The evening began with conversations among people living in the same geographic region.  Members of each group were asked to share why they came to the Gathering and to name examples of positive rural-urban connections.  Individual comments were posted on flipcharts to encourage the exchange of ideas during the event and later transcribed to benefit further development of the RurbMN Project.

What drew people to attend the Rural Urban Gathering?  Most wanted to learn about people and organizations doing similar work, hoping to use that information for activities such as community building and economic development.  “I am here to work on establishing connections to help grow our communities and improve the quality of life for our residents,” said one participant, while another hoped “to further local community sustainable momentum through connections and knowledge of interdependent resources.” 

“I want to understand others’ work and where they do the work.  I hope to gain more allies and more ideas of how to achieve goals.”  Comments such as these indicate that attendees believe that others are addressing similar challenges throughout the state, but without a forum to bring people together, everyone is attempting to find solutions and create opportunities in isolation.  People want to learn from each other and collaborate, both for the benefit of their communities and for the state as a whole.  “Challenges and issues are interconnected; solutions must be, too,” is how one person described it.

Perhaps as a consequence of this isolation, a number of people commented on misunderstandings between rural and urban:  “Urban people don’t understand the challenges facing farmers and how complex local food can be.” There’s a “misunderstanding of farmers by urbanites and vice versa.”  “Weak ties between urban headquarters and rural plants; could drop rural partner for another state or country.”  “Stereotypes of backwardness are supported by lack of cooperation between rural and urban.”  “In urban areas, rural connections are not covered or acknowledged because it is considered a completely separate world.”

What are the existing connections between rural and urban that participants want to build upon?  Participants cited efforts around renewable energy, local foods, government, transportation, education, farmers markets, law enforcement, research, water resources, library services, technology, art, public television, nonprofit organizations, economic development, tourism and co-ops.  Some examples were organizations, while others were local, regional or statewide programs or events.

During the next part of the process, the entire room brainstormed topic areas or sectors related to rural-urban connections and then each person selected an issue for further conversation.  The sectors people chose to talk about were transportation, broadband, energy, food, business/economic development, entrepreneurship, education, infrastructure/public works/water, aging and immigration.   The larger group also identified other topics that should be considered in the future:  homelessness/people at risk, faith community/volunteerism, second homes, industry clusters, recreation/tourism, heritage, brain drain, youth entrepreneurship and preservation.  Each group that convened around a chosen sector discussed what rural and urban have in common, described challenges associated with collaboration and discussed positive examples of rural urban connections.

Participants obviously focused on the fact that that both urban and rural are experiencing job losses due to the recession and budget cuts.  Other common challenges are

• the demand for more transportation options both for people and for the movement of goods (“Want and need options for mobility other than hop in the car—polling confirms this.”),
• difficulty obtaining capital for entrepreneurial ventures (“Young people, immigrants and refugees have a particularly challenging time finding access to capital.”)and
• increasing need for investment in infrastructure (“Dramatically decreased local government funding for services results in horrendous challenges to maintaining infrastructure and local quality of life.”). 

Those particular challenges were mentioned as issues for a variety of sectors, including transportation, food, entrepreneurship and energy.    

Participants also identified points of common interest that they thought should be developed for the benefit of the state as a whole.   The entrepreneurship sector noted that rural and urban “both have a vested interest in developing entrepreneurial projects and sharing resources” because a significant number of people in both areas are starting their own businesses in response to economic difficulty.  They commented that improving the flow of information about business development strategies, networking opportunities and technical assistance would go a long way towards supporting new ventures.  “Social media is driving connections between urban and rural” was an observation repeated in several sector groups.  Technology was viewed as an effective way to link people interested in areas such as local food production and K-12 education, in addition to economic development.  “Both realities have access to online communities.  The use of the internet can foster and create new rural-urban links and connections,” according to someone in the education group.

