EXCERPT: “Though our cities now teem with fiber optic cables and 4G signals, it’s still common for rural areas to struggle with even basic connectivity. In the UK, a new pact between church and state could help local religious hubs become bastions of faster broadband. The National Church Institutions (NCIs) of the Church of England and the government will ...

EXCERPT: “Waldorf employees can point out where the walls are, literally, crumbling at the city wastewater treatment plant. They use a refrigerator door to help cover an entryway — they could fix the old door that broke, but it would likely cause the frame and potentially the nearby wall to shatter. This facility was built in ...

EXCERPT: “Greater Minnesota is a big place, but it seems like there are some concerns that communities are facing no matter where you go. Members of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities said Thursday that infrastructure needs and a child care shortage in the state are high on the list of topics Minnesotans are concerned ...

Dr. Charlie Blinn with the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources joins us again this week. This time he digs into the numbers to take a look at an important part of the forest products industry, the small producers.

EXCERPT: “On the final stop of their statewide tour, representatives of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce visited JBS on Monday to show local Chamber members their wishlist for the upcoming legislative session and talk about the challenges facing Minnesota businesses . . . Doug Loon, president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, said the state’s annual ...

EXCERPT: “On a windswept hill near the town of Slayton in southwest Minnesota, Terry Nelson nods toward a steel communications tower. He points to a spot high above the ground. ‘We have our equipment about 250 feet up on top the tower,’ he said. That equipment is part of the area’s fixed wireless internet service. Here’s ...

EXCERPT: “At a time when many Minnesota regions are growing slowly, or projected to lose population in the future, expansion is something that sets Central Minnesota apart…This region, which encompasses Benton, Cass, Chisago, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena and Wright counties, added nearly 140,000 residents between 2000 and 2016, ...

Dr. Charles Blinn of the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota joins us this week to talk about the importance of forestry in Minnesota, not just for wood products but for land stewardship and recreation.

EXCERPT: “The divide between America’s haves and have nots is increasingly marked by technology. A broadband connection is a portal to jobs, to education, to consumer goods, to information and to other people. Yet huge swaths of the United States are still unconnected, particularly in rural areas. Some areas lack access to an internet connection ...

The Center, along with the Minnesota Newspaper Association and Compeer Financial, hosted its first gubernatorial candidates’ forum on January 26 during MNA’s annual convention. Our moderator Mary Lahammer led the candidates in one-on-one conversations about just rural issues, ranging from workforce and housing to broadband and water. All nine candidates participated, giving the 150 or ...