Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Nearly 50 people gathered at the Great River Regional Library in St. Cloud to discuss the past and the future of this once-small central Minnesota town on the Mississippi River. 

White, German Catholics and Lutherans were the first outsiders to settle and farm here. That heritage informs a local perspective that still shapes the granite bedrock of the city. 


One woman said the granite that's mined from the ground here is a good metaphor for her St. Cloud family: they are heavily embedded here and tightly held in place. 

The Ground Level Facebook Group

 of Minnesotans found St. Cloud-area residents to be less hopeful 

We wanted to find out what real life experiences informed those results.


The majority of people gathered were transplants from across the United States and beyond. Many described anxiety about job loss, fear of the future, and the personal experiences of racism or isolation that make it difficult to connect with the larger community.  


But despite diminishing hope and the skepticism of political and social institutions, St. Cloud-area residents also share stories of progress. Re-training programs that bring the possibility of better jobs, higher education that's setting refugees and immigrants on a new course and opportunities individuals are creating for themselves with the help and support of others also make up the story of the "real" St. Cloud.  

Listen to this thoughtful conversation facilitated by Tom Weber, where we go way beyond the headlines and explore how St. Cloud citizens are living and connecting across social, class, and political lines.

Business and Economic News

Education News

Politics and Government News

Social Issues

Minnesota News

Ground Level®: Amplifying Community Voices

Shows

MPR News Presents

MPR News Staff

Author

Nearly 50 people gathered at the Great River Regional Library in St. Cloud to discuss the past and the future of this once-small central Minnesota town on the Mississippi River.

In our recent Ground Level survey, St. Cloud area residents showed less faith in government, the economy and other social institutions than those in mid-sized cities like Rochester and Duluth.

Ground Level: The real St. Cloud

Go Deeper.

Like this?