Center of Everywhere Podcast Center for Rural Policy and Development

On this episode, Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher at the Center for Rural Policy and Development, speaks with Amy Baldwin, Community Development Director at Otter Tail County, about their housing initiative – The Big Build. Housing is one of the biggest problems when it comes to attracting people to Greater Minnesota and fill our workforce needs. A few years ago now, Otter Tail County started an initiative called the Big Build with the goal of developing 5,000 new or remodeled housing units within the county. This interview is an update on that initiative and what state and local programs have been ...
The post Season 4, Episode 8: An update from Otter Tail County’s Big Build Initiative first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

In this episode, Julie Tesch, President and CEO of the Center for Rural Policy and Development, has a discussion with our newly appointed members to our Board of Directors – Brown County Administrator Sam Hansen and  Aitkin County Administrator Jessica Siebert. Sam and Jessica discuss current issues in their county, recent successes, population change, and the challenges in hiring for county positions.
The post Season 4, Episode 7: A conversation with rural County Administrators Sam Hansen and Jessica Siebert first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

On this sixth episode of the season, Marnie Werner, Vice President of Research at the Center, speaks with Teri Fritsma, the Lead Healthcare Workforce Analyst at the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care within the MN Department of Health. Healthcare workforce is a big issue these days, especially in Greater Minnesota and especially as it concerns our ability to access mental health services. For a decade now Teri has collected data on Minnesota’s licensed healthcare professionals and practitioners, giving insight into trends in our healthcare workforce, from when people are planning to retire to what specialities and fields they ...
The post Season 4, Episode 6: The mental healthcare workforce with Teri Fritsma, MN Dept. of Health first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

March 2024 On this episode, Kelly Asche, Senior Research with the Center for Rural Policy and Development, speaks with Scott McMahon, Executive Director of the Greater Minnesota Partnership about proposed legislation in the Minnesota legislature. The Greater MN Partnership has been advocating for state investment in rural housing and in 2023 they successfully advocated to bring in $39 million to the Greater Minnesota Workforce Housing Development fund.  Hot on the heels of that, the legislature decided they are not finished with housing and so a number of bills are being introduced this session, and this year it’s been more regulatory ...
The post Season 4, Episode 5: Proposed housing legislation with Scott McMahon first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

Our most recent research highlighted the suicide epidemic in rural Minnesota. On this episode, researchers and authors of the report, Marnie Werner and Tracie Rutherford Self, discuss the various elements of how we got to this point in rural areas, the factors that are playing a role, and ways in which we can move forward and decrease the number of suicides and deaths of despair.
The post Season 4, Episode 4: Suicide research with Dr. Tracie Rutherford Self first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

Our most recent research highlighted the importance career and technical education played in the Southwest’s region’s labor force. On this episode, Kelly Asche (Senior Researcher) chats with Eriann Faris, the Career and Technical Education Program Coordinator for Southwest West Central Services Cooperative and leads the Launching Your Future Today (LYFT) initiative. Eriann explains how LYFT was created, the critical role it plays in expanding CTE across the region,  and some of the challenges in expanding this type of education.
The post Season 4, Episode 3: Launching Your Future Today (LYFT) Initiative first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.