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 …
In just a handful of months, we will be blowing out our 75th birthday candles. As we get closer to that date, we want to share with you the ways in which Blandin Foundation continues to honor its commitments to its founder, Charles K. Blandin, and to its local Itasca area communities. So here’s your first …
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 …
For Milaca students who ride the bus, “hitting the highway” now has a dual meaning. As the wheels on the bus go round-and-round on the highway pavement, tech wheels are turning too as they connect to the information highway. Five, ten, fifteen years ago, if you attempted to do homework on the bus it would …
“Broadband access — and the skills to use it — are fundamental to healthy, resilient communities… It deserves more than a one-off response.” — Dr. Kathy Annette, Star Tribune, April 20, 2015 On Monday we added our voice to the chorus of rural Minnesota voices rallying in response to the House’s decision to zero out …
Today we welcome Amy Gauthier, member of Lift One; Lift All: Freeborn County Beyond Poverty – a group born out of our Leaders Partnering to End Poverty program. Lift One; Lift All members traveled to Homeless Day on the Hill last month to push legislation to benefit the homeless in their county. This is Amy’s …
Nichole Uzelac only has a few weeks of high school left. Her clear vision for life after high school, paired with hands-on experience she gained in classes at Grand Rapids High School, has her future plans – to become a diesel mechanic – humming. That’s right. Diesel mechanic. What drew this articulate, highly motivated and …
A catalyst for learning. An opportunity to give voice to a seldom-heard community group. A chance to follow a community conversation, aligning energy and resources toward a goal in which numerous partners could see themselves and their roles. As with much of Northern Community Radio’s (NCR) work, the Bemijigamaag Powwow, held this past weekend at …
You need to go slow to go fast. This mantra reverberates off Ethan Seaberg’s lips as he recounts the genesis story (as he calls it) of Red Wing’s community branding work. He heard the phrase while attending Blandin Foundation’s Academy of Community Engagement (ACE) in 2014 and it stuck. The ACE program built on Ethan’s …
Rural Minnesota communities stretching from the Iowa border all the way up to Canada are starting to feel the bite of the housing crunch. Places like Worthington and Roseau that have generated a wealth of good-paying jobs for the last decade, and have attracted diverse workers from across Minnesota and beyond, are wondering how far …