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Do Greater Minnesota residents live in the 'middle of everywhere'?
Researchers used anonymized cell-phone data to show Wadena County draws workers from the Fargo metro and gets heavy seasonal tourist traffic.
- The Wadena County Economic Alliance partnered with the University and Minnesota Extension to map regional commuting and tourism ties using innovative anonymized cell phone data from the company Placer.
- Traditional Census information provides only a delayed, limited snapshot, prompting researchers to utilize mobile data instead, according to Extension Community Development Educator DeeDee LeMier.
- Wadena County functions as a net importer of workers, with nearly a third arriving from regional zip codes, most notably the Fargo metro area about 90 miles west on Highway 10.
- Extension Rural Sociologist Ben Winchester coined the phrase 'living in the middle of everywhere' to describe residents, while tourism data reveals a community footprint far larger than previously imagined.
- Hope Williams, the former Economic Alliance executive director, plans to use this data for long-term strategic goals, noting it helps local leaders understand how to grow the local economy.
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13 Articles
13 Articles
Duluth News Tribune+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
Do Greater Minnesota residents live in the 'middle of everywhere'?
WADENA, Minn. — Hope Williams instinctively knew how wide one Greater Minnesota county's arms could reach. She lived in Otter Tail County, in central Minnesota, just a few miles from the Wadena County line. But like many residents of Greater Minnesota, county lines were practically invisible in her daily life. Williams shopped at Wadena County stores and ate at its restaurants. She even worked there. Her job made this insight even more interesti…
·Cherokee County, United States
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left0Leaning Right8Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Right
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources lean Right
80% Right
C 20%
R 80%
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