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Capitol View®
Tom Scheck

DFLers pitch plan to boost rural economy

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Several DFL state senators are making a push to train more Minnesota workers for the needs of businesses outside the Twin Cities. Their $227 million plan focuses on rural broadband, housing, workforce training and career counseling.

Sen. Tom Saxhaug, DFL-Grand Rapids, said the goal is to keep young people living in rural Minnesota.

“What we’re really trying to stave off is the outmigration, the migration from rural Minnesota into the metropolitan area which, those of us in northern Minnesota understand, has been catastrophic almost in the last 25 years,” Saxhaug said.

Sen. Vicki Jensen, DFL-Owatonna, said employers are more likely to expand or relocate in rural Minnesota if there are skilled workers available.

“One of the first things I heard when I was elected was just because we build it doesn’t mean they will come,” Jensen said. “Well, I can tell you that from experience is that if we don’t build it, the chances of them coming and the possibility for them to stay is even less.”

The Senate DFL plan is the latest attempt by state lawmakers to focus on rural Minnesota, after  Republicans won control of the Minnesota House in November in part by saying Democrats had ignored rural issues.

The proposal is one of several initiatives aimed at improving the state’s workforce. It will have to compete with calls to spend more on schools, child care and nursing homes.