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Tag: Minnesota

Veterans Day: a time to stand with those who have served

By Jennifer Bevis

For rural communities, Veterans Day is an up close and personal day of remembrance. Many of us count family, friends and neighbors among those who have served our country in times of war and peace, and are serving today. Minnesota author and veteran Diana Oestreich asks that this Veteran’s Day we go deeper than simply …

College = many types of success

By Jennifer Bevis

Classes at many college campuses, including our area’s Minnesota North schools, are getting started. The cost of college makes headlines a lot these days – as it should. Students have shouldered an incredible amount of debt in recent years as they pursued their dreams of school after high school, and Minnesota students and families have …

Kickstart Census in your community

By Jennifer Bevis

As we’ve mentioned before, rural Minnesota has a lot at stake in the 2020 Census. As a leader in community, you can – and should! – take action now to boost your community’s participation in the 2020 census. Here’s how: Check your community’s anticipated response rates – The U.S. Census Bureau posts a map showing …

Vibrant communities. Vibrant arts.

By Blandin Foundation

Colorful murals, performances in the park, public art sculptures – vibrant, healthy communities are made up of many interrelated dimensions, but perhaps none are as visible as a community’s commitment to integrating art into daily life. Thriving communities explore and reflect the cultural backgrounds, talents and experience of all community members through art. By infusing …

Rural Minnesota’s bright spots tell a story of revitalization, not ruin

By Blandin Foundation

Rural Pulse 2016 uncovered a number of issues rural Minnesotans considered critical to the vibrancy of their community. But economy, educational opportunities and healthcare aren’t the biggest issues facing rural Minnesota, said Kelly Asche, program coordinator of the Center for Small Towns. “These problems are symptoms of an underlying ailment: ‘the negative, mistaken narrative that …

Need and Imagination: Principles for Raising Dollars, Support

By Alie McInerney

Whether you need to raise dollars, awareness or advocates, all organizations are looking for other to help them achieve their mission. Some organizations aren’t aware they need help; others don’t know how to ask for it. Last month, I attended a session at Minnesota Council on Nonprofit’s Northern Minnesota Nonprofit Summit where Minnesota Historical Society …

Manufacturing and today’s rural MN economy

By Blandin Foundation

In Minnesota, 826,000 jobs, $18.3 billion in wages and 16 percent of our GDP comes from manufacturing. Last week rural communities across Minnesota celebrated Manufacturers Week, “a statewide celebration that puts the spotlight on a crucial sector of the state’s economy.” From Red Wing to Sauk Centre, Bemidji to Pequot Lakes, Warroad to Aitkin, Minnesotans toured …

Blandin Foundation president/CEO featured in MNSights

By Blandin Foundation

Hope springs eternal. These uplifting words were spoken by our president, Kathy Annette, in a recent MNSights article. While this message pertained to a specific instance in Kathy’s life, it could be said that MNSights, a publication of the Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, showcases stories that spring eternal hope – stories about energizing kids’ creativity to stimulate …

Blandin Broadband Communities Strut Their Stuff

By Blandin Foundation

Colorful, dancing feathered figures and the hum of ancestral melodies filled the room as Fond du Lac (FDL) students arranged themselves in such a way that they created a cornucopia of technology. Brandishing iPads, they celebrated their Ojibwe culture, together with community members, through the creation of mobile applications. Held at the end of July, …