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

IN THIS ISSUE:

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

ACROSS THE FIELD, by Jane Leonard
Celebrate, Innovate, Minn08

The column this month is a hodgepodge of ideas and events streaming from my spring-fevered brain. I hope you find something useful in here.

First up an idea that I can't get out of my mind and would dearly welcome your feedback:

Minnesota celebrates its 150th anniversary as a state on May 11, 2008. We haven't heard much about any anniversary plans from state leaders, but I know the Citizen's League has a Minnesota Anniversary Project and Minnesota Rural Partners would like to propose a companion effort. We would seek teams and individuals to do what Minnesotans have done for the last 150 years – innovate for progress. We propose a contest called: "Minnesota, Thriving by Design" to find and lift up the best ideas for how we position ourselves as a state to thrive for the next 150 years (well, let’s start with the next 20 years out).

Working better together we think imaginative, inspired, and energetic people can ensure that Minnesota doesn't sink into Midwestern mediocrity. We think putting our heads together, Minnesotans can instead continue to lead the way economically and environmentally for 21st century life, work, and play. We would look for ideas from teams and people of all ages, from any discipline, across disciplines - from parts of the system called Minnesota to system-wide, from architecture and landscape architecture to education to enterprise development to health care to recreation and telecommunications and transportation and vital aging and everything in between. Literally, how could we, should we, design Minnesota systems and places to give us a high quality of life well into our next 150 years?

There are so many opportunities: the convergence of information and communications technologies have given us life and work options that are limited only by our imaginations; the baby boom generation will change the socioeconomics of retirement (or reFIREment as some call it) and be seen as a positive economic driver for small and large towns everywhere; the global pressures will further increase our drive towards renewable energy research and production, etc.

Yet we are so fragmented in our approaches to these changes and opportunities, and government that traditionally helped plan for a unified effort has been dismantled to help pay for terrorism wars at home and abroad. We no longer have a state planning agency to help guide our work statewide through a common blueprint, so let’s do it ourselves, in honor of our approaching 150th anniversary bash. Integrate rural and metro separations, build a cohesive vision, lay out a comprehensive plan, and coordinate our actions across space, time, and multi-disciplinary sectors to keep Minnesota vital and thriving. If we want better communities and a better state, we have to do it ourselves or it won't get done. Let’s ensure our kids and their kids will have even a better life than the one our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents gave us as they developed Minnesota over the past 150 years. 

I welcome your feedback on this crazy idea. It will take a massive effort and we'll need to generate sponsors to help fund the Thriving by Design contest. I envision not one but several "winners" in several categories whose ideas would be selected for further feasibility development at the May 11, 2007 mark. One year later, at the 150th anniversary day, they would be lifted up as literal game plans and blueprints that could be used by the Governor and other state public and private sector leaders to follow as we build together the next 150 years of Minnesota excellence.

And now - a few plugs for upcoming events that need your attention and support if we are to chart a wise course for our future:

----Energizing Entrepreneurs - Charting a Course for Rural Communities, April 27, 2006, Kelly Inn, St. Cloud MN.  Is entrepreneurship dead in Minnesota?  We have just 30 people signed up for this GREAT workshop! Where are all you folks who want to improve your economic prospects? Pass the word, please ... The Initiative Foundation and Minnesota Rural Partners present this day-long conference on how to grow entrepreneurs in your own community and how to support and encourage those you have already. It is a statewide event, open to all - and a great bargain! Event will feature keynote speaker Don Macke, a national rural entrepreneurship expert and co-director of the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. See their amazing resources at http://www.ruraleship.org.

All participants will receive a copy of the Center's new book, Energizing Entrepreneurs - Charting a Course for Rural Communities, chock full of ideas, examples, assessments, methods and resources to use entrepreneurship as an economic development strategy in your community.  Panel presentations will showcase Minnesota entrepreneurial efforts and training, including representatives of Minnesota Entrepreneurial Gateway Pilot Communities who will talk about their initial efforts to build entrepreneurial support mechanisms. Also on hand, the Anderson Entrepreneurial Center of St. Cloud State University and its community-based education partnerships. Event is open to everyone. $50 registration. $25 for Initiative Foundation Healthy Community Partnership participants. On-line registration and agenda information is available at www.minnesotaruralpartners.org  Questions? Contact Denise Pfeifer at: dpfeifer@minnesotaruralpartners.org or call 507.828.5559. 

--And - to get the stories started for Minnesota's 150 years join us for the second annual "The Long Arm of the Small Town" storytelling fest, based on an essay by Nobel Prize-winning novelist and Minnesota native, Sinclair Lewis.

