It’s great to see the ways alumni of our Blandin Community Leadership programs utilize their learned to tackle community opportunities and challenges. In a recent column, Dana Melius, a 1998 BCLP graduate from Sibley County, used a key principle from training to understand and talk about an issue in his community. “I’m not taking sides …
“For generations in the Redwood area, two very distinct world views have existed in the people who call it home.” — Troy Krause, Redwood Falls Gazette Last month, residents of the Lower Sioux and Redwood area communities came together to talk, listen and plan for a brighter future — one where collaboration and mutual respect …
We often say if you’ve been to one small town, you’ve been to one small town. Each rural community is unique, with its own gems, challenges and culture. If you’ve ever lived in a small town, though, you most likely have heard a sentence like, “Oh, I know her. She’s my niece’s third grade teacher turned …
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 …
Rural Minnesotans want jobs. Not just any jobs, but good jobs. Jobs that can support households. Rural Pulse 2016 tells us that attracting and retaining jobs is the number 1 priority for rural Minnesotans, but 30 percent of respondents believe their community doesn’t successfully maintain or grow job opportunities. Last week, Small Biz Survival author …
“Because with 75 years experience, we know that a truly vibrant community will be one where every member has both options for their life, and the ability to pursue those paths to their fullest end.” Blandin Foundation President and CEO Kathy Annette shared this statement with our partners earlier this year in an email about the work …
Safe streets. Active and diverse leadership. Learning opportunities at all stages of life. Clean air. Active faith communities. Strong job market. Accessible healthcare. Welcoming spaces. Separate, these are all bright spots in a community. Only together, though, do they give a holistic view of what it means to be a healthy community. Each of these pieces represents …
Rolling hills, towering pines and jagged bluffs – just like the unique and varied landscape of Minnesota, the priorities and concerns of its people are equally diverse. Each region has its own story, its own challenges and its own priorities. Rural Pulse 2016 helps tell that story through a series of special reports focusing on …
Released today, Rural Pulse 2016 is a one-of-a-kind survey, conducted every three years, that provides insight into rural Minnesotans’ perceptions about their communities. Raising up the voices of 1,144 rural and 500 urban residents, this data helps Blandin Foundation, its statewide partners and community leaders in starting and informing conversations that strengthen rural communities. Key themes this year …
“Minnesota has arrived at that proverbial fork in the path,” said Growth & Justice President Dane Smith in Sunday’s Star Tribune. In his article on Minnesota’s “equity agenda,” he talks of a low road, pocked with envy, enmity and suspicion between rural and urban Minnesotans, and a high road, “marked by a rural optimism and …