“You are the leaders we have been waiting for.” A group of 26 rural Minnesotans heard this phrase as part of their Blandin Reservation Community Leadership Program (BRCLP) five-day training retreat earlier this month. Participating communities span much of the southern half of Minnesota – from Mille Lacs to Granite Falls to Red Wing – …
On a recent afternoon, about 65 people from reservation communities in northeast Minnesota came together to celebrate the commencement of the 25th cohort to complete the Blandin Reservation Community Leadership Program. In recognition of this milestone number, a drum was invited to join the celebration and honor the graduates. BRCLP is more than just a …
It’s great to see the ways alumni of our Blandin Community Leadership programs utilize their learned to tackle community opportunities and challenges. In a recent column, Dana Melius, a 1998 BCLP graduate from Sibley County, used a key principle from training to understand and talk about an issue in his community. “I’m not taking sides …
“For generations in the Redwood area, two very distinct world views have existed in the people who call it home.” — Troy Krause, Redwood Falls Gazette Last month, residents of the Lower Sioux and Redwood area communities came together to talk, listen and plan for a brighter future — one where collaboration and mutual respect …
Safe streets. Active and diverse leadership. Learning opportunities at all stages of life. Clean air. Active faith communities. Strong job market. Accessible healthcare. Welcoming spaces. Separate, these are all bright spots in a community. Only together, though, do they give a holistic view of what it means to be a healthy community. Each of these pieces represents …
“Minnesota has arrived at that proverbial fork in the path,” said Growth & Justice President Dane Smith in Sunday’s Star Tribune. In his article on Minnesota’s “equity agenda,” he talks of a low road, pocked with envy, enmity and suspicion between rural and urban Minnesotans, and a high road, “marked by a rural optimism and …
If there is one thing you need to know about effective community leadership, it’s this: creating a shared vision for the future, a vision arising from and embraced by the community, is the engine that powers change. Sure, that sounds good on paper, but how do you go about creating a shared vision. In one word — …
Since the early 1900s, the Cloverdale Town Hall has been the gathering place for people living in Nashwauk Township. Community dances, baby showers, weddings, and funerals – the space has held a bountiful array of celebrations that have bolstered community spirit and kept community ties strong. A couple that celebrated their wedding decades ago would …
It’s a different time, said Blandin Foundation president Dr. Kathy Annette during an interview with Ampers‘ Melissa Townsend on work happening in Bemidji around racial disparities. During the interview, Dr. Annette relived her experience walking into the Bemijigamaag Powwow, held at the Bemidji’s Sanford Center, with her 81-year-old aunt. Head in April, this first-of-its-kind event encouraged all community …
You have to do it yourself, but you don’t have to do it alone. We use this mantra in all of our leadership programs because if we’ve learned one thing in our nearly 75 years working with rural leaders it’s this — leadership isn’t a one-person show. The true test of a leader isn’t in …