Building Back Better

FALL 2023

ECONOMY

Elevating Entrepreneurs— Meet the 2023 Emerging Entrepreneur Showcase & Awards winners.

Pg. 14

COMMUNITY

Manifesting a Museum— Revitalization funding plays key role in new St. Cloud children’s museum.

Pg. 8

GENEROSITY

A Gift of Gratitude— Blandin leader’s donation is part thank-you, part investment in the region.

Pg. 10

BUILDING BACK BETTER One year in: Special grants help nonprofits transform post-pandemic services.

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GROWING COMPANIES ENHANCING COMMUNITIES Inspiring and celebrating Granite talent. Granite Partners is a private investment and holding company founded in 2002 in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with a mission to grow companies and create value for all stakeholders.

As trusted partners, innovative leaders, and responsible stewards, we are committed to 100-year sustainability, and we aspire to world-class wellbeing for all people in and around the Granite community.

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Check out our website for upcoming community and fundraising events!

Initiative Foundation FALL 2023

Contents FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

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28 34

Elevating Entrepreneurs Meet the winners of the Initiative Foundation’s inaugural Emerging Entrepreneur Showcase & Awards event.

Disconnected

One year into a special grant round, local nonprofits are transforming their post-pandemic services.

40 Turning the Page

Challenged by shrinking local newsrooms and changing readership, rural communities look for new ways to tell their stories.

Regional Highlights

Get the latest highlights from Central Minnesota’s 14 counties and two sovereign Native nations.

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Loneliness and social isolation are taking a toll on society. What can we do to reverse course?

Building Back Better

Initiatives:

Community:

Manifesting a Museum

With revitalization funding in place, Great River Children’s Museum in St. Cloud plans grand opening in 2024.

10

Generosity:

A Gift of Gratitude

Blandin leader views $10,000 donation as part thank-you, part investment in the region.

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Home made:

Redhead Creamery Spirits

Redhead Creamery is diversifying its dairy and entering a new market: distilled spirits.

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Where’s IQ?

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Building & Belonging

Read our 2022 Annual Impact Report and learn about the Foundation’s work in Central Minnesota.

ON THE COVER: Volunteer Jan Danger gives the world a hug as she shelves products for sale at the Salem WEST thrift and gift store in Deerwood.

Helping Schools Prepare Our Next‑Gen Workforce Widseth.com Alexandria | Bemidji | Brainerd | Crookston | East Grand Forks Grand Forks | Mankato | Rochester | Wyoming Crosby–Ironton Career & Technical Education Wing | Crosby MN Planning; architecture; civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering; construction administration

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Dear Friends, In June we bid farewell—but not goodbye—to Matt Varilek. Matt embodied the idea of inclusive leadership during his seven years as president at the Initiative Foundation. He was rooted in the work and profoundly connected to this place we call home. In the office and out in the field, Matt brought a servant mentality to his work and was deeply invested in the economic and community vitality of the region.

As commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, a job he started in June, Matt continues to champion economic growth and opportunity. Only now, he gets to do it for the entire state—and we’re all the better for it.

One of Matt’s pet projects at the Initiative Foundation was a focus on loneliness and social isolation. A voracious reader and keen observer, Matt was studious about the social challenges we face, especially in rural areas. As shifts occur in society—declines in service club and religious participation, the shrinking of local news and information, and a rise in technology as a substitute for real, human interaction— experts from across the spectrum, including U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, say our collective mental health and wellbeing is suffering.

MATT VARILEK Initiative Foundation president - December 2016 to June 2023

In this edition of IQ Magazine, we’ll explore the very real effects of loneliness and social isolation and the steps we can take to change course. We’ll also examine the local news scene and innovative solutions that are emerging to keep us connected. This edition also celebrates the achievements of local entrepreneurs to build their business dreams, and a children’s museum opening in 2024 that holds the promise of creating a new community gathering place as part of St. Cloud’s downtown revitalization efforts.

We encourage you to sit back, relax, take a mental health break, and peruse this edition of IQ Magazine. And, as always, thank you for supporting the Initiative Foundation in its mission to empower local people to build a thriving economy, vibrant communities, and a lasting culture of generosity in Central Minnesota.

Sincerely,

Lynn Bushinger and Don Hickman, INTERIM CO-PRESIDENTS

VOLUME 38, FALL 2023

Initiative Foundation Interim Co-Presidents | Lynn Bushinger, Don Hickman Marketing & Communications Director | Bob McClintick Marketing & Communications Specialist | Allison Norgren Editorial Managing Editor | Betsy Johnson Writer | Kevin Allenspach Writer | Laura Billings Coleman Writer | Betsy Johnson Writer | Lisa Meyers McClintick Writer | Gene Rebeck Writer | Andy Steiner Writer | Maria Surma Manka Art Art Director | Dan MacLaughlin Photographer | Paul Middlestaedt Illustrator | Chris McAllister Advertising Advertising Director | Brian Lehman Advertising Manager | Sonja Gidlow Advertiser Services | Julie Engelmeyer Subscriptions Email info@ifound.org to subscribe or to make subscription inquiries.

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Boosting communities & building careers

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IQ

Initiatives LEECH LAKE BAND OF OJIBWE

WADENA

CROW WING

MILLE LACS BAND OF OJIBWE

MORRISON BENTON

PINE KANABEC

TODD

MILLE LACS

ISANTI

STEARNS SHERBURNE

CHISAGO

Regional Investment Highlights

CASS

WRIGHT

WESTERN MORRISON COUNTY | Grants Help Spruce Up Little Falls Businesses Several Little Falls businesses have a new look thanks to the Initiative Foundation-administered Main Street Economic Revitalization program. The grants cover nearly one-third of project costs, including updates at the Purple Carrot Market, demolition and remodeling at The Falls Theatre, and a remodel and expansion at Chiro Plus Rehab. When the projects are complete, more than $3 million will be pumped into downtown Little Falls through this Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development collaboration.

TODD COUNTY | Program Schools Students in Soft Skills Soft-skill training is making a comeback in the Staples-Motley school district. The Cardinal REACH program helps students explore Relationships, Education, Accountability, Character and Hard work.

With support from the Staples-Motley Community Foundation, a Partner Fund of the Initiative Foundation, 2023 REACH students traveled to Camp Ripley for a tour and volunteered at Camp Confidence to put down mulch, fix fishing poles and clean cabins.

TODD: REACH students volunteered at Camp Confidence in spring 2023.

NORTHERN

WADENA COUNTY | Wadena Nonprofit Tackles Childcare Shortage Wadena County has an estimated shortage of more than 500 childcare spots—a local challenge that contributes to a shortfall of workers to fill open job positions. The MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership is stepping in to help with support from an Initiative Foundation grant. The project will help those who already provide childcare, particularly in the Latino community, go through the licensing process to add childcare slots in Todd and Wadena counties.

CASS COUNTY | Walker Food Shelf Finds Some Sunny Relief A clean-energy analysis funded by the Initiative Foundation and coordinated by the University of Minnesota is bringing a ray of sunshine to the Walker Food shelf. The study found that a clean-energy transition could significantly curb costs, freeing up resources to better serve community needs. The effort also is providing home energy guidance to clients: While the average Minnesota household spends 2 percent of its income on home energy, low-income households can spend 40 percent or more.

CROW WING COUNTY | National Inspection Academy Launches in Baxter Science and technology industries have safety standards to meet, many of which require a method called nondestructive testing (NDT). The new National Inspection Academy in Baxter is helping to fill the pipeline of NDT professionals—a high-demand career field. An Initiative Foundation loan helped this nonprofit technical school get started in its offerings—from ultrasonic to radiographic to magnetic particle testing—with in-person and online classes.

MILLE LACS COUNTY | Onamia Makes Gains in Childcare, Affordable Housing MILLE LACS: A host of dignitaries were on hand for the Onamia Childcare Center grand opening.

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An August grand opening by Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (MLCV) unveiled two long-awaited projects: a childcare center and workforce housing in Onamia. MLCV secured Initiative Foundation and Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development grants to launch the childcare center. In Red Willow Estates, a 30-unit development, MLCV is addressing a vexing challenge: Half of the area’s workforce commutes up to 50 miles daily resulting in about 72 percent of local jobs being filled by outside residents.

“ The Initiative Foundation has been instrumental in helping our organization provide quality services to the community. …We would have not been able to help as many people without their support.”

– Shannon Wegner

Arrows Family Services, Milaca and Little Falls

SOUTHERN

BENTON COUNTY | Opening Doors to Vulnerable Renters Nearly 200 vulnerable renters found housing thanks to the work of HousingLink’s Beyond Backgrounds program and an Initiative Foundation grant. For renters with one or two red flags on their background checks, it can be nearly impossible to find housing. HousingLink provides coaching and rental research to vulnerable renters. The nonprofit does monthly check-ins with property owners and managers and provides financial backing if a renter runs into unexpected challenges.

SHERBURNE COUNTY | New Tech Brings New Opportunity to Elk River Food Shelf Community Aid of Elk River (CAER) can better meet its mission to fight hunger with new technology funded by an Initiative Foundation grant. The Network for Good donation software will help CAER secure funds and work more efficiently to serve 4,000-plus people annually in Sherburne and Wright counties. The Initiative Foundation-hosted Three Rivers Community Foundation has provided ongoing support to CAER’s youth program, which offers supplemental weekend and summertime food when they’re not in school.

STEARNS COUNTY | CareerSTART Helps Teens Explore Career Paths The Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota continues to expand its CareerSTART program, which helps youth of all ages learn more about career paths. Through speakers, trips and virtual-reality activities, students can explore a range of careers, from the medical field to carpentry. The Initiative Foundation is proud to support this program with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Morgan Family Foundation and Partners for the Future.

STEARNS: CareerSTART students visit Blattner Energy in Avon.

WRIGHT COUNTY | Pilot Childcare Program Reduces Obstacles for Providers CPR and first-aid classes are a must for childcare provides, but fitting them in during a long and busy workday without shutting down family service for an afternoon isn’t always practical or affordable.

With grant support from the Initiative Foundation, Wright County Community Action is knocking down barriers by offering free after-hours training. To date, nearly 200 Central Minnesota providers—42 from Wright County—have gone through the program.

