Staff photo by Fritz Busch Brown County Administrator Sam Hansen was appointed rural county government representative on the Center for Rural Policy and Development by Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Oct. 28.

NEW ULM — Brown County Administrator Sam Hansen was appointed to the Center for Rural Policy and Development by Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Oct. 28.

For the next six years, Hansen will serve as rural county government representative on the board that represents a variety of interests across the state. He replaces Crow Wing County Administrator Tim Houle.

Hansen will attend quarterly Zoom meetings for the St. Peter-based non-partisan, not-for-profit policy research organization dedicated to provide policy makers with unbiased information and evaluation of rural issues.

Each spring, the organization creates a list of research questions and asks its thought leaders if issues are urgent, important or not important.

Hansen applied for the appointment last January and got a call that he was appointed to the board last Friday.

The Center’s board members represent a variety of interests.

Hansen replaces Crow Wing County Administrator Tim Houle.

“I’ve always respected the organization (Center for Rural Policy and Development) and the work it does. I look forward to continuing the good advocacy work it does for rural counties,” Hansen said.

He has been Brown County administrator for 4 1/2 years. Prior to coming to New Ulm, he was St. James city manager for 2 1/2 years and Sherburn city administrator for nearly four years.

A Morgan native, Hansen graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato with undergraduate degrees in law enforcement and psychology and a masters degree in public administration.

Hansen is a baseball umpire and is active with the Essig Blue Jays amateur baseball team.

His wife Anne teaches at St. Anthony Middle School in New Ulm. They have two children, Lucy, 3, and Julia, 1.

This year’s survey listed mental health, suicide, childcare, care-giving and housing as top issues to be researched from July 2023 to June 2024.

“I know rural childcare and mental health are huge issues we’re facing. We’ve had childcare issues for a full decade. It directly impacts the workforce,” Hansen said.

“I think there’s a lot of work that needs to be done on these issues. I’m looking forward to getting started on it. The next meeting is in January,” he added.

Research reports released earlier this year included the disappearing rural newspaper, identifying bottlenecks and roadblocks in the rural mental health career pipeline, rural childcare solutions and COVID-19 in rural Minnesota.

The Center’s research on disappearing rural newspapers showed that most newspaper closures, especially among small, rural weeklies, was due to mergers and acquisitions made by neighboring papers in an attempt to improve their economies of scale and therefore bottom lines, making it possible to survive.

The report read that in rural areas, there are many large territories covered by small papers with reduced staffs and a lot of news potentially going unreported.

“I certainly support small newspapers. They’re the fabric of any community. They’re how people stay informed,” said Hansen.

The report added declining newspaper revenue is a key issue but that Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group, parent organization of Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media, awards grants and invests in media organizations.

Two bills being considered by Congress attempt to help newspapers with revenue. Sen. Bill 673, Journalism Competition and Preservation Act of 2022, sponsored by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and others specify “eligible providers” as news outlets with less than 1,500 full-time employees.

H.R. 3940, Local Journalism Sustainability Act is a bipartisan bill that would allow individuals and businesses to claim up to $250 in tax credits for subscriptions they purchase to local newspapers and media. Qualifying small businesses would be allowed tax credits for ads purchased in local newspapers and media.

The bill would give local newspaper employers a payroll tax credit for wages paid to employees working as local journalists.

For more information, visit https://www.ruralmn.org/