Two weeks ago, I met with my colleagues from the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations for a presidents’ meeting. We had several guests including Steven J. Rosenstone, MnSCU Chancellor; Michael Langley, CEO of the new organization Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Economic Development Partnership; Bill Blazer, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Business Development at the Minnesota Chamber; and Curt Brown, a staff writer at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I’ve shared before just how valuable I find all of these connections and discussions.
For today, I really want to focus on the opportunity to work with Curt and build a better relationship with metro-based media, ultimately to make sure they know about of all the good things happening in our region.
This isn’t the first time news coverage has come up during conversations at SWIF. Southwest Minnesota boasts award-winning newspapers and top-notch radio stations and public access channels. And, Pioneer Public Television out of Appleton is a great regional asset. But unlike any other region in Minnesota, we don’t have one central news source that’s a go-to for our region.
If you live here, you might watch television news coverage from the Twin Cities, Sioux Falls or Alexandria. Newspaper coverage is likely local. But sources are unlimited if you pick up your smartphone or sit down at your computer. The news industry and the way we share information is changing so quickly.
So, how does this affect our region and the stories that are (or aren’t) told about it? This connection to a major Minnesota news source creates a great opportunity to share our stories, but we need your help. You know better than anyone about the amazing new things your business is doing, or about the person who stepped up to make a huge difference in your community.
What story do you want to hear told? Please share by posting a comment or connecting with me at [email protected].
photo credit: Mustafa Khayat