EASTERN

CHISAGO COUNTY | Wyoming Rallies Around Plan to Reinvigorate its Downtown The downtown area is the heart of many small communities, yet downtown Wyoming has seen little development for the past three decades. An Initiative Foundation-funded plan is looking at ways to make downtown Wyoming more accessible and welcoming. Researchers will also assess connectivity to the Sunrise Prairie Regional Trail. The analysis and plan will be assembled based on comments and needs expressed by downtown business owners and the general public.

ISANTI COUNTY | Education Fund Flourishes to Benefit Cambridge-Isanti Students In about a year and a half, the Bluejacket Education Foundation has gone from non-existent to funding seven projects at Cambridge-Isanti schools. A recent $10,000 grant round will fund crosscountry skis for middle school students, a cedar-strip canoe project for high school industrial tech students, and a chemistry component for grade-schoolers. Hosted by the Initiative Foundation, the Bluejacket Education Foundation aims to create opportunities to support student endeavors and the wider community.

KANABEC COUNTY | Forum Showcases Nontraditional Lending Opportunities For some business owners, nontraditional financing is the only option. A Sept. 6 forum at the Braham Event Center gave more than 50 bankers, lenders, business owners and entrepreneurs the opportunity to explore nontraditional lending options available in East Central Minnesota. As a Community Development Financial Institution, the Initiative Foundation proudly sponsored this event in collaboration with local partners to help spark economic opportunities in the region.

KANABEC: The Nontraditional Lender Forum attracted more than 50 bankers, lenders, business owners and entrepreneurs to the Braham Event Center.

PINE COUNTY | Study Explores Business Park, Transportation Upgrades A guaranteed path to bolstering the local economy is to ensure workers have access to highpaying, stable jobs. The city of Sandstone and Pine County are using federal funding, along with financial support from Minnesota Power and the Initiative Foundation, to study how transportation improvements could ultimately attract businesses and add jobs at industrial parks in Pine City, Hinckley and Sandstone. Armed with this study, the team will evaluate the best investment strategies.

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economy

TIME TO PLAY: Jane Ellison, Glen Palm and Cassie Miles, Great River Children’s Museum executive director, look forward to the opening of the museum in 2024. The project is the brainchild of Palm.

Manifesting a Museum With Revitalization Funding secured, Great River Children’s Museum to open next year

By Kevin Allenspach | Photography by Paul Middlestaedt

The seeds of inspiration that soon will sprout as the Great River Children’s Museum (GRCM) were planted by a small group of people around a dinner table more than a decade ago at the home of Glen Palm and Jane Ellison.

Palm was about to retire after a 30-year career as a professor at St. Cloud State University, culminating as chair of the child and family studies department. Wondering what he would do in the next chapter of his life, he pondered the needs of Central Minnesota and thought he might have enough time for what he wanted to do all along: create a local place where kids from birth through their pre-teen years could play in a positive environment.

The idea drew excited conversation from his guests as they conceptualized a children’s museum. Palm’s good friend Greg Reigstad, a longtime adjunct faculty member and later an administrator at St. Cloud Technical and Community College, wanted to collaborate.

So did Deb Campbell and Becky Coborn. Campbell was the early childhood family education director for the Sauk Rapids-Rice school district, and Coborn’s three children were grown, so she was about to 8 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

begin a second career as a parent educator.

Palm’s wife, however, tempered her enthusiasm.

“For a long time, I kept my distance because I thought this was way too big of a project and there was no way it was going to happen,” said Ellison, who a few years earlier—after her own kids had moved out—earned a graduate certificate in infant and early childhood mental health from the University of Minnesota. “But it was Glen’s retirement dream, and I wish people could see how many hours he has put into this, because it’s basically been like another full-time job.”

It may be impossible to quantify his impact, and that of the others—all of whom now are either a GRCM board or committee member. But their vision will become reality late in 2024 when more than 30,000 square feet of wonder will open to our smallest citizens on an investment of more than $10 million in public, private and in-kind contributions. It will be the second-largest children’s museum in the state, behind only the Minnesota Children’s Museum in St. Paul.

“Children are born to learn,” Palm said. “They learn by doing.

When you have a successful children’s museum, the kids are engaged, and they’re smiling and having fun. This will be a place where people

The Great River Children’s Museum is projected to attract 125,000 visitors each year.

Architectural renderings courtesy of GLTArchitects.

can come together and make connections and memories. It’s not home and it’s not work or school. It’s a third space where families will come from all backgrounds and learn from and about each other. We want the exhibits to reflect who we are as a community and as a region.”

Palm, Ellison and their friends—more than can be named here— poured themselves into the project. Their efforts eventually mobilized tangible resources. In 2018, Liberty Bank donated its former downtown St. Cloud building to house the museum. Other large grants and donations followed—including two $1 million gifts in 2021, one from Barbara and Rollie Anderson (owners of Anderson Trucking Service) and another from the Coborn Family Foundation. In January, the Initiative Foundation awarded its largest St. Cloud-area grant ($199,000) under the Minnesota Main Street Revitalization Program.

And in May came the linchpin: $7 million from a Minnesota Legislature capital investment bill.

“Persistence has been the overriding virtue that got them to this point,” said Don Hickman, interim co-president and vice president for community and workforce development at the Initiative Foundation.

He has known Palm and Ellison since before the former was named winner of the Initiative Foundation’s 2009 Outstanding Leadership award and the latter directed the Foundation-supported Greater St. Cloud Thrive Initiative.

“This is an overnight sensation that took a decade to cultivate, and Glen and Jane deserve all the credit,” Hickman added. “They’ve been talking about this forever. Early on we gave them a modest feasibility grant of a few thousand dollars, and it’s amazing what they’ve done.

As a one-time parent of small children, I know this museum will be especially attractive on those cold and wet days when you can’t be outside. And if one parent goes shopping while the other watches the kids, that’s going to be good for downtown. It can be a community

magnet that will effectively raise the tide that lifts all businesses.”

The children’s museum is projected to attract 125,000 visitors each year with a self-sufficient budget. Those are some big and welcome expectations for Dave Kleis, who has been St. Cloud’s mayor since 2005.

“We’re going through a huge effort to revitalize downtown,” said Kleis, previously a state senator for 11 years. “Historically, it’s brought a lot of college students to bars and restaurants. Post-COVID, downtowns are different. We’ve got to try to draw people for activities or events or to live there. We’re trying to do a combination of all of that here. Before this, the new YMCA was probably the last example where we had this kind of collaboration in St. Cloud. Families and kids are something that people from all across the spectrum can support.”

The museum’s eight core exhibits will reach a range of demographics and the more than 80 elementary schools that are within a reasonable drive of downtown St. Cloud. “That’s the aspect that resonates with most people,” said Cassie Miles, who became GRCM executive director in 2020 thanks to a Legacy Grant. “Currently, if they have the means to do it, those teachers have to pack up a bus and ride a long way. We want them to have something closer to home, and this is going to put Central Minnesota on the map in a different way as a quality destination.”

Indeed, some people are already considering their visit. Three in particular plan to come all the way from the East Coast—the 2-, 5- and 7-year-old grandchildren of Palm and Ellison.

“They’re perfect ages for this,” she said. “We can’t wait.”

Minnesota Main Street Economic Revitalization Grants Minnesota Main Street Economic Revitalization funding is provided by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), which allocated $4.5 million to the Initiative Foundation for Central Minnesota projects. Six communities—Brainerd, Cold Spring, Little Falls, Long Prairie, Pine River and St. Cloud—successfully applied and met eligibility criteria.

The investment is anticipated to have a total economic impact of more than $32 million.

Scan the QR code for a current snapshot of projects or visit ifound.org and search for “main street economic revitalization program grants.”

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generosity

A ROLE FOR EVERYONE: “If we want change to happen, we have to be a part of that change.” Inset photo: Tuleah Palmer and David Northbird supervise a youth basketball activity.

A Gift of Gratitude

Palmer sees $10,000 donation as part thank-you, part investment in the region

By Gene Rebeck | Photography by Paul Middlestaedt

Tuleah Palmer began her impressive career path in nonprofit management in 1999, when she became the Initiative Foundation’s first Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) candidate to be placed in the region.

More than two decades later, and several years into her most recent role as president and CEO of the Blandin Foundation based in Grand Rapids, Palmer has committed to a personal $10,000 gift to the Initiative Foundation’s general endowment. The gesture is part thankyou and part investment in the future of the region.

Born in Deer River just northwest of Grand Rapids, Palmer grew up in northern Minnesota and has lived in Cass Lake for 18 years. She was 20 years old and a new mother when she entered the AmeriCorps VISTA program. “She shared that we were the first institution that trusted and invested in her, and that she’s never forgotten that,” said Don Hickman, interim co-president and vice president for community and workforce development at the Initiative Foundation.

AmeriCorps is the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. It provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, to address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities, and to strengthen civic engagement.

Each year, the agency places more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members in community-based service roles.

Palmer’s VISTA placement was at the Boys & Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area, which had opened in 1999, just a few months prior to her service term. The Initiative Foundation provided most of the club’s start-up funding. The placement was close to Palmer’s Cass Lake home, and it was close to her heart. She received AmeriCorps training on planning, grant-seeking and grants management, and she developed skills in program design and evaluation, marketing, outreach, and engagement.

“I loved that service year,” Palmer said. “I learned so much about how community work moves through small communities. I learned how to look for changes in norms and about creating and protecting opportunities for people to influence their community. No one really wants something ‘done’ to them. Good organization and good capacity-building work needs to be backed by community voices with the muscle behind it from the start, and Cass Lake was all about that.”

Palmer’s service helped her earn a professional fundraising degree at Clemson University. She also holds a bachelor’s in applied psychology from Bemidji State University. She has since built a record of achievement in leadership positions—from nonprofits to CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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generosity, continued from page 10

“ Rural people make a difference. And we need more resources in rural places that can help them make the changes that are needed.”

– Tuleah Palmer, Blandin Foundation president and CEO

Tribal units in the Leech Lake/Cass County region—and has helped organizations earn recognition and significant funding. Her path to the Blandin Foundation included roles as executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area, where she got her VISTA start, as a community development planner for the Leech Lake band of Ojibwe, and as executive director of the Northwest Indian Community Development Center in Bemidji.

“I’ve worked to share what I learned serving Cass Lake,” Palmer said of her career arc. “In all the roles I’ve held since, I focused and rebalanced resources, relationships, and approaches to transform work in community and economic development, workforce development, and systems change.”

