Imagining What’s Possible: Launching the Engage Rural Civic Arts Cohort
Five teams from rural Minnesota gathered at The YES! House in Granite Falls to kick off a year-long Engage Rural Civic Arts Cohort, sharing stories, identifying community strengths, and exploring how creative strategies can strengthen civic engagement in their communities.
Community activators converge in Madison, MN, for the Activate Rural Workshop
DoPT’s Activate Rural and The YES! House brought together community activators in Madison, Minnesota, for a day of learning, networking, and exploring creative approaches to strengthening rural arts, activating underused buildings, and creating welcoming community gathering spaces.
Beyond the Clock Podcast Episode with Jessica Chacon and Adrian Molina
In this conversation, we explore how communities can draw upon their cultural traditions, ancestral memories, and everyday practices of gathering to imagine futures that honor where they've been and where they hope to go.
Bringing together creative entrepreneurs in Worthington, Minnesota
At a recent Creatives & Entrepreneurs Mixer in Worthington, Minnesota, DoPT teamed up with The YES! House and Creative Healing Space to bring more than 30 community members together for an evening of conversation, networking, and inspiration.
Radically Rural: Good Friends, Big Ideas, PBR & Popcorn!
DoPT headed to Keene, New Hampshire, for the Radically Rural Summit, connecting with rural changemakers, sharing ideas, and celebrating the power of arts, storytelling, and community to shape more connected, resilient futures.
Stories From The Road: Nis’to and Creative Healing Space
DoPT’s Activate Rural team hits the road to visit Learning Lab sites in Sisseton, South Dakota, and Worthington, Minnesota, meeting with the teams behind Nis’to and Creative Healing Space.
Beyond the Clock Artist-in-Residence Podcast Reflection: Allie Redhorse Young | Protecting the Sacred
In a new reflection, 2026 Beyond the Clock Artist-in-Residence Nikiko Masumoto explores the latest Beyond the Clock podcast conversation with Allie Redhorse Young, founder of Protect the Sacred.
Stories From The Road: Roots & Grass Theater and Mni Wichoni Health Circle
DoPT’s Activate Rural team hits the road to visit Learning Lab sites in Bison, South Dakota, and Standing Rock Reservation, meeting with the teams behind Roots & Grass Theater and Mni Wichoni Health Circle.
Stories From The Road: Ground Control and Kingsley History Project
DoPT’s Activate Rural team hits the road to visit Learning Lab sites in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and Broadus, Montana, meeting with the teams behind Ground Control and the Kingsley History Project.
Finding Joy, Building Belonging: Granite Falls Pride 2026
Granite Falls Pride 2026 was rooted in playfulness, joy, education, safety, and celebration, creating space for connection and LGBTQ2IA+ visibility in the community. In this reflection, Shy Miguel shares how a small group’s vision for Pride grew into a joyful celebration that reminded neighbors, families, and visitors that they are seen, valued, and belong.
Five Rural Minnesota Communities Selected for the 2026–2027 Engage Rural Civic Arts Cohort
Five rural Minnesota communities have been selected for the 2026–2027 Engage Rural Civic Arts Cohort, where they will develop creative, arts-based strategies to strengthen civic engagement and community connection. Meet the teams from Braham, Carlton and Fond du Lac Reservation, Fairfax, Lanesboro, and Pelican Rapids.
From Big Ideas to Shared Action: Kicking off the 2026 – 2028 Activate Rural Learning Lab
The newest Activate Rural Learning Lab cohort came together for the very first time in southwest Minnesota, bringing 10 rural projects and a diverse group of artists, farmers, teachers, elders, skaters, designers, and activators into the same room. Over shared meals, building tours, and work sessions, the cohort began building connections, sharing hopes and challenges, and discovering the ideas and themes that will shape their two years of learning together.
River Valley Ripple: A Season of Creativity and Connection
A look back at this year’s River Valley Ripple Artist Residency, from The YES! House Program Director Luwaina Al-Otaibi, and the artists, collaborations, and creative growth that made this season special.
DoPT CEO Presents on Plenary Panel at California for the Arts Summit
DoPT's CEO Ash Hanson attended California for the Arts Annual Summit and participated in a plenary panel titled "Building Economic Justice and Power," along with a breakout room session called "Rural Futures."
Creative Third Places, Rural-Style
Tune in for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to transform underused spaces into vibrant community gathering places, even in towns of just a few hundred people.
Beyond the Clock Artist-in-Residence Podcast Reflection: Tim Z. Hernandez | Following our Artistic Purpose
This reflection explores how artist Tim Z Hernandez’s creative practice embraces art as an offering rooted in healing, memory, and release, inspiring readers to trust the creative process with humility and curiosity. It also includes a hands-on "Recipe: The Permission of Maybe," inviting artists to embrace uncertainty as fertile ground for new ideas and creative growth.
Beyond the Clock Podcast Episode with Tim Z. Hernandez
In this episode of Beyond the Clock, Ash and Anna are joined by Tim Z. Hernandez, an award-winning author, poet, and filmmaker whose work has spent decades recovering stories that history tried to forget.
DoPT Team Gathers for Annual Staff Retreat
In this special reflection from Sara Marshall on DoPT’s annual staff retreat, she shares how the team took time to reflect on organizational growth, strengthen relationships, and align around priorities for the year ahead.
Ten Creative Third Places Selected for the 2026-2028 Activate Rural Learning Lab
Building on its inaugural Minnesota cohort, Activate Rural is now expanding across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Tribal Nations in the region, with continued support from the Mellon Foundation.
DoPT at the Rural Revenue Transformation Workshop
DoPT hosts a session on Creative Cross-Sector Collaborations at the Reynolds Journalism Institute's Rural Revenue Transformation Workshop in Columbia, Missouri.