Evaluate the community

By Joe Spear
Free Press Editor

There's a handy new Web site that details lots of trends by county in Minnesota, and it's one of the better sites I've seen that can provide up-to-date information on everything from the income in your county to the growing minority population.

Some surprises: The people of color population in Blue Earth County has grown by 40 percent from 2000 to 2008, while the white population has grown by 6 percent. Numbers are similar for Nicollet County.

Clearly, we are becoming a more diverse population. In fact, they are helping drive overall population growth that can provide benefits to the entire community. Our challenge will be making them feel part of the community decisionmaking process.

If they don't they will move on, and have a tendency, from cultural experience, to move to where they feel most comfortable.

Housing has become an issue of late, with housing costs consuming more and more of a family's total income. In 2000, only 25 percent of the households were spending more than a third of their income on housing.

By 2008, the number had skyrocketed to 32.3 percent.

It suggests a couple of things. People are buying bigger houses related to their incomes, or the rents and housing costs are not keeping up with incomes.

Another interesting note. The Crime Rate for Blue Earth County, in serious crimes per 100,000 people, declined to 3672 in 2008 from 3,864 in 2000.