As she guides and reimagines Blandin’s programs and grantmaking, Palmer is putting her deep knowledge to work in new ways. She knows rural residents often serve many roles, including parent, community volunteer, and elected official. The unique demands of rural living change how programs are launched and how they evolve. From her experience as a VISTA volunteer in Cass Lake, “I learned a lot about the generosity of community that I didn’t learn in college,” Palmer said.

grantmaking on community wealth-building and rural placemaking.

The organization also is stepping up its investments in regional residents via leadership and scholarship development.

Palmer’s 25 years of grants management experience has provided her with a deep understanding of how nonprofits and communities need to collaborate. “If we want change to happen, we have to be a part of that change,” she said. Palmer hopes her donation demonstrates that rural people can raise money for rural communities and not be solely reliant on outside funds.

“The Initiative Foundation is one of the only foundations in the region,” Palmer said, “so the demands on them far exceed the resources they have to meet the need.”

In making her donations, Palmer believes she is modeling the way. “Rural people make a difference,” she said. “And we need more resources in rural places that can help them make the changes that are needed. To me, the general endowment is really important.” While donors can, of course, direct their contributions to a specific cause or program, Palmer said, “I wanted to not do that. I just wanted to say, ‘Thank you for what youve done—for me, for our community, and our region.’”

An Investment in Community

This year, Palmer has made a different and more personal kind of impact. She has donated $10,000 to the Initiative Foundation’s general endowment—$7,000 in 2023 and a pledge to give $3,000 in 2024. “I wanted to give back,” she said. “I was 20 years old with a baby, and they invested in me. If it wasn’t for the Initiative Foundation, I really doubt that I’d be in this position.”

Why are donors like Palmer choosing to give to the Initiative Foundation’s general endowment?

“Folks know that by giving to the Initiative Foundation’s general fund, they’re not just powering this one organization,” said Carl Newbanks, director of development for the Initiative Foundation.

“They really are giving voice to those rural leaders who say, ‘We have this need. We have this solution. We need an infusion of resources to help us get to the next step.’

“Donors who make a gift to the Initiative Foundation understand that it’s not so much about the gift they’re making today but rather that they are part of something bigger that will continue to build and provide resources for the region forever,” Newbanks said. “The combination of many people giving in small or large amounts continues to build the fund, which continues to spin off greater resources to meet the needs of the region.”

Support Central Minnesota It’s through your generosity that the Initiative Foundation is able to operate from a solid financial base in Central Minnesota to strengthen economic opportunity; support children, youth and families; build organizational effectiveness in our nonprofits; and preserve key places in the region we call home.

Scan the QR code or visit ifound.org/ways-to-give to learn how you can support the region.

Contact:

A Place in Her Heart

Investing in local people and their potential is close to Palmer’s heart. As she gains traction in her new role, Palmer and her Blandin Foundation team are resetting the organization’s strategy to focus its 12 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

Carl Newbanks Director of Development cnewbanks@ifound.org (320) 631-2042

Zach Tabatt Community Philanthropy Manager ztabatt@ifound.org (320) 631-2015

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E L E V A T I N G ENTREPRENEURS Inaugural awards event showcases Enterprise Academy students and their diverse business dreams

By Lisa Meyers McClintick | Photography by Paul Middlestaedt

Under bluebird skies on the evening before the summer solstice, The Clearing in Sauk Rapids buzzed with conversations, affirmations and tangible pride as start-up business owners and those who support them gathered for the Initiative Foundation’s inaugural Emerging Entrepreneur Showcase and Awards.

More than two dozen small business owners set up food booths and display tables at the June 20 event with views of the Mississippi River as a scenic backdrop. They poured fizzy kombucha, served up wood-smoked barbecue and savory soul food, drizzled caramel over deep-fried sweet apple egg rolls, and tempted attendees with a sampling of globally spiced foods. Businesses working with kids of all ages displayed photos of their events and projects while a dance group performed energetic routines before the awards ceremony got under way.

“We’ve been doing Enterprise Academy training since 2018 to help make launching a business easier for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those from underserved and minority communities,” said Brian Voerding, Initiative Foundation vice president for inclusive entrepreneurship. “Five years into this program, we felt it was time to recognize some of the top success stories. We also wanted to give other entrepreneurs a chance to come together and to showcase how they’ve progressed with their unique products and services.”

More than 190 people have completed the 12-week Enterprise Academy program since 2018. The classes help participants navigate the entrepreneurial journey through instructions on personal and business credit, licenses and permits, budgets and planning, marketing and branding, and bookkeeping and taxes.

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Since its launch, some 4,700 hours of training and more than 2,800 hours of one-on-one coaching have been provided. And the success rate shows: More than 50 percent of the attendees have been able to start their business, which is double the national average for participants who’ve completed similar business training programs.

To support these individuals and their dreams—and the communities where they live—the Initiative Foundation provides microloans of up to $25,000 for start-up entrepreneurs who have developed a sound business plan. These loans help take their businesses to the next level—to buy equipment, set up point-of-sale systems, secure a bricks-and-mortar location or to invest in essential marketing.

The network students build helps them gain confidence. They trade ideas and have a shared sense of camaraderie. They develop a support system and celebrate with one another as their businesses expand and they achieve new milestones. “[The Enterprise Academy] gave me the ability to connect to other business owners and to create a supportive little village, which is so important to my journey as an entrepreneur,” said Anisa HagiMohamed, a graphic designer and educator who earned an award for Product of the Year. “The Enterprise Academy has been something that has made me grow in a million different ways.”

Here’s a look at the 2023 Emerging Entrepreneur Award winners.

COMMUNITY IMPACT: ALI ADEN

Culture is central to Bridge Healing Center's services Mental health services have been in short supply across the nation, especially therapists who reflect and understand America’s minority communities. Sharing a similar heritage helps therapists more quickly understand patients and their challenges without having to explain their family culture, roles and expectations, and spiritual beliefs.

Ali Aden and his wife, Lul Nur, are working to meet the St. Cloud area’s mental health needs with Bridge Healing Center, which opened June 2022. Four therapists, three of whom are Eastern African, provided mental health counseling to 200 clients during the clinic’s first year of operation. And now, a residential drug addiction center is planned to open this fall.

The concept of talking with a therapist for help with depression, anxiety and related issues is considered a Western concept and treatment. Aden and Nur have intentionally created an environment that feels familiar and welcoming with art and design work from fellow award-winner Anisa Hagi-Mohamed.

They plan to keep expanding to help an array of clients, including newer Americans who have suffered some of life’s biggest losses in fleeing unsafe places, war-torn communities, and who lack resources or employment to support their families.

The grief that comes with losing loved ones and homelands— compounded by difficult experiences at refugee camps and the

challenges of trying to assimilate into a new culture without losing their own—can ripple across generations. It’s often multigenerational trauma, affecting children and grandchildren.

“They’re American at school, East African at home,” Aden said.

“We have to bridge that.”

The counseling services operate at 22 Wilson Ave. near East St. Germain in downtown St. Cloud. The planned residential drug addiction program is expected to serve up to eight clients when it opens this fall.

Drug addiction carries a heavy stigma in the Eastern African community and can make it harder to acknowledge and treat. Some people in the community think Aden could be enabling addicts by passing out emergency kits with Narcan, which binds with receptors to rapidly reverse the effects of opioid overdose.

Opioid fatalities more than doubled in Minnesota between 2019 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It more than tripled for Black and African-American Minnesotans, with deaths rising from 59 to 212 during that three-year time frame.

“We hope to keep expanding services,” said Aden, who serves as CEO and licensed alcohol/drug counselor with a master’s degree in counseling and psychology from St. Mary’s University. Lul Nur serves as program director and has 10 years of psychotherapy experience and a dual license as a professional clinical counselor and addiction counselor.

Both speak English, Somali and Arabic, and have a goal to serve up to 30 patients in the residential addiction program within the next few years.

“There were ups and downs and a lot of struggles [to get Bridge Healing Center opened],” Aden said, “but there was a lot of joy once we provided services to communities of color and other people in need. We’re bridging the gap in culture-specific mental health and addiction services.”

For more information, go to bridgehealingcenter.com.

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PRODUCT OF THE YEAR: ANISA HAGI-MOHAMED

Educator embraces positive language to build esteem I’m hoping my products push people to see the importance and the power of positive language.

Anisa Hagi-Mohamed smiled warmly as people looked through her colorful display of products at the entrepreneur showcase. It included illustrations of Somali women, a children’s book inspired by her daughter who has autism, and her best-known product: Kalsooni bilingual affirmation cards.

The palm-sized cards feature designs inspired by Somali textiles and an esteem-building comment in both English and Somali that’s meant to spark a meaningful conversation and positive thoughts: You are beautiful! You know what you’re capable of! Take pride in your culture! I am what my ancestors used to dream and hope for!

“I’m hoping my products push people to see the importance and the power of positive language,” said Hagi-Mohamed, who earned a master’s degree in linguistics, which she blends with her passions and experiences as an artist, educator, mom to three children, and mental health advocate.

Kalsooni affirmation cards, which received the Product of the Year award, can make it easier for educators and students, health care providers and patients, parents and kids, or men and women, to have meaningful, heartfelt conversations.

Hagi-Mohamed, who came to the United States from a refugee camp at 5 years old to escape Somalia’s civil war, also hopes to restore a positive representation of the Somali culture, which was culturally rich in history, poetry, and art before that heritage was overshadowed by war and the many struggles immigrants may face daily.

Losses can make it hard to move forward and upward, and she almost gave up her business as it was launching when her brother and mother died in quick succession. She found the strength to carry on by using her work to honor them.

One of her newer projects, her first children’s picture book, 16 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

depicts a non-verbal autistic girl modeled after her daughter. It’s an effort to positively show autistic children and to help break down the cultural stigma of autism. An estimated one in 21 SomaliAmerican children in Minnesota have the condition.

Hagi-Mohamed plans to write more bilingual and inclusive books for children and to keep expanding her line of products, including journals that promote inner strength and healing. Her next milestone includes finding a storefront in St. Cloud within the next year. She envisions a welcoming space that feels safe and invites people to share a cup of coffee and the positive words on the Kalsooni cards.

In five years, she hopes to have her products available through other stores and organizations and to translate cards into additional languages requested by customers, including Norwegian, Spanish and Arabic.

“I want to put [my products] into the hands of as many people as I can,” she said, “and to add to the wider community by providing more representation of the beautiful different cultures that exist in Minnesota.”

