Herald-Review Features Rural Pathways’ New Brief and Iron Range Forum Series
Participants at the community forum held on April 21, 2026, in Grand Rapids, MN.
Rural Pathways has released Child Care as Workforce Infrastructure, a policy brief making the economic case for treating child care as core infrastructure across the Taconite Assistance Area, alongside broadband, housing, and roads.
Featured on May 2, 2026, in the Grand Rapids Herald-Review, the brief documents a workforce gap that keeps nearly 700 Iron Range workers out of the labor force and puts roughly $521 million in annual regional economic activity at stake. It lays out a three-part regional investment strategy: an Employer Slot Compact that pools employer contributions and leverages the expanded federal Section 45F credit; an Accelerator that drives wage enhancement for classroom staff; and a Philanthropy Pipeline that grows new rural supply.
The brief anchors a three-forum regional series convened by the Iron Range Child Care Task Force. Forums were held April 21 in Grand Rapids for Itasca County and April 22 in Chisholm, with a third coming in June in Silver Bay for Lake County, where employers, providers, chambers, and county leaders are translating the findings into regional action.
Read the full article in the Grand Rapids Herald-Review: Child care belongs with broadband, housing and roads
Listen to the recent feature about Iron Range child care on KAXE: Iron Range group has regional solution to child care crisis. But it needs a leader