Compiled by Deb Miller Slipek, News Finder Extraordinary & Jane Leonard, MRP President & Editor

IN THIS ISSUE:

- Across the Field
- Meetings & Conferences
- Policy
- Funding
- Professional Opportunities
- Tools & Miscellaneous

ACROSS THE FIELD, by Jane Leonard
Helping Our Small Towns -- Back to the Basics

Back in the mid-1980s, I helped run several state-sponsored, public-private partnerships that funded community-based programs for small towns and rural areas, under the banner of Community Environment Programs in the State Planning Agency and in the Department of Trade & Economic Development. They included the Governor's Design Team (now Minnesota Design Team), Minnesota Main Street, Minnesota Beautiful (and Picture-It-Painted) and Minnesota Community Pride. We helped citizen leaders assess their current situations, plan for improvement, and connected them to other people and resources that could help, too. To facilitate this we also developed a Rural Resource Directory (on paper, back in the pre-Internet age) where people could find out what might be of help for their specific situation.

Several of those programs still exist in specific regions, sponsored by organizations such as the Initiative Foundations (see the Minnesota Beautiful program in Funding below). Some, like the Minnesota Design Team, are totally run by volunteers, which limits the availability of this excellent resource to two to four communities a year (www.minnesotadesignteam.org). The coordinative power of state government no longer supports them, however. It's political water under the bridge but suffice to say when Governor Rudy Perpich left office, just about anything he helped start that wasn't industrial strength economic development and wasn't protected by the Legislature was eventually disbanded.

That was unfortunate because today, there is no statewide system left to help very small towns, and 75% of our towns in Minnesota are under 2500 in population. That's a lot of opportunity lost. Some Minnesota regions have organizations and programs to help small towns; others do not. It's hit and miss. Throughout the 1990s, other states continued to support statewide community-based programs because they cost so little (they were mostly run by community volunteers) and did so much good. There is no easy way to start community-based programs again on a statewide basis, even with the advantages we now have in information and communications technology (ICT) tools. Either out of intention or apathy, over the last 15 years and more actively since 2001, Minnesota and federal government leaders have dismantled the critical network of human infrastructure that engaged citizens and covered rural areas like a finely woven blanket, at the very time when such connections are so needed.

Today we have a patchwork of small-scale, limited-geography efforts, led by good-hearted non-profits and educational institutions, but nothing on a truly statewide basis. Ironically, we are rich with resources compared to many other states, and yet our resources are so fragmented, disconnected and uncoordinated that we squander their collective power and rarely see any systemic changes that might lift Minnesota - all of us - onto the next plateau of social and economic progress in the 21st Century.

The fragmentation has resulted in an array of rural and economic development professionals and organizations in Minnesota. But I believe we collectively deliver less to the very people we are trying to help because we no longer work together on a statewide basis. I'll take some of the blame. As the federally recognized state rural development council, Minnesota Rural Partners (MRP) is supposed to help coordinate the delivery of resources for rural Minnesota. Back in 1995, the Governor and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture signed agreements that said they would support this effort through MRP. For a while, it worked. Since 2001, however, federal funds and state support to pay for coordinative leadership have dried up. MRP is now one of many small non-profits - it never was a state or federal agency -- trying to do what it can. But no longer does the public funding exist to coordinate local, state and federal, public and private efforts here in Minnesota on behalf of rural development.

On a different scale in a different place, you can see the lack-of-coordination consequences in disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Coordination wasn't valued before the storm. It was essential afterwards, but the capacity no longer existed. For lack of funds and public will, coordination was left on the sidelines. When it was needed, the lack of training and practice showed. Coordination - working better together - needs to be funded and front and center again if we are to use what resources we have wisely and be better prepared for the future storms ahead. It was, in fact, a natural disaster here, the devastating floods of the Minnesota River in the early 1990s, which spurred state and federal officials to invest in creating Minnesota Rural Partners in 1995 to coordinate work across sectors proactively for rural Minnesota. That drive and vision has fizzled.