Her cards and other products can be purchased at anisahagi.com.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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ELEVATING ENTREPRENEURS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR: ANTIONETTE LEE

Artist’s book promotes pushing beyond limitations I want to expose the healing powers of art and what it brings to your mind, body and soul.

When Antionette Lee hit a low point in life, suffering from a severe back injury after about a decade of working as a certified nursing assistant in nursing homes, creating art became her lifeline.

“I was depressed and stressed and unsure of what was next,” she said. “Art saved my life and changed my life.”

A self-taught artist, she used painting and drawing to express her feelings, and to embrace mistakes and surprises that emerged during the creative process. When she began getting positive feedback for her creations, she knew she wanted to share that joy and transformative power of art with others.

Her ideas, organized and refined as she went through the Enterprise Academy, led her to launch her No Limit Painting business and to publish “You Can Be Anybody,” a book meant to inspire kids (and adults) to not let anything hold them back.

Its pages depict a young girl in a wheelchair who dreams of being an Olympic basketball player, a Somali woman who aims to be a scientist, a family with a same-sex marriage, and other characters who yearn to be a fashion designer, astronaut, librarian, and more.

Lee worked with BadCat Digital, a St. Cloud marketing agency, to help illustrate diverse scenes and characters that break through stereotypes. Rengel printing was able to print the book on paper thick enough to handle paint on every page.

The first print run included 300 copies. She immediately sold half with the support of District 742, United Way and the Initiative Foundation.

“They see me and believe in my vision,” she said. “That’s very inspiring to me.”

Support and self-confidence can help people overcome barriers and find better opportunities, which is something Lee hopes her 18 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

book can inspire— especially for at-risk and underprivileged boys and girls. They have the fewest opportunities to explore and enjoy art, but by partnering with other organizations, she can bring art to them through special events and as a teaching artist.

With her infectious laugh and a clear passion, Lee keeps the creative process playful and pressure-free. She makes blank canvases less intimidating by pre-sketching them for team-building activities or adult parties. The canvas then becomes more like a giant coloring book page, or they can choose easy-to-paint wooden shapes to “have fun versus overthinking it.”

“We’re our own worst critics,” she said. “Adults don’t let themselves play or do something they don’t think they’re good at.” By getting people young and old to stop judging themselves and to just have fun, she encourages them to let their imagination run free.

She hopes to work again with senior citizens—with a paintbrush this time—and dreams about someday having her own storefront.

Her mission, though, remains steady.

“I want to expose the healing powers of art and what it brings to your mind, body and soul,” she said, “and to also bring the community together. That community engagement piece is huge—and to be able to walk away feeling better than you did when you came.”

Lee's book and other products can be purchased online at paintingwithnlp.com.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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ELEVATING ENTREPRENEURS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

FOOD BUSINESS OF THE YEAR: ASHLEY WILLIAMS

Couple taps global eats to roll food business forward When Ashley Williams and her partner, Chris Richardson, are hand-rolling and reinventing what you’d expect inside a deep-fried egg-roll wrapper, it’s more than a chance to show culinary creativity and keep customers coming to their small business.

Ashley's Yummy Rollz, developed during Williams' time in the Enterprise Academy, was launched in the hopes of providing a way forward to a better future—one they wouldn't have imagined when their paths first crossed nine years ago.

“We met at the Salvation Army shelter,” said Williams. They each were struggling and had a child to provide for, but they eventually found jobs and a place to live together. They worked hard and saved enough to buy a home about three years ago.

Still, they dreamed of something better than the grind of lowerpaying jobs, especially with three young children together and a fourth born a year ago. Williams worked intense hours in the food service industry, which left her drained at the end of shifts. Richardson encouraged Williams, who is known for her cooking among family and friends, to find a way to sell what she creates herself. She signed up for the Enterprise Academy to learn what it would take.

“One of the biggest barriers that I’ve faced with starting the business has been finances and just not knowing how to begin as a black entrepreneur,” Williams said. The program helped her navigate business requirements and steps to follow for permits and licensing.

“We’ve been able to overcome some of those obstacles,” she said.

Others weren’t as easy. Grief hit hard halfway through the program when Williams lost her brother, and then the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine forced them to backburner their business plans.

“I just wanted to give this up,” Williams said, “but I kept hearing, ‘Have faith.’”

They persevered and set up their tented tables with a small fryer, prep area, and stews and side dishes at events such as St. Cloud’s Summertime by George and Minneapolis’s Rise and Remember event at George Floyd Square, but found they prefer smaller venues such as area farmers markets or distilleries and breweries where they can

keep up with the madeto-order Yummy Rollz, which they are looking to trademark.

“The yummy roll is what our customers come to us for and what they follow us for,” said Williams. “We pride ourselves on [those] as well as being different with the food.”

Rolls may be wrapped around a Philly cheesesteak filling, turkey and eggs for a breakfast-themed roll, or sweet apples drizzled with a caramel sauce. She also serves an array of other foods, such as zippy Jamaican or goat curries, Caribbean beans and rice, shredded beef tacos with consommé dipping sauce, and a variety of stews made with catfish, okra, palm nuts, and spinach that are served with rice, as well as chicken wings and cornbread.

As she plans for events, Williams' kids can see first-hand what it takes to run a business. They may also join her at venues with Richardson, who enjoys sharing their story with others and looking for new opportunities.

The business has helped both of them shed natural shyness and gain confidence—something that can trickle to their kids as they get old enough to help. For now, they’re looking to build their business by catering for events and businesses and taking orders through her Facebook page, Ashley's Yummy Rollz, throughout the winter.

“Our one-year goal is to have a food truck and be able to travel to different cities and expand our customer base,” Williams said. As they look ahead five years, they hope to have a permanent location, possibly a second food truck and a larger menu. “My journey as an entrepreneur has been rocky, but every bit that we went through has made us stronger,” she said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

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ELEVATING ENTREPRENEURS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

NEW BUSINESS OF THE YEAR: LAM CHUOL

Chuol provides accounting and assurance for customers Trying to grasp the ins and outs of ever-changing U.S. tax laws and figuring out the paperwork for income tax returns can cause the most proficient American to head for the nearest tax accountant.

If you’re a new American, a non-native speaker, or intimidated by math and forms, having someone trustworthy to help navigate the process can ease fears and help retain the most income when there is little to spare.

Lam Chuol, owner of Lam Tax Service in St. Cloud, knew he could provide services that were more personal and less costly than accounting chains that churn out forms, request signatures and lack time to explain and educate about the process.

“One of the biggest things here is that we come down to our client’s level to better serve them because we’re here in the community,” said Chuol, who was born in South Sudan and came to the United States at age 9. “We understand. We make them feel comfortable and ease their mind.”

A graduate of Minneapolis Roosevelt High School, he earned a basketball scholarship to Ohio Valley University and graduated with an accounting degree in 2010. He worked for national tax preparers, such as Liberty Tax Service and H&R Block, and he would be frustrated by earning minimum pay and having to charge customers close to $300 or more. He tried getting work in companies as a public accountant, but he did not have any luck.

CONGRATULATIONS! Recent business lending clients To learn more about the Initiative Foundation's lending program, or to see if your project is a fit, visit ifound.org and search for "lending."

After moving to St. Cloud in 2018, he worked independently out of a spare bedroom in the home he shares with his wife and two sons.

He was able to charge customers half of what national chains do while offering more help. It was a win-win that increased his earnings while saving customers money.

As word of mouth spread through the South Sudanese community, he’d get calls from new customers from Fargo, N.D., Mankato and Austin, Minn., Nebraska and Iowa. Chuol wanted to expand his tax preparation services for families and small businesses, offering property tax refunds, monthly bookkeeping, sales tax reporting, QuickBooks setup and training, and more. Getting funding to rent an office, though, was a barrier.

“I wish I could say that it has been easy, but it’s actually been tough for a minority person like myself that doesn’t have a lot of backing from the community,” he said. Chuol ultimately was able to secure an Initiative Foundation loan after completing the Enterprise Academy in December 2021.

Chuol opened an office at 1358 15th Ave. SE, which increased his visibility as a business. He prepared more than 200 tax returns in 2023. He hopes to hire someone next year to help and to possibly open a second location within five years. “My long-term vision,” he said, “is to be in every corner of the city.”

Lam Tax Service can be found at lamtaxservice.com.

• Barber Hussle the School, LLC, St. Cloud

• Anisa Hagi, LLC, St. Cloud

• National Inspection Academy, Baxter

• Lemperes Properties, LLC, Becker

• Four Seasons of Winnie, Bena

• M&T Properties (Bear Crest Family Restaurant), Albany

• Valley View of Long Prairie, Inc. • Schultz Family Lumber, Inc., Bertha • T&C Excavating, Walker • In The Woods Campground, Walker

22 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

• No Limit Painting, St. Cloud • CN Otsego Properties, LLC

Leaving a Legacy A safe, affordable home can be the start of a more stable, healthy, and successful life for families in Crow Wing, Cass, Hubbard, and Wadena counties.

Please consider sharing a generous gift with Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity during the giving season. Your generosity can create a legacy for many families for years to come.

Scan here to donate now

Ways to Donate There are many ways to give to Habitat.: Direct cash/check Gift of land/home Gifts of stock Legacy Circle Builder’s Club (monthly giving) Honor and memorial gifts Employer matching In-kind donations Pledge your donation Please contact Kevin Pelkey or Lori Rubin to discuss how you’d like to leave your legacy or visit https://app.donorview.com/1m5J5 to donate now.

Kevin Pelkey Executive Director 218-828-8517

Lori Rubin Development Director 218-454-7019

A Mission Made Possible by You! Your generosity ensures that Central Minnesota will continue to be a vibrant place to live and raise a family, and is the driving force behind numerous heartwarming success stories like these.

ECONOMY

Kevin Doyle launched St. Joseph’s Forest Mushrooms in the early 1980s. It’s grown to be the largest specialty mushroom farm in the Midwest. Doyle credits Initiative Foundation loans for keeping his business solvent during his earliest years of operation.

COMMUNITY

Volunteers and staff at Eagle Bend’s Hilltop Regional Kitchen prepare meals for statewide delivery to seniors and shut-ins.

Verna Toenyan and a team of volunteers are now being supported by a Foundation grant to transform a wing of the former high school into senior living.

GENEROSITY

Staff at Yes Network in St. Cloud introduced HuddLUp International across Stearns County. The program promotes play, self awareness and relationshipbuilding and is supported by the Patrick & Jane Mitchell Family Fund, an Initiative Foundation donor-advised fund.

