The University of Minnesota

Central Regional

Partnership will host "Having Your Say" civic

engagement sessions Tuesday, April 28 at the Hunt Utility Group campus in Pine River, and Wednesday, April 29 at the Central Lakes College Ag Center in Staples. Each session will be held from 4-6 p.m.

The session will focus on discussion with citizens about community issues, and interests that may develop into projects supported by the University's Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (RSDP) program.

The Central RSDP is one of five Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships that work to sustain Minnesota's natural-resource based communities and industries by addressing community-identified agriculture, natural resources, tourism and energy issues in partnership with the University of Minnesota. In the past 10 years, the Central RSDP has provided more than $1.5 million in funding that leveraged an additional $2.8 million in cash, in-kind and volunteer services for projects throughout its eight county central Minnesota region.

In Cass County, the Partnership has recently worked with the Leech Lake Watershed Foundation to support shoreland conservation workshops and with the Pine River Watershed Foundation's Bungo Creek phosphorus monitoring project. The partnership has also supported management and interpretive planning for the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway in Cass and Crow Wing counties. In Wadena County, the partnership has supported the Living Legacy Garden project and works with the Ag Center is several agricultural research projects.