With or without state and federal assistance, MRP is going to go back to the basics to try to help Minnesota be better prepared. In honor of the June 6 & 7 Symposium on Small Towns & Rural Summit in Morris and its theme, "Working Better Together for the Common Good," we are asking your help in creating a Minnesota Rural Resource Directory. This directory will cover the entire state and be helpful at regional, county and local levels. Its number one goal on-line and on-the-ground is to help people find what resources might be available for specific community needs. Its second goal is to help our "rural development industry" do a better job of coordinating their efforts. With the directory, we can map out where, who, and how we each serve the people of Minnesota. We can look at the directory and figure out how to make common sense connections for the common good. The directory will debut at the Symposium-Summit in June and be available for anyone to use thereafter.

If you are a service provider to small town and rural Minnesota, please go to our website at http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org and click on "Minnesota Rural Resources Directory construction site." There, you can fill out the database collection form so we can list your organization in the directory. Please spread the word. Only a grassroots, word-of-mouth effort will make this happen. If you would like to financially support this effort, we will happily accept your donation and list you in the directory as a sponsor.

Please email me at jleonard@minnesotaruralpartners.org if you have questions or would like to sponsor the directory.

POLICY & PRACTICE

- Pilot Communities Will Test Out Minnesota Entrepreneurial Gateway System

Five communities in Minnesota have been selected as Minnesota Entrepreneurial Gateway Community demonstration sites to collaborate with Minnesota Rural Partners (MRP) this spring to implement and help build the Minnesota Entrepreneurial Gateway system (MEG). MEG will be a community-based, statewide-network that uses on-line tools and on-the-ground strategies to help local leaders and businesses organize resources to strengthen entrepreneurship as a community economic development approach.

The pilot communities in the project are: Todd County; Isle Recreation & Education Center (IREC)/ISD #473, serving the Mille Lacs area; Five Small Towns (a coalition of Erskine, Fertile, McIntosh, Mentor, and Winger in northwestern Minnesota); the Immigrant Development Center of the Fargo-Moorhead area; and Houston (and its school district/trade area) in southeastern Minnesota. Todd County and IREC in Isle will have organizing meetings this month; the other communities will follow this spring. All projects are operating in coordination with existing community and economic development efforts, including Get Broadband, Minnesota Design Team, Healthy Communities, and others.

The project is a part of MRP's two-year grant initiative with the W.K.Kellogg Foundation to study and build an interdisciplinary framework for community economic reinvention in 21st century rural Minnesota. This work also includes a planning grant from the Minnesota State Network (MSNet) Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation.

The MEG framework places a strong emphasis on making better use of the tools of our age - the Internet - alongside community support and risk-sharing to encourage diversified small business development and champion entrepreneurship as hallmarks of 21st Century economic development. The MEG approach integrates financial and creative capital, community design, and health care insurance strategies that help strengthen chances for success and better manage and share risk.

The blend of on-line tools, including the existing BizPathways.org and FinanceAvenue.org, and on-the-ground organizing creates a cost-effective and efficient method of serving small business start-ups and growth, eliminating a chief policy and financial barrier in serving them: the high cost of one-on-one assistance. Streamlining the system allows for customized matching of people seeking assistance with those service providers and organizations most suited to help, at just the right time with just the right resources. For more information about MEG, check out www.minnesotagateway.net.

CONFERENCES & MEETINGS

-- Minnesota Council on Non-Profits is sponsoring a training opportunity - Delivering Effective Messages on Wednesday, February 15, 9:00 a.m. - noon, at the Model Cities Brownstone Room, 849 University Ave. W., St. Paul, 55104 (4 blocks west of Dale on University Ave. Messages for internal audiences, opinion shapers and the media, and elected officials and their staff are all important components of nonprofit advocacy. This workshop will focus on framing and developing key messages, identifying target audiences, and selecting communication modes that reach audiences in timely and persuasive ways. Fee is $35 for MCN members/$50 for non-members. You can register online on the MCN website www.mncn.org

-- The USDA's Agricultural Outlook Forum 2006 will be held February 16-17 in Arlington, Virginia. Plenary sessions will be web-cast after February 16th and speeches will be posted online in early March. Go to: http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum

