Publisher’s Perspective

By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune

Child care availability in Pope County has become a serious problem.  And we’re not even talking about affordability, just the option to be able to get a child into a child care facility.

Of course the problem isn’t unique to Pope County.  The struggle for parents to find access to quality child care at affordable rates is happening all over the state and the nation.

In Minnesota, 26 percent of families live in a child care desert, meaning there are not enough spots even available. Minnesota overall only has enough spots for less than three-quarters of its children who need care, forcing families to either drop out of the workforce or, if possible, add burden on relatives. Simultaneously, licensed child care providers have dropped 20 percent since 2014 and between 2013- 2017, Minnesota lost 2,000 in-home child care providers, losing spots for more than 3,000 children.

Locally, some parents start calling around for child care months before a baby is born.  One local mother told me she began calling to find child care before she told her parents she was pregnant.  Child care facilities are full and have substantial waiting lists.  It is also a problem in the metro area, but far worse in Greater Minnesota.   

And just last week, we received news that Kingdom Kids Child Care Center in Glenwood has a plan to build a new facility, but without raising the down payment it will no longer be able to operate.

This newspaper is doing a story on Kingdom Kids Day Care Center that will let the community know their needs to continue to serve families in the future.  That story was delayed this week because of weather and the holidays, but it will be featured in next week’s Pope County Tribune & Starbuck Times.

Child care isn’t just a parent problem, its an economic development problem.  Businesses may be able to attract workers with wages and benefits, but if young workers don’t have child care availability, they will go elsewhere.

There is lots of talk about how the state should spend its $17.6 billion budget surplus.  There are many needs, but child care in Greater Minnesota would be a good place to put some of that money.

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As I write this, a winter storm has again reached our area.  Snow, high winds and sub-zero temperatures are threatening holiday plans for many in Minnesota.

I have been impressed with the work the county and state snowplow drivers have done, at least in this area.  I’m sure many of them will be working clearing roads instead of celebrating Christmas with family and friends.  It goes with the job, you might say, but we should appreciate and acknowledge their efforts.

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This is the last issue of the year for this newspaper and I want to say thank you to all our loyal readers and our advertisers who continue to support this business so that we can provide a weekly newspaper for Pope County.  It was nice to  come out of the pandemic and get back to what most of us called normal for most of this year and we look forward to an even better year in 2023.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at the Pope County Tribune & Starbuck Times.