If you were asked to give $1 and, in return, you would receive $10, would you do it? Before you opened up your pocketbook, you’d probably gauge whether or not you trusted the possibility of return on your investment. Is the risk worth the reward? Much the same, broadband investments were akin to a game …
Invest in people. That was the pervasive message at yesterday’s Economic Competitiveness Summit held by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. As the number of retirement-ready folks climbs, Minnesota’s workforce will struggle to replenish itself if we’re not investing in the skills and knowledge of our young people. At the Summit, Blandin Foundation …
Earlier this month, Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF) posted a blog about trends they’re seeing in the philanthropic/nonprofit sectors. That got us thinking about trends we’ve seen in rural Minnesota throughout 2013. This year we took a deep dive into rural Minnesota perspectives with our Rural Pulse study. Some key findings worth note include: The …
For our holiday card this year, we partnered with Itasca Life Options (ILO) — a nonprofit licensed by the state of Minnesota to provide day training and rehabilitation services to adults with cognitive and physical disabilities living in Itasca County. Local artists instruct ILO participants in drawing, painting, pottery, natural printmaking, mosaics and fiber arts …
Yesterday Blandin Foundation trustees took a stroll across the street to visit the new home of the Itasca County Historical Society (ICHS). As they winded their way through the various historical touch points of the past, they collided with the man who secured our organization’s future. Charles Blandin’s stately desk rests below an image that …
“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.” – Sitting Bull, Sioux warrior Blandin Foundation president Kathy Annette shared this message with over 200 women leaders at the Women in Public Service Conference on November 15. Joining fellow panel members Becky Roloff, President of YWCA of Minneapolis, and Mayor Elizabeth Kautz of Burnsville, Kathy …
Stack up your flapjacks and get in line to taste test the world’s best maple syrup. Ralph and Amy Fideldy of TimberSweet maple syrup were recently named best in show at the North American Maple Syrup Conference. The Fideldy’s, who live in Cohasset, Minnesota, competed against more than 100 different small and major producers from …
Santa’s sleigh came early this year. Sam Drong and the PCs for People crew have been traveling across rural Minnesota this fall with computers for low-income people. More than 500 monitors, computers and keyboards have been donated and refurbished, ready for low-cost purchase and use though a Blandin Foundation Broadband Communities grant. Kanabec (County) Broadband Initiative, Mille …
Today we welcome Bernadine Joselyn, Blandin Foundation’s Director of Public Policy. Bernadine recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to testify at a Senate subcommittee hearing on broadband adoption. Here, she reflects on her experience. “How are we doing?” Everyone in the change business asks themselves that question. We’re always on the lookout for evidence that …
Are foresters the shy, retiring types? Definitely not! At least not at the Oct. 23 “Vital Forests/Vital Communities Redux” event, hosted by Dovetail Partners with support through a Blandin Foundation grant. Foresters, economic developers, business people, forestland owners, loggers—the gamut of Minnesota’s forest stakeholders joined the conversation to review developments in Minnesota’s forests and forestry …