North Central Regional Center For Rural Development header with center's logo

DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

Across the North Central Region, rural communities continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience, yet many households face mounting pressures that constrain both individual well-being and broader community prosperity. Chief among these are the interrelated challenges of affordability, childcare access, and housing availability.

Rising costs for essential goods and services have strained rural household budgets, often in places where wage growth has not kept pace. Small businesses and farmers are also feeling the pressure. These pressures are compounded by persistent gaps in childcare. Many rural counties qualify as childcare deserts, where the supply of licensed slots falls well short of demand. Limited access to care constrains labor force participation, particularly among women, and in turn affects employers’ ability to recruit and retain workers. Housing presents a parallel constraint, as aging stock and limited new construction leave many communities unable to accommodate the workers and families they need.

These challenges are not isolated; they reinforce one another in ways that shape the trajectory of rural places. Understanding these dynamics requires rigorous, place-based evidence. Data can help identify where barriers are most acute, reveal how local conditions differ from regional and national trends, and inform the design of policies and programs suited to rural contexts. The NCRCRD remains committed to supporting researchers, Extension professionals, and community leaders in generating and applying such evidence.

In the coming months, we look forward to advancing this work alongside our partners. As part of that commitment, the NCRCRD will soon release its Request for Proposals for our small grants program, which supports research and Extension projects addressing pressing challenges in rural communities. We especially encourage proposals that examine topics related to affordability, resilience, and workforce development, and that use data to inform practical, place-based solutions. Please watch for the announcement in the weeks ahead. I invite you to engage with our resources, share your insights, and join us in building a stronger foundation for rural prosperity across the region.

​Maria Marshall, PhD, Director, NCRCRD​
Maria I. Marshall

NEWS

Multi-state Housing Working Group Develops Housing Curriculum for Rural Communities

man's hand holds a key and it unlocking a front door to a home​
The North Central Region (NCR) Housing Working Group, recently released the curriculum, Building Options: Flexible Housing Curriculum for Rural Communities which aims to empower university extension educators with the skills, knowledge, and tools to tackle housing deficiencies in rural areas.

The thematic, multi-state group — consisting of 15 extension representatives from eight NCR land-grant universities — received a three-year grant from NCRCRD to study how the region’s Cooperative Extension System could address the region’s rural housing needs. After examining state and regional housing data and inventorying current housing resources, the working group, identified the need to create a comprehensive guide for Extension's use that emphasizes community engagement, research, and education, and the development and implementation of strategies to improve access to housing in rural communities. Download the Building Options Housing Curriculum​

Webinar provides in-depth look at the curriculum:
Housing Working Group members, Lisa Bates and Omar Padilla with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach presented in-depth information about the new curriculum and detailed the group’s development process.
 

​NCRCRD Awards Six Small Grants in 2026


The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) is delighted to announce the six projects that were awarded a 2026 Small Grant for Rural Development Research and/or Extension Projects in the North Central Region.

Congrats 2026 Small Grant RecipientsOffered annually, the NCRCRD competitive small grant program seeks to enhance the ability of the region’s 34 land-grant institutions to positively influence the quality of life in the region’s rural areas.

The 2026 small grants began August 1 and will conclude July 1, 2027. Congratulations to the following award recipients!

Michigan Farm Mentors: Seed-to-Scale Plan for Statewide and Regional Mentorship Networks
Principal Investigator (PI): Mariel Borgman, Michigan State University Extension
Organization: Michigan State University
NCRCRD Priority Area: Creating Resilient Communities and Economies

Minnesota Outdoor Recreation Navigator (MORN): A Facilitated Technical Assistance Program for Rural Outdoor Recreation Economies
PI: Ami Choi, Ph.D., University of Minnesota Extension
Organization: University of Minnesota
NCRCRD Priority Area: Creating Resilient Communities and Economies

Leveraging Middle of the Supply Chain Infrastructure to Build Capacity and Scale Foodpreneur’s Rural Businesses
PI: Kara Harders, South Dakota State University Extension
Organization: South Dakota State University
NCRCRD Priority Area: Creating Resilient Communities and Economies

Water Resource Implications of Rural Data Center Expansion: Preparing North Central Communities for Emerging Infrastructure Demands
PI: Shokhrukh (Shok) Jalilov, Ph.D., University of Missouri
Organization: University of Missouri
NCRCRD Priority Areas: Creating Resilient Communities and Economies

Community Farm Transition Networks: A Nebraska Pilot Model for Rural Economic and Workforce Resilience
PI: Anastasia Meyer, University of Nebraska Extension
Organization: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
NCRCRD Priority Area: Creating Resilient Communities and Economies

Visualizing the Value: Helping Local Officials Communicate Budget Investments
PI: Erin Mullenix, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
Organizations: Iowa State University in collaboration with State Association of Counties; Montgomery County, IA
NCRCRD Priority Area: Developing Leadership and Civic Engagement

 

NCRCRD 2025 Annual Report


We are pleased to share the NCRCRD 2025 Annual Report which provides a summary of the Center’s programs and initiatives for the past year and includes project summaries of the five grants that completed work in 2025.