Your gift today ensures that success stories like these continue to happen across Central Minnesota.

EVERY GIFT CAN BRING LASTING CHANGE. Gifts of $1,000 or more significantly impact the region. Together, with recurring monthly gifts of $25, $50 or $100, we will creating lasting solutions for Central Minnesota. Make your gift today using the enclosed envelope or online at ifound.org/give.

GIVE TODAY!

Contact a member of our team today to discuss detailed giving options or year-end donation strategies.

Carl Newbanks cnewbanks@ifound.org (320) 631-2042

Mike Burton mburton@ifound.org (320) 631-2059

Britt Vander Eyk bvandereyk@ifound.org (320) 631-2007

Initiative Foundation | 405 First St. SE, Little Falls, MN 56345 | (877) 632-9255 | ifound.org 24 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

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READ THE 2022 IMPACT REPORT

Building &

Visit ifound.org/about/impact-reports to learn more

Belonging

A Special Thanks to Our Annual

COMMUNITY BUILDERS CIRCLE Members.

Your Region. Your Initiative. Your Foundation.

The generosity of Community Builders Circle members unlocks the power of local leadership, nonprofits, small businesses and emerging entrepreneurs. Thank you for your annual contributions that help to make Central Minnesota an exceptional place to live, work and raise a family.

BUSINESSES $10,000+

• Crow Wing Power

• Marco Technologies, LLC

$1,000+

• East Central Energy

• DeZURIK, Inc.

• MINPACK, Inc.

• Farmers & Merchants State Bank

• Monroy Law Office, PLLC

• Dick and Mimi Bitzan Family Fund

Charitable Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation • First National Bank of Milaca • Frandsen Bank & Trust • IPEX, Inc. • Long Prairie Packing Company • McDowall Company • Microbiologics, Inc. • Rotochopper • Sherburne State Banks & Sentry Banks

• NOR-SON Builders

• Granite Partners Foundation of

Minnesota, Inc. • Sourcewell • Stearns Bank, NA $5,000+ • Anderson Brothers Construction

Company • Bremer Bank • Compeer Financial • Connexus Energy • Falcon National Bank • Schlagel, Inc. • St. Cloud Hospital / CentraCare Health System • Stearns Electric Association • U.S. Bank

• Pequot Tool & MFG., Inc. • Pine Country Bank • RiverWood Banks • Schlenner Wenner & Co. • The Bank of Elk River • Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative • Wadena State Bank • Western Bank of Cass Lake

Association

• Buffalo Hospital on behalf of Allina

• WiDSETH

Health System

• Wyoming Machine, Inc.

• BankVista • Benefit Innovations

INDIVIDUALS

• Brenny Transportation

• American Heritage National Bank

• Cambridge Medical Center on

Minnesota • Arvig Communication Systems • Bush Foundation • Central McGowan • CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP, Northern Minnesota • Clow Stamping Company • Consolidated Telecommunications Company

• Park Industries, Inc.

• West Central Telephone

$1,000+

$2,000+ • American National Bank of

• NOR-SON Construction

behalf of Allina Health System • Citizens State Bank of Waverly • First Bank & Trust • First National Bank North • First State Bank of Wyoming • First Western Bank & Trust • Harvest Bank • Kensington Bank, St. Cloud • LINDAR / Avantech • Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce

$2,000+ • Anderson Family Legacy Foundation

Agency • John E. Babcock • Rick and Helga Bauerly Foundation • Lynn & Darren Bushinger

of Central Minnesota Community Foundation • Michael & Kathleen Burton • Linda Eich DesJardins & Joseph DesJardins • David & Kim Ellingson • Don & Deanna Engen • Kathy & Neal Gaalswyk • Teri & Tom Hoggarth • Jo & Larry Korf • Joe Nayquonabe & Christina-Clitso Nayquonabe • Robert & Susan Olson • Robert Shadduck Family Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation • Kimberly & Denise Slipy • Rita & Everett Sobania • Charlotte Stephens • Ludmila Voelker • Brian Voerding & Mollee Sheehan Voerding • Dr. Robbyn Wacker & Jani Malkiewicz • Kristi Westbrock & Mike Bjerkness • Bobby & Carrie Willis

• Don Hickman & Sandra Kaplan • Tuleah Palmer • John & Bonnie Schlagel • Dorothy J. Simpson • Maggie & Matt Varilek

Join the Community Builders Circle today.

(877) 632-9255 | ifound.org 405 First Street SE, Little Falls, MN 56345

To make a pledge and join the Community Builders Circle, Contact Carl Newbanks (cnewbanks@ifound.org; 320-631-2042) or Mike Burton (mburton@ifound.org; 320-631-2059), or visit ifound.org/give to give online.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your Initiative Foundation contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. The Foundation owns and manages financial contributions for the benefit of Central Minnesota communities.

FALL 2023

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DIS

CONNECTED Loneliness and social isolation are taking a toll on society.

What can we do to reverse course?

By Betsy Johnson | Illustration by Chris McAllister

S

omething in our everyday lives puts us at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and premature death. You might think it’s something familiar, like smoking or stress. In fact, it’s social isolation.

But how in the world can we feel isolated? We are connected to people all over the world all the time, especially through social media and other digital technologies.

Digital technology is not inherently good or bad, but it is powerful—and influential. It can provide us with instant information— traffic, weather, news, pop culture—and deliver the healthcare information we seek with the tap of an app or a few keystrokes.

It can pull us together by breaking down barriers, creating a rich exchange of ideas and connecting us all. It can also push us apart, leaving us unmoored from the truth, awash in anxiety-fueling content and adrift in an ocean of misinformation, disinformation and confirmation bias. More than that, it can erode community cohesion and leave many of us feeling isolated and alone.

Experts say it’s a problem more serious than we might realize.

The Hidden Costs of Social Isolation

In a May 2023 letter called “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy stated that one in two American adults reported experiencing loneliness. “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity,” Murthy wrote.

Dr. Steven M. Hoover, a retired St. Cloud State University professor of counseling and educational psychology, is working to reduce social isolation and loneliness among seniors. As the Healthy Aging Coordinator for the Central Minnesota Council on Aging, Hoover cites a pre-pandemic AARP study which found that the negative effects of social isolation in the United States cost Medicare $6.7 billion annually.

The AARP findings are augmented by a pre-pandemic report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), which found that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated.

Older adults are at increased risk for loneliness and social isolation, Hoover said, because they are more likely to face factors such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss. Isolation and loneliness can also lead to other issues such as depression and anxiety—across all generations. “The lower the number of contacts, the more likely the person is to be considered socially isolated.”

The Initiative Foundation ramped up its efforts to address social isolation and loneliness in early October when it sponsored a Rural Voice town hall conversation in Little Falls. Moderator Kerri Miller of Minnesota Public Radio led a capacity-crowd conversation at the A.T. Black & White to explore barriers to mental health care in rural settings and ways in which we can come together to alleviate isolation and loneliness.

The Foundation will continue its focus in 2024 with a special $100,000 grant round. (See sidebar on Pg. 30.)

“We want these grants to create good, to restore trust, to deepen relationships, especially with those who are so very different from ourselves,” says Don Hickman, interim co-president

Social isolation is determined by how many social engagements a person has—how many meetings or church services or other social gatherings a person might engage in over a specific span of time.

Loneliness, on the other hand, is a lack of social connection to others. It’s the sense of being in a crowded room and still feeling alone. It is the experience of being profoundly lonely despite having a significant number of friends on social media.

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and vice president for community and workforce development at the Initiative Foundation. “We’re looking to support innovative ideas that address the unique challenges we face—particularly in rural areas—to bring people together across all spectrums and ideologies. If we can do that, this might be one of the best grant rounds we’ve ever awarded.”

GIVING RURAL A VOICE: Minnesota Public Radio’s Kerri Miller led a 2022 Rural Voice town hall in St. Joseph. The public radio personality returned to the region in October with a follow-up conversation in Little Falls focused on rural mental health access with an emphasis on loneliness and social isolation.

A Case for Real Social Interaction

Carol Bruess, an interpersonal communications expert and author, said social media and the use of digital technology has, in many cases, become a substitute for face-to-face interaction. “The research is clear: The reward centers in our brains get stimulated when we engage in social media. The likes, hearts, retweets and shares of social media literally give our brains a little happy hit. It becomes a feedback loop, keeping us coming back for more.”

Bruess moved to the region in 2022 when her husband, Brian Bruess, became president at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. She cites the work of Sherry Turkle and her books “Alone Together” and “Reclaiming Conversation,” both of which explore how people confuse the promise of online connection with what we really crave: real and meaningful interaction.

“One of our most basic human needs is relationships, and relationships are built in face-to-face conversation,” Bruess said.

“We all need to practice and be in the messiness of real-time relationships.”

Busy But Buffered

It’s no small wonder our social circles are shrinking and that we’re growing more isolated. We can do our banking and satisfy all our shopping needs—groceries, clothing, essentials, hobby supplies and more—without a single human interaction. And if we need a cup of sugar or a tool for a yard project, there’s no need to reach out to a friend or neighbor to borrow what we need. We can simply have it delivered to our door, or we can dash off to the store, run through self-checkout and bustle back home. It’s frictionless and interactionfree, with no greetings, no eye contact, no smiles, no comments about the weather, and no common courtesies exchanged.

According to a 2003–2020 American Time Use Survey, social isolation increased an average of 24 hours a month over two decades. The study found that we spent an average of 142 hours of alone time per month in 2003. That figure jumped to 166.5 hours per month in 2020—an increase of nearly 17 percent. At the same time, social engagement with family, friends, and others— roommates, neighbors, acquaintances, coworkers, etc.—decreased by two-thirds, from 30 hours a month in 2003 to 10 hours per month in 2020.

Add in the very real isolation experienced during the COVID19 pandemic, and you have the makings of a loneliness and social isolation epidemic.

SPECIAL GRANT ROUND: Loneliness & Social Isolation In early 2024, the Initiative Foundation will launch a special $100,000 grant round to fund projects, programs and communitybuilding ideas that bridge differences and bring people together to alleviate loneliness and social isolation.

WHAT’S YOUR BIG IDEA FOR CENTRAL MINNESOTA?

Grants can be awarded to 501(c)(3) organizations such as nonprofits, schools and local units of government. If you have an idea but lack the right community connection, share it in a Zoom video. We'll do what we can to match you to an eligible partner in your community. Grant awards will generally range from $5,000 to $10,000. << S can the QR code for instructions on how to record and share your idea or visit ifound.org/grants/lonelinesssocial-isolation.

