Minnesota Rural Urban Connections Project

We had a lively discussion during our video conference on Wednesday, February 24^th .  We heard several great examples of rural urban renewable energy  initiatives that are occurring in this part of the state.  We also heard examples of rural urban connections that involved community-based efforts, higher education and the arts.

Our next video conference will be on Thursday, March 4, from 3:30 – 5:00 PM. Featured connections will be local food networks and entrepreneurship in southern Minnesota.  For more information click on our video conferences page.

Below are some of the rural urban renewable energy examples that were discussed during the video conference this past Wednesday.

Hill Grocery House in Montevideo, MN.  This is the first ground source heat based home in Montevideo.  This innovative low-income affordable, renewable energy home has many partners, including Habitat for Humanity West Central MN, Clean Up the River Environment (CURE), and has utilized expertise from a number of partners across the state, including Habitat for Humanity MN and the Center for Sustainable Building Research.

We also heard many examples of renewable energy projects that are being led by the Southwest Initiative Foundation. These include: Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI), a Renewable Energy Loan Program that funds community wind projects, the Youth Energy Summit (YES!) program in SW Minnesota.

We learned about a new online resource, REDI Resources, that connects communities with resources that help them plan, implement, and manage clean energy projects.  Check it out at www.rediresources.org.

We heard from three of the YES! projects across southwest Minnesota:

Willmar Community Greenhouse YES! Project (Youth Energy Summit)

Goals: Collaborate with community groups and businesses for the purpose of growing local produce year round. This project will demonstrate the energy saving and health benefits of growing produce at the local level.

Morris Student Energy Leadership Team (SELT) YES!

Goals: SELT addresses Reducing, Recycling, Reusing and Cleaning of the Earth’s resources through projects with monthly Environmental Education, Action, and Political components around recycling, protecting the river, energy monitoring, and electronic waste collection.

Hutchinson FFA YES!

Mission/Goals: Reduce the number of dumpsters used at the High School and reduce the waste being disposed of at the landfill, diverting it to recycling and composting facilities.

There are several renewable energy initiatives that are being researched and developed at the West Central Research and Outreach Center at the University of MN Morris.  We heard examples of Biomass and Wind to Hydrogen to Ammonia projects that are being developed at this center.

We heard from Windustry, a nonprofit, based in Minneapolis, who talked about wind resource maps and estimates that show an increase in the potential for Wind energy in the United States.

Other examples of rural urban connections in southwest Minnesota not related to renewable energy include:

The Arts Meander is an art crawl in the Upper Minnesota River Valley that has helped to brand this area as a cultural mecca and draws people from urban areas and surrounding states the first weekend in October each year.

A community-based effort called Pioneering A Healthier Marshall that seeks to improve the health of citizens living in and around Marshall.

Solar Installations Curriculum that is being developed at Ridgewater College.

Southwest Amateur Sports Commission in Marshall, is one of seven regional sports centers in Minnesota. These regional centers concentrate state efforts and resources in a number of communities to maximize the economic and social benefits of amateur sports.

We know there are many more examples of rural urban connections occurring in SW Minnesota and across Minnesota. We hope that the examples mentioned above will generate ideas and examples of rural urban connections happening in your area.

Share your examples with us!  Click on the Submit Examples of Rural Urban Connections button on this page or fill out the Rural Urban Connections Form.

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Southwest Minnesota Video Conference

Featured Connections: Renewable Energy

This video conference was held on Wednesday, February 24th, from 3:00 –  5:00 p.m. Forty-eight people attended at the following six locations:

Montevideo: Montevideo High School – Library
1501 William Ave, Montevideo, MN

Marshall: Marshall High School – Fine Arts Conference Room
400 Tiger Drive – Fine Arts Entrance, Marshall, MN

Willmar: Willmar High School – Library
2701 30th Street NE, Willmar, MN

Hutchinson: Hutchinson High School – Library
1200 Roberts Road, Hutchinson, MN

Morris: U of MN Morris – Humanities / Fine Arts Building, Room 7
600 E 4th St, Morris, MN

Edina: Edina High School – Professional Library Room
6754 Valley View Road Edina, MN