“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” – Gloria Steinem At the 2014 Center for Small Towns Symposium, rural sociologist Randy Cantrell said that, more than anything, people …
Kids are leaving. Schools are closing. Jobs are being lost. Rural is dying. This is the dominant narrative of rural today. Doom and gloom and more doom. What we aren’t hearing is the rest of the story. Yes, young adults are leaving after they graduate high school, but they’re coming back. Schools are consolidating but …
This week more than 600 ninth graders from seven Itasca County schools traded their sneakers in for a comfy set of loafers, putting themselves in the shoes of local business men and women for a day. As part of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Future Workers program, students were paired with over 57 organizations …
What if you had to drive an hour to turn in a homework assignment. Would you make the trip? Maybe, maybe not. It’s a lose-lose situation really. You either miss out on time to do other things, like other homework or extra-curricular activities, or you risk getting a zero on an assignment. Imagine having make …
In a recent Star Tribune editorial, Growth & Justice president Dane Smith challenges us to think about how we perceive competitiveness. He argues that the focus has been narrow for far too long, emphasizing “cheap labor and lower taxes.” Smith says that, instead, competitiveness should be defined by what is done to increase human potential. …
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 …
45 – 10 – 31 This combination does not unlock the untapped potential found in textbooks piled high in a student’s locker. Instead, this string of digits stands in the way of many students’ success. 45 – the percent of American Indian students who graduate from high school 10 – the percent of American Indian …
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 …