Last year, Minnesota Rural Partners held The Long Arm of the Small Town Storytelling Contest in conjunction with the Minnesota Rural Summit. This year the Summit is being held jointly with the Small Towns Symposium at the University of Minnesota Morris, hosted by the Center for Small Towns (June 6 & 7 in Morris). This collaboration promises to bring a tremendous energy and many fresh perspectives to both events.

2006 will also see a new version of the storytelling event. The theme of the Symposium/Summit is Working Better Together for the Common Good. The conference will feature highlights from The Long Arm of the Small Town Storytelling Festival, a series of regional storytelling events celebrating stories of Minnesota collaboration and partnership past and present.

Regional "Long Arm" festivals will be held will be held in the following locations:

These regional events will feature a storytelling workshop and "Story Swap" where storytellers of all ages and all levels are allowed 15 minutes to share their stories that reflect this year's theme Working Better Together for the Common Good. Storytellers from these regional events will be invited to share their stories at the 2006 Symposium on Small Towns and Rural Summit, June 6 & 7, 2006 at the University of Minnesota, Morris.

To learn more about The Long Arm of the Small Town Storytelling Festival or the 2006 Center for Small Town Symposium/Minnesota Rural Summit, please go online to www.centerforsmalltowns.org or www.minnesotaruralpartners.org or call 320.589.6451.

---And on a policy note – check out this information about the recent proposed federal budget and its impact on rural America, from our friends at RUPRI: http://www.rupri.org/policyPartners/nationalRuralNetwork.asp

FUNDING

--The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released its SuperNOFA, making $2.2 billion available in 39 programs. Approximately $19.8 million is available for Community Development Technical Assistance Programs with a deadline of May 18. The deadline for the $59.4 million Indian Community Development Block Grant Program is May 31. Housing Counseling Programs will get $39 million with a deadline of May 23 and Economic Development Programs are budgeted at $120 million with varying deadlines from May 12 to June 14. Targeted and Assisted Housing Programs including Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), deadline May 24, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), deadline May 16, will receive approximately $593.5 million. Go to www.hud.gov for complete information including how to submit applications electronically on www.grants.gov.

--Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) has released a RFP for Innovations in Manufactured Homes (I'M HOME). Affordable housing practitioners who are seeking to address barriers to asset building in the manufactured housing sector are encouraged to apply. Successful applicants will be awarded either implementation grants of $150,000 or catalyst grants of $50,000. The deadline is April 28. Additional information, as well as the RFP, can be found at www.cfed.org/go/imhome  or call 202 408-9788

--Do Something, an organization challenging young people to improve their communities, awards 10 grants of $500, twice a year for creative proposals to solve local problems. Three areas are considered, community building, health, and the environment. The deadline is May 15. More information is available at http://dosomething.org/.

--American Indian Programs Funded Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Foundation  http://www.sfntcfoundation.org/  The Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations that support the preservation, promotion, and advancement of American Indian self-sufficiency and culture in the United States. The Foundation's specific areas of interest include the development of American Indian entrepreneurs; facilitating American Indian education (particularly college, graduate, and post-graduate education); and the preservation and enhancement of American Indian languages. The primary focus of the Foundation is to support specifically identified projects, but general support proposals will be considered if there is an unusual or critical need. The remaining deadlines in 2006 are May 31, August 31, and November 30.

--Education and Workforce Development Programs Funded Qwest Foundation  http://www.qwest.com/about/company/community/foundation/index.html
The Qwest Foundation's philosophy is to help build strong communities through investing in people and the places where company employees live and work. The Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations in the company's 14-state region, including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations that generate high impact and measurable results through community-based programs, including pre K-12 education and workforce development. Applications can be submitted throughout the year.

--Seed Money for National Forest Partnerships National Forest Foundation: Community Assistance Program  (http://www.natlforests.org/consp_05_cap.html) The National Forest Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization established by Congress in 1990 to support the USDA Forest Service in its management of the nation's forests and grasslands. The Foundation's Community Assistance Program provides "start-up" grants in the $5,000 to $15,000 range to enable communities to play a more active role in the sustainable management of nearby national forests. The program promotes the creation of locally based partnerships that seek to build economic and environmental sustainability through constructive dialogue and hands-on involvement. Applications will be accepted from newly-forming community-based nonprofit organizations in need of capacity-building and start-up organizational and technical assistance. Applications are due April 28 and September 8, 2006.

