Tag: economic development

April 2020 By Kelly Asche, Research Associate & Marnie Werner, VP Research Note to readers: We were just getting ready to release this report when the COVID-19 pandemic showed up on Minnesota’s doorstep and everything changed. We believe the findings of our report still hold true since they review the past trends, but we have ...

By Kelly Asche Only a month ago, the primary focus for workforce development organizations in rural Minnesota was to implement strategies that recruited and retained workers in their regions. Their doors were being blown open by businesses in desperate need for employees. We conducted research on this topic and designated this as the number one ...

In episode 2, Marnie and Julie talk with CRPD board member Sue Grafstrom, who serves Roseau County as both Emergency Manager and the Minnesota Department of Health’s Public Health Preparedness Consultant for northwest Minnesota, a region that covers twelve counties and three tribes. We discuss the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in northwestern Minnesota.

By Kelly Asche Last week we highlighted programs communities have developed to help their small businesses during the pandemic crisis. One of those programs, a campaign put on by the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, turned out to be highly successful. We thought it deserved its own post. The Big Stone Lake Area ...

By Kelly Asche A number of programs have been released over the last few weeks to support our small businesses. As can be imagined, the need has been enormous and right now the turn-around times to answering clarifying questions and processing applications can take a bit longer than some small businesses have time for. This ...

By Marnie Werner & Kelly Asche While it’s a relief to see something of a time frame on this epidemic, for many businesses, like restaurants and bars, salons, and their employees, end dates weeks out only indicate how much longer they need to be closed. It’s a tough blow, especially in rural areas where it ...

By Kelly Asche & Marnie Werner Not only is having a connection to the internet important on a normal day, but during times like this, when everyone is suddenly expected to work and learn from home, the traffic suddenly goes up many fold, taxing even the best of systems. That’s why it’s important to keep ...

By Marnie Werner, Vice President, Research & Operations Telehealth has been a long time coming. Telehealth is technology that allows people to access health care services over long distances. We’ve seen it in movies almost since movies began and on futuristic TV shows like Star Trek. It was pioneered in the late 1900s, with stories ...

By Marnie Werner, VP Research Over the last few years, I’ve been digging a lot into the child care shortage and the difficulties it’s causing for parents of young children around rural Minnesota. One problem in particular for working parents with children in both daycare and preschool is getting their kids from one place to ...