How are partners in the Northwest region working to advance sustainability? We spoke with Sharon James to learn more about her work at 4-Directions Development and how entrepreneurship, food sovereignty and partnership are core ways the Red Lake Nation is strengthening its local economy and community.
RSDP Happenings
With assistance from the Clean Energy Resource Teams, districts across Greater Minnesota are exploring how solar can save money on energy bills, demonstrate leadership in sustainability and provide educational opportunities to students.
As the invasive emerald ash borer threatens and kills ash trees across Minnesota, finding sustainable uses for wood from these trees can be difficult. A creative parklet project in downtown Rochester is showing how communities can think outside the box to repurpose ash wood and address this challenge.
How can community members across Greater Minnesota work collectively to ensure their towns are welcoming to all residents, regardless of their race, ethnicity, language or other characteristics? The new Creating a Welcoming Community toolkit shares ways to meaningfully and inclusively engage with immigrants, refugees and Black, Indigenous and people of color, so that all feel welcome.
Housing is a basic need that all Minnesotans share and is essential to creating resilient communities. Meeting that need, however, can be a complex challenge. A new community-university project seeks to design resilient and affordable housing solutions that embrace Minnesota’s ecological, economic and cultural diversity.
Halal and kosher are faith practices related to foods that are permissible to eat. Both present market opportunities for Minnesota farmers and businesses.