The examples of successful collaboration again were organizations (such as the Minnesota Food Association, Minitex and the University of Minnesota Extension Service) and programs (for example the Minnesota Design Team, Dream of Wild Health and Buy Fresh Buy Local) that connect people with each other and with resources.

Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc., will use this information to shape the RurbMN project.  Efforts to document, illustrate, strengthen and expand rural urban connections will be enriched by the experiences and opinions people shared during the Gathering.

You can download contest guidelines and applications and learn more about the 2010 contest (including summaries of award-winning community projects from the 2009 25^th anniversary competition) here.  There is no charge for contest entry, though a donation of $25 is welcomed to help cover contest logistics.

All communities will be recognized, winners announced, and cash awards distributed August 29 at the Minnesota State Fair.  Everyone is encouraged to have a display the day of the celebration because the event is a fun way for people all over the state to learn about your community’s project.  We’ll give two free State Fair admission tickets to each community that lets us know in advance that they’re coming on August 29.

The program is co-sponsored by the Minnesota State Fair, MinnPost.com, and Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc. and is open to all Minnesota communities, including neighborhoods.  Special categories this year include Rural Urban Partnering and Youth-Led Community Engagement.

Category-Specific Awards are for existing or emerging projects that fall within specific categories such as arts, broadband, entrepreneurship and more and take place in a community or neighborhood. Communities of all sizes are invited to nominate a project, including neighborhood associations within larger towns or cities.

Comprehensive, Community-Wide Awards are for existing or emerging efforts in a community or neighborhood, with projects that involve multiple sectors and organizations working together to improve their community. In this community-wide improvement recognition contest, communities compete with other communities based on population size.

Weaving through all submissions should be evidence of the Reinventing Minnesota motto:  Connect, Create, Thrive — citizen engagement, collaboration, innovation, creativity, imagination, problem solving, awareness, and information sharing.

To talk to a human being about this competition, call Emily Kissane at 651-983-9095, or Jane Leonard at 651-303-5263.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

Attendance surpassed organizers’ predictions. Energy at the one evening-one day event was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Half of the attendees had never been to Morris before. What a bonus for first-timers to experience a part of their state different from their home communities.

That’s all good news for everyone concerned with Minnesota’s resilience in the face of economic challenges. Last year the 2009 event was cancelled due to low registration – it was a year beset by economic cuts and fears. Let it be said that the 2010 event exemplified hope and determination, to invest in our communities again, to know we have a thriving future ahead of us, if we put our heads and hearts together and give each other a hand up. You can see more on the combined Symposium and Rural Urban Gathering atwww.centerforsmalltowns.org and www.rurb.mn.

As co-host of this event, we at Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc. (MRP, Inc.) wish to thank our other co-host, the UM Morris Center for Small Towns, and other partners, such as the UM Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and the Association of Small Cities, for having the confidence and taking the risk to help people meet face-to-face again. Thanks as well to the Blandin Foundation and other sponsors. We needed everyone to pull together to pull this off, and we did! Thank You!

We want to keep the momentum going, to continue to share good ideas from communities across Minnesota. So be sure to sign up for the Reinventing Minnesota-Minnesota Community Pride Competition, hosted by the Minnesota State Fair, MRP, Inc., and MinnPost.com. The entry deadline is July 16. All communities will be recognized, winners announced, and cash awards given out at the Minnesota State Fair on Sunday, August 29. Check it out at www.reinventingminnesota.org or call Emily Kissane at 651-983-9095.

The previous is an excerpt by Jane Leonard from the Minnesota Rural Partners Round-up online newsletter.  Read the June 2010 MN Rural Round-up in it’s entirety online.

Many thanks to reception hosts U of MN Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and to The Strollers, Southwest Minnesota’s premier acoustic blues trio.

If you were unable to join us, but are interested in learning more about or participating in the Rural-Urban Partnering Council, send us an email at feedback@rurb.mn.

