Appleton, MN

For over one year we’ve been talking about implementing the Voices of Rural Minnesota program. We are happy to say that the application materials are available and the program will launch this fall!

Purpose Statement

The Voices of Rural Minnesota program seeks to increase awareness of the rural and tribal experience by educating key stakeholders on the realities of small rural and tribal communities through storytelling and information dissemination.

Program Goals

The Voices of Rural Minnesota Program will engage a group of up to 30 individuals from across Minnesota to:

1. Identify and develop individual public presentation skills
2. Recruit and train a diverse group of speakers representing all regions of MN
3. Provide speakers with accurate information to use to move audiences to action
4. Educate, motivate, and empower community members to play a larger role in community issues
5. Identify and collaborate with partners to identify and research impact of current policies on rural issues
6. Identify venues for speaking engagements
7. Create powerful public presentations that highlight life in small rural communities
8. Create and implement evaluation processes to access impact of program

Please forward this post and the attached application materials to anyone you think would be a good candidate.

Voices of Rural Minnesota Application Packet

The Appleton Community Profile has been updated! The most recent version includes evaluation findings from Study Circles and LeadershipPlenty and copies of the community’s Horizons Team Agreement and workplans. (Keep in mind that the team agreement and workplans are subject to change as community priorities and resources shift.)

Download a PDF version of the Appleton Community Profile.

Appleton Horizons was recognized for community efforts at a statewide event held in St. Cloud on April 24th. Beverly Durgan, Dean of University of Minnesota Extension, presented each community with a plaque in celebration of their successful Horizons work.

[L-R: Mary Evans, Al Smith, Mary Lou Smith, Bjorn Arneson, Judy Glimsdal, Bud Roy, David Tjosaas, Suzanne Tjosaas, Elwood McBrady, Beverly Durgan]

(Updated March 16 with Ben Winchester’s slideshow. Click on the image below to open his slideshow in PDF format (the file is large, be patient if you have a slow connection). Email your comments directly to Ben at benw@umn.edu

Do you think the population just stays the same here in Swift County? Think again. While the total number of people stays generally the same, enough people are moving IN to the county to make up for the loss of the 18-25 year old youth! This “brain gain” is a different take on how our rural population is changing. What are we doing about it? What can we do about it?

Join us at 6:00pm, Monday, March 15 at Shooter’s Bar and Grill, Appleton, to explore these questions. Free spaghetti dinner will be served for those who RSVP to 866-407-4906 or horizons@umn.edu. All people interested in making Appleton a vibrant place to live, work, and play are welcome!

Our guest speaker, Ben Winchester, is a Research Fellow with the University of MN, Extension Center for Community Vitality.

The population in rural Minnesota has changed significantly over the past 40 years. This is commonly referred to as the rural rebound.  In fact, between 1990 and 1999 over 2.2 million more Americans moved from a metro county to a non-metro county, than visa-versa. While retirement and recreational counties accounted for the bulk of this population growth in Minnesota, the story of Minnesota’s rural population change is interesting and nuanced - especially when we consider that in Minnesota over 40% of all people move to a new home in any five year span.  Some core structures that have built our rural communities are not the same ones maintaining them today. Overall, the implications of these changes are positive ones for all of our small towns and open country places.

Printable Brain Gain Poster

Do you serve on a church council, nonprofit board of directors, community planning group, or local government council? You need Committees that Work!

This free workshop is for individuals and teams that want to improve the performance of their committees. We’ll discuss common traps that ensnare committees and identify practical methods to avoid and address them.

Existing committees or groups are encouraged to jointly register for this workshop. Individuals who wish to increase the effectiveness of their group leadership or membership are also welcome to register. The workshop will be led by Toby Spanier, an Extension educator with over twenty years of teaching and training experience.

5:30pm-8:30pm, Monday, March 29
Dinner served at 5:30pm

Two Sisters’ Tea Room
44 N Haven St, Appleton, Minnesota MAP

The dinner and workshop are free, but you MUST pre-register by emailing horizons@umn.edu or calling 866-407-4906.

>> Download a Printable Poster <<

Appleton Horizons, together with Horizons groups in Evansville, Starbuck, and Hoffman, is sponsoring a grant-writing training at the University of Minnesota Morris campus.

The training will be held Saturday, March 6, from 9am-4pm. There is no cost for attending the training and a delicious lunch will be provided. Carpool mileage to/from your home community will be reimbursed by Horizons. Specific information and maps are available to those that RSVP.

RSVP is required. Individuals from Appleton Contact Bjorn Arneson at arne0155@umn.edu or 612-626-0601 to RSVP or learn more about the training. Use this free learning opportunity to expand your skills and move your community projects forward! After the session, participants will have covered the following topics:

1. Learned who likely funders are and where to find them (online and elsewhere)
2. Learned the basic structure of grant applications
3. Drafted the five key sections of a typical grant application:
   • an organization description (answering the question “Who are you?”)
   • a needs statement (”What need are you addressing?”)
   • a project description (”What will you do about it?”)
   • goals and outcomes (”How will you know when you’ve done it?”)
   • a budget and workplan (”What will you need to do this?”)
4. Learned the characteristics of good and bad applications
5. Learned tips and tricks for building a good relationship with funders

The training session will have lots of hands-on exercises, with participants actually taking time to draft each of the 5 key sections of their potential grant.

These documents reflect Appleton Horizons’ direction as of Fall 2009 and are subject to change as new information and opportunities arise.

Appleton Horizons Team Agreement (revised November 2009)

Workplan: Join with Others to Create ChangeWorkplan: Appleton Seeds of Peace

Workplan: Build Community and Family Assets

Workplan: Create More and Better Jobs

Your are cordially invited to Health Power: Health by Choice Not Chance. It starts tonight - but runs for 4 nights: Sunday through Wednesday 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. (November 15 - 16 - 17 - 18) and presented by Presented by Mary Bernt: Health Educator and Cooking School Specialist.

When: Sunday through Wednesday 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. (November 15 - 16 - 17 - 18)
Where: First United Methodist Church, 43 West Schlieman Avenue • Appleton, MN 56208
How much? $50/Person or $80/Couple - that includes a complete meal each night, handouts and cookbook.

Questions or to make a reservation call: (320) 289-2247

Here’s a sample of what you can learn:

Take responsibility for your own health and…
• Lower Your Blood Pressure
• Disarm Diabetes
• Control Cholesterol
• Eat More, Weigh Less
• Reverse Heart Disease
• Slow Down Aging
• Increase Your Endurance
• Add Life to Your Years & Years to Your Life!

Appleton Horizons, Joining With Others to Create Change Vision team, hosted four block parties in different neighborhoods of Appleton earlier this month.  The Schirms, Smiths, McElroy’s, and Glimsdals all hosted parties.  Approximately 100 Appleton residents attended making it a resounding success for the first year.  Many were heard saying that they want to do it twice a year, and the goal for next year is to once again hold block parties, but to increase the number of parties, while maintaining the high average attendance.