Dwindling Connections

In “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” published in 2000, author and political scientist Robert Putnam warned that our stock of social capital—the very fabric of our connections with each other—had plummeted since 1950, largely due to generational succession, television, urban sprawl and the increasing pressures of time and money. And that was before the

SCAN ME CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

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DISCONNECTED

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30

full emergence of the internet and ubiquitous mobile phones with far-reaching data plans crept in to influence our lives.

Putnam’s now-classic book explored the political, religious, and civic lives of Americans and found a decline across most sectors: • Political engagement: While 62.8 percent of the voting-age population turned out to vote in the 1960 presidential election, only 48.9 percent had done so in 1996. Voting saw a resurgence in 2020, with 68.2 percent of the voting-age population casting their ballots. Experts say the jump was fueled by the nation’s fractious political campaigns and facilitated by pandemic-related changes to state election rules.

• Religious engagement: The portion of Americans who said they ascribed to “no religion” in 1967 was just 2 percent. By 1990, that number had jumped to 11 percent. Today, there are so many religiously unaffiliated people that social scientists have coined a name for them: religious “nones.” A 2021 Pew Research report found that nearly one-third of Americans identified as “nones.”

• Civic engagement: Putnam noted that civic engagement— involvement in associations that share a common goal, such as service, political, work-related, or entertainment-based groups— has dwindled since the 1950s. His research found that communities with high levels of civic engagement tend to be more successful when dealing with problems such as poverty, unemployment, education, crime, and health.

“People who are engaged tend to be more invested in the health and well-being of their communities,” Hickman said. “When people volunteer their time, skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to promote the quality of their community, they’re contributing to the common good. They see their role in a larger context, beyond only what affects them and their families to what affects society as a whole.”

Creating Connection

Bridging differences is at the heart of Nora Hertel’s Shades of Purple project. A member of the Foundation’s 2022-2023 Initiators Fellowship cohort, Hertel’s Shades of Purple is a dialogue series meant to spur community engagement, model civil discourse, and amplify moderate voices. “Bringing people together for substantial and personal conversations does something else—it builds connections,” said Hertel, who launched Project Optimist, an online, solutions-based nonprofit news site with a focus on Central Minnesota. “It encourages speaking from the heart and deep listening.”

In the crush of noise pushing into our daily lives—fueled by a 24-hour news cycle with an ala carte selection of information sources—the sense of having a voice and being heard often gets squelched. The Shades of Purple model, Hertel said, provides a real-time, in-person “opportunity to share our truths and the stories behind them–without interruption.” It’s a simple, mindful practice that Hertel believes can help us come together and feel part of a community.

Research shows that we “are collectively looking at our digital devices eight billion times a day,” Bruess said. If we are looking at our devices, we are not looking in the eyes of another person.

32 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

“Empathy has decreased 40 percent in the past two decades, and some argue it is, in part, because we simply aren’t seeing each other.”

She suggests creating spaces where we do not allow technology to be present: at the kitchen table, in the car, in the bedroom, and at meetings. We can choose to leave our devices at home, in a purse or pocket or backpack. “In those moments, we can intentionally and mindfully choose to reflect. Be present. Perhaps even—crazy, I know!—strike up a conversation with a stranger.”

🤝

START ENGAGING Start a conversation. Talk to people who you already have connections with and build upon that relationship or take an opportunity to authentically get to know your neighbors and co-workers that you just wave at or say hi to in passing.

Join a club or enroll in a class that intrigues you. You’ll know the people who will be there already share a common interest with you. If you end up not meeting anyone new, you will still get to do something that you enjoy.

👍

Get involved in your community by attending events and doing things that you have not tried before.

👋

Explore opportunities to serve and help others within your community. Many organizations offer volunteer opportunities that can give you the chance to contribute to something that you find important.

Create a larger and more diverse social network. Having a variety of relationships will allow you to gather additional resources, information and opportunities.

Don’t let technology distract you from engaging with others. Pay attention to ways it may make you feel worse about yourself or others.

Use technology as a tool to make positive and intentional connections.

>> >>

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Building Back

Better

By Andy Steiner Photography by Paul Middlestaedt

One year into a special grant round, nonprofits are transforming their post-pandemic services 34 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

The global pandemic was winding down in the summer of 2022 when the Initiative Foundation distributed more than $1 million in grants—ranging from $50,000 to $100,000—to 15 local nonprofits. The goal: to help community-based organizations recover from COVID-era setbacks and to reimagine their work to better serve clients.

The $1 million—supported by the generosity of the Otto Bremer Trust—was larger and more flexible than grants typically received by the Initiative Foundation from outside funders, said Zach Tabatt, community philanthropy manager at the Foundation.

“The original purpose was to help these organizations exit the pandemic bigger, better, stronger,” Tabatt said. “We were not looking to tell these nonprofits how they should make change in their organization. Instead, we invited them to dream big and tell us what they thought was needed to create meaningful change.”

In a twist on traditional grant funding, the Initiative Foundation paid for experienced nonprofit consultants to partner with each grantee to help steer them to a successful, sustainable outcome. “Our thought was the nonprofits would appreciate someone willing to help them at no cost,” Tabatt said. “It was intended to make it that much easier and to further lower barriers for each applicant.”

One year in, and the organizations are seeing their visions take shape. We checked in with three grantees to see how their projects have flourished.

Oasis Central Minnesota: Seizing Opportunity

WARM & BRIGHT: Salem WEST employee Kerri Hann puts a shine on donated goods.

For 35 years, Oasis Central Minnesota has been supporting residents of Morrison County by providing food, shelter and case management for individuals experiencing homelessness. The Little Falls-based nonprofit mainly relied on state grants and donations from individuals and foundations. When the state of Minnesota expanded its Medical Assistance fund, making nonprofits like Oasis eligible for reimbursement for many of the client services it routinely provides, Executive Director Rose Surma saw an opportunity.

While she knew Medical Assistance reimbursement had the potential to transform Oasis Central Minnesota, Surma and her team felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work required to plug into the state’s complex electronic tracking-and-billing system.

“There are many steps in enrolling in the state’s provider portal,” Surma said. “We needed help to do it right.”

The Initiative Foundation-paid consultant helped Oasis upgrade to new software and to develop a best-practices guide to track client work and billing time. The transition has been huge, Surma said, “because we now know we’ve been enrolled properly and we’re doing things appropriately. It creates a very stable, regular funding stream.”

Access to regular funding is making an outsized difference in people’s lives. In years past, “we’ve had to ask families to move out of our housing through no fault of their own,” Surma said. Funding simply wasn’t available to support longer stays in the nonprofit’s shelter space. “Now we’re on more stable ground. There is a base of financial support. It is great to have some funding we can count on.”

Surma said Oasis is now looking to expand, perhaps purchasing property to house and support even more individuals and families in the community.

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“We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the guidance from our consultant. A lot of small providers like us haven’t enrolled in the state system because it’s such a complex process. My hope is that we can share our best practices and policies and support other nonprofits through the process.”

Anishinabe Legal Services: Fighting Native Evictions

MORE HELP FOR THE HOMELESS: Access to a new and regular funding stream for Oasis of Central Minnesota is making a difference in people’s lives.

The numbers are disturbing: Native Americans in Minnesota are at significantly higher risk of homelessness than other ethnic groups in the state. Cody Nelson, executive director of Anishinabe Legal Services, a Cass Lake-based nonprofit that provides free legal assistance to low-income individuals on the Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth reservations, knows that fact better than most.

He pointed to the St. Paul-based Amherst H. Wilder Foundation’s annual Minnesota Homeless Study, which found that “48 percent of Native American participants met the federal definition for homelessness—and of that 48 percent, 77 percent met the state definition for longterm homelessness,” Nelson said.

Eviction is a leading cause of homelessness nationwide, and that reality is no different in Minnesota’s Native nations.

“It is incredibly difficult to obtain housing after being evicted,” Nelson said. “It is the modern-day scarlet letter.”

To curb evictions, Anishinabe Legal Services used its Transformative Funding for Nonprofits grant to support clients using the power of the legal system. Many evictions stem from landlord/tenant disputes over repairs or utilities, Nelson said. Tenants sometimes withhold rent or deduct the cost of repairs from their rent payments. Landlords often respond with eviction notices. Nelson and his staff try to step in with legal representation before things go too far. “I feel like our role in helping to mitigate the homelessness epidemic is to stop these eviction actions before they are filed,” Nelson said. “Once that happens, it comes pretty close to guaranteeing homelessness.”

To get ahead of the homelessness challenge, Nelson and Anishinabe Legal Services requested a $100,000 Initiative Foundation grant to support their efforts to create a housing education and litigation unit to educate and support tenants when the threat of an eviction looms.

The Foundation-provided consultant, Nelson said, “was helpful in fleshing out our proposal. She was great to work with

The following Central Minnesota organizations also received grant awards through the Transformative Funding for Nonprofits initiative supported by the Otto Bremer Trust: Big Lake Community Food Shelf, Inc.—Building Transformation, Service Expansion Grant award: $55,000 County served: Sherburne Boys & Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area—Youth in Business Grant award: $60,000 Tribal nation served: Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization—Enhance Effectiveness and Service Delivery Grant award: $50,000 County served: Stearns Employment Enterprises, Inc., and Confidence Learning Center—Building Confidence and Employment Skills Together Grant award: $75,000 Counties served: Crow Wing and Morrison

36 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

Family Pathways—Access to Healthy Foods in Rural Communities Grant award: $55,000 Tribal nation/county served: Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe/Mille Lacs County Hands of Hope Resource Center—Bilingual Advocacy Services Grant award: $75,000 County served: Todd Higher Works Collaborative—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Learning Center Grant award: $62,000 County served: Stearns Homeless Helping Homeless—Lincoln Center Remodeling and Expansion Grant award: $100,000 County served: Benton

Lakes & Pines Community Action Council, Inc.— Advocate-Client Coaching Model Grant award: $100,000 County served: Kanabec Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity—Leech Lake Tribal Workforce Housing Grant award: $50,000* Tribal nation served: Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe New Pathways, Inc.—Site-based Shelter Planning Project Grant award: $60,000 County served: Isanti North Star Family Advocacy Center—Pine County Engagement of Services Grant award: $45,000 County served: Pine * This grant includes $28,000 from Otto Bremer Trust and $22,000 from The Funders Network.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

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Building Back Better

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“I could see how we could fix this and make it better, make it easier on our volunteers,” Kempthorne said. “When you’re in the trenches, it’s hard to stop and see the big picture. But I had a new perspective.”

