Posts Tagged ‘Minnesota Extension’

Population Decline: a “Main Event”

September 7th, 2011

Population decline is the “main event” and just not a symptom of another problem (i.e. – the lack of jobs).  That’s the message shared by Caleb Pollard in a recent blog post titled “Solving Population Decline in Rural Nebraska.”

Caleb is the Executive Director at the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce.  He makes this point while advocating that Nebraskans support a legislative resolution authorizing an interim study on rural population decline. 

For some people, this argument may seem like semantics.  After all, economic opportunities and population growth or decline are tightly connected. 

I for one agree with Caleb.  It is time that we look at the health of our communities through the lens of why people move to and from rural communities. 

Luckily, I see good resources beginning to be developed in this area.  For instance the Center for Applied Rural Innovations has created a section on their website called the Buffalo Commons.  Similarly, the University of Minnesota Extension has begun sharing similar resources on their website in a section titled Brain Gain in Minnesota. 

I’m not sure what a legislative study on rural population decline will accomplish, but I think it’s a significant step that Nebraska’s policy makers are begining to see rural population decline as the “main event.”

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Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (5)

Another learning opportunity from Minnesota

June 28th, 2010

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across the Southwest Initiative Foundation’s Blog.  I was familiar with the SWIF’s good work via their website as well as other sources.  But this was the first time I’d connected with their blog.  I was excited to see it because it gives me a reason to check back on their efforts more often.

Of particular note, I discovered one blog post titled “Social Marketing for Business 101“ featuring Neil Linscheid, Minnesota Extension Educator extraordinaire (you may also remember Neil from my blog post referencing “the stare”).  Neil had partnered with the SWIF to deliver “Social Media 101″ training to thiry-three Luverne, MN business owners.    

We’ve been advocating for quite some time that rural community development leaders figure out how to help local businesses engage in more effective social media strategies, so it’s great to hear about these efforts in rural Minnesota. 

After reading the post, I fired off an e-mail to Neil, asking for further details.  He responded with great information, including an invitation to a second round of training in Ortonville, MN.  There’s a long shot that I will buzz over to the sessions tonight.  If I do, I will report back on the details.  

In case I don’t, however, I’d like to pass along a few thoughts for anyone looking to develop similar training in rural communities. 

1. Make sure you extend a personal invitation to businesses owners. Neil offices out of Marshall, MN. I’m sure he’s got a great network across the region, but nothing can replace the power of a personal invitation from a friend. In the case of the Luverne training, Neil credits “Tammy” the owner of the Coffey Haus, for the great turnout. (I think thirty-seven attendees in a community of 4500 is outstanding.)

2. Develop a system for ongoing support. One of the pit falls of many training programs is that they often involve a one-night session. These sessions are great at building excitement. But excitement wears away quickly when people don’t have any place to go for ongoing support. Neil is currently developing some “coaches” who will fulfill that role.

3. Highlight examples of how local businesses are effectively using social media. Before jumping into anything new like social media, people have to see themselves being able to use the technology. That’s difficult if the only examples of businesses using social media effectively are the size of the Ford Motor company. Neil explained that Tammy, from the Coffey Haus, served that role as well. Leading up to the training, they worked together to develop the Coffey Huas’ plan. (check out the Coffey Haus’ Facebook page.) I’m sure many of the attendees thought, “If Tammy can do it, so can I.”  When I shared this with Neil he responded, “It’s the truth. Before we can make lasting changes we need to believe it’s something we can accomplish.”

Neil hinted at further training opportunities, but I’m not sure if any have been officially planned yet.  If you are interested in training like this coming to your community, I’d encourage you to contact Neil.

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Posted in Community Engagement, Rural, Training and Events | Comments (1)