​Hot air balloon floats above rural festival and shows corn maze, tents and cars on ground.​
 

NCRCRD Welcomes Research Assistants for 2026-2027


Four Agricultural Economic graduate students have joined the NCRCRD team for the 2026-2027 academic year. As NCRCRD Graduate Research Assistants, Ivanna Carillo Siller, Pedro Antonio Diaz Cachay, DeAndre Malone, and Clara Shoopman will contribute to the Center's research projects. We look forward to working with these talented individuals in the coming year.

photos of NCRCRD 2026 Graduate Research Assistants​
 

WEBINARS

October Webinar (next week!)


line drawing of a mature tree with four roots; Building Community Leadership Systems: Research, Practice, and a New Era of Community Leadership Development, Wednesday, October 7, 2026 • 2:00 pm ET, Registration: https://bit.ly/4c6JRDL​​

Building Community Leadership Systems: Research, Practice, and a New Era of Community Leadership Development

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 • 2:00 pm (ET) / 1:00 pm (CT) • Length: 60 minutes

Communities today face increasingly complex challenges that require more than developing exceptional individual leaders — they require strong leadership systems. This webinar shares findings from a four-year research initiative that identified the structural dimensions of community leadership systems and examines how those findings informed the design of a practical, embedded approach to strengthening leadership within ongoing community development work. Join us to explore new ways of building leadership capacity, broadening civic engagement, and creating sustainable leadership ecosystems that help communities adapt and thrive.

Presenters:
  • Lindsay Hastings, Clifton Professor in Mentoring Research & Research Director, NHRI Leadership Mentoring, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • Mary Emery, Rural Prosperity Nebraska Director & Professor Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • Justine Yeo Bircher, Post-Doc Research Associate, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • Jordan Rasmussen, Associate Extension Educator, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension
 

ncrcrd webinar recordings headerNew recordings added to NCRCRD YouTube Channel​​:


> Building Options: Flexible Housing Curriculum for Rural Communities
NCR Housing Working Group members, Omar Padilla and Lisa Bates, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach present an introduction to the new housing curriculum. September Webinar Recording​

> Housing and Food Security in the North Central Region: Evidence from the 2026 NCR-Stat Survey
NCRCRD Fellow, Samuel Mindes, Iowa State University presents key findings from the open access 2026 NCR-Stat: Housing and Food Security Survey and its potential future applications. August Webinar Recording​
 

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Building Capacity for Rural Prosperity,
A Rural Futures Series by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago • October 7-8, 2026 • Madison, WI • Conference Information​​
Renee Wiatt, NCRCRD Research & Extension Specialist, will be a panelist for the session, The Capacity to Continue: Preparing for Succession Across Community Roles.

National Agricultural Marketing Summit
October 19-21, 2026 • Raleigh NC • Conference Information​

First American Land Grant Consortium (FALCON)
November 6-8, 2026 • Kansas City, MO • Conference Information​​
NCRCRD, in collaboration with USDA NIFA, will host a pre-conference workshop for the project directors and students involved in the New Beginning for Tribal Students program.

73rd Annual Meeting of the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC)
November 11-14, 2026 • Philadelphia, PA • Conference Information​​
At this conference, Zuzana Bednarik, NCRCRD Research & Extension Specialist, will present, “Community Satisfaction and the Decision to Stay: Evidence from the Rural and Urban Areas in the U.S.”
 

STORY BEHIND THE NUMBERS

– Research Snapshots –


women walking up a staricase holding moving boxes and a rug​


When Housing Isn’t Secure: Access, Affordability, and Stability in the North Central Region​


By Savanna Gratny, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University and Samuel C.H. Mindes, Assistant Professor, Iowa State University

This report examines physical, financial, and demographic housing factors in the North Central Region using data from the NCR-Stat: Housing and Food Security Survey.
 

​​


Beyond Access: Understanding Food Insecurity in the North Central Region​


By Sophie Owens, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University and Samuel C.H. Mindes, Assistant Professor, Iowa State University

Using data from the NCR-Stat: Housing and Food Security Survey, this report examines the participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and food stamps programs within income groups to better understand how food insecurity is experienced across different household conditions in the North Central Region.

USDA NIFA​

NCRCRD’s work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.