The Blandin Community Leadership Program is currently accepting applications for fall 2013 retreats. Since 1985, BCLP has provided leadership training to more than 6,000 leaders in over 400 Minnesota rural communities. The program is centered on three core competencies: Framing: Engaging others to identify, choose, and define issues affecting community health. Social Capital: Building a …
Change is in the air for Minnesota schools. Graduating students are saying their farewells and preparing for a new journey. Education in Minnesota is also embarking on a new journey thanks to a recent bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature. The $15.6 billion education funding bill will increase state education spending by $485 million over …
Good jobs continue to be the main concern and top priority for rural Minnesota communities, according to our 2013 Rural Pulse survey. Minnesotans say that recovery from the recession is not reaching all of us equally. Low-income Minnesotans, in particular, strongly believe that tough economic times are not over. “Everyone knows someone who’s been affected. …
Minnesota has work to do. While we generally are quite optimistic about the future, economic recovery is not reaching all Minnesotans, especially those older, with lower incomes, and small businesses. That’s the top line gleaned from interviews with nearly 2,000 rural and urban Minnesotans. Thanks to a grant from the Minnesota Community Foundation, we were …
We’re celebrating tonight with our Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) Partners. Together, we were named the 2012 Innovative Collaboration of the Year at this evening’s Tekne Awards, sponsored by the Minnesota High Tech Association. Over the past two years, our coalition of 10 rural Minnesota communities and dozens of regional and statewide partners has worked …
The 2012 Road to Equality Tour made a stop July 18 at the Blandin Foundation to share findings from the recent Status of Women & Girls in Minnesota report. A Blandin Foundation grantee, the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, along with their research partner, University of MN Humphrey School’s Center on Women & Public Policy, offered …
Flood damage from last week’s torrential rains have put leaders across northeastern Minnesota to the test. From emergency services workers to church communities to school staff, those in positions of authority are leading the way towards securing resources for recovery, and bolstering their neighbors with hope. Blandin Foundation has joined the Northland Foundation, AgStar Financial …
Itasca area residents last night added their voices to a growing chorus on issues related to Minnesota health care. Citizen Solutions held a community conversation in Grand Rapids, hosted by Bush Foundation, the Minnesota Citizens League and Blandin Foundation, to gather comments from folks on what’s working – and what’s not. The Minnesota Health Care …
Graduation season is here – and along with it, the usual discussions of “brain drain:” rural youth leaving in droves for larger towns and cities for college and other post-secondary training. But research by Ben Winchester at the University of Minnesota Extension Service’s Center for Community Vitality suggests there’s another chapter to this story: Rural …
A recent Growth & Justice report—“Whole Towns Coming Together for All Students”—shines the spotlight on rural and greater Minnesota communities that, through community engagement, have come together to find new ways for all students to succeed in the ever-changing economic and culturally diverse landscape. Report author and Growth & Justice President Dane Smith profiles and …