Ground Level Category Archive: Northern Minnesota

Outstate Minnesota's great divides

Posted at 1:21 PM on May 4, 2012 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Northern Minnesota, Rural

What divides a community? My coworkers at MPR News, Dan Gunderson and Molly Bloom, put that question to members of our Public Insight Network who live outside the metro and drew some interesting responses. People not only described issues but also possible solutions.

They pointed to tussles over mining, "white anglers versus tribal netters," casino politics, capital building projects, the best way to create more jobs and whether it's a good thing to have larger medical systems buy local hospitals.

"Racial divides are prominent within the community," wrote Melissa Bartlett, a charter high school teacher in Bemidji. "At school we work hard to abolish them."

I followed up with Bartlett by phone and she expanded on the role she tries to play when it comes to teaching tolerance in a school that's over half Native American. "We have the luxury of small class sizes," she said. "We don't really give students a choice but to interact with each other." The goal is to prepare students for the "real world," she said. That involves shucking off the prejudices inherited from parents and others. "We call people on it," she said. "We say, 'Think of a better way to express yourself.' We want our kids to succeed and make a difference after they graduate. One way to do that is to cultivate an acceptance of people who are not like us."

Dana Ludwig from Duluth wrote, "I think our community is aging and this creates a divide. There is also, I feel, a resistance to change and grow. Our progressive mayor is trying but I feel sometimes the climate of tolerance and diversity he is trying to create is being fought really hard. It makes me sad."

Irene Hartfield from Babbitt described a conflict over copper mining. "Some residents are all for the jobs these projects will provide at all cost, and some are against the mining because of the possible damage to the environment," she wrote. "People feel strongly on both sides." Yet, she said she's "optimistic" about the future. "More and more 'outside' people are moving into the community and bringing fresh perspectives and energy to different improvement projects. The old way of thinking is diminishing. More people are stepping up to volunteer and serve in city government, to make a difference."

Hartfield said her community has become more outspoken, which she considers a good thing. She also praised an emerging arts culture, something other respondents mentioned too and a topic we've reported on at Ground Level.

Religiosity can be a point of contention, wrote Annette from St. Cloud (she requested that I not use her last name). "I am an atheist, but I see this community as way too religious," she wrote. "It can be difficult because there is not tolerance for non-Christians and it is worse for the atheist or agnostic."

Reached by phone, she said she thinks religious fervor has increased since 9/11. "There has been a critical intolerance since 9/11. People have used that too much to be divisive." Her approach is to try to "get people thinking" on an individual basis. "But I have to get to know them for a while first," she said.

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Local brewers discuss money, regulations and pairings with stout

Posted at 2:00 PM on March 8, 2012 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Economic Development, Local Food, Northern Minnesota

Today, MPR's Ground Level project and Minnesota Today hosted a lively chat among brewers, brew suppliers and beer fans on the current state of beer in Minnesota. The discussion lasted for an hour and a half and ran the gamut, from how local ingredients impact the flavor of microbrews to regulations that get in the way to how to build a customer base.

Guests included Tim Nelson from Fitger's in Duluth, Dan Schwarz from Lift Bridge in Stillwater and Julia Herz from the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colorado. But we had many more people participate.

When asked why the beer industry is thriving here when other industries are struggling, Tina Hanke from Bemidji Brewing had this to say: "Craft beer is an affordable 'luxury' item--even in a bad economy, folks are willing to pay the $5 that gets you a great pint."

Participants also discussed how to build a successful brewery. Start-up money is key and usually comes from savings or friends and family. Sweat equity was mentioned, too. Good beer is the primary ingredient, though. Carey Matthews from Summit Brewing summed up the formula this way: "Great local products, real people behind them, and affordable prices."

Partway through the chat, food writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl chimed in and prompted a wave of suggested beer and food pairings, like chocolate porters with dessert and bacon with brown ales.

The discussion was part of our "One Job at a Time" series on entrepreneurship. Here it is, in its entirety.

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What do you want to know about running a brewery in Minnesota?

