From dpfeifer at minnesotaruralpartners.org Wed Apr 4 08:28:58 2007 From: dpfeifer at minnesotaruralpartners.org (Denise Pfeifer) Date: Wed Apr 4 09:31:10 2007 Subject: [Mn-Rural-Summit] 2007 Minnesota Rural Summit: News Release Message-ID: <007301c776c5$95d8b270$660aa8c0@dpfeifer> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: april news release.doc Type: application/msword Size: 1221632 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mapnp.Geeks.ORG/pipermail/mn-rural-summit/attachments/20070404/d0e01ea3/aprilnewsrelease-0001.doc From jleonard at minnesotaruralpartners.org Wed Apr 25 21:53:24 2007 From: jleonard at minnesotaruralpartners.org (Jane Leonard) Date: Wed Apr 25 22:55:49 2007 Subject: [Mn-Rural-Summit] Countdown to 10th Annual Rural Summit Message-ID: <000e01c787b6$76d6ba50$6501a8c0@Jane> Dear Colleagues: Please help us spread the word for one final time that the 10th annual Rural Summit - set for May 10 and 11, 2007 at Craguns in Brainerd, Minnesota -- will knock your socks off with incredible content and speakers on "Thriving by Design." It's about being intentional in how we plan for our future and how we balance many factors to make informed choices that can help our communities, our businesses, and our state Thrive by Design. Register now, and encourage others to register -- $200 will buy you a couple of great meals, networking, and most importantly, excellent content and ideas. I've been reviewing the copy for the final program printing and I'm really amazed at the talent we have assembled in one place at one time --- from Secretary of State Mark Ritchie helping us kickoff the one-year countdown to Minnesota's Statehood Sesquicentennial, to sessions on how design and planning are essential these days to staying competitive on the economic front as well as ensuring a high quality of life all-around. Our keynote speakers will look back all the way to Minnesota's early beginnings before statehood, and up ahead today at how Minnesota did and still needs to Thrive by Design - that success doesn't just happen - you need to plan for it and invest in it. We have a rich panel of speakers on current realities and trends ahead -- in information and communications technology, agriculture and renewable energy, housing, transportation, health care, and education (check out all the speakers at http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/2007_summit ). Tom Stinson and Tom Gillaspy (our state economist and state demographer) will be introduced by Commissioner Dan McElroy of the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development to give us all a heads up on the changes ahead in our economy and demographics. Neighbors to the east in Wisconsin will share their insights on the importance of design in using downtown as an enterprise networking node, and graduate students studying rural entrepreneurship will present their capstone findings on a proposal to create a Rural Enterprise Corps to help rural community leaders coordinate their local wisdom with the rich resources available statewide and nationwide. You'll get a summary of all the planning projects currently underway in Minnesota, to help us all prepare for a thriving, innovative future, and you can learn about new grant programs that can help us move to that future together. Over a third of the communities in Minnesota who have hosted the Minnesota Design Team will be in attendance, so you can learn from them how helpful the MDT process has been in the effort to Thrive by Design. Don't miss this Summit, because we'll let you in on a little secret. The 10th annual Rural Summit may be the last. Minnesota Rural Partners has put in 10 good years managing the creation of the Rural Summit with our wonderful planning partners, and we want to go out on a high note. Next year we'll be supporting Sesquicentennial events and initiatives, so the learning and connecting won't stop. But next month, on May 10 & 11, help us make the 10th annual Rural Summit be the most memorable of all, with your presence there. Sign up at http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org/2007_summit and pass the word along to colleagues, too. Thank you so much - and hope to see you at Craguns in two weeks! --Jane Leonard President on leave, Minnesota Rural Partners Executive Director of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission www.minnesotaruralpartners.org www.mn150years.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mapnp.Geeks.ORG/pipermail/mn-rural-summit/attachments/20070425/a677d360/attachment.html