MN child poverty rate spikes, children of color most affected

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The number of Minnesota children living in poverty has jumped to 14 percent, according to the latest “Kids Count” report – the highest level since 1993 – and the disparities for children of color are widening. While Minnesota had the fifth-lowest poverty rate for white children in the nation, its child-poverty rate for Asian children was the highest in the nation, and its rate for African-Americans was fifth-highest. Kara Arzamendia, research director with the Children’s Defense Fund – Minnesota, says that despite the high rate of working families, incomes have not kept pace with the cost of living – and the number of families living in extreme poverty has more than doubled in the last decade. “How we define that is it’s about $11,000 for a family of four, so these are families that do not make much money at all. And that number has jumped from 38,000 in the year 2000, to 78,000 in 2009. Continue Reading

March food drive half over, goal still distant

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Today marks the halfway point for the March Campaign, the state’s largest annual food drive, but food and cash donations have only reached a little over ten percent of this year’s goal of $12 million dollars and pounds of food. March Campaign coordinator Sue Kainz says while it’s always a nail biter, event organizers aren’t panicking just yet. “We are very close to exactly what we were at last year. Typically, most of the food and cash doesn’t come in until actually the very first week of April. Even with just 1.6 million reported, we really feel good about the campaign.” Continue Reading

Embracing the local: MN Farm to School programs see dramatic increase

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Minnesota schools are embracing locally produced food, according to a new report. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) study shows a dramatic increase in Farm to School initiatives in Minnesota. A survey of 165 school districts – half those in Minnesota – found that the number engaged in Farm to School rose from only 10 in 2006 to 123 in 2010. JoAnne Berkenkamp, IATP’s program director for local foods, says the initiatives promote healthy eating and educate students about how and where their food is grown. She says there are other benefits as well. Continue Reading

Study: MN public workers more educated, still earn less

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As the legislative battle rages on across the state border in Wisconsin over public workers’ bargaining rights, a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows Minnesota public employees earn on average nearly eight percent less than their private sector counterparts. Minnesota public workers also tend to be more educated, with sixty percent holding at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to 37 percent of private sector workers. Report author Jeffrey Keefe, who is an associate professor at the School of Management and Labor Relations of Rutgers University, says public employees may have better health and retirement benefits, but they pay for it through lower wages, and more-educated public workers see an even bigger pay gap. “So even when we take into account total compensation, the average college graduate with a bachelor’s degree earns 25 percent less in the public sector than they do in the private sector.” Keefe says a highly educated work force is needed to do very specialized jobs in the public sector, including teachers, social workers, criminal investigators, scientists and engineers. Continue Reading

Funding cuts to Planned Parenthood and the impact on rural Minnesota

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More than 40 years ago, President Richard Nixon signed bi-partisan Title X (Ten) legislation into law, providing access to reproductive health care services for women through family planning centers like Planned Parenthood. Now, Republicans in Congress are on a campaign to eliminate Title Ten funding for Planned Parenthood, funding which provides reproductive health care services for low-income women. The U.S. House voted last week to strip the funding, and it’s expected to come up for vote this week in the Senate. Kathi Di Nicola with Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota says the proposed cuts will have a profound effect in rural areas, where poverty, lack of insurance, provider shortages, and simple geography merge to create significant obstacles to basic health care services. “Our clinics are located all across greater Minnesota in rural areas, and for many women, they are the only source of care that they receive all year long. Continue Reading

Reaching Minnesota’s hungry kids through Farm to School

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During the school year, one Minnesota child in three relies on free or reduced-price school meals for two-thirds of their daily food intake, and yet many low-income children continue to go without the food they need. In that situation, one popular nutrition initiative may help reach under-served kids. Stephanie Heim, Farm to School coordinator with the University of Minnesota Extension, says research has found when schools become engaged in Farm to School programs, school meal participation rates actually increase. “Kids get excited about the local farm-fresh food that’s being offered to them. Oftentimes this is paired with education and outreach with the students so they learn about where their food comes from and how it was grown. Continue Reading

Unions rally in St. Paul to support Wisconsin workers

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Thousands rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol on Tuesday in support of Wisconsin public employees, who stand to lose their collective bargaining rights in that state under Gov. Scott Walker’s budget plan. Such measures will not become law in neighboring Minnesota, says Gov. Mark Dayton, who addressed the crowd in St. Paul. “We will not, in Minnesota, let right-wing millionaires do to us what they have reportedly been financing in Wisconsin. We will not let them divide worker against worker. Continue Reading

‘America’s Great Outdoors’ brings benefits to Minnesota’s river systems

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Some of Minnesota’s treasured natural resources could benefit from President Obama’s just-released final version of the America’s Great Outdoors initiative. Unveiled after months of public hearings in Minnesota and around the country, the plan outlines goals for improving land and water conservation and access to outdoor recreation. Amy Kober, communications director for American Rivers, says rivers are at the heart of America’s Great Outdoors, and efforts around developing “blueways” – also known as water trails – are a key initiative outlined in the report. “The Minnesota River Trail and other water trail efforts across the state could get a boost when it comes to resources for improving these trails, enhancing and expanding them.” The Minnesota River stretches from Ortonville, near the South Dakota border, to where it meets the Mississippi near Fort Snelling. Continue Reading

Lawmakers squabble; mercury pollution continues in Minnesota

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A bill making its way through the State Legislature aims to repeal a 2007 law that limits the amount of coal-generated power Minnesota can use in an effort to regulate emissions from coal plants. In March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to propose a standard to limit mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants. Given that, and the nation’s move toward renewable energy standards, Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul) feels it would be unwise to step off the clean energy path that creates jobs for Minnesotans. “We have an opportunity to be energy-independent by using our own power sources, like wind, solar, and biomass. Continue Reading