Posted at 11:18 AM on March 7, 2012 by Jennifer Vogel (2 Comments)
Filed under: Economic Development, Local Food, Northern Minnesota

If you've been following the explosion of new microbreweries and taprooms in Minnesota, you know that the beer culture here is changing radically. Not only are new entrepreneurial opportunities coming to the fore, but some think we're developing our own hop-heavy "north coast style."

Tomorrow between 11:30 and 1:00, MPR will host an online chat on about where our blossoming microbrew culture is headed, as part of our One Job at a Time project on entrepreneurism.

The chat will include Tim Nelson from Fitger's in Duluth, Dan Schwarz from Lift Bridge in Stillwater, Julia Herz from the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colorado, and local food writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl.

We've invited many local microbrewers to participate and we hope you'll join us, too. You can find the chat tomorrow by following this link.

Do you have questions you'd like us to ask or topics we should explore? Feel free to post them here.

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Arrowhead urges entrepreneurship as big mining renews its lure

Posted at 11:48 AM on April 6, 2011 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arrowhead Region, Community Development, Economic Development, Northern Minnesota

Some 200 residents of the Iron Range, Duluth and the North Shore chewed over their economic challenges for an hour and a half last night. In many ways, they covered the familiar ground of mining, tourism, education and diversification in a spirited conversation they could have had 10 or 20 years ago.

But you could sense urgency in the room, a theme picked up by community college teacher and Iron Range blogger Aaron Brown, who was there and wrote about it this morning. It was an urgency pointing increasingly toward self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship.

"Our region was settled by adventurers, not really entrepreneurs," Mary Mathews, president of the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, told the crowd, which gathered for a forum sponsored by MPR News and Northland's NewCenter in Duluth. "People, after those businesses were started, they left. We became a company town.

"To some extent we're still a company town, but there are nuggets of entrepreneurial spirit," Mathews said.

Her non-profit organization has helped 1,300 businesses get started or grow over the past 22 years, she said.

Obstacles are the lack of a clear career ladder for enterprising young people and a dearth of investment capital, she said.

Drew Digby, a labor analyst for the state Department of Employment and Economic Development , agreed, noting that it's a spirit that doesn't seem to come naturally in northeastern Minnesota. In the past, "people would come and assume a big company would give them a job. That sense of creating your own opportunity is really hard."

Some in the room had it.

There was a fifth-generation Duluthian who moved away and came back and is selling solar energy collection equipment. An artist talked about the boon the Internet has been to keeping his business going for 15 years.

Matt Tyler said he's put together a forestry consulting business and his girlfriend runs an organic farm in Finland, Minn. He harvests wild rice to supplement his living.

At the same time, hovering over the whole evening was the big PolyMet proposal to start mining copper and nickel near Eveleth. For some, it's a great promise that holds the possibility of firing
a struggling economy for decades to come. For others, it's a repeat of relying on big outsiders that will prove harmful in the end and threaten to dampen fledgling entrepreneurial spirit.

So it's fascinating to watch communities struggle with the notion of helping entrepreneurs as the path to a different future, at the same time a big outside force is holding up the promise of wealth "the old-fashioned way." To be fair, PolyMet's Brad Moore told people the mining industry has learned lessons and simply has to do better than it has in the past in terms of protecting the environment and staying in the community long-term.

What was clearer by the end of the evening was how three Arrowheads are trying to find their way -- the Iron Range, Duluth and the North Shore. A near-depression in one place is a good time in another. A savior in one place is sometimes seen as a destroyer in another.

Can a move to "relocalize food," for example, or build a narrative involving artists compete for mindshare and people's energy and enthusiasm with the promise of hundreds of mining jobs? The conversation at the Duluth Radisson was a useful look at a community asking itself questions like these that will define their future.

To get a sense of the evening, read the live blog hosted by MPR News' Michael Caputo, complete with lots of Twitter contributions from those attending.

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Northeastern Minnesota's economic future: Join a forum tonight

Posted at 10:00 AM on April 5, 2011 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arrowhead Region, Broadband, Community Development, Economic Development, Health care, Northern Minnesota

We're expecting at least a couple hundred people to show up in Duluth this evening to talk about how northeastern Minnesota's economy might look two, five or 20 years from now.

Will the Iron Range and the North Shore continue to go their separate ways economically?

Will tourism thrive forever? Mining?

