EXCERPT: “For the past 150 years, the number of rural schools has fallen precipitously. Since the late 1800s, policymakers and school bureaucrats have responded to rapid urbanization, innovations in transportation, and a desire to reform ‘backwards’ rural communities by consolidating and closing rural schools throughout the country, drastically reducing the number of schools. In 1930, ...

EXCERPT: “It’s a booming market for wind energy, and Minnesota is one of the states leading the charge. The U.S. Department of Energy released several reports on the wind energy industry this week, which combined depict a fast-growing market driven by explosive technological growth. As of last year, there are enough turbines in operation around ...

We continue our discussion about funding for road construction with Tim Houle, Crow Wing County Administrator and chair of the Center’s board, especially about how the funding sources we’re using are not keeping up with the rising costs of building and maintaining our roads.

EXCERPT: “According to Blue Cross data*, diabetes accounts for 6.3 percent of loss of good health in Minnesota. The Twin Cities area has the lowest diabetes impact, at 5.2 percent, while northwestern counties are hit the hardest with an impact of 8.1 percent. Minnesota’s northwestern counties also demonstrate a significant disparity in the impact of ...

EXCERPT: “According to Minnesota State Demographic Center data, Houston County saw a 4.8 percent decline in population from 2000 to 2015. More than 1,400 people left the county during those years. The smallest towns in the county have been the hardest hit, with Brownsville and Hokah reporting about a 10 percent drop in population. Rural Houston ...

EXCERPT: “Human Services Assistant Commissioner Jim Koppel visited Cedar Mountain Cougar Childcare Center in Franklin, Minn., to emphasize the importance of quality child care, and highlight businesses and communities coming together to address the need for child care. ‘Without consistent, quality child care, children often struggle and are not prepared to enter kindergarten, and parents ...

Crow Wing County Administrator and CRPD board chair Tim Houle talks about the Center’s latest publication, which takes a look at using local-option sales taxes for funding county roads. An analysis of the numbers shows that this option works better in some places than others.

EXCERPT: “Bob Worth barely kept his composure as he revealed two close friends, both fellow farmers, recently committed suicide. They killed themselves over agriculture stresses, he said, speaking as part of a panel discussion about challenges of farming. “Don’t ever do that to your family,” he urged farmers in the Tuesday, Aug. 1, audience at Farmfest ...

EXCERPT: “The challenge of the “brain drain” from rural America to the big city, in some parts of the country, is very real. But the Pew Charitable Trust’s recent report provides proof that it doesn’t have to be. The reality is that rural America can continue to prosper and grow, but only by using all of the tools ...

EXCERPT: “The community of Vernon Center gained national and even international attention during the week of Sept. 11-17, 1972. Shady Brook Farms just north of the town, owned by Bert Hansen, became the site of the 19th World Ploughing Contest. The yearly gathering blossomed into a 1,400-acre agricultural extravaganza with more than a 1,000 acres of ...