CEO March 6, 2019 I recently moved back to rural Minnesota after living in densely populated cities in the Midwest and East Coast for the past 25 years. This was a conscious choice that I made because of my age and stage in life. After living in St. Paul, Indianapolis ...

EXCERPT: “$25,000,000 could be coming to southeastern Minnesota. State lawmakers will introduce a bill on Thursday to potentially generate new economic growth. Both state senators and representatives from the area believe the eleven county region of southeastern Minnesota has a strong economy, but they see a few areas that could use a boost. Healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, ...

What is “Letters to the New Governor”? A compilation of essays giving insights and recommendations by experts from around the state writing on issues of importance to Greater Minnesota. They comment on the ideas and motivations behind some of our most difficult policy questions facing our state, including the region’s changing demographics, the rural economy, the ...

  Our newest publication is “Letters to the New Governor,” a collection of essays by experts around the state writing on an overview of the issues in Greater Minnesota. Some of the authors include Tim Penny and Charlie Weaver on why the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota need each other, Gary Wertish and Kevin Paap ...

EXCERPT: “In 2015, residents of Chatfield approved a levy request from the local school district, which was seeking more money to cover its operating expenses. The next year, voters approved another request – this time for $10.8 million for improvement projects at the high school. The city got into the act in 2017, asking for ...

EXCERPT: “Activists are making another push for more passenger rail in Greater Minnesota—and this time around, they’ll have Brainerd resident Robert Owens alongside them. Owens was invited by the nonprofit All Aboard Minnesota to a public rally March 6 in St. Paul to stump for passenger rail all over the Upper Midwest—which, in terms of local ...

Feb. 27, 2019 Next week we’ll be releasing a new publication, “Letters to the New Governor,” a collection of essays written by people from around the state on various topics of importance to Greater Minnesota. One of those articles is on the current child care shortage, and the following is an excerpt. You’ll be able ...

EXCERPT: “Kicking an opioid habit takes serious commitment. Methadone, the drug commonly used to curb withdrawal symptoms as a person tapers off heroin, requires supervised daily dosing in a state-licensed opioid treatment program (OTP) for the first month or more. After that, many patients can take a month’s worth of medication home with them, but federal ...