Ben Winchester talks "brain gain" on MPR

January 10, 2020

, University of Minnesota Extension Senior Research Fellow for community vitality We often hear that small, rural communities are disappearing. In Vital Connections On Air Episode 1: "It's not your grandpa's rural," Ben Winchester, senior research fellow — Ben Winchester, U of M Extension rural sociologist

Ben Winchester, University of Minnesota Extension rural sociologist, talks with Minnesota Public Radio host Kerri Miller on Flyover 2020: Rural America’s brain gain.

"Brain gain" means that, while young people leave small towns, populations aged 30-49 have grown in rural Minnesota counties. Those newcomers bring significant education, skills, connections, spending power and children.

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