EXCERPT: “Minnesota’s broadband situation is better than some other states, but 12 percent of Minnesotans, mostly in Greater Minnesota, have internet connection speeds slower than the state standard. ‘We’re not taking the elevator, we are taking the stairs on this one,’ General Manager Dave Wolf of Gardonville Telephone Co-op of the Alexandria area said March ...

EXCERPT: “According to the last census, 80.7 percent of the US population lives in urban areas, defined as ‘densely developed residential, commercial and other nonresidential areas.’ There is a lot of argument about that definition because small towns in the middle of nowhere are counted as urban, but there is little argument that most of ...

  Center board member and Minnesota Farm Bureau President Kevin Paap joined us recently to talk about the current state of agriculture in Minnesota and the possible impacts some policies being discussed right now, like tariffs and NAFTA, could have on the industry and farmers.

EXCERPT: “Ted Matthews drove past acres of fields, racing to meet with a farmer who called threatening to kill himself. That’s when he got a call from another farmer in a different part of the state who was also threatening suicide. Since he couldn’t be in two places at once, he frantically got on his phone ...

EXCERPT: “Meeting the growing needs for public transit in Greater Minnesota over the next 20 years is the focus of a plan the Minnesota Department of Transportation released today. The Greater Minnesota Transit Investment Plan sets the 20-year strategic direction and investment priorities to increase mobility for transit users. It supports the state Legislature’s target of meeting 90 ...

EXCERPT: “Working parents in rural Minnesota are struggling to find day care. And the younger the child, the harder it is . . . Research from the Center for Rural Policy and Development shows a massive day care shortfall, especially in the northern and central parts of the state. In northwestern Minnesota alone, they estimate ...

EXCERPT: “The population of the Twin Cities and the state grew over the past year, but some rural Minnesota counties declined. The most recent census data covers July 2016 through July of last year. Minnesota’s population grew by just under one percent during that period, reaching about 5.6 million residents. The Twin Cities metropolitan area grew ...

  In the third and final installment of our talk with the Center’s Kelly Asche on the State of Rural Minnesota, we cover the economic picture. Most of Greater MN weathered the Great Recession well thanks to agriculture, which also bolstered the state as a whole. On the other hand, there’s the rise of job vacancies, ...

EXCERPT: “Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today announced that USDA is accepting applications for grants to fund broadband infrastructure projects in unserved rural communities. ‘E-connectivity is essential to the economic vitality and quality of life in rural communities,’ Hazlett said. ‘Investing in broadband can strengthen rural economic growth and improve critical access ...

EXCERPT: “A group of statewide organizations have joined forces for a project they hope will increase the quality of life for rural Minnesotans. Growth and Justice, in a combined effort with the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, the Greater Minnesota Partnership and the Minnesota Asset Building Coalition, are pushing the Minnesota Rural Equity Project. The ...