Candidates Address Greater Minnesota Needs Growth & Justice will be working in 2018 to influence candidates for office and the news media, toward evidence-tested public policies that foster more equitable growth and a “One Minnesota” mindset. At a recent gubernatorial candidate forum focusing on Greater Minnesota issues, we were impressed by how the sponsors (the Center for Rural Policy and Developm... Read More
The Rural-Urban Divide and MinnPost Growth & Justice has been sharing information and ideas with MinnPost editors and reporters on many of the public policy issues swirling around regionalism, Greater Minnesota economic development and our state’s so-called metro-rural divide. At a lively discussion of that topic at a MinnPost Social this week, G&J President Jane Leonard spoke briefly on the imperative of high-speed internet ... Read More
Our Blogpost on “Collateral Consequences” Check out our most recent blogpost, by attorney and legislative expert Robert J. Tennessen, calling for the reform in Minnesota of our “Collateral Consequences of Conviction.” Tennessen vividly describes all the ways that convictions permanently and unfairly damage the lives of people who are seeking to rebuild their lives. Comparing their predicament to that of... Read More
Insights on Broadband’s Promise, and Obstacles For an insightful overview of broadband’s great promise and the challenges still ahead in connecting rural Minnesota to the world economy, we recommend Tim Gihring’s recent article in MinnPost. Public investment in recent years has boosted high-speed coverage areas, and especially in rural areas, and access has risen from 55 to 88 percent of households statewide. But t... Read More
From G&J President Jane Leonard, on Kindness and Equity Jane Leonard officially became president of Growth & Justice this week, and she takes the reins with an eloquent introductory blog post inspired by her five-year-old grand-niece’s home-made sign urging us to “Be Kind Absouloutly to Everyone.” From the post: “This persistent push for equity – emphasizing that social justice and greater shareholding by a... Read More