Community foundations are becoming an increasingly important and creative way to give back to the community, and they’re popping up all across the state. This week Jim talks with Nancy Zallek of the Mankato Area Foundation about what these funding organizations do to better their communities.

Community foundations, part 1

The Center has its annual State of Rural Minnesota presentation just about ready for 2014. This week Jim and Marnie talk about population projections and where Minnesota’s population is expected to grow. It may not be where you think.

The state of Rural Minnesota

Providing better services at a lower cost: A new report from the Center for Rural Policy & Development looks at what works when four communities set to work to figure out how they could maintain or improve services to their residents in the face of higher costs and less outside funding. Marnie and Jim discuss what they did and how to find the report.

Best practices for collaboration

Are young people really moving to rural Minnesota? Yes, says a U of M Extension researcher. Marnie and Jim talk about how and why people in their 30s and 40s are moving with their families to small towns and rural areas, and it’s not necessarily for the reasons you think.

Moving to rural Minnesota

Every county in the state has a story to tell, and county historical societies are there to tell them. Minnesota’s historical societies track the history of our communities large and small. Jessica Potter, executive director of the Blue Earth County Historical Society talks with Jim about what county historical societies do and why local history is so important.

Know your local history