Southwest RSDP
Southwest RSDP
The University of Minnesota Extension Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (Southwest RSDP) is a community-driven board of directors working with community members across the region to create and sustain healthy ecosystems, strong local economies and vibrant, self-reliant rural towns.
Southwest RSDP launches education and research that help people understand and achieve sustainability across southwestern Minnesota. We support projects that demonstrate public purpose and build partnerships with residents of the region, and link these projects to local assets and University of Minnesota research and educational resources.
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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.
Granite Falls food shelf initiates monthly energy challenge for shoppers
Neighbors United Food Shelf in Granite Falls is using a monthly energy challenge to spread the word about energy savings. The topic for February is “Saving energy – and money! – in the kitchen.” Challenge materials are researched and developed by a student at the Center for Small Towns at University of Minnesota Morris. Also contributing to the project are Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) and University of Minnesota Extension’s SNAP-Ed program, in coordination with Southwest RSDP.
Bonanza Education Center on Big Stone Lake has launched a new website
Partnering with the Center for Small Towns at University of Minnesota Morris, Bonanza Education Center and a dedicated UM Morris student assistant are working together to develop a new marketing portfolio for the outdoor learning center. The new online presence for BEC will help to communicate their mission to interested schools and families "to foster in people of all ages an appreciation of the outdoor world."
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
- Charlene Graff, cgraff@2harvest.org - Lamberton, MN
- Jason Beckler, jason.beckler@state.mn.us - Marshall, MN
- Clement Loo, cloo@morris.umn.edu - Morris, MN
- Knute Oldre, knute.oldre@bankwithssb.com - Luverne, MN
