August 2006 Volume IV, Number 8

Compiled by Deb Miller Slipek, News Finder Extraordinary & Jane Leonard, MRP President & Editor
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We just wanted to warn you that this issue is super-packed with all sorts of information, so dig in or browse, but just be prepared for a lot of great stuff. As always, if you want to go right to the website version, click on http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/newsletter.htm

IN THIS ISSUE:

- ACROSS THE FIELD
- OFFICE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP PLANNING MEETING
- FUNDING
- MEETINGS & CONFERENCES
- OPPORTUNITIES
- RESOURCES & MISCELLANEOUS

ACROSS THE FIELD, by Jane Leonard

Picking up threads to weave whole fabric again

Many of you are on vacation this month, for real, or at least in your mind. So we’ll try to keep this issue short, so you can peruse during your fast, fleeting leisure.

It soon will be time to pick up the loose threads left hanging when summer began. What a tough summer it’s been for many of our neighbors: drought and the heightened physical reminders of global warming, more war in the Middle East, and tonight as I write this, more bad news about gas prices. The Alaskan pipeline will shutdown for repair. Hurricane season is beginning, too. The din makes you go numb. Will anything be okay again?

Someone told me this summer that it’s time we grew up. Don’t wait for disaster to bring us together. It’s time we created hope again – not false, shallow hope, but long-term, hard work tangible hope. Minnesota Rural Partners aims to do that and asks for your help, to pick up the loose threads and weave a whole fabric. Save some time on your calendar throughout this fall, winter and spring, to weigh in and share ideas as we build towards the 10thl Annual Rural Summit, set for May 10 & 11, 2007, at Cragun’s Resort in the Brainerd Lakes area. (AND THEN BE SURE TO COME TO CRAGUN’s MAY 10 & 11, 2007!)

For the May 2007 event, we’re going to follow-through with the “Thriving by Design” theme we started to talk about at this year’s Small Town Symposium and Rural Summit back in June. Check out deeper background on this at http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/2006summit/JLeonardkeynoteSummit06.pdf

Minnesota will be 150 years old as a state on May 11, 2008, and in the year preceding that, MRP will help get the Sesquicentennial ball rolling in the right direction to build a thoughtful, proactive “design” for a thriving future. Our parents and grandparents made such investments – in education, transportation, conservation, business, science & technology and more - 50 years ago, for the Minnesota Centennial, and set Minnesota on a course that led the nation in so many arenas. We owe it to them and to our children to do as good, and maybe even a better job in setting an optimistic, solid track for the next 50 years.

We don’t have to start from scratch. Over 20 years ago, Minnesota citizens created several community capacity building programs, particularly for small towns and neighborhoods in Minnesota: the Governor’s Design Team (now known as the Minnesota Design Team); Minnesota Main Street, Minnesota Community Pride, Star City, Minnesota Beautiful, Picture-It-Painted. If your community participated in these programs and others over the years, join us this May, at the Rural Summit, for a reunion. Write to me between now and May, at jleonard@minnesotaruralpartners.org, and let me know how things have gone since those programs came to town. Then come to Cragun’s (just like the Partners in Progress conferences we had that generation ago…) and together we’ll plot the 21st century road map for a diverse, enlightened, and generous Minnesota future ahead.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: YOU ARE INVITED -- OFFICE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP planning meetings – August 16, 10 a.m. to noon.

This is the second in a series of four planning meetings: August 16 from 10 a.m. to noon at various videoconference sites across Minnesota. Check our website for locations and directions: http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/officeofentrepreneurs/index.htm. Contact info@minnesotaruralpartners.org to reserve a spot at the video sites. There will also be limited space at the UM St. Paul campus. Denise Pfeifer, who organized the first meetings in July, is in Australia for August, so if you have any questions, contact Jane Leonard at jleonard@minnesotaruralpartners.org.

For the August 16 meeting, we’ll hold small group discussions to react to the draft outline covering current environment, extent of existing resources, and function, scope and governance or proposed Office of Entrepreneurship. Then we’ll join together all the local sites for a statewide discussion and refinement. Watch the MRP website for the draft outline to come late this week or early next week for your most thoughtful consideration

July Meeting Follow-up:

Thanks to everyone who participated in the July 19th video conference. We had 8 locations and more than 60 participants statewide! A special thank-you to Representative Laura Brod and Representative Bob Gunther. Everyone really appreciates your taking the time to attend and your ongoing commitment to entrepreneurship coordination in Minnesota.

