Coverage launches in Princeton Union-Eagle

Check this week's Princeton Union-Eagle for the first of a four-part series about Baldwin Township that Minnesota Public Radio News is creating as part of this Ground Level project.

We've had reporters talking to Baldwin residents and others for the past month or so, and the series, by reporter Jennifer Vogel, kicks off with a look at how township residents are pulled in two directions. There's a strong pull to take advantage of the prosperity and economic advantage growth can bring but also to preserve both the natural setting and sense of roominess that brings people to the area.

MPR News will house the series and more material on a Ground Level: Baldwin Township website appearing soon.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Baldwin Township saw some of Minnesota's fastest growth and now ranks as the state's third largest township, with about 6,500 residents. The recession has brought that growth to a halt and posed a number of questions: Will the growth resume some day? If so, should the township take steps to plan for it better? If not, how will people deal with the consequences of the growth that already has taken place?

Through the Union-Eagle series, this blog, our coming website and a public forum March 4 at the Princeton High School's Performing Arts Center, MPR News is offering residents an opportunity to engage in that debate about your community. So let us know what you think. Are we asking the right questions and are we finding the right answers? Let us know by commenting on this post.

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