University of Minnesota Extension has provided dozens of classes in 18 Minnesota communities as part of the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities project. Today their Spring Source magazine highlights some of the success in the field from workshop attendees…

“We’ve diversified our commerce using sites like eBay and Etsy,” says arts advocate Lynn Kasma, a recent MIRC participant from New York Mills, Minn.

In Akeley, Minn., 79 percent of local businesses have taken advantage of the program; in Sebeka, Minn., 57 percent. More than 1,500 individuals have participated in the grant-supported workshops, benefiting the vitality of rural Minnesota.