I find myself energized after a week filled with great experiences and conversations and it started Monday and Tuesday with our annual SWIF Board Retreat. This year marked our 16th year hosting the retreat at Birdwing Spa in rural Litchfield, which provides a great place for our board to connect and fully focus on what we need to do to raise the bar serving our rural regional community. (And it’s always a highlight to be in a setting surround by beautiful nature, seeing birds and wildlife including eagles and deer in their natural habitat.)
I am so grateful for this incredible group of committed regional leaders. We so appreciate all they do throughout the year, but we especially appreciate them giving a full two days to discuss and guide SWIF’s work. Serving on our board is a huge commitment, and we thank each board member for making this week’s retreat a priority.
During the retreat, our board confirmed our current strategies to be proactive in regional and community engagement. And, they acknowledged the outstanding talent on our staff who facilitate engagement throughout our entire region.
They discussed and affirmed SWIF’s goals and strategies around the transfer of wealth and SWIF’s new brand. I hope many of you will have the opportunity to hear them talk about why they serve on our board as they promote our video, which shares some of the greatest stories ever of our organization.
We also spent time looking at data that provides critical information about the future of southwest Minnesota. I’d like to share a few pieces of information about our population, demographics and workforce prepared by Cameron Macht, regional analyst for the Minnesota Dept. of Employment and Economic Development.
- Southwest Minnesota has 10 of the 20 fastest declining (population) counties in the state
- In 12 of 18 counties, 19% of the population is age 65+
- From 2000-2010, 14 of 18 counties lost seniors and 16 of 18 lost Baby Boomers
- Residents of Hispanic or Latino origin increased 65.5%
- From 2007 to 2010, we lost 4,819 jobs BUT from 2010-2011, we gained 700 jobs
- The region is near the bottom of the state for pay rates – low pay has to be one of the reasons for long-term population decline
- The region is projected to lose 7,500 workers through 2030
- Despite lower incomes, 15 of 18 counties have lower poverty rates than the state
These stats also highlighted that:
- Diversity is an important aspect of population change – 17 of 18 counties have larger minority student populations
- Projections expect the region to gain population of about 3.4%
- The region’s unemployment rate has been below the state rate and the region is expected to grow by 21,377 jobs
- Workers in southwest Minnesota are extremely loyal
Stay tuned—there’s much more to be shared about this data. But for now, we as leaders need to be paying attention to it and asking questions about it—like Cameron’s question of “How can we keep our young people and seniors in the region?” and his statement that “Businesses may actually have to pay MORE, not LESS.”
SWIF is not the solution to these issues but we play a part in engaging ALL of our leaders in ALL of our communities. When we engage with leaders across this region to build on the region’s assets, we’ll find the answers to important questions we face. We are a single connection, but together, we can find unlimited possibilities!
