Last month MinnCAN spotlighted four rural Minnesota schools in their recent report, Starting Strong: Pre-K through 3rd grade success stories from across Minnesota. Vision, collaboration and leadership were three key elements in each featured school. With alignment as the goal, read how each school rallied their resources to make lasting positive change.
By Tim Marema Here are the words you don’t want to hear at the beginning of rural policy meetings: “Before we get into our topic, let’s take a quick look at how we are going to define rural.” There’s never anything quick about it. Hours later, after the last statistician, artist, organizer, or demographer has …
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 …
On the surface, Warroad, Minnesota, seems like countless rural Minnesota places: a small town (population 1,781), near a big lake (Lake of the Woods), in one of the state’s sparsely populated areas (northwestern Minnesota). With vital stats like these, you might assume Warroad is clinging to survival, struggling with a decimated economy and discouraged residents. …
Common perception holds that millennials no longer value newspapers as a key source for information. Well, as a millennial, I beg to differ and in observation of National Newspaper Week, I would like to thank newspapers for playing a vital role in the health of rural communities. It’s morning. I pad to the front door, swing …
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 …
With books stacked sky high in the back seat and a trunk that’s bungee corded shut, many young Minnesotans hit the road last month, putt-putting to their futures. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education recently reported that 77 percent of the state’s high school graduates attended college in 2012, up from 56 percent in 1996. At …
Itasca County educators, government, artists, law enforcement, business owners, environmentalists, social services providers and more gathered together on Tuesday to answer the question: What is the future we want to live in to? Participating in three 20-minute conversations, some over-arching themes surfaced: Care enough to ask for one anothers’ stories Expand Art of Hosting in …
A small rural clinic closes. A home buyer chooses to look elsewhere. A teacher can’t teach. While these situations seem unrelated and strangely paired, they all have one common denominator — broadband. Not what you expected? Here’s the skinny behind the stories: The Bigfork, Minnesota clinic, a satellite of Essentia, can’t upload patient files because …
What kind of conversations need to happen in your community right now? Who would be at the table? Would it be the right people? What do people need to know before they can fully participate in the conversation? How would the conversation start? These are tough questions that are often times overlooked by organizers, but …