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For years, rural residents have wrung their hands about the loss of young people heading for the big city. University of Minnesota Extension research points to a more nuanced trend that is also identifiable in some places — the movement of people in their 30s and 40s from urban to rural areas.
Jobs can be difficult to find and transportation is an issue, but proximity to the outdoors, an improved environment for children, a sense of safety and a simpler pace of life draw some.
Ground Level Topics
'Brain Gain' :
People in 30s, 40s making the rural choice
The movement of people in their 30s and 40s into some rural areas that otherwise have declining populations has continued in recent years, a new University of Minnesota Extension study shows.
Your Stories: From urban to rural
We're gathering videos from people who have moved back to rural parts of Minnesota after leaving for school or work, or who have moved to rural Minnesota for the first time as adults.
from the Ground Level Blog
Coming home, more native than her parents
After two years at Bard College, Stearns County native Marna Macgregor is coming home. Her guest post for the Ground Level blog explores the mixed feelings she has about coming home.
Why move to rural Minnesota?
University of Minnesota Extension research shows people in their 30s and 40s continue to move to rural areas otherwise experiencing population declines. So we asked members of Public Insight Network to explain why.
Behind the "brain gain:" moving to a small town has its ups and downs
People who move to rural Minnesota from the city rave about the beauty and personal freedom, but the jobs picture proves more problematic.
Experience from the Community
We're gathering stories from people who have moved back to rural parts of Minnesota after leaving for school or work, or who have moved to rural Minnesota for the first time as adults. Thanks so much for your contributions.
by Jennifer Vogel, edited by Michael Olson, MPR News
Ground Level Discussions
Ground Level Blog
Legislature poised to give LGA an $80 million boost
Minnesota cities will get an $80 million increase next year in Local Government Aid from the state under a provision in the tax bill that seems to be near legislative approval. The increase would bring the LGA total to $507.6 million for the year 2014. That’s nearly a 20 percent increase over this year and Read more →
Bike trek connected kids with farmers
Over the past week, four bicyclists and one runner from the University of Minnesota have been crossing the state from west to east, stopping at farms along the way to explore innovations. As part of the project, called “Grown to Run,” the team has posted a short video every day showing a different aspect of Read more →
Biking Minnesota’s countryside to show innovation
A group of University of Minnesota graduate students and professors will run and bike across Minnesota in order to show farming innovations to school kids. Read more →
OK, it’s the economy, but is it ONLY the economy that makes us different?
A new Blandin Foundation survey of rural Minnesotans shows sunbstantial contrasts among regions, particularly between the southwestern prairies and the northeastern woods. Read more →
Research: If local growers extend season they might double market
A University of Minnesota Extension researcher surveyed health institutions in western Minnesota and found considerable interest in using local food in their meals. He also determined that if producers extend their season with greenhouses and better storage technology they can double their market. Read more →
Looking for Minnesota’s rural voice
Stimulated by a report suggesting rural Minnesota has lost influence, some 30 representatives of foundations, the University of Minnesota extension, and regional and state officials started work on an effort to organize a rural voice. Read more →
Whole Farm Co-op, early local foods innovator, changes to survive
The Whole Farm Co-op in Long Prairie, around since 1997, is changing the way it provides local farm produce and meats to customers, mainly in the Twin Cities. The changes are driven by competition from other local food sources. Read more →
Proposals would spend $500,000 a year on broadband office
Legislation in both Minnesota houses would spend $500,000 a year to create a broadband development office that would track and promote ways to increase high-speed Internet availability in the state. Read more →
Outstate Minnesota Transit
Ground Level Blog Archive
Ground Level launched in early 2010 focusing on a wide variety of topics, from the growing complexity of Minnesota's local food system to cities preparing for new fiscal realities, from exurban growth in Baldwin Township to the quest to expand broadband access across the state. The Ground Level Blog chronicles the wide variety of topics with over 500
Ground Level: a Minnesota Public Radio News project examining community issues across Minnesota
We identify topics that are significant and complex and that play out uniquely at the local level. We want to explore those issues in which people taking action in their communities make a difference and can serve as guides for others.
Ground Level launched in early 2010 and shines a light on a variety of topics, from the growing complexity of Minnesota's local food system to cities preparing for new fiscal realities, from exurban growth in Baldwin Township to the quest to expand broadband access across the state.
We experiment with coverage on a variety of platforms. This includes text, audio and video online, of course - the Ground Level blog, a series of topics pages and social networking, for example. It also includes on-air coverage, public forums both virtual and real-world and collaboration with community-based media.
Our audience consists of Minnesotans interested in community life, particularly those who are taking an active part in it or helping others do the same. Ground Level is very much an experiment -- in finding ways to learn about and tell stories, in working with other organizations, in walking up to the line between providing insight and advocating specific actions. Our goal is to inform and give people the ability and incentive to engage with their community. We invite your feedback and your ideas, via the blog, twitter at @MPRGroundLevel, phone calls, emails, whatever. Join us.
About the team:
Dave Peters
Dave Peters directs MPR's project on community journalism, looking for ways Minnesota residents are making their towns, cities and neighborhoods better places to live. He joined MPR News in 2009 after more than 30 years as a newspaper and online reporter and editor. Contact Dave
Jennifer Vogel
Jennifer Vogel reports and writes for the Ground Level project, focusing on complex topics that play out in Minnesota's communities and that involve residents getting engaged with the challenges of the day. She is a longtime Twin Cities writer and editor who joined MPR News and Ground Level in January 2010. Contact Jennifer
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