Jennifer Vogel
As layoffs loom at the Boise paper mill in International Falls, workers look for new jobs and retraining. Read more →
MPR News How communities are facing the future
Archives for September 2013
By the end of this coming Monday, 265 workers will have lost their jobs at the Boise paper mill in International Falls. That has people in the city talking about diversifying the economy. Read more →
Dave Peters
We asked International Falls residents how they might reinvent the community in the wake of a declining paper industry. We heard everything from using the great-tasting water for beer to hoping an entrepreneurial graduate comes back with a big idea. Read more →
Boise Inc. is expected to sell to Illinois-based Packaging Corporation of America by the end of the year, potentially affecting the paper mill in International Falls. The city’s mayor Bob Anderson said this could be a positive turn for the plant, which is in the midst of significant layoffs. Read more →
In the Lac qui Parle County courthouse, in far western Minnesota, a geothermal heating and cooling system saves the county money. Read more →
Charles Grell looks poised to land a large grant from Xcel Energy that would help him demonstrate the viability of “small wind” in the state. Read more →
The city of Ely in the Arrowhead is hoping to land a state grant that will push a biomass heating project forward. Read more →
Greg Chester in Cass Lake built a second wall around the inside of his house to conserve heat. Noreen Thomas in Moorhead grows her own wheat and then uses bicycle power to grind the flour to make bread. Elizabeth Dickinson in St. Paul installed solar panels seven years ago and has generated as much power Read more →
Some Minnesota communities have begun generating their own energy, partly to save money, partly to use available resources more wisely. It’s a local issue that ties directly into global complexities. Read more →
American Futures, a project on reinvention and resilience by The Atlantic and Marketplace, looks at national economic and political phenomena through the lens of small-city America. Keep an eye out for reports from Read more →