Tom Gottfried, program director for Office of Transit, joins us this week to talk about public transit in Greater Minnesota. Tom gives us a rundown of one of Transit for Our Future, one program that focuses on helping Greater Minnesota transit systems work with MnDOT and with each other to be more efficient, more effective, and expanding access as much as possible across the state.
Category Archives: 2015
The Three T’s of the Iron Range: Taconite and Tourism
We continue our conversation with IRRRB Commissioner Mark Phillips about the IRRRB’s role up on the Iron Range. Last week we talked about timber, and this week Commissioner Phillips discusses the need for change in the taconite industry and new developments in tourism.
The Three T’s of the Iron Range: Timber
IRRRB Commissioner Mark Phillips joins us this week to talk about the three T’s of the Iron Range, timber, taconite and tourism. There’s been a decline in the timber industry since the recession, especially in the area of paper and building materials. Clever biotech researchers, though, are finding new ways to use woody biomass and commercialize it. Minnesota is well placed in the biotech arena, says Phillips, because it’s where the forest meets the prairie.
Who sets water quality policy?
Setting policy on water quality requires understanding the influence federal law has on the process, says state Senator Vicki Jensen, Owatonna. State agency are meeting all over the state to discuss water policy in an effort to meet federal requirements, and therefore it’s important that everyone affected shows up and is heard.
Nonprofits and community impact, pt 2
We continue our visit with Anne Murray, education and communications director for SMILES, Southern Minnesota Independent Living Enterprises and Services. This week Anne talks about the power of working together. Many nonprofit organizations working together in a community helps to serve all their clients better, and so supporting even just one organization and its volunteers supports all of them.
Nonprofits and community impact
Nonprofits have a wider impact than just their mission and just their community, says Anne Murray, education and communications director for SMILES, Southern Minnesota Independent Living Enterprises and Services. When nonprofits provide services and cooperate with other nonprofits to strengthen one part of the community, the results produce a ripple effect affecting other parts of the community and the economy.
Rural Reality MN 