-- 2006 Government Procurement Fair at the Northern Lights Casino & Hotel - Walker, Minnesota Sponsored by Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. March 9, 2006 from 8:30 -
3:00 PM. Companies interested in doing business with government agencies and prime contractors can meet with representatives from the respective organizations. In addition, attendees can participate in workshops on topics ranging from becoming HUBZone certified to how to sell to the government. Small businesses owned by ethnic minorities, veterans, and women can learn about special programs designed to provide better access to the government marketplace. Register online at the Minnesota District SBA Office website at: www.sba.gov/mn

-- Librarian Colleen Coghlan is recipient of the 2006 John R. Finnegan of Information Award conferred by the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information. Coghlan, faculty member of the Library Science Department at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, also served as University Librarian for Metropolitan State University. The award will be presented at the Freedom of Information Day awards ceremony on Thursday, March 16, 2006, at the College of St. Catherine. The awards ceremony and a reception are open to the public. Reservations ($10) required. Call 65-690-6649.

-- Energizing Entrepreneurs workshop April 27, St Cloud, MN. The Initiative Foundation is sponsoring this day-long workshop featuring Don Macke from the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship in Lincoln, Nebraska and several panels on entrepreneurship training and community assistance opportunities. For more information visit http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/energizing.htm or call Denise Pfeifer at 507-828-5559 or email dpfeifer@minnesotaruralpartners.org

-- The Small Town Symposium & Minnesota Rural Summit, June 6 & 7, 2006 at the University of Minnesota, Morris. This year's theme is "Working Better Together for the Common Good." More information and registration information is available at www.centerforsmalltowns.org or www.minnesotaruralpartners.org, or call the Center for Small Towns at 320-589-6451.

-- The Minnesota Rural Health Conference Smart Health 2006: Focus on Technology Creating connections and strengthening Minnesota's rural communities July 17-18, 2006, in Duluth, Minnesota. Conference objectives include:

• Discuss developments in community, state and federal health information exchange, including electronic medical, personal and population health records
  
• Learn about efforts to advance telemedicine coordination and delivery
  
• Discover how smart principles and technology can enhance patient access, communication, safety
  and quality
  
• Experience how health professional education and practitioner support is being delivered via cutting edge methods

Suggestions for Speakers or Sessions? Contact Kristen Tharaldson at kristen.tharaldson@health.state.mn.us or (651) 281-9972. For further information go to www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/orhconf06.html or contact the Rural Health Resource Center at (218) 727-9390/ (800) 997-6685 or kristen.tharaldson@health.state.mn.us.

FUNDING

-- DNR Grants annual applications are now available for 2006 grants that help local governments, organizations and individuals throughout the state create partnerships with the MN Department of Natural Resources to fund projects that protect natural resources and provide outdoor recreation opportunities. Grant categories include:
* regional parks (outside the metro area)
* natural and scenic areas
* outdoor recreation (local parks)
* conservation partners/environmental partnerships
* local trail connections
* federal recreation trails
* regional trails (outside the metro area)
* fishing piers
* public boat accesses
* Metro Greenways Land Protection grants
* Remediation Fund grants
For details on each program and deadlines, see http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/grants/index.html

-- The MN Department of Agriculture offers an 80% discount for organic farmers who enroll in a farm business management program offered through the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system at 85 locations across the state. Tuition is approximately $1,000. Farmers work one-on-one with an instructor to learn the principles of business management and specific financial tools. While not specifically geared toward organic producers and a 'triple bottom line' view of farming benefits, some of the 105 instructors in the state do have organic acreage. The program is sponsored by, among others, the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota. See http://www.mda.state.mn.us/esap/organic/bizmgmt.htm

-- The Office of Rural Health and Primary Care is seeking applications from rural communities and health care providers (hospital clinics, pharmacies, long term care or other health care facilities) for the new Rural Pharmacy Planning and Transition Grant Program. The program is intended to preserve access to prescription medication and the skills of a pharmacist in rural areas. A total of $180,000 is available and the maximum grant amount is $50,000. Applications are due March 3, 2006. Information is online at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/grants.htm. For more information, contact Mark Schoenbaum at (651) 282-3859 or mark.schoenbaum@health.state.mn.us.

-- Loan Forgiveness applications are still available to students, or prospective students, who want to teach nursing or allied health care programs. The Office of Rural Health and Primary Care has extended the deadline to March 31, 2006, for the Nurse Faculty and Allied Health Care Faculty Loan Forgiveness programs. Nurses or allied health care technicians who want to teach a minimum of 20 hours per week in a post secondary program are encouraged to apply. Information and applications are available at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/loan.htm. For additional assistance, contact Karen Welter at (651) 282-6302 or karen.welter@health.state.mn.us.

