OPINION | Inaction on gender equity perpetuates poverty
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Most years, the Meta 5 Displaced Homemaker Program helps nearly 200 central Minnesota women transition into jobs outside their homes.
High rents, low wages; Minnesotans struggle
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A Minnesota minimum wage earner would need to work 2.3 full-time jobs, or 91 hours a week, to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, according to a new study released Monday by the Minnesota Housing Partnership. Continue Reading
Uneven Recovery: Needs mount, housing programs underfunded
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Back in 2004, before the housing bubble burst and America headed into the worst recession since the Great Depression, Minnesota developed a good “game plan” for ending homelessness.
Lingering US housing problems threaten Minnesota
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“It could be worse” is the old Minnesota explanation of weather conditions. It might apply to our housing markets as well. Continue Reading
Far right and left’s common interest around agriculture
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The far right and far left tend to agree on more issues than folks realize, but have very different ideas for how to resolve those issues. The recently enacted federal farm bill is one example. Continue Reading
Churches, chocolate, volunteers fight exurban homelessness
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Prime rib, roasted chicken and vegetarian dinners and a “lethal” dose of chocolate come together on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Isanti for an important fundraiser for New Pathways Inc. to fight homelessness, hunger and related human problems in Isanti and Chisago counties on the northern fringe of the Twin Cities area. Continue Reading
Uneven recovery: Picket fence still faded in exurbia
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Five years ago, when the housing crisis hit with a vengeance, new home construction in the exurban ring counties around the Twin Cities and St. Cloud came to a screeching halt, new housing tracts were boarded up, and thousands of people lost homes they couldn’t afford after losing jobs.
Uneven recovery: East Metro’s vulnerable neighborhoods
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When the housing crash hit five years ago, no East Metro or St. Paul neighborhood was spared, but the East Side and Frogtown – more formally Thomas-Dale – neighborhoods were especially impacted by foreclosures, property abandonment and loss of family wealth tied up in homes.
Remembering Win Borden: A transformative journey for many
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Half a century ago, plus a couple of years, I left my small town of Kerkhoven and arrived at what is now St. Cloud State University to start what educators, parents and friends insisted would be a transformative journey. Another freshman, from even smaller Merrifield, had already checked in to our dorm room. Continue Reading
Uneven Recovery: West Metro problems not just bubble related
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Five years since the housing bubble burst, and more than two years after a deadly tornado swept through, hard hit areas of North Minneapolis and nearby neighborhoods in the west metro region are still struggling with an enormous loss of home wealth, expensive and hard-to-find rental housing, and lagging incomes.