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The Rural Voice series, developed by the Minnesota Initiative foundations that serve Greater Minnesota, will launch its third season at the Minnesota State Fair and host three additional town halls moderated by Minnesota Public Radio’s Kerri Miller in September.

This year’s conversations will focus on topics such as building civic-minded communities, cultivating conservation-driven agriculture, and how rural communities are thriving as immigrants put down roots.

Additional partners to this year’s Rural Voice series include Minnesota Public Radio, which will air each town hall, Cherry Road Media, the Center for Rural Policy and Development and the Star Tribune.

“We are excited by the momentum the Rural Voice series has gained since launching in 2022, and we look forward to continuing to amplify the true rural voices who are living and breathing the many opportunities and challenges that exist in our rural areas,” said Tim Penny, president and CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.

The Minnesota State Fair kick-off will take place in the MPR booth, and the series will then travel to Red Wing, Detroit Lakes and Worthington throughout September. It will also be live-streamed and recorded for broader distribution.

“I’m eager to delve back into these imaginative, solution-driven discussions in these communities and thrilled Minnesota Public Radio will be broadcasting them state-wide,” Miller said.

Specific event details are as follows:

How rural Minnesota is changing and Rural Voice amplifies that change:

Begins at 10 a.m. Monday at the MPR Booth at the Minnesota State Fair.

How to build more civic-minded communities with author Brian Klaas:

Begins at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Sheldon Theatre of Performing Arts located at 443 W. Third St. in Red Wing. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the event, and there will be a book signing and reception following the discussion.

How to cultivate conservation-driven agriculture in rural Minnesota:

Begins at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at Bucks Mill Brewing located at 824 Washington Ave. in Detroit Lakes. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and there will be a reception following the discussion.

Revival and renewal, how rural communities thrive as immigrants put down roots:

Begins at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 at Forbidden Barrel Brewing Company located at 900 Third Ave. in Worthington. The doors will open at 6 p.m., and there will be a reception following the discussion.

The Otto Bremer Trust, St. Paul, is the presenting sponsor of this year’s Rural Voice series. Supporting sponsors include the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, Owatonna; the Southwest Initiative Foundation, Hutchinson; the Initiative Foundation, Central Minnesota; the Northland Foundation, Duluth and the West Central Initiative, Fergus Falls. For more information on the Rural Voice series or to register for the in-person events or live-streaming of the events, go to ruralvoice.org.