Marcy Hanneman, Community Services Director for Breckenridge Public Schools, told the group about her department’s programs and activities, which include classes, home visits, childcare visits, support for teenage parents and a dental clinic.  They collaborate with Early Childhood Family Education providers, public health practitioners, the school district and court system.  They are part of the Wilkin County Early Childhood Initiative and receive funding from the United Way and the Initiative Foundation.

The current budget environment has led to greater collaboration among community service partners.  They meet regularly to discuss case management, ensuring that clients receive necessary services without a duplication of effort.  The economic downturn has placed more people at risk, and service providers are seeing more young people and an increased diversity of families.  This tougher caseload requires more management and support services.

Marcy also described her department’s close relationship with Wahpeton, North Dakota.  Breckenridge provides Early Childhood Family Education classes and other services that Wahpeton and surrounding communities do not have.  As their services area has increased, telecommunication and other technologies have been invaluable to keeping people connected.

Hugh Dufner discussed his organic potato business, Hugh’s Gardens, which is located near Moorhead (the potato packing shed is in downtown Halstad).  Hugh grew up in the Red River Valley, and after service with the Peace Corp and work in East Africa, he returned to Minnesota to begin his organic farm enterprise.  His potatoes currently are sold locally, in the Twin Cities and as far away as Pennsylvania and California.  Hugh is interested in pursuing business with colleges, universities and schools in the state as well as looking to cooperative distribution with other producers.  Hugh speaks Spanish and shares his talents helping others with interpretation and in building relationships with Spanish-speaking workers.

Learn about and share more stories at the upcoming Symposium on Small Towns & Rural Urban Gathering,  June 9 and 10 at the University of Minnesota Morris. There are great sessions and a Rural-Urban Gathering (the evening of June 9 at the Prairie Inn in Morris) that can help you help your community thrive in these ever-changing times.  Registration is just $65 and there are still scholarships available to cover registration. Get more information and register at http://www.morris.umn.edu/cst/symposium/2010/.

Hope to see you in Morris!

We are excited to be launching Minnesota Main Street to assist local communities in their commercial district revitalization efforts.  This first year, we have a very short application window for communities to apply and be accepted as Designated Minnesota Main Street programs due to funding time constraints.  Application and registration materials, along with more detailed information are available online here: http://www.mnpreservation.org/programs/main-street/

We want to ensure that we are helping communities succeed with this model of downtown revitalization.  To provide us with the necessary time to make this important selection, we are requesting that the application for Designated MN Main Street Programs be filled out and returned to the office of the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota no later than 5 p.m. on June 21, 2010.

The difference between “Designated MN Main Street Communities” and “Associate Members”…

Designated Minnesota Main Street Program

This is a local commercial district revitalization program that uses the Four-Point approach, has broad community support, paid staff, and meets (or will soon be able to meet) other standards.

Associate Member Community of Minnesota Main Street

This may range from a community just learning about Main Street with a group of volunteers to a long-standing downtown development group with years of success under its belt. Only need to send in registration form with payment, no selection criteria applies.

Minnesota Main Street is already in the process of considering our application timeline for the 2011 program designation.  Please note that applicants not selected in 2010 will be given feedback about their application to use in reapplying in 2011.  The 2011 application process will also favorably weight applications from communities that are Minnesota Main Street Associate Members this year.

For more information,  please contact Emily Northey at (651) 293-9047 or by email at enorthey@mnpreservation.org with any questions you have along the way. www.mnpreservation.org

The Minnesota Main Street Program is recognized by the National Trust Main Street Center® as the official statewide coordinating program in Minnesota. The Minnesota Main Street Program has been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

We are delighted to announce that the “Reinventing Minnesota – Minnesota Community Pride Competition” is open for applications as of June 1, 2010, with all communities recognized, winners announced, and cash awards distributed August 29 at the Minnesota State Fair. Applications are due July 16, 2010.  There is no charge for contest entry, though a donation of $25 is welcomed to help cover contest logistics.

