Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*
Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol
Already have an account?
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
Ground Level Blog
Dave Peters

Ground Level launches Todd County print and web coverage

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

I'm happy to say we've launched our Ground Level coverage of Todd County, both in print and online. We're focusing on how well this rural and economically stressed community is prepared to handle the aging boom that is approaching, but our coverage will explore the local economy, immigration and other issues more broadly.

(Join the conversation on this blog about the export of young people, for example.)

You can read Part 1 of reporter Jennifer Vogel's four-part series on Todd County in one of these four fine newspapers: the Long Prairie Leader, the Staples World, the Browerville Blade and the Independent News Herald in Clarissa. The piece shows you how an energetic network of volunteers, donations, government help and family provide at least one lifeline for elderly people living alone in the country.

You can also find the story on the Todd County page we've just made public here on MPRNewsQ. There's also an entertaining slide show by reporter Nikki Tundel, a nice little slice of the county. The page highlights the Todd County-related posts on this blog -- Nikki put something up yesterday on folks in Bertha banding together to give themselves a morning place to gather, for example.

As we did earlier on our first such page, on Baldwin Township, we will be adding material to this page as we continue to report -- video, audio, more text stories and data presentations that will be useful in understanding trends in Todd County.

One goal of this, as I've said before, is to provide information and generate conversations that can help residents get involved, in particular with the effort some in the county are making in conjunction with the Initiative Foundation to address issues of aging.

As always, we're eager to hear your feedback. You can comment here on the blog or email me. And by all means, plan to join us for a public forum hosted by MPR News editor Kate Smith on May 6 at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School. Dinner is on us at 5:30 and the program starts at 6:30.