Southwest RSDP

The Southwest region includes the counties of Big Stone, Brown, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Douglas, Grant, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Pope, Redwood, Sibley, Renville, Rock, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Watonwan and Yellow Medicine, and shares geography with the Upper Sioux and Lower Sioux sovereign Native nations.

Southwest RSDP has been serving rural Minnesota for two decades. From 1998 through 2011, the West Central RSDP operated as a 12-county region. The geographic region was expanded in 2012 to include all counties in the southwest part of Minnesota, and the program renamed Southwest RSDP. New members of the board of directors were elected to represent the newly included counties.

The Mary J. Page Community-University Partnerships Fund honors former Olivia Mayor, Renville County Commissioner and University of Minnesota Regent Mary Page for her contributions to community-driven sustainability projects across Southwest Minnesota and beyond. Mary helped create, and then served on, the founding board of the West Central RSDP from 1999-2007, and gave statewide leadership to RSDP until 2009.

Evaluation of pilot Multi-Lingual Journalism course now available

Almost one-third of the population of Willmar, Minnesota, speaks a first language other than English. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the question: Do these community members have equitable access to important community information in their native languages?

Ridgewater College and Mid-Minnesota Development Commission teamed up to identify long-term ways to increase the availability of essential information in various languages. The Multilingual Journalism Program was piloted in early 2022 with a cohort of participants who explored skills in journalism, media and communications. As the pilot unfolded, a University of Minnesota graduate student supported by Southwest RSDP conducted a course evaluation. Dalila Hussein, student in the Masters of Development Practice program at the Humphrey School, conducted interviews and surveys of participants, stakeholders and the program team. Her findings about recruitment, course delivery, and satisfaction will be used to improve the course for future sessions.

Are you looking for a way to help build healthy ecosystems, strong local economies and vibrant communities?

Apply now to join Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership’s (RSDP’s) board or work groups. We work together to foster community-university partnerships that support sustainable development in Greater Minnesota.

Successful candidates will:

• Contribute diverse backgrounds, identities, experiences and viewpoints.

• Operate with integrity in making decisions.

• Embrace complexity and innovation.

• Be committed to building resilience and sustainability in Southwest Minnesota communities -- economically, socially and environmentally.

RSDP supports community-driven projects in four focus areas: sustainable agriculture and food systems, clean energy, resilient communities and natural resources. In particular, Southwest RSDP is currently seeking board and work group applicants with an interest in natural resources and clean energy. Get more information or apply. 

Southwest RSDP board members

• Sara Gronfeld, sara.gronfeld@mn.nacdnet.net - Johnson, MN
• Michele Huggins, doughpcreations@outlook.com - Granite Falls, MN
• Eric L'Abbé, eric@ericrathman.com - Worthington, MN
• David Lieser, kada@charter.net - Montevideo, MN
• Cheyanne St. John, cheyanne.stjohn@lowersioux.com - Morton, MN
• Justice Walker, jwalker@willmarmn.gov - Willmar, MN
• Becky Yust, byust@umn.edu - St. Paul, MN
• Beth Labenz, bmlabenz@umn.edu - Mankato, MN

Greetings from the Southwest RSDP! Have a project idea? Learn more about what we look for in a partnership and how to share your idea. We would love to hear from you!