During the July meeting we had the opportunity to discuss what's been happening across the state of Minnesota regarding entrepreneurship, including services and initiatives that support entrepreneurs. We asked, "How would a coordinating office/consortium help entrepreneurs across the state? And what form should it take?" Minnesota has no shortage of resources. We do have a distribution and access challenge. So given all the work and resources that already exist, what might do to create a more coordinated system? How will it work? How will it be managed? And how will we pay for it?

Get engaged – build to meet current and future needs:

Whether you are able to attend the meetings or not, you still have the opportunity to provide us with your ideas and opinions. We created two websites to track 1) your feedback on a coordinating office/consortium on entrepreneurship in Minnesota and 2) organize information on existing services and initiatives for entrepreneurs.  If you haven’t already, please take the opportunity to tell us about your services and post comments. If you have already sent information via other methods we will make sure that they are put into the online resource link provided below.   

MN Entrepreneur Services and Resources   http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225HLZLV6Y4
Provide us with a description of the services you offer entrepreneurs. This link provides a common area to enter existing services and initiatives. They will be collected and transformed into a directory. Many of you in the first meeting expressed the need for such a directory. Once the resources are collected, we will make sure that you receive the inventory of resources. Please feel free to forward the link on to your colleagues!

Entrepreneurship Ideas & Comments http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey.zgi?p=WEB225HFCJRQEG
We have also created a web site for you to input your comments to the questions that were asked at the meeting:  "How would a coordinating office/consortium help entrepreneurs across the state? And what form should it take.”

If you were unable to attend the meeting, didn't have the opportunity to speak at the meeting, or would like your comments documented, please go to this link and provide us with your input. This link is set up so we can collectively gather everyone's thoughts.

Ongoing & Future Communication:

We have also set up a listserv so people interested in this topic can “talk” between face-to-face meetings. (More information is available at http://mapnp.geeks.org/mailman/listinfo/bizpathways1.)
If you know of someone who would like to be a part of this list, send us a message at info@minnesotaruralpartners.org with name and email address and we will be happy to add them to the MN Entrepreneurship list. 

Finally, we want to thank the Blandin Foundation for providing funding to hold these meetings and support the planning/writing process. MRP is grateful for this support; other contributions are always welcome. MRP is Minnesota’s state rural development council and is a private, non-profit organization, not a state agency. It does not receive any government support. It strives to be a neutral convenor of public, private and non-profit people and organizations working to connect rural and urban resources to help Minnesota thrive.

FUNDING

--MN Waters Conservation Partnership Grants applications available August 14 and due September 20, 2006.  Eligible applicants: new and current MN Waters members.  1/3 cash or in-kind match required.  Short-term (12 months) projects that demonstrate tangible results.  $5,000 maximum grant.  For more information or to receive an application in the mail, contact Molly Zins: mollyz@minnesotawaters.org or 218/824-5565.  This grant program is designed to support shoreland habitat improvement and restoration projects, aquatic invasive species management, and/or lake and river inventory and assessment projects to guide lake and river improvement, restoration and management.

--DEED Bioscience Business Development Public Infrastructure Grants are available. The MN Department of Employment and Economic Development is funding capital improvement projects which include: manufacturing; technology; warehousing and distribution; research and development; bioscience business incubator; agricultural bio-processing; or industrial, office, or research park development that would be used by a bioscience-based business.  $2 million is available state-wide and $2 million for Greater Minnesota only (excluding Olmsted County). DEED is now accepting pre-applications, which will be reviewed each Monday.  See: http://www.deed.state.mn.us/biozone/

--The USDA Rural Housing Service has $6 million available in grants for the RCDI program.  These grants should be used to provide financial and technical assistance to recipients to develop their capacity and ability to undertake projects related to housing, community facilities or community and economic development.  Applicants are required to provide matching funds in an amount at least equal to the Federal grant.  The deadline is October 10.  For more information, call William Kenney at 202-720-1506, email William.kenney@wdc.usda.gov or visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/rcdi/index.htm