MEETINGS/CONFERENCES/TRAINING

  --7th Workforce Solutions Conference on April 19 at Arrowwood Resort near Alexandria.  A full day conference featuring Michael Stone, President, Stone & Associates, Inc., and Alex C. Cirillo, Jr., Staff Vice President, 3M Community Affairs & 3M Foundation. Call WCI to register today at 1-800-735-2239 or go online at http://www.wcif.org/new/workforce_2006.pdf

--The First Minnesota Conference on Sustainable Tourism is April 19 & 20 at the U of MN Twin Cities Campus.  For more details on the conference, please visit the website www.tourism.umn.edu

--Hamline Dialogues: Economic Security on April 20, 2006, 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the
Klas Center, Hamline University, St. Paul.  Social Security, Living Wages. Health Care Costs, Offshoring, Declining Value of the Dollar, Inflation. Join panelists Art Rolnick, Vice President and Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; Chris Farrell, Chief Economics Correspondent, Minnesota Public Radio; and Jenny Keil, Professor, College of Liberal Arts, Department of Management and Economics for a conversation sure to stimulate your mind, and maybe the economy. Admission is $10.00 For more information, call 651-523-2486 or see www.hamline.edu/news_events/dialogues/36623.html

--2006 Nonprofit Technology and Communications Conference - HD(c)(3): Sharpening Your Organization’s Image and Messaging on April 25, 2006 at
The Depot in Minneapolis.  From Web site design and online donations tools to emails, podcasts and databases, nonprofits face the challenge of understanding how and when to use the right technology to reach and engage their audiences. This day-long conference is designed to provide an overview of current and emerging technology resources and tools and specific hands-on information to help nonprofits create high definition communications to sharpen their image and messaging. For more information, see www.mncn.org/.

--U and Your Economy 2006 at the New Ulm Holiday Inn – April 27 from 8:30-2:00pm.  Keynote by Tom Stinson – MN State Economist.  Cost $35.  For more information go to www.extension.umn.edu/uandeconomy

--Cooperative Employee Ownership: A model for Retaining Jobs & Anchoring Capital, April 28, 2006, 3 to 5 p.m., Humphrey Conference Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. This presentation, created for economic development staff of municipalities and CDCs, will overview the valuable models of cooperative employee ownership. If you have questions or to RSVP, please contact Tom Pierson at 612-338-5411 or tom.pierson@gmail.com. For some background, go to http://www.ncdf.org. While there check this out: Small Business Administration statistics show that while more than 50% of family businesses would like to pass their business on to the next generation, only 15% are actually able to do so. Employee cooperative ownership can maintain local ownership, preserve jobs, and retain a valued business in the community. Read more about employee-owned cooperative businesses in the NCF white paper, Using Worker Co-ops to Enhance the Economic Well-being of Rural Residents, http://www.ncdf.org/documents/WorkerCo-opProfiles.pdf, or call Kerstin Larson at (612) 767-2123.

-- Accessing Capital for Economic Development - Lending Opportunities in Indian Country, May 1-3, Mahnomen, MN. The purpose of this conference is to promote increased financing of American Indian businesses and economic development projects, on and off reservations, by providing information about a host of programs and initiatives. Contact the American Indian Economic Development Fund at 651-917-0819 or go to http://www.aiedfloans.org/

 --East Central TRAC Association - the newly incorporated non-profit organization TRAC (Tourism, Recreation, Arts and Crafts) is providing a value-added service to all businesses within the following counties: Aitkin, Crow Wing, Carlton, Stearns, Morrison, Benton, Mille Lacs, Sherburne, Isanti, Chisago, Pine and Kanabec.  A customer service training program to serve their designated areas will be held at the Onamia Railroad Depot on May 2, 2006 from 1-5 P.M.  Registration is necessary and class size will be limited. For more information, contact Judy Cain, TRAC Chair, and (320) 532-5626

--LIVING GREEN EXPO -- 5th annual - May 6 & 7: St. Paul, MN. The Expo provides information and products to help Minnesotans improve the environmental and social impacts of their day-to-day living. It features over 200 product, service, and information exhibitors and 66 workshops on a variety of sustainability and living green topics. Keynote addresses by Will Steger on global warming (http://www.globalwarming101.com/) and Wanda Urbanska on simple living (http://www.simplelivingtv.net/).  Free; in the Grandstand at the State Fair Grounds.
Details at http://www.livinggreen.org/

--Native IDA Initiative Training --Expanding Native Opportunity: Native IDA Initiative - June 13-15 in Minneapolis presented by First Nations Development Institute, First Nations Oweesta Corporation, and CFED. The Native IDA Initiative combines a three-day training institute with customized technical assistance to help your Native organization start-up, implement, and sustain Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) in your community.   Applications accepted until 5 pm PST on April 28, 2006. The institute is designed for participants who have a familiarity with IDAs, as well as the interest and capacity to implement IDAs in their communities within a year after completing the training. While consideration will be given to all applicants, preference will be given to CDFIs and other institutions serving Native people from Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.  To apply for the upcoming training institute, go to www.cfed.org/go/nida For further information about the Native IDA Initiative and training institute, please contact Jennifer Malkin at CFED, 415.495.2333 ext 103.