When he heard about the Initiative Foundation’s transformative grants, Kempthorne knew Salem WEST had to apply.

Founded in the 1980s by a group of parishioners who were making cloth diapers, the Mustard Seed quickly grew into a collection of donated household items that were passed along to neighbors in need throughout the community. Donations were first stored in someone’s basement, then a room at the church, then in progressively larger spaces until they made it to the lumber yard.

FIGHTING EVICTIONS: Aninshinabe Legal Services staff members Valerie Field, litigation director, and Taylor Burdick, staff attorney, help to curb evictions.

and really helpful in creating a plan. She seemed really excited about the project.”

As well as representing tenants in eviction cases, Nelson and his colleagues are creating a comprehensive housing manual that will be distributed to members of the state’s tribal nations. “We’re pulling together sources on different laws, cases about private landlord/tenant law,” he said. “It will be distributed widely across our area/agencies.”

The manual is expected to help educate community members on their rights and responsibilities. Nelson and his colleagues also hope it will help explain just how helpful it can be to have a lawyer on your side when you’re involved in a housing dispute. “A study showed that 96 percent of tenants who had a lawyer didn’t get evicted”—either winning or settling their case, Nelson said.

In the year since the grant was awarded, housing education and litigation unit attorneys have represented 39 tenants and prevented evictions in many of those actions. “Housing is always one of the top priorities in civil legal aid because the consequences are so dire,” Nelson said. “Having a lawyer makes such a difference in the outcome to these matters.”

“Each month we serve 50 to 60 households.

If someone gives us something that’s not what a client needs, we’ll sell it. The profit goes back to supporting clients.”

The store offers clothing, home décor and other items that aren’t considered immediate needs for the nonprofit’s clients. “Each month we serve 50 to 60 households,” Kempthorne says. “If someone gives us something that’s not what a client needs, we’ll sell it. The profit goes back to supporting clients.”

With the help of an Initiative Foundation-paid consultant, Kempthorne refined his grant request and was awarded $75,000 to merge locations and to remodel and weatherproof the 7,500-squarefoot building. Salem WEST now has an attractive space for the Mustard Seed store up front, and a warm and volunteer-friendly donation-processing center in back.

From start to finish, Kempthorne said, the granting process was a positive experience. Initiative Foundation staff “came out here boots on the ground. They quickly saw what we wanted to do and they helped us create and realize the vision. We saw a cost savings of $60,000 a year that we can put back into the ministry,” he said.

All Together Now: Salem WEST and the Mustard Seed

Sometimes it just takes a fresh set of eyes. For a long time, staff and volunteers at the Mustard Seed, a beloved thrift shop that raises money for Salem WEST, an outreach arm of Salem Lutheran Church in Deerwood, had been doing things the same way.

When a community member made a donation of household goods to the shop, volunteers and staff would sort and clean it in the unheated back room of the donated lumberyard they used for storage, then pack it up and transport it two and a half miles to the Mustard Seed store in downtown Deerwood. A year and a half ago, when Jason Kempthorne became director of outreach at Salem WEST, he took a good look around the operation and decided there had to be a more efficient way of doing business.

Kempthorne, who had years of nonprofit experience, understood there could be significant cost savings if the storage/processing area and the retail shop were simply merged.

38 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

JASON KEMPTHORNE: “We saw a cost savings of $60,000 a year.”

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ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT: Natasha Barber is managing editor of Star Publications, which owns the Sauk Rapids Herald, Benton County News, The Star Post, and Sauk Centre Herald.

“It’s all about telling the human interest, hometown stories that you won’t see anywhere else. I think that’s why people tell us they love the paper.”

40 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

Turning the Page

Challenged by shrinking local newsrooms and changing readership, rural communities look for new ways to connect and tell their stories

By Laura Billings Coleman

| Photography by Paul Middlestaedt

Public trust of the media is at an all-time low, with nearly four in 10 Americans reporting they have no confidence in newspapers, TV and radio, according to a recent Gallup poll.

But those numbers don’t mean much to Natasha Barber, the managing editor of Star Publications, which owns several newspapers in Central Minnesota, including the Sauk Rapids Herald, Benton County News, The Star Post, and Sauk Centre Herald. A trusted and familiar face in her community, Barber is frequently the only non-official in attendance at school board sessions, zoning meetings and other public functions, keeping a watch on local government while covering everything from summertime boat parades and new business expansions, to the hyperlocal implications of Minnesota’s new cannabis laws.

“People definitely return my calls here,” says Barber, who grew up in the area and fondly remembers seeing her first letter to the editor published while she was still a student. The editor of the Sauk Rapids Herald since 2015, and co-owner of Star Publications since 2019, Barber says her newspaper’s niche is “all about telling the human interest, hometown stories that you won’t see anywhere else. I think that’s why people tell us they love the paper—but whether they want to support it financially, that’s a whole different ball game.”

Challenged by everything from changing readership patterns to the rise of Craigslist and the fall of traditional advertising revenue, the decline of local newspapers is a national trend that’s been playing out since the 1990s. But now there’s evidence that media consolidation and mergers, along with the growth of social network news silos, are having an outsize impact on rural areas. According to a recent report from the Mankato-based Center for Rural Policy and Development (CRPD), Minnesota has lost nearly a quarter of its newspapers and 70 percent of its news-related workforce over the last two decades. Sixty percent of those losses are concentrated in Greater Minnesota. As small daily and weekly newspapers continue to close (at a rate of two a week across the country), and as automakers like Ford and Tesla toy with eliminating AM radio from new model cars, many rural communities are now at risk of becoming “news deserts,” with no meaningful or reliable coverage of local events.

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MINNESOTA NEWSPAPER EMPLOYMENT The number of employees at newspapers in Minnesota is less than a third of the total that existed in 2000. The numbers below represent all newspaper employees, not just newsroom employees, at Minnesota newspapers. The numbers do not include freelancers and contract employees.

10000 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, from 2000 to 2021, the number of newspaper establishments — those that offer print newspapers, not just online editions — fell from 344 to 254, a 26% drop. During that same period, DEED noted, the number of newspaper employees fell from 9,499 to 2,844, a 70% drop, with the average number of employees per newspaper falling from 28 to 11.

Source: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

“The risk of losing a newspaper should be a concern to anyone in a community,” says Lisa Hills, executive director of the Minnesota Newspaper Association (MNA), a 150-year-old organization that serves roughly 265 Minnesota newspapers. “Study after study shows that losing coverage results in a loss of civic engagement.”

Rebuild Local News is a nonpartisan coalition of more than 3,000 family-owned newspapers, journalism-focused nonprofits and civic groups. It found that communities with less local news coverage have lower voter turnout, fewer contested government races, higher taxes, lower bond ratings, more public health problems, government waste, corporate crime, and deeper polarization. Losing a local news source can also mean there’s no common ground where a community can share news of its births and deaths, new businesses and big dreams, school fundraisers and featured players. As Marnie Warner, vice president of research at CRPD, and author of the recent rural news report says, “A newspaper is a tie that binds a community together, and it’s hard to find a substitute for that.”

A NEW LANDSCAPE FOR LOCAL NEWS

In some parts of the country, the problem has grown so dire that lawmakers are getting involved. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar recently came out in favor of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, a plan that would allow newspapers to negotiate better terms with social media platforms that publish newspaper content without paying for it. “What does Big Tech’s dominance over the news mean for Americans?” Klobuchar, the daughter of a newspaper columnist, asked during a hearing. “Less revenue for local news, fewer journalists to do in-depth, high-quality reporting, more exposure to misinformation and fewer reliable sources.”

Currently, Minnesota has no official “news deserts”—every county but one is served by at least one local paper. But from the 42 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

recent collapse of the St. Cloud Times—a so-called “ghost paper” with one newsroom staff member at the time this edition of IQ Magazine went to press—to the closure of historic papers like the Askov American (whose founder Hjalmer Petersen once claimed to have the largest circulation of any small-town paper in the country), there’s growing urgency around protecting the large role small-town newspapers play in public life. “Having a strong community news organization is often an indicator of having a strong community, period,” says Bob McClintick, the Initiative Foundation’s marketing and communications director. “As the region continues to recover from the pandemic, we see local news as one of the essential building blocks in helping communities overcome social isolation and staying connected.”

A Northwestern University study found the pandemic delivered a death blow to many newsrooms, with more than 360 papers going out of business between 2019 and 2022. Paradoxically, the public health crisis also reminded many readers of the power of print, says Jeff Andres, group publisher of Northstar Media/ Kanabec Publications, which publishes the Isanti-Chisago County Star, Braham Journal, Pine City Pioneer, North Pine County News, Moose Lake Star Gazette, The Evergreen, and the Kanabec County Times. “During COVID, people really wanted good sources of local information and they turned back to local papers and have continued with those papers,” he says. While his company consolidated the former Askov American, Pine Courier, and the Hinckley News into what’s now the North Pine County News, they’ve also seen large circulation gains in several communities. “I don’t want to use the word resurgence, because it will never go back to the way it was. But it’s healthy.”

Lisa Schwarz, development and communications director for the MNA, says she’s seeing the same trends across the state. Several mergers have helped to preserve local coverage in communities where newspapers would have closed, and new publications have appeared in Osakis, International Falls, and Waseca (population 9,241), which may now be one of the nation’s smallest two-newspaper markets.

“I’ll quote Mark Twain and say that the reports of the newspaper’s death have been greatly exaggerated,” says Schwarz, who served as the St. Cloud Times’ last lead editor. “The changes in this industry are cataclysmic, but they’re not catastrophic. I think the story is as much about how our Minnesota towns are doing as it is about how our newspapers are doing. If towns are healthy with commerce and advertisers, their newspaper tends to be very healthy. If they don’t have a business or industry base in the community, that newspaper is going to struggle.”

LOOKING FOR LOCAL SOLUTIONS

That connection between vibrant communities and healthy newsrooms explains why strengthening the capacity of outstate newsrooms is becoming a priority project across Greater Minnesota.

