The Community Partnership Region consists of nine cities in Marshall, Pennington and Red Lake Counties. They form a circular pattern, with the center around Thief River Falls.

The Community Partnership was recently formed following a series of "Community Summits". At these publicly attended meetings, labor force, housing and other issues related to economic development were examined. Specific conversations revolved around how communities, schools and businesses can work together to support job and population growth. By investing locally in housing, infrastructure, education and residents, the Community Partnership can become successful at "Building Tomorrow's Labor Force, Homes & Businesses."

The population of each city in the Community Partnership is unique in both number and trend. From 1970 until 2006, most cities showed both increases and decreases. Grygla is the only city to show a constant increase in population throughout the set time period.

The vast majority of the cities in the Community Partnership are projected to see population increases between 2006 and 2035. St. Hilaire is the exception to this trend, which is not projected to gain any population, but rather plateau and gradually decline. Warren and Oklee are also projected to gradually decline in population after 2020. Projected decreases could be attributed to factors such as age and past migration rates and can change.

The total population of the nine cities in the Community Partnership increased from 1990 to 2006. This is the direct opposite of what occurred in Northwest Minnesota as well as the Marshall, Pennington and Red Lake County regions. This can be partially attributed to the employment opportunities in the area.

The employment average from Marshall, Pennington and Red Lake Counties show variance. The Marshall and Red Lake County patterns trend very similarly, showing only minor differences. The Pennington County employment average shows steady growth from 2002. Major increases and decreases occur in all three counties from 1999 to 2000. This can be partially attributed to the Census benchmark, and the adjustment process from the 1990 to 2000 census. The decrease during the one year period in Pennington County differs from the other two counties in the Community Partnership region. Arctic Cat closed their personal water craft division in 1999, and the lack of significant snowfall levels during 1998 and 1999 hurt company earnings.

For a listing of the top employers in each city of the Community Partnership region, please visit www.housingnwminnesota.com.

The labor force trends closely follow the employment trends above. There is considerable variance in Marshall and Red Lake Counties in regards to employment/labor force increases and decreases, while Pennington County shows a general increase. All three counties increased in labor force from 2000 to 2006 and all show a general increasing trend. Looking at the county statistics, the population decreased while the employment and labor force increased.

Unemployment statistics for the three counties were somewhat similar in that there were two high peaks in unemployment for the year range of 1998 through 2006 and a similar pattern of rises and falls. The three counties differ from the Minnesota unemployment average, which shows a continuous increase in unemployment until 2003, then a decline until 2006.

The Community Partnership area has shown an increase in employment and labor force during the first part of the decade. Reports from the local employers during the Community Summits indicated that it is likely the increases will continue into the future. The increases in employment and labor force are the primary driving force behind projections that population in the Partnership area will grow into the new decade and beyond.

This real and potential growth has created concerns that there may not be adequate labor force or housing in the area to support employment and population growth. The population of the area peaked in the mid 1980's, declined during much of the 1990's, and only recently reached a stable level. Much of the labor force needed by expanding businesses in the last two decades was supplied by a pool of unemployed or underemployed workers who were already living in the area or who found a housing surplus created for a larger past population level. Declining unemployment rates and increasing labor force totals, although a very positive economic indicator, point to a changing dynamic in the area, and a need to look forward.

Growth projections and concerns expressed by employers have caused local communities to re-examine their ability to provide the housing needed by a growing labor force. The previous housing surplus caused communities to exhibit caution in planning for infrastructure expansions and virtually eliminated the housing developers who operated in the growth period during the late 1960's and 1970's.

The housing opportunities, planning, and development described in these paragraphs are the results of the Partnership members efforts to readjust their community planning strategies to reflect the projected labor force and population growth and to support local businesses development.

The need for housing is important in the Community Partnership region. The projected increase in population combined with strong employment opportunities provides a basis for economic strength. The labor force in all three counties shows a general increase, and unemployment is decreasing. By investing in housing opportunities today, cities set the framework for growth and prosperity both locally and for the region. The following represents recent actions taken by each city to improve the availability of housing resources.