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City of Eagle Lake, MN – Child care is an economic driver for rural communities across the United States, but many communities are facing shortages of high-quality childcare. First Children’s Finance has chosen the City of Eagle Lake to participate in the Rural Child Care Innovation Program (RCCIP). The Rural Child Care Innovation Program is a community engagement process designed to address the challenges of childcare in Greater Minnesota. Applications were received from around the state and the City of Eagle Lake was among the 5 communities that were selected to participate in the process this fiscal year.

The Rural Child Care Innovation Program is based on the fundamental idea that rural communities are greater than their size in numbers and greater than their current challenges. By mobilizing and empowering rural communities, the landscape of early care and education is changing in rural America. The City of Eagle Lake will go through the 18–24-month community engagement process to identify the local childcare need and challenges, explore right-sized solutions which address the childcare shortage, and implement goals that will be created by the City of Eagle Lake through this process.

Olivia Adomabea and Jennifer Bromeland from the City of Eagle Lake are leading the project. Other community members involved include: Brian Hughes (EDA), Brooke Wach (EDA), Erica Tummers (Little Sprouts Daycare and Preschool), Sarah Deutsch (Epiphany Lutheran Church and Preschool), John Whitington (City of Eagle Lake Council), Ryan Vesey (Greater Mankato Growth, Inc.), Audra Boyer (Mankato Public School), Beth Rohrich (City of Eagle Lake Council), Christine Black-Hughes (EDA), Tori Breiter (Families First of Minnesota), Alejandra Bejarano (Region 9 Development Commission), and Jim Beal (EDA).

The Core Team participated in its first onboarding session on June 5, 2024. Additional information will be released as the program develops. For more information, please contact Olivia Adomabea at [email protected] or Jennifer Bromeland at [email protected].