You can download contest guidelines and applications and learn more about the 2010 contest (including summaries of award-winning community projects from the 2009 25^th anniversary competition) at http://www.reinventingminnesota.org/mn_pride.html .

The program is co-sponsored by the Minnesota State Fair, MinnPost.com, and Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc. and is open to all Minnesota communities, including neighborhoods.  Special categories this year include Rural Urban Partnering and Youth-Led Community Engagement.

Category-Specific Awards are for existing or emerging projects that fall within specific categories such as arts, broadband, entrepreneurship and more and take place in a community or neighborhood. Communities of all sizes are invited to nominate a project, including neighborhood associations within larger towns or cities.

Comprehensive, Community-Wide Awards are for existing or emerging efforts in a community or neighborhood, with projects that involve multiple sectors and organizations working together to improve their community. In this community-wide improvement recognition contest, communities compete with other communities based on population size.

Weaving through all submissions should be evidence of the Reinventing Minnesota motto:  Connect, Create, Thrive — citizen engagement, collaboration, innovation, creativity, imagination, problem solving, awareness, and information sharing.

To talk to a human being about this competition, call Emily Kissane at 651-983-9095, or Jane Leonard at 651-303-5263.

And/Or:

Check out the Minnesota Community Pride information table and other hands-on community resources – such as Minnesota Main Street and the Minnesota Design Team —  at the upcoming Symposium on Small Towns & Rural Urban Gathering,  June 9 and 10 at the University of Minnesota Morris. There are great sessions and a Rural-Urban Gathering (the evening of June 9 at the Prairie Inn in Morris) that can help you help your community thrive in these ever-changing times.  Registration is just $65 and there are still scholarships available to cover registration. Get more information and register at http://www.morris.umn.edu/cst/symposium/2010/

We look forward to receiving your applications!

Jane Leonard
President
Minnesota Rural Partners
www.minnesotaruralpartners.org

Kristin Seuntjens talked about how Pine Center for the Arts has grown into a successful community gathering place focused on visual arts, music, dance, theater and writing.  The Center was started by volunteers in March 2008, and in the past year over 7,000 people have participated in lessons, workshops and special events.  A sampling of events includes:

• Host of the IMAGE Art Show, sponsored by the East Central Arts Council.  Each year the Art Show and the cash awards honor some of the finest art and artists in the region.
• Poetry readings by Angela Foster and Edward Micus, in collaboration with Pine Technical College.
• A concert by the Boston-based, a cappella group Ball in the House.
• Poetry on the Sidewalk and other programs in collaboration with the East Central Regional Library.

Recently, a benefactor gave the Center space downtown, so the group has room for a gallery and studios.  They also received a grant from the East Central Arts Council to fund a staff position.  Eighty percent of funds generated by classes and workshops go to the teaching artists, and twenty percent covers Center costs.

Kristin reported that while Pine hasn’t had a reputation as an arts community, many community members have either taken beginning classes or have nurtured existing talents through teaching at the Center.  Marketing is done via the website, word of mouth and teaching artists’ mailing lists.  People have come from as far as Hastings to take classes.

Center partners mentioned:

• East Central Regional Library
• Pine Technical College
• Pine City Heritage Players
• Pine City Arts Council

Mary Minnick-Daniels gave an overview of state arts funding and her organization, the East Central Arts Council.  The state’s arts funds are distributed in two streams:  (1) an appropriation to the Minnesota State Arts Board (which redistributes a considerable amount of their funds through grants) and (2) allocations to the eleven regional arts councils.

The East Central Arts Council awards $500 grants to eligible organizations and also funds larger projects, like placing artists in schools and field trips.

The state’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund has dramatically increased the Council’s capacity to support projects, and they can now offer organizations assistance with operating costs and some equipment purchases.

Julie Dalgleish, Director of the Bush Foundation’s Artist Program, reported that the Foundation is in transition but remains committed to the arts.  They are particularly interested in projects that increase a community’s ability to solve problems and that focus on social issues.

