Impact of New Immigrants in Southwest Minnesota NADO Annual Training Conference New Orleans, Louisiana October 26, 2015 Jay Trusty Executive Director Southwest Regional Development Commission
Apr 13, 2017
Impact of New
Immigrants in Southwest
Minnesota NADO Annual Training Conference
New Orleans, Louisiana
October 26, 2015
Jay Trusty
Executive Director
Southwest Regional Development Commission
The Region
1973 Population 141,532
2014 Population 117,946
9 Counties
80 Cities
163 Townships
32 School Districts
The Economy
Primarily Agricultural
2% of US Corn/Soybean Crops
Schwan Food Company
Agco
6 plants produce 233 m gallons
of bio-fuels
JBS in Worthington
22,000 head of hogs a day
(Photo: Mark Steil, MPR-Worthington)
The Community
Farm crisis in the 80’s brought a
sharp drop in population
Influx of new immigrants began to
reverse this trend
Worthington, Minn., was dying. Then, enter the
immigrants.
By Tad [email protected]
Diversity
2,700 students
68% are diverse
28 languages
50 dialectsAzteca Dancers Perform
Downtown
Thriving
Full Storefronts
Restaurants
Groceries
Investments
EDA Revolving Loan
Fund
Panaderia Mi Tierra
Impacts
Unemployment in
the Region 2.7%
Nobles County
2.7%
Worthington 3%
(Photo: Brian Korthals, Worthington Daily Globe)
Challenges
Labor shortage
Housing shortage
Water shortage
Celebration