[Recommended reading] University, millennials collaborate for talent research in Greater Minnesota counties

We're excited that our Greater Minnesota Rising project continues to gain traction and interest across the state. Check out the latest coverage in the Walker Pilot-Independent to learn more about the effort to attract and retain next generation leaders in northwestern Minnesota!

University, millennials collaborate for talent research in Greater Minnesota counties

Posted: Saturday, July 18, 2015 7:00 am

staff reports pilotnews@pilotindependent.com

ST. PAUL — Minnesota Rising, a group of millennial generation leaders, and the University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) are supporting a project to study how North Central and West Central Minnesota communities might better attract and retain young professionals.

The project, dubbed Greater Minnesota Rising, won a grant from the Mary J. Page Community-University Partnership Fund, which is advised by RSDP, to support Humphrey School of Public Affairs student Brooke McManigal, who will research the region’s assets and challenges related to workforce needs and community vitality.

“Minnesota Rising is a network of emerging leaders working to build relationships, trust, and a shared vision for the future,” said Diane Tran, the organization’s founder. “We’re excited to partner with these communities in Greater Minnesota to help ensure shared prosperity for all Minnesotans.”

The project is based on the hopeful work of University of Minnesota Extension researcher Ben Winchester, who showed that, despite a net migration of recent high school graduates from rural areas, some parts of Greater Minnesota have recently experienced a “brain gain” of people between the ages of 30-49.

That work makes sense to Minnesota Rising member Chet Bodin, a state labor analyst who moved to Nisswa a year ago and helped organize Greater Minnesota Rising. “To many folks, our part of the state carries a lot of sentimental value, summertime on the lakes, family vacations, and so on,” he said. “But the level of innovation and economic ingenuity is also remarkable; our region is not only a fun place to visit, but a fine area to make a life.”

The project will involve communities and people in Cass, Crow Wing, Todd, Wadena, Morrison, Clay, Becker, Wilkin, Otter Tail, Grant, Douglas, Stevens, Pope, and Traverse counties through November and develop recommendations for engaging local emerging leaders and community organizations around future workforce needs, broadening of the tax base, and talent attraction in light of the area’s changing demographics.

“The next generation of leaders in Greater Minnesota will be asked to step up in new ways — to care for an aging population, to lead civic life, and to help their communities to transition in the new economy,” said Bodin. “This project will engage emerging leaders in a space and process to unpack how we can prepare for the opportunities and challenges quickly approaching our communities.”

The Greater Minnesota Rising project is the second to be supported by the Mary Page Community-University Partnership Fund, established by family and friends of former Olivia Mayor, Renville County Commissioner, and University of Minnesota Regent Mary Page (1934-2013). It is being conducted in collaboration with Raising The Bar LLC, with additional support from Central RSDP, the West Central Initiative Foundation, and the Initiative Foundation of Little Falls, MN, and UMN Community Assistance Program (CURA/CAP), which matches student researchers with Greater Minnesota communities and organizations, and administers student support.

“The Greater Minnesota Rising project is a great example of how the University can connect to vital community needs,” said CRSDP Executive Director Molly Zins of Pequot Lakes. “We look forward to the project’s findings for our region and what they might mean for demographic challenges throughout Greater Minnesota.”