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 Brent Olson is a Big Stone County commissioner who keeps a close eye on the western Minnesota economy. In August, he shared some thought provoking 

short videos on how his friends and neighbors are doing in the recession.

In this latest post, he looks at whether the hundreds of one-person businesses in Big Stone County are being shut out of grants and other aid because they're not creating jobs.

The economy depends on the 400 or so people who run the one-person car repair shop, store, salon and similar businesses, he says. Yet they aren't viewed as job creators and that  puts them at a disadvantage.

"If you look at any sort of government aid program, stimulus money or if you're applying for a grant, you'll see a line that says how many job will this create," says Olson. "If you put 'zero,' you're out of luck.

"You can't get any help at all. You're not even on the radar and that's a real issue.... the government is telling us, 'Yeah, you don't matter'... people who contribute $17 million to the economy in Big Stone County, they're cut off from just the little bit of extra assistance that could really make a profound difference."

Interested in being an Economic Lookout? 

 is a western Minnesota writer and Big Stone County commissioner

 Here's a chart from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development showing 13 month unemployment in Big Stone County, the region around it, and Minnesota (click on the chart for a larger view).

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Paul Tosto

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One-person businesses are a crucial part of Minnesota's rural economy but does the government see it that way?

Economic Lookout: ‘One-man’ businesses shortchanged?

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