News Items

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Grand Rapids, Minn. —Communities across Minnesota are taking action to reframe what success means for young residents.  Under a variety of banners and adopting a range of strategies, these initiatives have a common goal: success in the first third of life.  Now, these individual Minnesota efforts can be seen as a network …

Blandin Foundation education grants help put higher education within reach for area students   GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. –Blandin Foundation’s applications for need-based education grants are now available and are being accepted until May 1. Up to $950,000 will be granted to Itasca County area students pursuing higher education during the 2014-2015 school year. The education …

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn.  – During their spring meeting March 20 and 21, Blandin Foundation trustees approved 93 grants in support of local leaders working to expand opportunity in rural Minnesota communities across the state.  Recognizing the impacts of increased rural Minnesota access and use of high-speed Internet (broadband), trustees also extended the Foundation’s Blandin Community …

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. – During their spring meeting March 20 and 21, Blandin Foundation trustees voted to extend the organization’s decade of work in rural broadband another two years (through 2016) and allocate $1.5 million more for community broadband grants. “We see every day what local leaders can do to address very significant and complex …

Grand Rapids, Minn. — Twenty-six residents of the Cook County area returned February 28 from a five-day leadership retreat, the first segment of an intense eight-day training provided by the Blandin Community Leadership Program (BCLP). The team also will participate in follow-up workshops in June and August 2014. A program of the Grand Rapids-based Blandin …

Grand Rapids, Minn. — Twenty-two residents of the Pipestone area returned January 31 from a five-day leadership retreat, the first segment of an intense eight-day training provided by the Blandin Community Leadership Program (BCLP). The team also will participate in follow-up workshops in May and July 2014. A program of the Grand Rapids-based Blandin Foundation, …

Investment will pay off, say community leaders and technology experts ST. PAUL, Minn. – “It’s high time that Minnesota was a leader in broadband,” Senator Matt Schmit told a crowd of community leaders from across the state gathered in St. Paul this week.  “Broadband is the essential infrastructure for the 21st Century.  Without it, rural …

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. – Local leaders across rural Minnesota are forging access to and building use of high-speed Internet (broadband) in their communities.  Blandin Foundation announced today that it has awarded 32 new grants in support of their work. Mille Lacs County is using GIS technology to overlay affordability data over …

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. – During their winter meeting Dec. 5 and 6, Blandin Foundation trustees approved grants that strengthen rural Minnesota communities, including 32 grants totaling $4.2 million for a range of initiatives underway in the Grand Rapids and Itasca County area. Itasca Economic Development Corporation is focused on business retention, expansion and recruitment in …