TOOLS and MISCELLANEOUS

--There is a new statewide study on the economic impact of the arts in Minnesota.  For access to the entire report online go to:  www.mtn.org/mca/mdastudypages/statewidefinalreport.pdf   You'll find the statewide version or you can also go to www.mtn.org/mca  to find the economic impact for any of Minnesota's individual economic development regions.

-- "A Robust Rural Economy," in the Main Street Economist by Jason Henderson reviews the performance of the rural economy in 2005 and provides an outlook for 2006.  The article discusses agriculture, rural job growth, and the impacts that energy is having on the rural economy. http://www.KansasCityFed.org/RuralCenter/mainstreet/MainStMain.htm.

--"Breaking the Fall: Cushioning the Impact of Rural Declining Enrollment,"a new report from the Rural School and Community Trust details 20 policies that provide students in communities experiencing declining enrollment with a high quality education and also buy time for communities to rebound, improve, or adjust to changes in population and revenue. The report also discusses the causes of declining enrollment and how it impacts small, rural schools.  It is available at www.ruraledu.org/decliningenrollment or contact the author, Lorna Jimerson at lorna.jimerson@ruraledu.org or 703 243-1487. 

--The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has released a new Community Developments Insights report, "SBA 504 Loan Program: Small Businesses" Window to Wall Street," highlighting program results and how banks may team up with certified development companies (CDCs) to make long-term loans for fixed assets and promote economic development.  To download, go to www.occ.gov/cdd/Insights_2-06.pdf.

--The winter issue of the Housing Assistance Council's "Rural Voices" details how rural communities have dealt with all kinds of disasters, from brownfields contamination to floods to infrastructure failure. Advance planning, capacity building and community participation are key elements to the success of the response. The magazine is free at http://www.ruralhome.org/infoRural.php or may be ordered from Luz Rosas 202-842-8600, luz@ruralhome.org.

--Rethinking Federal Policy for Regional Economic Development is in the first quarter Economic Review article by Mark Drabenstott examines how globalization has fundamentally changed the rules of the game in regional economic development-and how federal policy might shift to align with the new global economy.  http://www.KansasCityFed.org/PUBLICAT/ECONREV/ermain.htm

--"Social Security and Medicare: The Impending Fiscal Challenge" is in the first quarter Economic Review article by Craig S. Hakkio and Elisha J. Wiseman provides a framework for understanding the nature of the serious fiscal challenge posed by these programs-a prerequisite for finding specific solutions.  http://www.KansasCityFed.org/PUBLICAT/ECONREV/ermain.htm

--"The Trend Growth Rate of Employment:  Past, Present, and Future" is in the first quarter Economic Review article by Todd E. Clark and Taisuke Nakata examines declines in the growth rates of population and labor force participation that have caused the trend growth rate of employment to slow.  http://www.KansasCityFed.org/PUBLICAT/ECONREV/ermain.htm

--The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a Community Developments Insights report, "Commercial Lending in Indian Country: Potential Opportunities in an Untapped Market," which highlights best practices for banks making commercial loans on tribal trust lands as well as to tribes and tribal enterprises. This Insights report can be found on the OCC web site at http://www.occ.gov/cdd/CommLending.pdf

--The Federal Reserve Board has launched a new web page entitled Federal Reserve
Kids Page, to educate middle school students about the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System.  The site features information about the history,
structure, and primary functions of the Federal Reserve.  It also contains a
link to FED101, a source for information on the Federal Reserve and economic
education for all age groups.  Visit http://www.federalreserve.gov/kids/default.htm
for more information.

--The 2006 Minnesota Rural Health Conference Planning Committee is seeking nominations to honor a Minnesota Rural Health Hero and an Outstanding Minnesota Rural Health Team. The awards will be presented at the Minnesota Rural Health Conference July 17-18 in Duluth, Minnesota. The deadline for submissions is May 9. Nomination information is online at http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/orhconf06.html#award or contact Mary Ann Radigan at maryann.radigan@health.state.mn.us or (651) 282-6338.

PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

-- Northwest Area Foundation - Horizons Program Manager.  This position has primary management responsibilities for the Foundation's rural leadership development activities that help communities reduce poverty. The program is delivered in eight states through a network of grantee organizations with a presence in several hundred rural and reservation communities.  Positions reports to the Horizons Program Lead.  Questions about the positions should be directed to Jason Booth at Ishpi, Inc. www.ishpi.biz

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

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