Extension, with leadership participants, addresses a gap
Extension Rural Sociologist Ben Winchester says rural leaders are overworked. Using public records data, he calculates the need for formal leaders in each county and compares it with the number of available adults. He has found a profound leadership gap in very rural areas, where one in every nine adults must hold a formal leadership position.
Extension’s leadership and civic engagement programs pull people from the sidelines and into community life. Alma Contreras Lopez of Murdock responded to the invitation to lead by participating in Extension’s Growing Local Emerging Leaders program in southwest Minnesota.
“As an immigrant, I have had to learn to navigate different systems in the U.S. That’s why part of my inspiration is to help families navigate those systems.”
Her leadership is growing through her work with Conexiones, an immigrant- serving nonprofit that envisions stronger, more united communities. She was also invited to help save lives as a bilingual first responder.
Highlights
- People don’t have to be mental health professionals to support friends, neighbors and colleagues in times of need. But they may not know how. Extension helped bridge this gap by providing in-person Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) training in Kerkhoven.
- Extension provides financial capability education for participants in the judicial district’s treatment courts (including adult and juvenile drug courts, and courts for mental health, veterans, family dependency and DWI/DUI.
- Katie Saterbak of Murdock, an associate senior scientist for Jenny-O Turkey Store/Hormel Foods, is in Class 13 of the Minnesota Agricultural and Rural Leadership (MARL) program.
- Brenna W, a Swift County 4-H’er, is a Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador. She shows sheep, rabbits and horses, and plans to pursue a business degree.
- An Extension Small Grains Update in Benson offered a unique regional focus highlighting production agronomics, pest management, variety selection, soil fertility and economics.
- The Climate Adaptation Partnership is making available new resources on future groundwater and soil moisture conditions for Swift County, allowing communities to address issues like irrigation needs and drinking water availability based on long-term precipitation changes.
- RSDP impact: With support from a CERTs Seed Grant, a project with MN Venture Farms Cold Climate Solar Greenhouse designed a plan to implement and operate cold-climate solar greenhouses at multiple farm sites to increase access to locally produced, healthy foods year-round.
Swift County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Swift County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.