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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.

Amid the angst, are there good ideas?

City officials everywhere are feeling the angst of tightening budgets. Are there good ideas to learn from out there?
by Dave Peters

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Todd County’s numbers are declining

Todd County lost population between 2008 and 2009, according to new state estimates.

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Alfalfa power returns to co-op’s sights

After failing once, the Minnesota Valley Alfalfa Producers cooperative, which has been using alfalfa to create feed for years in western Minnesota, plans to stick its toe back into the biofuel business.
by Dave Peters

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Will Baldwin grow again? Not just yet

Baldwin Township grew again in 2009, but only slightly, according to the state demography center.
by Dave Peters

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Todd harvest runs gamut from corn to grapes to camelina

Todd harvest runs gamut from corn to grapes to camelina

The harvest in rural Todd County increasingly involves crops that are alternatives to the traditions of corn, soybeans and oats. Now everything from poplar trees to grapes to camelina are in the mix.

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What if the thing that defines your community is noise?

In Baldwin, the Winding Trails, Northgate and Pinegate developments have built up a micro-community based partly on a shared desire for freedom to make noise. How can these developments communicate this to potential residents?

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Recipe for rural broadband: Start early, find partners

When Lac qui Parle County, a small rural county in western Minnesota, won a $9.7 million USDA award for broadband infrastructure, it provided a public-private model others could learn from.
by Dave Peters

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Turning the broadband map from green to gold

Turning the broadband map from green to gold

One small piece of Minnesota goes from green to gold — wireless to fiber optic service — on the state’s high-speed Internet map.
by Dave Peters

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Americans still want to live in exurbs

Despite predictions that Americans would flock to cities in recent years, people continue to choose exurban living for its non-urban atmosphere.

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