MEETINGS and CONFERENCES

--The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines will be holding its 2006 regional conference August 8-9 in Sioux Falls, SD.  The theme of this year’s conference is “Capitalizing on Rural America.”  The sessions address the latest economic forecasts, entrepreneurship and successful community development. The conference will address how to grow rural areas (where more than 90 percent of the bank’s members are located) and how to grow your balance sheet.  For more information, call 800-544-3452 (ext 1159), or visit http://www.fhlbdm.com/au_calendar.htm

--Nonprofit Human Service Delivery: Government Partnerships and Systems Change will be held Thursday, August 10 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at West Central Industries, 1300 22nd St. SW
Willmar, MN  56201.  For questions or more information, contact:  Lois Schmidt, Bremer,  lcschmidt@bremer.com; Charlie Oakes, MCN Board member Charlie@wciservices.org: or Jeannie Fox, MCN Deputy Public Policy Director jeannie@mncn.org

--Grantseeking for Beginners Seminar provides beginning grantseekers with a solid, comprehensive introduction to the basics of grantwriting. This seminar will help you identify potential funding sources using the leading print and electronic research tools, learn the key elements of an effective grant proposal, and understand the grant proposal review and decision-making process from a grantmaker's point of view through an interactive panel discussion with some of Minnesota's leading foundations and corporate giving programs. Sponsored by the MN Council on Foundations.  It will be held August 14, 8:30-3:30 at the Continuing Education and Conference Center on the St. Paul Campus of the U of MN.  For more information call 612-338-1989 or go to www.mcf.org

--Minnesota State Arts Board Holding an Informational Forum on August 19, from 10 am to noon at the East Central Arts Council offices in Mora to gather input on improving their services to artists and arts organizations.  This Regional Forum will be an excellent opportunity for you to hear about what is new at the MSAB and for you to have the chance to express your thoughts and ideas about MSAB services.  If you are an artist, are connected with an arts organization or the school or public library systems or just interested in the arts, this will be the best opportunity this year for you to meet in person with MSAB staff.  We encourage early registration so that we can plan to accommodate additional people if necessary. You need to pre-register by August 11th.  Register by calling the East Central Arts Council office at 320-679-4065 extension 30 or reserve a space by emailing us at ecac@ecrdc.org

--Biobased Industry Outlook Conference will be held August 28 - 29, 2006 in Ames, IA presented by Iowa State University.  The theme is "Growing the Bio-economy: Reimagining Agriculture for National Energy Security."  This event is an opportunity for industry and community leaders, academicians, and government agencies to gather to learn and share information about manufacturing, distributing, and marketing biobased products. $75 - $145. Details at http://www.bioeconomyconference.org

--NeighborWorks’ Rural Chautauqua “Reaching the Promise of Rural America” will be held August 29 to September 1 in Polson, MT.  Come join rural community developers from the NeighborWorks network and others around the country to examine national rural issues and applaud local successes.  For more information, call 800-438-5547, email nti@nw.org or visit http://www.nw.org/network/training/calendar

---Grassroots & Groundwork conference, September 16-19, 2006
Crowne Plaza Riverfront Hotel, St. Paul, MN. The Northwest Area Foundation presents the second annual conference, featuring what communities across the country are doing to get out and stay out of poverty, See http://www.grassrootsandgroundwork.org/ for more information and registration.

--11th Annual Minnesota Development Conference will be October 4-5, 2006, and is entitled “Accelerating Innovation and Entrepreneurship.”   The keynote speaker on the first day will be Dr. Richard Florida author of The Creative Class and Flight of the Creative Class.  You can register for a ½ day $50 session that includes Florida’s session.  For more information or to register go to the DEED website page at:   http://www.deed.state.mn.us/events/devConf.htm

--"Connecting the Dots: Minnesota's First Cultural Heritage Tourism Summit -"Save the Date!*  Monday, October 9, 2005, 9 am - 4 pm at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  MAM is partnering with Explore Minnesota Tourism and many others to bring you this fabulous opportunity to connect with those in Minnesota who work with Cultural Tourism.  To learn more, check out the Save the Date site (http://www.mnarts.us/save-date4.html) and the Explore MN site (http://industry.exploreminnesota.com/Cultural_Heritage_Tourism_06.html).  Rudy Maxa of the Savvy Traveler will be the luncheon speaker!

