Ground Level: About this project
Inspired by the 2016 elections, MPR News set out to gain a better understanding of how Minnesotans view their lives, their communities, their state and the nation. The 2016 election didn't create the divides the nation and the state are experiencing, but it did bring them to the fore.
Our focus is on unique human experiences that ultimately shape our lives and our future. We wanted to know: what divides us and what unites us?
We will explore those questions between now and November 2018.
MPR News and the newly formed APM Research Lab deployed a statewide public opinion survey in late August and early September of 1,600 Minnesotans from all regions of the state. Conducted by SSRS, a nationally recognized survey firm, the results will be shared widely and used to inform our reporting and editorial agenda-setting in the MPR newsroom. Reporters in the Twin Cities and in MPR News' bureaus around the region will tell the human stories behind the numbers as part of the Ground Level reporting series.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
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On November 13, MPR News, in collaboration with the APM Research Lab, will launch Ground Level with a series of reports and conversations on several topics: trust in institutions like police and news media, and whether the state is on the wrong track or right track on immigration, health care and mental health.
The stories behind the survey results will be reported from around the state. The series will roll out on Morning Edition, All Things Considered and on MPR News with Tom Weber. In 2018, Tom Weber show will take these conversations on the road around the state.
The Ground Level initiative is designed to help us understand what divides us so that we may bridge those divides. We want you to be part of it. Tell us about the divides you're experiencing or witnessing in your communities here, call-in for our on-air discussions or join the conversation on Facebook.
Join MPR News over the next year, online, on-air and on the ground, to discover what what divides us, and what unites us as a state and a nation.
You can take part now by telling us what matters to you.