For those who may have missed it, we’re releasing an overview of last year’s Rural Minnesota Journal. The 12-pager contains summaries of all the excellent articles in this online publication discussing how who lives in Minnesota is transitioning from one generation to the next. Articles cover subjects such as rural leadership, how the volunteer pool is changing, where retiring Baby Boomers will live, and preparing the workforce for future jobs. Click here to view the overview at our web site, ruralmn.org.
Minnesota and water
Who would think Minnesota had issues with water? Water issues are very real for our state, though, and the opportunity to address them is now. Marnie and Jim discuss how taxpayers shouldn’t ignore where our water comes from and how it’s used.
Small business and broadband
Folks from the General Accountability Office, a non-partisan fact-gathering agency serving Congress, visited Mankato this week to learn more about what small business owners needs are when it comes to broadband. Jim and Marnie go over some of the discussion.
RMR: 4/24/13 Small business and broadband
Getting things done, part II
One thing about being out of town is that you miss things that happen at home. Big things. Take for instance the ice storm that hit southwestern Minnesota last week. In Dallas I heard something about the National Guard and that was about it. Now, a week after the storm, I’ve been reading bits here and there about the city of Worthington losing half its trees, the damage done to people’s homes and nerves, and the fact that all of Nobles County was without power.
One Worthington blogger I read today commented that compared to what happened in Boston this week, we have to keep things in perspective. To me, though, both incidents also serve as a reminder that after the cameras and reporters have gone home and your story doesn’t show up on the evening news anymore, there’s still a lot of work to be done, whether in Nobles County or Boston.
So congrats to Nobles Cooperative Electric on their announcement today that, with help from their neighbors, they have restored power to all 4,200 of their members.
And thanks to the Southwest Initiative Foundation for setting up a disaster relief fund for the Nobles County area to help with cleanup and rebuilding.
Now this is how you really get things done.
Getting things done
Marnie discusses the recent Rural Policy Leadership Institute, where attendees learned new strategies for setting goals and achieving them.
Legislative Update
Brad and Jim discuss how the legislative session is progressing and where things are at in mid April as bills move from committee to the House and Senate floors. Will having both the legislature and the Governor’s office controlled by the same party have an impact on the process?
Rural Reality MN 