--NEXT GENERATION BROADBAND: Policies, Practices, People, October 18 & 19, 2005 at the Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center, Alexandria, MN. Sponsored by the Blandin Foundation, in partnership with Association of Minnesota Counties, League of Cities, Iron Range Resources, and Minnesota Rural Partners. Go to http://www.blandinfoundation.org/html/public_bb_conference%202006.cfm for more information and registration online.

OPPORTUNITIES

--Request for Proposal for a consultant(s) to serve as project manager for the planned Statewide Assessment Project of the Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota.  Please note that the deadline for responding is August 31, 2006. Questions should be addressed to Leslie Schumacher, President, Regional Arts Council Forum of Minnesota, c/o Central Minnesota Arts Board, PO Box 458, Foley, MN 56329.  Phone: (320) 968-4290 E-mail:   mail@centralmnartsboard.org

--Eco Experience volunteers needed!  The Eco Experience, presented by the Minnesota State Fair and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, is the first of its kind, cutting-edge display on renewable energy, new fuels and vehicles, and organic farming at the Great Minnesota Get- Together. The Eco Experience will feature an indoor green space with lush rain gardens, an eco home, a live stage, and much more!  Want to be a part of this new and exciting exhibit? The MPCA is looking for volunteers who are knowledgeable in solar issues and volunteers who will serve as exhibitor assistants throughout the Fair (August 24 - September 4, 2006). 3-hour shifts are available and people may sign up for consecutive shifts or multiple days. Volunteers will receive a t-shirt and a free Fair admission ticket.  For more information, visit the webpage. http://www.pca.state.mn.us/ecoexperience/  Those interested can also contact Joan Heldt at joan.heldt@state.mn.us or 651/296-8549.  Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older.

RESOURCES and MISCELLANEOUS

--USDA Farm Bill 2007 Rural Development Theme Papers describe the current state of rural development. Discusses and evaluates current key rural development programs available to communities and individuals through the USDA and concludes with a discussion of general policy alternatives. www.usda.gov/documents/Farmbill07ruraldevelopmentsum.pdf  or
www.usda.gov/documents/Farmbill07ruraldevelopmentsum.doc

--Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators 2006 Edition. These chapters describe trends in resources used in and affected by agricultural production, as well as the economic conditions and policies that influence agricultural resource use and its environmental impacts. Each of the 28 chapters provides a concise overview of a specific topic with links to sources of additional information. Chapters are available in HTML and pdf formats. See http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/arei/eib16/

--Asset-Based Community Development Workbooks. Identifying community problems, deficits and needs, and devising ways to improve or fill them, is a common top-down approach. It commands the vast majority of our financial resources (flowing through "service providers") and can create dependent citizens and "client neighborhoods." In contrast, the positive, grassroots, prevention-oriented field of asset based development focuses on identifying and tapping local resources and assets, including people, marginalized groups, institutions, local government, buildings and infrastructure, and businesses.  For more information go to http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/publications/community/introd-building.html
http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/abcd.html

--The Annie E. Casey Foundation recently released the 2006 Kids Count Book. It reports that national trends in child well-being are no longer improving in the steady way they did in the late 1990s, with more than 13 million children living in poverty in 2004; an increase of 1 million over four years. It shows that 3 out of the 10 Child Well-Being Indicators have worsened since 2000.  For more information and to read the data book online please visit http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/sld/databook.jsp

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EDITORS' NOTES: Thanks for your patience as we took time off for some summer vacation. We’ll be back on our regular schedule in August – newsletter publication date is August 8, so please have items of news and interest to us by August 4. If you have news, announcements, job listings, etc., please send them to jleonard@minnesotaruralpartners.org. We also accept paid advertisements and sponsorships to support the creation of the newsletter. Minnesota Rural Partners is a non-profit organization – we ask you to consider the work we do and if you find value in it, please make an investment to help sustain that work.

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

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