-- Minnesota Beautiful in Central Minnesota is a project of the Initiative Foundation and Valspar Corporation. It is a program where cities and nonprofit organizations in the Initiative Foundation's 14-county region may apply for a grant to receive paint and coatings to complete or finish various restoration and beautification projects. A goal of the program is to encourage local volunteer involvement in the painting process. Applications must be received by the Initiative Foundation by March 1, 2006. For more information, contact Dan Frank at (877) 632-9255 toll-free or visit www.ifound.org.

-- The Blandin Foundation offers grants of up to $15,000 to help improve the use of broadband technology in communities outside of the seven-county metro area. Twenty communities around the state are now participating in and benefiting from this program. Most communities have a strong focus on helping their existing businesses improve their use of the Internet to increase productivity and sales. An applicant can be a single city, a school district, cluster of communities or up to a county in geographic size. A cash match equal to the grant amount is required.

Participating communities obtain other great benefits. Blandin provides a market survey about broadband technology use in your community for both residents and businesses. The Foundation also provides a high-level telecommunications infrastructure and services inventory. Blandin provides facilitated planning assistance to pull your community leadership together around technology issues. We provide ongoing support for the local project manager as the project proceeds, including program materials, newsletter articles, conference calls and video conferences.

Many communities are using a portion of the grant dollars to fund a project coordinator position housed at the Economic Development Authority, the Chamber of Commerce or the city. Area telecom providers and cable companies, rural electric cooperatives, local and regional foundations, EDAs, and others are common sources of local funding. Most of the communities completing their first year are applying for a second year of funding. More information is available at www.blandinfoundation.org. Community Technology Advisors (www.communitytechnologyadvisors.com) and Minnesota Rural Partners are working with Blandin to deliver this program.

-- The Women's Sports Foundation and Gatorade are currently inviting applications for their GoGirlGo! Ambassador Team Awards. The program will provide $50,000 for 20 grants of $2,500 to teams demonstrating leadership in their communities by inspiring girls to get involved in sports and physical activity. The deadline is April 7. For more information go to www.womenssportsfoundation.org or call 800-227-3988.

-- Nike's Bowerman Track Renovation Program has $200,000 in grants for running track repair and refurbishment. Community-based organizations are eligible for matching grants of up to $50,000. Requests are reviewed quarterly and will be accepted through May 31, 2009. For more information visit http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=26&item=bowerman or call 503 671-6453.

-- Project Proposal Funding: Have great education or research ideas but need the money to make it happen? Check out the call for project proposals funded from the Carlson Travel, Tourism, & Hospitality Chair through the University of Minnesota's Tourism Center (www.tourism.umn.edu). What is funded? Travel, tourism and hospitality-related education or research projects in Minnesota; not marketing. Who can apply? Individuals and/or non-profit organizations. How much is available? Variable-project size ranges from $1,000-$50,000. Proposals are due at 12 p.m., Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Please submit six copies of 1) a letter of interest on how the opportunity addresses the principles and criteria outlined, 2) Minnesota Common Grant form (cover letter, cover sheet, sections I-III, project budget and list of other funders, (http://www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/applicat.htm). Contact Ingrid Schneider (ingridss@umn.edu) or any of the Center's advisory committee http://www.tourism.umn.edu/about/advisory.html with questions.

-- Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation Opens Grant Round. Nonprofit organizations serving the people of Cass County ND and/or Clay County MN may now apply for grants from the FMAF. Applications are available on-line at www.areafoundation.org or by calling the foundation office at 701-234-0756. All applications must be received or postmarked by February 16, 2006.
In addition to the traditional granting process the Foundation will be producing the 2006 Giving Guide for the Greater Good. The Giving Guide, started in 2004, includes a comprehensive descriptive listing of funding requests from the area non-profits for use by area donors as they are making their charitable decisions.

