People-Powered Prosperity
To sustain economic growth, rural communities must shift from recruiting businesses to attracting and retaining people.
By Gene Rebeck | Illustration by Chris McAllister
If rural Minnesota hopes to thrive in the decades ahead, the strategy needs to shift: less focus on attracting companies and more on attracting people. That’s the call to action from Kelly Asche, senior researcher at the Mankato-based Center for Rural Policy and Development.
“Minnesota’s economy is still strong,” Asche said. “But the reality is clear: if we want to sustain that strength—especially in rural areas—we need to double down on attracting and retaining people. That means investing in career and technical education, local scholarships and creating communities where people—young and old—feel like they belong.”
With job vacancies rising across Greater Minnesota, the challenge isn’t creating jobs—it’s finding people to fill them. But Minnesota’s population growth is slowing. Birthrates are low, retirements are accelerating, and immigration alone can’t close the gap. Future growth will depend on migration, especially to rural areas that otherwise face population decline.
Asche urges communities to focus on what makes rural life appealing: outdoor amenities, smaller schools, a slower pace and a sense of belonging. “We needed to stop talking about jobs and start talking about people,” he said. What motivates people to visit is often the same reason they might choose to stay: if they’re invited, if they feel welcomed, and if they see opportunity.
An Invitation to Live Wide Open
In a region where job openings often outnumber applicants, West Central Initiative in Fergus Falls—one of six Minnesota Initiative Foundations serving Greater Minnesota—knew it needed more than help-wanted ads to build a thriving workforce. The answer? Live Wide Open—a resident recruitment campaign launched in 2016 to spotlight the joys of living, working and putting down roots in west central Minnesota.
Initially developed by the organization’s Labor Force Development Council, Live Wide Open was one of the state’s first coordinated efforts to encourage people to move to, return to, and—perhaps most importantly—stay in the region. By partnering early with employers, tourism groups and local leaders, the campaign gained momentum around a simple but powerful message: You can belong here.
With a modest reboot in 2024, Live Wide Open now features a website that showcases stories of newcomers, home-comers, entrepreneurs and remote workers who’ve settled in the region. A social media presence and a regional television special have extended the campaign’s reach to nearly 130,000 people each month.
In May, the organization created and began to distribute “The View from Here: An Almanac of Life and Land in Our Region.” The 40-page publication—available in print and online—supports the Live Wide Open campaign by providing residents with a greater sense of identity and regional pride. Taken all together, the almanac and the Live Wide Open campaign express “the idea that everyone can belong and everyone can have a place and a purpose in west central Minnesota,” Anna Wasescha, president of West Central Initiative, said in an interview with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. “We believe everyone can find happiness here.”
Minnesota on the Move
As birth rates decline and the population ages, Minnesota’s growth increasingly depends on people moving here from other states. An April 2024 report from the Minnesota State Demographic Center found that 42 percent of the state’s growth in 2023 came from domestic migration—a share projected to keep climbing until it accounts for all new growth by the late 2040s.
But the picture isn’t all positive. For the past two decades, more Minnesotans have moved out of the state than into it, especially young adults heading off to college or pursuing early career opportunities. Older adults often choose warmer climates, while middle-aged residents tend to stay put.
Despite these trends, the report underscores opportunity. Roughly 100,000 people move in and out of the state each year, highlighting the importance of targeted efforts—especially those aimed at retaining and attracting young adults. Communities that build on what makes them special—whether it’s natural beauty, strong schools or a sense of belonging—have the best shot, according to the report, at attracting and retaining people to maintain and grow their populations.
A Model to Watch
Otter Tail County’s Rural Rebound Initiative offers a compelling playbook for others to follow.
Launched in 2017, the initiative emphasizes messaging, marketing and digital outreach to tell a positive story about rural life—and to put Otter Tail County on the map as a great place to live and work. “It boils down to building a brand,” said Erik Osberg, the initiative’s coordinator. Otter Tail County, he said, is flipping the script on outdated rural narratives.
Inspired by University of Minnesota Extension researcher Ben Winchester, the campaign directly ties resident recruitment and retention to tourism marketing, leveraging the county’s natural beauty and community assets. The outreach targets remote workers and mid-career professionals seeking stronger community ties.
“The reasons people live here are the same reasons people visit here,” Osberg said. “Rather than start a new brand or create a new logo, we chose to weave our resident recruitment and resident retainment messaging with our tourism messaging.”
Marketing, however, is only part of the equation. Otter Tail County also created the Big Build housing initiative to meet the needs of newcomers. The goal of the county-wide initiative is to build, preserve or rehab 5,000 housing units to support workforce retention. It also launched a three-year pilot called the Empowered Worker Program to help existing residents enter the labor force with training that aligns with local employer needs. Childcare, broadband and transportation investments round out the support system.
The coordinated strategy is showing results. “We can’t hold a victory parade yet,” Osberg said. “We haven’t won the labor shortage war.” Still, according to recent state data, “we’ve been able to maintain a level workforce. We’ve beaten the predictions.”
Migration Trends Matter
With today’s domestic migration trends, jobs matter—especially in rural areas—but they’re not the only draw. People are choosing communities based on quality of life, social connections and local amenities. Research from the University of Minnesota Extension confirms what forward-thinking communities already know: Attracting residents takes more than economic opportunity. As competition for workers intensifies, Greater Minnesota communities that invest in resident recruitment and innovative livability strategies will be the ones that stand out.
“It’s important to work in coordination with each other,” said Amy Baldwin, Otter Tail County’s community development director. “That collaboration takes effort, but we all recognize it leads to better outcomes.”