Our Shared Destiny

Park Rapids lakes area will be a vibrant community with opportunity for all. We will embrace an exceptional quality of life and a growing economy, while protecting our natural environment and small town beauty and charm. Park Rapids will be known as a community that is a great place to live, work and play:

- acknowledging our differences;

- respecting each other’s talents;

- valuing shared prosperity; and

- working together for the broader community good.

People and Talent

Why is this important?

When looking at the current trends in the labor force it is easy to see that the success of any community in the next twenty years will rely on its ability to attract and retain skilled workers. A vast amount of current executives and management are part of the baby boom generation which will be retiring in high numbers as the next decade progresses. The winners and losers, when it comes to communities, will be determined mostly on the talent base and labor force that resides there.

How is Park Rapids doing?

The tightening of the labor force will be felt in the community. A significant decrease (projected to be over 40% decrease in 16-24 year olds between 2005 and 2035) in the younger age groups and a large increase in older age groups (we rank 62nd out of 87 counties in median age) will change the labor force availability and composition.

click on image to see larger view

click on image to see larger view

Source: Minnesota Office of the State Demographer

Data Sources

Click here to view all data sources for this report
Click here to visit the Minnesota Office of the State Demographers’ website
Click here to visit the Minnesota Department of Education’s Website

We can do better with the talent we have. Almost a quarter of our high-school students are not graduating from high school on time. In selected subpopulations, less than half graduate on time. Of those students graduating, about half are going on to enroll in college. Skilled workers will be the most highly sought after asset in the new economy due to labor force trends. Communities who can attract and retain these talented workers will be successful in coming decades.

click on image to see larger view	Source: Minnesota Department of Education
click on image to see larger view	Almost 1/4 of our students are not graduating on time

What can we do about this?

The labor force trends are inevitable and will be felt by almost every community. To tackle the challenges presented here the community must control the controllable by addressing the things we can create real change around.

Initiate a collaborative community effort to improve our graduation rates and our rates of post-secondary participation. Maximizing our own human capacities is the best way to enhance our workforce and talent position. These are tough challenges. Success will come about when these goals are community goals, not just school goals.

Undertake an initiative to strengthen the connections between the community and its “alumni.” Park Rapids will be successful at retaining talent of all ages (and attracting back talented former residents) to the extent that it can develop deep connections between those people and the community. There are ways to do that for existing residents including mentorships between people new to the work force and those retired, internships and civic engagement efforts. Creating this connection with “community alumni” who have left could be done through the use of new telecommunication technology.

Target improvements that make Park Rapids attractive to those future workers with knowledge and skills. What does that type of community look like? It has a broad range of educational, health, recreational and cultural amenities. Skilled and talented people have options and are looking for great places to work, live and play.

How to get involved….

There will be a number of organizations who will work towards success on the strategies outlined above. If you would like to get involved contact the following people:

Hubbard County Economic Development Commission
Click here to visit the HCEDC’s website.

David Collins
Executive Director
dwc@hubbardcountyedc.com
218-732-2256

301 Court Ave.
Park Rapids, MN 56470
http://www.hubbardcountyedc.com/index.html

Headwaters Regional Development Commission
Click here to visit the HRDC’s website.

Cliff Tweedale
Executive Director
ctweedale@hrdc.org
218-444-4732

PO Box 906
Bemidji, MN 56619

403 4th St. NW
Bemidji, MN 56601
http://www.hrdc.org

Park Rapids Public Schools
Click here to visit the Park Rapids Public School’s website.

Glen Chiodo
Superintendent
gchiodo@parkrapids.k12.mn.us
218-237-6500

301 Huntsinger Ave.
Park Rapids, MN 56470
http://www.parkrapids.k12.mn.us

Park Rapids Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce
Click here to visit the Chamber’s website.

Katie Magozzi
Executive Director
katie@parkrapids.com
218-732-4111

Hwy. 71 South
PO Box 249
Park Rapids, MN 56470
http://www.parkrapids.com