Thirteen communities to be participants in Horizons program

The University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality has announced that thirteen rural communities will participate in programming for leadership development and poverty reduction over the next eighteen months.

The program, called Horizons, is funded by the Northwest Area Foundation. Participating communities have populations of less than 5,000 and poverty rates greater than 10 percent. The program mobilizes community members to learn more about poverty, to support and uncover emerging leadership and to engage the entire community in establishing a future that addresses poverty and creates a new future. Communities that complete the 18-month process receive up to $10,000 to carry out their ideas for action.

“We are getting such positive response from people who are participating. It’s very exciting,” said Muriel Krusemark, coordinator of Hoffman, Minnesota’s economic development authority. “We hope that the increased communication within our community will have a wonderful effect. It’s so nice to see something that starts with the people, so that they will make a difference in local decisions.”

The new Horizons communities have already begun their community-based discussions. The Minnesota Horizons communities are Akeley (population 412); Appleton (population 1,469); Braham (population, 1,276); Elysian (population 486); Evansville (population 566); Gaylord (population 2,279); Hoffman (population 672); Menahga (population 1, 220); Moose Lake (population 1,363); Pine City (population 3,043); Sebeka (population 710); Starbuck (population 1,314) and Waterville (population 1,833).

Eligible communities apply by learning what the program requires, and demonstrating that community members can be engaged in helping the program happen.

“The program requires immense local energy and willingness to think in new ways,” said Monica Herrera, Horizons program director at University of Minnesota Extension. “But along the way, we provide training, coaching, education and tangible resources that supports and encourage their efforts.”

Nine Minnesota communities completed the program in 2008, and 21 communities have completed Horizons programs since it began in 2003. In these communities, change was evident — in changing community identities, new youth programs, new economic development strategies, workforce programs and more. Perhaps most important, people in Horizons communities are working together toward a vision for the future.

“It’s about getting people together to solve their own issues,” says Sue Harris, Horizons local organizer in St. James, Minn. St. James completed the program in May. “Once you do, magic happens.”

To learn more about the program, visit www.extension.umn.edu/community/Horizons/