Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
12/13/99
Contacts:
Mark Edelman, Extension Economics, (515) 294-3000, x1edelma@exnet.iastate.edu
Del Marks, Extension Communication Systems, (515) 294-9807,
dkmarks@iastate.edu
PLAIN ECONOMIC SENSE, Column 393
For release Dec. 13, 1999
Is the Problem Lack of Quality Jobs or Lack of Skills?
By Mark A. Edelman
Extension Public Policy Economist
Iowa State University Extension to Communities
A recent article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune highlighted comments of Governor Jesse Ventura's planning director, Dean Barkley, as saying, "Strong local leadership, not big tax breaks is what's needed to spur business development in rural Minnesota." Barkley's agency is projecting that almost half of Minnesota's counties are expected to lose population between 1995 and 2025.
Barkley says the state's goal should be "to take the victims of a changing farm economy and get them back into well-paying jobs to support their families. He said it makes sense to stimulate business growth in rural Minnesota, where there is already a substantial public investment in schools, roads and other infrastructure, instead of simply accelerating growth in the Twin Cities.
Rural communities can offer an attractive lifestyle, which Barkley characterized as "less chaotic, less congested and slower" than daily living in the Twin Cities. He added that rural communities must emphasize that they are a good match for "people who want to grow a family and escape the endless bustle of urban life."
"Small towns and regional centers must have state-of-the-art telecommunications capacity, affordable housing and entertainment amenities," he said. "Anyone who's going to come out and accept a $12, $14 or a $16-an-hour job is going to have to have a place to live," Barkley said. Also, to entice young people to stay in rural Minnesota, communities must do something to overcome the "lure of lights" in the Twin Cities. In a small town, he said, "What a 50-year-old may like, which is a quiet, peaceful existence, a 20-year-old may not want."
He said that development of the regional centers "is key to keeping more younger people in rural Minnesota. Those regional centers have the capability of providing those extra things that most small towns cannot."
Barkley said there's a need to change attitudes about what's possible in rural Minnesota. "People have gotten used to the idea that you need to locate in the Twin Cities to grow a thriving business. I think it's just a mind-set: 'That's where the market is, that's where the transportation is, that's where the people are, that's where the university is,' " he said.
Advantages often overlooked, Barkley said, are the advantages of doing business in other parts of the state. With the increase in high-technology jobs in the U.S. economy, geographic location has become less important.
The leadership to launch businesses in rural Minnesota must come from the local level, Barkley said. The financial woes of many farmers have created the sense of urgency for expanding the non-farm job base in rural Minnesota.
The trend toward larger farms means that 20 percent of the farmers are producing 80 percent of agricultural commodities, Barkley said. "I hate to say it, but it's the Wal-Marting of agriculture. What's happening to the farmer has already happened to the small businessman on Main Street," Barkley said.
He said he's looking at addressing the labor shortage in the Twin Cities and the farm crisis in rural Minnesota. One way to solve both problems is to train rural residents for the kinds of jobs these companies need, he said. "That not only helps the individual looking for a new career path, but also helps the state economically."
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