For instance, the Blandin Foundation recently invested $500,000 in the Northern Community News Initiative, an effort to build the capacity of Grand Rapids’ KAXE, the first rural public radio station in the nation, which also serves Brainerd and Bemidji. This summer, the station posted help-wanted ads for several new hires, including two general assignment reporters–roles that can be harder to fill in Greater Minnesota.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

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Turning the Page

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EMPOWERING JOURNALISTS: Anja Wuolo participated in a Citizen Journalism University program and is now community editor for the Sun Post, which covers several Twin Cities suburbs.

“Staffing has become a real challenge,” says Andres, who says the once steady supply of new journalism school graduates eager for a byline has dwindled in recent years. “The industry as a whole also underpays, and has forever, and that’s going to continue the urban bias that a lot of young people have,” Schwarz says. “But if you can get them out into these communities, meeting people and telling stories, in a few months, they are going to fall in love with it.” This summer, MNA’s nonprofit arm, the Minnesota News Media Institute, funded 12 internship positions at member papers across the state. “We had applications from 36 newspapers, so if we had more funding, we could support even more papers,” she says.

MNA and Bethel University also launched Citizen Journalism University, a free, five-session workshop designed to empower citizen journalists to help tell the stories of their communities. English and journalism professor Scott Winter, who created the curriculum, says the new class, which will be offered again this fall, attracted a range of students, from suburbanites looking for second careers to local sports fans and retired teachers. Of the more than 20 participants in the inaugural class, several have already found their way into freelance gigs and full-time employment, including Anja Wuolo, who got her first bylines in her hometown paper of the St. Joseph Leader while she was taking the class. “I hadn’t even realized that regular people can just go to a city council meeting. I learned that those meetings can be tedious, but they’re also where so many decisions are made,” says Wuolo, who has since become a community editor at the Sun Post, a suburban newspaper that covers the suburbs of Crystal, Robbinsdale, New Hope and Golden Valley.

While Winter acknowledges that citizen journalism can’t close all the gaps in rural reporting, he believes training more students on everything from media ethics to the inverted pyramid style of writing may help create more informed readers who understand the difference between neutral reporting and punditry, and who create more demand for meaningful local coverage. “Being a journalism educator means having an existential crisis every week when your best students get offered jobs in business that pay twice what they’d pay in newspapers,” he says. “But I do believe greater media literacy will be one of the key components to solving this problem.”

44 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

While the shift to digital-first platforms has added new voices like MinnPost and Sahan Journal to the metro area, so far, internetonly solutions have lagged in rural areas. According to Rebuild Local News, no digital start-up has stepped in to save the 90 percent of communities that have lost a newspaper. Creating communitysupported, nonprofit news models has also been a challenge in outstate areas that lack substantial philanthropic resources—not that it’s stopping 2022-23 Initiators Fellow Nora Hertel from launching Project Optimist, a solutions-focused news and storytelling site for Central Minnesota.

An award-winning investigative reporter, Hertel believes some of the blame for dwindling readership lies in the way news is covered, with a numbing emphasis on societal problems and political divisiveness. As a consequence, one recent study found that nearly 30 percent of the public now actively avoids the news. “When local newsrooms can’t meet a community’s needs, readers have to turn to national media, which is more polarizing and often more negative,” says Hertel, who has become a proponent of solutions journalism, a growing movement to bring rigorous, evidence-based reporting to explore promising solutions to community problems.

Earlier this year, the Initiative Foundation helped support a student journalist training session that Project Optimist offered in partnership with the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation, where 17-year-old Ifrah Aden, a rising senior at Apollo High School, learned some of the basics about news gathering and storytelling about her community. “Being a journalist is now the number one job I’d like to have someday,” says Aden, who is currently at work on her first big article, an exploration of the mental health struggles faced by St. Cloud’s immigrant community and the stigma surrounding treatment. “It’s kind of a taboo subject, but I think the stories of everyday people are important to hear.”

Hertel couldn’t agree more. “Journalism is very much a calling,” she says. “I had a colleague who used to say it’s a combination of public service, art and business.” When it’s done right, she says, “we can provide people with a sense of possibility, and good reasons to engage with democracy.”

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Paula and Chad Becker are making a difference by supporting technical classes at Browerville-area schools.

MAXIMIZE YOUR IMPACT

Leverage Your Assets to Make a Meaningful Gift How can you make a meaningful gift and improve your tax situation? Direct your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to the Initiative Foundation or one of its hosted Partner Funds. It's an easy and seamless way to ...

• fulfill your annual distribution requirements • support meaningful local initiatives • enjoy significant tax benefits.

Contact a member of our team today to discover the ease and value of donating all or a portion of your RMD. Let’s work together to make a difference in Central Minnesota.

Carl Newbanks cnewbanks@ifound.org (320) 631-2042

48 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

Mike Burton mburton@ifound.org (320) 631-2059

Britt Vander Eyk bvandereyk@ifound.org (320) 631-2007

Initiative Foundation | (877) 632-9255 | ifoundgiving.org 405 1st Street SE, Little Falls, MN 56345

In the Region

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1) We gave a fond farewell to two Foundation staff members this summer. Matt Varilek, former Initiative Foundation president, took over in June as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Lynn Bushinger retired in August from her role of chief financial officer and treasurer. Pictured (left to right): Kathy Gaalswyk, founding Initiative Foundation president, Lynn and Matt.

3) Initiative Foundation staff members Ismail Mohamed and Christine Metzo visited the state capitol during Launch Minnesota’s spring summit. Launch Minnesota is a statewide collaborative to accelerate the growth of startups.

2) The Initiative Foundation welcomed staff from the Small Business Administration’s Minnesota District Office to celebrate three Small Business Week award winners—all of whom own businesses in Little Falls. Congrats again to Adelle Starin, Baby’s on Broadway; Dr. Kenneth Dodge, owner of Falls Optical and Northern Eye Center; and Sandy Voigt, director of the Women’s Business Alliance for the central region.

5) Current Initiators Fellows and a group of Central Minnesota business owners and nonprofit leaders gathered for the yearly Brain Trust—a signature offering of the twoyear Initiators Fellowship program.

4) Initiative Foundation staff members were treated in April with a meal from Sanchez Burrito in Little Falls and ice cream from St. Joseph’s Jupiter Moon.

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home made

Redhead Creamery Spirits Brooten, Minn.

By Maria Surma Manka Photography by Paul Middlestaedt

Redhead Creamery is known for its awardwinning cheeses, much of which is made from the milk of its onsite Holstein cows. But creamery co-owners Alise and Lucas Sjostrom wanted to offer more, and they chose a product most people wouldn’t associate with a dairy farm: Spirits.

“People are really confused when you tell them spirits can be made out of milk!” said Alise.

Redhead Creamery Spirits is the brainchild of Alise’s husband, Lucas. Together, they co-own Redhead Creamery with Alise’s parents, Linda and Jerry Jennissen. Lucas leads the spirits operation and Alise, a 2020-2021 graduate of the Foundation’s Initiators Fellowship program, oversees the cheesemaking. The Jennissens operate the farm side of the business, called Jer-Lindy Farms.

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Whey Whey is a byproduct of cheese manufacturing, and a spirit made out of whey is called “araga.” According to Artisan Spirit Magazine, araga is one of the most popular beverages in Mongolia and Eastern Russia. Similar to a vodka, araga is clear. It can be served as-is or made into other types of spirits, such as gin.

The challenge is that araga production doesn’t come with a manual. The exact techniques and processes depend on the cheese and farm operations.

“Araga has been one big research project for Lucas,” said Alise. He’s immersed himself in dozens of books and has visited 141 distilleries of all kinds to learn tastes and techniques. He completed an online spirit-making course through the University of Oregon, which has done research on the yeast used to ferment whey.

Despite the challenges, the Sjostroms say araga is the best choice for expanding their business because of three factors: Efficiency, customer interest, and finances.

“If we wanted to do milk or butter, I’d have to buy a bottling machine or cream separator, and they’re significant investments,” Alise said. “By doing spirits 50 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

first, we can share that equipment with future products. Spirits also are great for our restaurant—people want to order alcohol! Lastly, we had more potential for financing and for a return on investment.

When you’re our size and scale, you don’t make a lot of money per cow. If we can convert milk into a bottle of spirits, that makes more financial sense.”

1. Redhead Creamery has received several grants to expand its cheese-making operations and add araga production.

The total investment is about $2 million and is expected to create the equivalent of six full-time jobs.

2. Cheese is made by capturing most of the fat and protein from milk. The leftover is a liquid called whey. “We first filter the whey to remove the protein, which is fed back to the cows,” said Lucas. “We filter it again to remove water and concentrate the lactose.”

3. As far as the Sjostroms know, theirs is the only place in the world where araga will be milked, cheesed, filtered and distilled onsite.

8. The creamery expects to churn out 45 to 50 bottles of spirits per batch of cheese.

9. The Sjostroms hope to start the distillery in time for the 2023 holiday season and offer unique gift baskets and a unique setting for holiday parties and private events.

10. Like fashion, the cocktail world has its trends. “We’re watching what’s popular with any kind of vodka or gin,” said Alise. “There’s a caramel-based spirit from Ireland that’s really good and lots of people don’t even realize it’s made from whey!”

4. “Only five farms on the planet have the cheese and distillation onsite, but none filter onsite. Instead, they’re located next to large cheese plants with huge filtration systems,” said Lucas. “No filtration system like ours exists. What we are doing might just be a little bit crazy!”

5. To make araga, lactase is added to break the lactose molecule into glucose and galactose. Yeast comes next to ferment the glucose and convert it into alcohol. It takes 5-10 days to produce araga from fluid milk.

6. “No matter the type of liquor we eventually make, it’s all based on the initial araga spirit,” said Alise. “The whey infuses it with a slightly creamy texture and buttery flavor.”

7. Does the type of cheese influence the taste of the araga? “The short answer is yes, but we’re still figuring out how discernible that influence is,” said Lucas.

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where’s IQ?

THINK YOU KNOW? Send your best guess to IQ@ifound.org

by Nov. 30, 2023.

Three winners will be chosen, at random, to receive a $25 credit to apply toward their favorite Initiative Foundation-hosted Partner Fund.

HINT: This historic site began in 1972 as an educational museum to display the history of the area’s early pioneers.

What is the name of the park and where is it located?

Congratulations to everyone who correctly identified Delano’s Mushroom Building in the spring 2023 edition.

Readers Dennis Compton, Becki Melvie and Katie Brine were the lucky winners of the “Where’s IQ” contest.

52 Initiative Foundation ifound.org

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