MISCELLANEOUS

-- The William James Foundation 3rd Annual Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition. We're looking to support new entrepreneurs who are focused on the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. If you've got a new, for-profit business plan and someone on your team is either a current student or has graduated (from undergraduate or graduate school) within the past five years, we encourage you to enter the competition. Executive summaries (3-5 pages) are due on February 17th. www.williamjamesfoundation.org/2006competition

-- Wage and Benefit Metric Tool from the Northwest Area Foundation The Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF) announces the availability of an easy-to-use application process for testing its Wage and Benefit Metric (http://jobmetric.mtcdc.org).

Currently in second stage testing, the Wage and Benefit Metric is designed to help Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) measure and communicate impact on creating economic opportunity in communities. The application uses a point-scale system to evaluate jobs based on wage and benefits levels. CDFIs can use it to identify the types of jobs in their current loan portfolio, analyze trends in job growth and attributes over time, and create a number of reports for internal and external stakeholders. Use of the application is free of charge and registration information is available at the site. Users are encouraged to explore the site independently. For more information or to schedule a demonstration, contact Chris Allen Chris@JobMetric.mtcdc.org.

-- Stateline.org's annual report on state trends and policy, "State of the States 2006." is now available. It contains graphics and maps, in addition to reports on the most significant developments in the 50 states. New this year is a pull-out reference poster with important state dates and political party information. To order a printed copy of the report and poster, please visit
http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=235 or call 202 419-4450.

-- The Center for Rural Affairs is creating the National Rural Action Network to connect people, allowing them a voice on policy issues affecting rural residents. Contact Kathie Starkweather, kathies@cfra.org for more information.

-- "Moving Home: Manufactured Housing in Rural America" is a new publication by the Housing Assistance Council. Two new information sheets discuss rural rental housing preservation, one on policy issues and one on the basics. Go to www.ruralhome.org or contact Luz Rosas at 202-842-8600, luz@ruralhome.org.

-- The November Main Street Economist "U.S. Agricultural Credit Conditions: Rising Energy Prices Boost Farm Costs," by Nancy Novack is now available at. http://www.kansascityfed.org/RuralCenter/mainstreet/MainStMain.htm

--The Community Affairs Offices of the Federal Reserve System and CFED invite you to submit papers for a policy research forum entitled "Closing the Wealth Gap: Building Assets among Low-Income Households." The research forum will be held in conjunction with the CFED 2006 Assets Learning Conference, September 19-21, 2006, in Phoenix, Arizona. The Program Committee welcomes research papers and policy studies related to asset- and wealth-building topics such as the role of tax policy in asset accumulation, housing and wealth, innovations in asset building products and programs, and cost/benefit analyses of asset building policies. For more details on all topic areas and submission guidelines, please visit: http://www.frbsf.org/community/resources/callforpapers.pdf

--What is keeping some consumers from using banks for their financial needs? In the January Financial Industry Perspective, "Strategies for Banking the Unbanked: How Banks are Overcoming Entrance Barriers," Eric Robbins and Patrick Contreras review the results of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's survey of Hispanic consumers in Garden City, Kansas, and what bankers are doing to bring these unbanked consumers into the financial mainstream. To learn more visit http://www.kansascityfed.org/Publicat/FIP/prs06-1.pdf.

-- IRS Tax Information for Businesses a valuable tax-time resource for small business owners. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/index.html

-- My BIZ for Women. A new online tool from the Small Business Administration, designed to provide comprehensive business information and assistance to women entrepreneurs.
http://www.sba.gov/women.

--A first-of-its-kind study shows a "digital divide" between urban and rural Internet use in Minnesota. The Center for Rural Policy and Development interviewed 1,450 Minnesotans in October and November and found that 27.4 percent of rural homes have broadband as compared with 43.9 percent of homes in the Twin Cities metro area. The nonprofit Center in St. Peter reported that in rural areas, high-speed Internet, or broadband, often either isn't available beyond city limits, or is available only at a relatively high price from a single local provider. The complete study is online at www.mnsu.edu/ruralmn.

-- Factors contributing to substance abuse in rural America include poverty, unemployment, underemployment and isolation according to "No Place to Hide: Substance Abuse in Mid-Sized Cities and Rural America" online at www.casacolumbia.org/Absolutenm/articlefiles/No_Place_to_Hide_1_28_00.pdf.

Minnesota Rural Partners is a nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible.

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