Ground Level®: Amplifying Community Voices

Your story is powerful. The stories you share with others honor the complexity of our communities while forging a more equitable and vibrant future.

Call 651-228-4800 and leave us a voice memo. If you're more comfortable texting, you can text “Hello” to 1-833-870-4111. You can also email us at tell@mpr.org and join in on conversations in our Ground Level Facebook group.

We’d like to hear your thoughts and questions. Your ideas about solutions. How are your communities? What are you seeing today? And what do you want to see tomorrow?

Note that while we will exercise editorial judgment for language, length and avoiding personal attacks, we will not sacrifice your meaning. We will ensure your main message comes through on air and online.

A new look to tackling Minnesota’s water pollution
Minnesota has waged water quality battles for decades. Increasingly, that debate has come down to residents finding ways at the local level to clean rivers, slow runoff and cooperate.
Unable to find consensus between farmers and environmental advocates, Norman Senjem is leaving the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Ground Level asked nine health care providers whether they’re optimistic or pessimistic about care in rural Minnesota. Read their answers and then provide your own.
Minnesota foundation gets into cropland rental business
The Southwest Initiative Foundation has started a farmland retention program to solicit land donations from aging farmers. The farmers get a tax break, the foundation gets the land and pays taxes and the rental income helps pay for programs in the 18 counties of southwestern Minnesota.
Trees, sculptures and more to show community collaboration
The Minnesota Community Pride Showcase is being held Saturday, Sept. 3, at Carousel Park at the Minnesota State Fair.
Ground Level asked nine health care providers to tell us one thing that would make rural health care better in Minnesota. Read what they said and add your own thought.
As cities and counties deal with shrinking revenue and the desire to hold taxes down, some have started talking about letting paved roads go to gravel to lower costs.
Should the state bond for broadband?
One way the state of Minnesota could move up in the rankings for broadband access and speed would be to allow the state to bond for fiber optic projects.
Gov. Mark Dayton says he’ll re-create a broadband task force to come up with recommendations for how the state should meet its goal of getting into the top five states for high-speed access to the Internet.