FOND DU LAC — A program providing legal and business support for farmers in the Fond du Lac Reservation is the recipient of a state grant intended to support underrepresented farming communities.
Nearly $48,000 was awarded to Farm Commons, which also helps farmers enroll in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Micro Farm Crop Insurance program.
The grant funds can be used to pay up to 65% of emerging farmers' premium expenses under the insurance program.
The funding comes in response to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Emerging Farmers’ Working Group and the first-of-its-kind Emerging Farmers Office.
These groups identified technical assistance as one of the top needs for emerging farmers.
Technical assistance includes helping with record keeping, financial statements, business plans, licenses and regulations, land access, applying for grants and loans, sales and marketing, and other business support.
Emerging farmers include farmers who are members of a community of color, women, veterans, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, or any other emerging farmers as determined by the commissioner of agriculture.
The working group also features northern Minnesotans, including Nikki Crowe, tribal conservation collaboration coordinator for the Fond du Lac Band, and Cindy Hale, who is co-owner of Clover Valley Farms near Two Harbors.
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Plus: Health professionals and air quality forecasters are predicting a heavy season of Canadian wildfire smoke this summer, and students learn a little about life with Trout in the Classroom projects. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEFor the past 110 days, students in classrooms across Minnesota learned about ecology and more as they've raised 300 trout from eggs to fingerlings. -
Contributed/Meds 1 AmbulanceIf it weren’t for the numerous challenges they have and continue to face, Jim and Suzanne Ducharme say they probably would have continued to run the business. -
Contributed/Chalon Boesel via iNaturalistKAXE Staff Phenologist John Latimer provides his weekly assessment of nature in Northern Minnesota. This is the week of May 14, 2024. -
Plus: Grand Rapids' locally owned ambulance service is sold to a large health care organization; and a Hibbing soldier receives a proper veterans headstone, more than a century after his death.
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Lorie Shaull/Special to KAXEThe City Government Academy brings us to the Grand Rapids Area Library — a place so much more than the books within. -
Plus: Crow Wing County selects a new administrator; BI-CAP receives $1.4 million grant for workforce development; and a Brainerd teacher receives a statewide award for agriculture in the classroom.
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Megan Buffington/KAXEGrace House of Itasca County is the county's only homeless shelter and has been open since 2006. -
Contributed/Mitch BlessingBemidji artist Mitch Blessing joins the KAXE Morning Show to share memories of fellow artist and mentor Marlon Davidson and his impact on the Bemidji art scene. -
Students and listeners from across the state send in their nature reports. Depending on the season, reports may cover wildflowers, animal behaviors, weather patterns and other wonders.
