Let’s Move Transportation Forward! Consensus is overwhelming across Minnesota in favor of a major new package of investments in transportation and transit. Business groups, labor groups, social justice advocates, and rural and metro communities agree that an ample and equitable transportation package will serve the causes of climate action, racial and regional equity, and business growth. So join ... Read More
Setting Record Straight on “Medicare for All” Growth & Justice Senior Fellow Dane Smith was featured on Minnesota Public Radio last week. In an interview with Tim Pugmire, Smith set the record straight on recent campaign misrepresentations of our 2012 reports on the projected costs and benefits of a single public financing system for universal health care (also known as “single-payer’’ or “Medicare ... Read More
MORE TOPNOTCH SPEAKERS! Register Now for “Thriving by Design, Rural & Urban Together,” June 27-29, in Granite Falls We’ve recently confirmed three new outstanding speakers for our historic gathering in western Minnesota this summer which features some of the most knowledgeable people in the entire region on our demographic and economic disparities, and how to fix them. Kevin Jensvold, Chairman of th... Read More
In Fergus Falls, Learning About Rural Needs We traveled to Fergus Falls last week for the summer conference of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, delivering a presentation and gathering feedback on emerging issues for our Minnesota Rural Equity Project. We heard concerns about accessibility to child-care, transportation and mobility needs, housing shortages, health-care costs and access, and lagging broadband capacity. A strong sense am... Read More
Rural “Place-making” Key to Job Growth On our many travels this summer, listening closely to both concerns and success stories in Greater Minnesota, we constantly hear about the importance of “place-making” for rural communities. The Center for Rural Policy & Development expresses this idea very well with this recent statement in the Morning Take tipsheet: “For most parts of the state, the coming wo... Read More