Cindy Buck discussed the Kanabec County Art Association, which convenes weekly get-togethers at the history center and other events, such as the Vasaloppet Art Show.

Deborah Stull Kinsley told the group about her new organization, the Wild River Arts Program (WRAP) in Marine on St. Croix.   They have been partnering with Young Life in Stillwater to provide students with opportunities for arts education.  The Wild River Arts Program is recruiting teaching artists who are interested in teaching at one of their upcoming Creativity Camps. For more information about their programs please check out the WRAP brochure(PDF) or contact Deborah Stull Kinsley at info@wildriverarts.org.

Other resources and organizations mentioned during the meeting:

• Someday Isle / Depot Studios
• Franconia Sculpture Park
• Forecast Public Art
• Bright Stars:  Charting the Impact of the Arts in Rural Minnesota, McKnight Foundation report
• Reports by Ann Markusen:
  • “The Artistic Dividend: The Arts’ Hidden Contributions to Regional Development.”(PDF) 2003. With David A. King. Project on Regional and Industrial Economics, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.
  • “The Artistic Dividend Revisited.”(PDF)2004. With Gregory Schrock and Martina Cameron. Project on Regional and Industrial Economics, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.
  • “Building the Creative Economy for Minnesota’s Artists and Communities.”(PDF) 2006. CURA Reporter, Summer: 16-25.
  Our next Rural Urban Connections video conference will be on Thursday, June 3rd.  Click on the Video Conferences page on our blog to learn more information.

In tough economic times, the importance of connecting with people and ideas outside of our local situations becomes vital. Join with us this June in Morris, Minnesota, to engage our shared ingenuity and optimism at the 2010 Symposium on Small Towns and Rural-Urban Gathering entitled “Finding Solutions and Redefining Communities.”

The Symposium and Rural Urban Gathering will be focusing on leadership, capacity building and practical improvements for small communities and strengthening rural-urban connections to build back a thriving Minnesota for all.

The University of Minnesota, Morris Center for Small Towns and Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc. and their Rural Urban Connections project are pleased to co-host this event. The Symposium will be a one-day event on June 10, 2010. The Rural Urban Gathering begins the evening of June 9.

Highlights this year include:

• Gubernatorial candidates discussing “How Public Policies are Improving Rural Small Town Viability” during the popular policy forum;
• Colleen Landkamer, Minnesota State Director for USDA Rural Development and former President of the National Association of Counties as a featured speaker;
• A featured panel that will emphasize small communities with big success stories; and
• Information-packed small breakout sessions and a festive Showcase Fair. Please contact the Center for Small Towns to learn more about Showcase opportunities for your community or organization.

The Rural-Urban Gathering will be held on the evening of June 9, 2010, hosted by Minnesota Rural Partners, Inc. The focus of the gathering will be on the formation of the Rural-Urban Partnering Council with its emphasis on education, workforce and entrepreneurship to increase innovation and wealth creation across Minnesota. All are welcome to attend and to consider becoming a member of the inaugural Council.

The Symposium and Rural-Urban Gathering will include a good mix of people with a wide range of perspectives, practical ideas for conserving resources, small breakout sessions to spur your imagination to help your own communities and wholesome local food! The location is on the open landscape of University of Minnesota Morris and the City of Morris which have become a hub for discussions on the status of small towns and home to exemplary research and demonstration programs on renewable energy and sustainability initiatives.

Visit www.centerforsmalltowns.org and rurb.mn for the full Conference Schedule and more information and to register for this event.

Registration is only $65 for the Symposium on June 10; join in on the Rural-Urban Gathering on the evening of June 9 for no additional fee. Generous contributions from sponsors are making numerous scholarships available with the already low cost to attend. Please check the box on the Registration page to indicate your interest.

The participation level is very encouraging; we are excited to see you all here! If you have any questions, please feel free to call Barb at the Center for Small Towns at 320-589-6451 or email her at hessebj@morris.umn.edu.