CMMA April Meeting

CMMA Breakfast Meeting on April 26 in St. Martin, MN

Presentation:
Rewriting the Rural Narrative
It seems the rural story has already been told. Small towns keep getting smaller.  Churches, schools, clinics, businesses, and now post offices, have closed their doors as the lucky few migrate out to the big cities. This deficit framework dominates how we discuss and envision our rural communities. However, the story of rural America since 1970 is rich and diverse, with positive trends occurring under the radar. Learn how these important positive changes have been occurring across the rural landscape that require us to rewrite the narrative of rural community change.

Speaker:
Benjamin Winchester, Senior Research Fellow, University of Minnesota Extension, Center for Community Vitality

About the Presenter:
Winchester received his B.A. in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Minnesota, Morris (1995) and M.S. in Rural Sociology from the University of Missouri, Columbia (2001). Ben has been working both in and for small towns across the Midwest for over 20 years. He is trained as a Rural Sociologist and works as a Senior Research Fellow for the University of Minnesota Extension, Center for Community Vitality. He conducts applied research on economic, social, and demographic topics surrounding a theme of “rewriting the rural narrative” that are vital to rural America.
 
About the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality. Extension's Community Economics team works with Minnesota communities as they develop their economic strategy, offering education, research, analysis and advice. With solid research and informed action, communities can chart courses that are realistic, well-informed, and supported by the community.

About the Tour:

​Rotochopper
​Rotochopper designs, builds, and supports a complete line-up of horizontal grinders, wood chip processors, asphalt shingle grinders, and mobile bagging systems. As an employee-owned manufacturer Rotochopper is founded on a unique philosophy toward waste materials; they believe grinding equipment should do more than just reduce the volume of waste materials but is an opportunity for economic growth and sustainability. Horizontal grinders, both diesel and electric, delivers colored landscape mulch, animal bedding, compost, etc. Asphalt shingle grinders recycle asphalt while wood chip processors turn dull tree chips into vibrant colored mulch in a single pass. See these machines and more as they are being built at Rotochopper.

*Safety glasses and closed-toe shoes required.  Since parking is limited, carpooling from the church is recommended.