For the last few weeks I’ve been involved in fighting an attempt to reopen a closed for profit prison in Appleton, Minnesota as an ICE detention facility, so I’ve been reading up on the area and it’s economy a bit. One fact stood out- In Swift County where Appleton and the prison is located only 31% of the working age population have even a 2 year degree from a community or technical college. The counties within the standard 50 mile commuting range have only 27% to 44% in Stevens County, which is an outlier probably because it’s home to the University of Minnesota-Morris, the rest of the counties are well below 40%.
Up in northeastern Minnesota where two companies are trying to open copper mines in the two counties within commuting range only 39% and 40% have a 2 year or higher degree. And in the coal mining areas of West Virginia typically only about 20% have a 2 year or higher degree, and in some counties less than 10% do. For comparison in the Minneapolis-St.Paul 7 county metro area in 5 of those counties over 50% of working age adults have a 2 year or higher college degree, and in the lowest county 41% do.
So no surprise that in Appleton where 69% of the workforce has no college or technical degree, those prison jobs that didn’t require a college degree are still sorely missed years after the prison closed. In northeastern Minnesota the “Rangers” always made education a high priority so they’re a little better off, but still 60% are lacking the college degree that will qualify them for better jobs. And West Virginia’s coal country is off the map- No wonder that when the mines close, disability payments and Social Security become the major income sources.
Manufacturing and the growing medical services field demand STEM skills beyond high school level- Workers need to be able to work in the metric system, use computers, and communicate well. Rural towns like Appleton and mining towns with their low educational levels can’t attract high paying jobs that require education beyond high school, so they’re stuck begging and bottom feeding for low skill industries like prisons and mining. And it ain’t these towns and mining areas fault- Appleton is 36 miles from the nearest 2 year college and most of West Virginia’s coal mines are at the other end of the state from it’s university. In Minneapolis you have a handful of huge universities granting degrees up to Masters level within 10 miles and at least a dozen 2 and 4 year colleges.
We progressives and environmentalists are beating our heads against the walls trying to take away prisons and mines from workers who have few alternatives. To persuade workers to give up low skilled jobs in prisons and mining we have to offer an alternative, and a better one at that. Appleton needs a closer Community and Technical College campus, northeastern Minnesota’s miners need more program options at the local Ely college, and coal mining country needs community and technical colleges everywhere!
And while we’re at it, let’s sweeten the deal with free tuition for the first two years of college!