Invest Early is in its ninth year of providing wrap-around early childhood services for Itasca County children and their families. They recently released their Year 7 results in a report compiled by Wilder Research. Highlights include: Home learning environments, which are associated with higher school readiness scores, improved significantly for Invest Early families during their …
Buzz continues to build for next week’s Border to Border Broadband Conference. With Senator Matt Schmit’s Listening Tour wrapping, rural Minnesotans have broadband on the brain. On top of that, today Blandin Foundation announced their latest round of broadband grants. Projects like GIS mapping of broadband availability in Mille Lacs County, equipping a tele-work center …
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 …
Calling all rural techies! Itasca County needs you. As one of the nine Blandin Broadband Communities, the Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) is bringing together Itasca technology professionals to conduct assessments of local businesses and lead a series of social media breakfasts. “Our overall goal is to expand our knowledge and culture of use of …
“It’s like trying to teach a kid to play the clarinet without a reed,” said Aaron Wenger, engineering instructor at Itasca Community College (ICC). “We’ve got to give them the tools they need to succeed.” ICC engineering attracts students from around the state with their nationally acclaimed program, but how many of those students actually …
Fall – harvest time, canning and freezing time. A time of year when families aren’t hurting for food, right? Not necessarily. Last week, the USDA released this year’s report on household food security. It breaks down like this: Households that faced food insecurity in 2012: 14.5 percent in the US 10.6 percent in Minnesota 11 …
Today we welcome Jean Lane, Blandin Foundation director of finance. She recently traveled to Worthington and Windom to meet with Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) partners there. She shares how high-speed internet projects and diverse downtowns create welcoming, vibrant community. Windom. What a great town! Stately, historic buildings really caught my attention. The Masons building …
Michelle waits with her two children at the front door of the Second Harvest North Central Food Bank as the clock ticks towards 11 a.m. She explains to me that summer is usually a time for fun and sun, but for parents who rely on subsidized school lunches for their children, summer can bring unexpected …
From the fumbling fingertips of a young novice to the silky strokes of a proficient, a musician’s dancing notes have the power to connect people, especially in rural places. The Itasca Orchestra Strings Program (IOSP) has been linking lives through music for 32 years. Early on, IOSP partnered with the Itasca Area Schools Collaborative (IASC) …
Minnesota leads the nation in the demand for highly-skilled workers. According to the Governor’s Workforce Development Council, by 2018, seventy percent of Minnesota jobs will require postsecondary education. Technology, however, is changing job demands at a rapid pace and the result is a talent mismatch, says a recent Positively Minnesota report. Jobseekers are not accessing …