What does it actually take for a community to say yes — or no — to a data center? Marnie Werner, VP of Research and Operations, sits down with Elise Harrington, Assistant Professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and Al Roder, City Administrator for Byron, Minnesota, to cut through the noise. Together, they...

The post Season 6, Episode 2: A Grounded Conversation About Data Centers first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher at the Center for Rural Policy and Development, sits down with Luke Greiner, Labor Analyst with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Together, they unpack the current state of the rural economy, the challenges posed by limited data availability, and new research exploring how aware rural high school...

The post Season 6, Episode 1: A deep dive into rural Minnesota’s labor landscape with Luke Greiner first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

On this episode, Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher, interviews Ava Weber, a recent graduate of the U of MN Morris and her research exploring how immigration impacts funding for school districts through the state funding formula. She provides highlights from her data analysis, as well as highlights from interviews she had with superintendents in rural school...

The post Season 5, Episode 11: Ave Weber – Immigration impact on educational funding allocation first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

On this episode, Julie Tesch, President and CEO of the Center for Rural Policy and Development, speaks with 3x Emmy-winning Documentarian and TV Anchor Cory Hepola. They discuss his journey from growing up in Perham, Minnesota and always being drawn back to small towns in his work and life. Cory currently produces the My Town...

The post Season 5, Episode 10: My Town Series with Cory Hepola first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

In this episode, Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher at the Center, interviews Erik Osberg, Rural Rebound Coordinator for Otter Tail County. They discuss how Otter Tail County created the Rural Rebound initiative, the research framework backing their initiative, and some tips for other rural regions wanting to develop a similar initiative.

The post Season 5, Episode 9: Resident Recruitment in Otter Tail County first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

In this episode, Kelly Asche, Senior Researcher at the Center, interviews Kari Thurlow, President and CEO of LeadingAge MN, and Tracy Hendrickx, the Vice President of Long Term Care at Perham Health. They discuss not only some of the challenges facing elder care providers in rural Minnesota, but also promising initiatives and programs being supported...

The post Season 5, Episode 8: Current challenges and future opportunities of elder care in rural Minnesota first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

On this episode, Marnie Werner, Vice President of Research and Operations at CRPD, speaks with Dr. Tracie Rutherford Self, Faculty at MSU, Mankato’s Center for Rural Behavioral Health and Dr. Darcie Davis-Gage – Director of MSU Mankato’s Center for Rural Behavioral Health. The conversation talks about the new clinic that just opened within the Center...

The post Season 5, Episode 7: New clinic and projects at MSU, Mankato’s Center for Rural Behavioral Health first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

On this episode, Marnie Werner, Vice President of Research and Operations, interviews CRPD Senior Research, Kelly Asche, to discuss highlights from this year’s State of Rural report. The State of Rural is an annual report tracking various economic and demographic trends in rural Minnesota.

The post Season 5, Episode 6: State of Rural 2025 first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

In December, researcher Sarah Harstad Ph.D, released a report titled “Rural Minnesota Business Succession and Sale: Barriers and Opportunities“. On this episode, Director Research, Marnie Werner, dives deep into the research with Sarah discussing her findings.

The post Season 5, Episode 5: Business Succession with Sarah Harstad first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.

On this episode, Marnie Werner interviews Jakub Tolar who is the Dean and Vice President for Clinical Affairs for the University of Minnesota Medical School. They discuss the new commitment by the school to develop a new campus in St. Cloud with the mission to serve rural Minnesota.  

The post Season 5, Episode 4: U of MN Medical School new commitment to rural Minnesota w/ Dr. Jakub Tolar first appeared on Center for Rural Policy and Development.