How does so much growth in the health care industry square with efforts to rein in health care spending nationally?

How will the North Woods economy respond to climate change that alters the forests? Will broadband access to the Internet change the economy up the shore?

As much as any region of Minnesota, the Arrowhead is a complex brew of powerful economic forces, engaging cultural history, new ways of thinking about the environment and changing politics. If things go well tonight, a lot of that will be on display.

If you can, come to a forum this evening at the Duluth Radisson hosted by MPR News and Northlands NewsCenter. Reception starts at 6 p.m., the conversation hosted by MPR News' Cathy Wurzer runs from 7 to 8:30. Details here.

If you can't, join what promises to be a lively chatterfest/live blog at MPR News' Insight Now. Michael Caputo and Michael Olson will be blogging, tweeting and collecting comments from bloggers and tweeters around the room and the Arrowhead.

Click here for more about that or simply come back to this Ground Level post when the action starts and watch and participate through this window:

Details

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The Duluth/Arrowhead Economy - Google said no, but broadband still a regional key

Posted at 10:39 AM on April 1, 2011 by Michael Caputo (0 Comments)
Filed under: Arrowhead Region, Broadband, Northern Minnesota

Duluth made a play for Google money that would create a new ultra-fast broadband project. But it was Kansas City, Kan., that got the nod.

And while Duluth failed at the Google experiment, which promises Internet speeds as yet unseen, other places in the Arrowhead are just hoping to get up to speed with broadband access.

Internet access is part of the economic development conversation for the Arrowhead that we're holding both online and in person next Tuesday in Duluth. See here for details on the event Tuesday evening.

One place in particular is in the uppermost point of the Arrowhead, Cook County. Broadband accessibility is as poor there as any place in the state. A new $16 million federal stimulus award will create a new broadband infrastructure. MPR's Jennifer Vogel reported on how Cook County sees the change as part of the Ground Level broadband project. She spoke to sources in MPR's Public Insight Network. The presentation below adds their insights to this discussion. Have a look. Then tell us if you are interested in participating in a April 5 forum on the Arrowhead economy, through the magic of the computer.

Join a discussion on the Arrowhead economy by clicking here

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Helping local producers find local markets in the Northland

Posted at 1:57 PM on May 13, 2010 by Dave Peters (4 Comments)
Filed under: Northern Minnesota

It was reportedly the best local artists' show you could find with nothing for sale.

It was a gathering in March in Duluth engineered by the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, and it was one more example of small operators trying to get more sophisticated about finding local markets for their services and products.

We've written on this blog about farmers in Todd County banding together to sell meat and other products on main street and through drop points at Twin Cities churches. And Brooke Walsh posted an item about people in Baldwin Township wanting to encourage home businesses in an effort to redefine "bedroom community."

Why not artists? Artist cooperatives have been around a long time, but the session in Duluth was different. Struck by the amount of merchandise in Arrowhead region gift shops that comes from somewhere else, the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund rounded up more than 40 artists and crafts people to try to change that.

First they taught them some basic pricing information, marketing skills and the need for reproducible pieces. No, you can't charge $35 for one-of-a-kind water color note cards. But maybe $1.98 for copies would work.

Then they got them together with 100 or so retailers from the region in a two-day session at the Holiday Inn they called the Northland Flavor Market. Photography, painting, pottery, jewelry and more was on display, but the trade was in relationships, not art. The Fund didn't want to start a gallery; it wants art and craft producers to form lasting ties with retailers who ply the tourist trade.

Retailers have placed at least several dozen orders with artists as a result, said Suzanne Semborski, special projects manager for the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund. She's encouraged enough to start planning a repeat Feb. 27 and 28, 2011. And beyond that, Semborski is thinking food. If artists and retailers can be brought together, why not farmers and restaurants?

Not everyplace has a tourism trade to build on and maybe not everyplace has the coterie of artists and craft people that northern Minnesota does. But everywhere you look, it seems, entrepreneurs are scratching to get an advantage through joint action. I'd love to hear from people with other examples and, even better, thoughts on what works and what doesn't.

Thanks, by the way, to Minnesota Rural Partners for hosting a videoconference the other day that included a conversation about this project.

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