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North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live is a daily, five-minute newscast that shines a spotlight on the stories and perspectives of Minnesota’s diverse communities, including Black, Latine, Asian American, East African individuals, people living with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ residents, laborers, veterans, and those from Greater Minnesota.
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR: Today, ATM "jackpotting" has police in Duluth on high alert. Then, female farmers are growing in numbers in the state And, Teddy Bears bring comfort to Minnesota fire victims. I'm Gracie J.
A high-tech crime known as "jackpotting" is on the rise in the Duluth area. Jackpotting is when hackers install malware on an ATM or corrupt its hard drive, causing it to spit out all of its cash. In the past year and a half, thieves have tried jackpotting five times and succeeded twice. Thieves got away with more than two hundred thousand dollars. Police in Superior, Wisconsin, recently arrested two men attempting to rob an ATM. Duluth Police haven't made any arrests. Banks are adding alarms to ATMs that flash and make noise when someone tries to open them.
Up next: Agriculture is one of Minnesota's bedrock industries, but despite its challenges, it's becoming an increasingly popular job opportunity for one specific segment of Minnesota's population. Britt Aamodt has the story
Britt Aamodt: Over 1/3 of farm producers nationally are now women. According to the US Department of Agriculture, Minnesota is seeing similar numbers.
Susanne Hinrichs: The last census, 2022 we had 35,623 female producers in Minnesota, and that was up from about 34,000.
Britt Aamodt: Susanne Hinrichs is a University of Minnesota Extension educator.
Susanne Hinrichs: There are about 114,000 total farmers in Minnesota, so that places the number of women farmers at about 31%.
Britt Aamodt: Less than the national average. But that is likely due to the number of large-scale crop farms that dominate the Midwest. Those are mostly operated by male producers. Still, the Minnesota number is increasing.
Susanne Hinrichs: And Minnesota is unique compared to our neighbors in other Midwest states. We have a lot of variety. There are specialty crop farmers, direct to consumer farmers, large-scale crop farmers, livestock producers.
Britt Aamodt: Back in 2002, the United States Census of Agriculture was updated to include more than the primary farmer or head of household. That small change revealed that women had always been working on the farm.
Carrie Calvo: We're certified organic, and we're growing on less than an acre right now.
Britt Aamodt: Carrie Calvo owns Owl Bluff Farm in far Southeast Minnesota. Like her, a majority of women farm producers in Minnesota work on small- to mid-size farms. They're also more likely to live near urban centers, which offer more outlets to sell their produce.
Carrie Calvo: We're about 15 miles from the Iowa border. A 40-minute drive from La Crosse.
Britt Aamodt: Her Owl Bluff Farm delivers to a farmer's market, local grocery stores and restaurants.
Carrie Calvo: We grow a wide variety of produce, from salad greens to herbs to tomatoes and eggplant and winter squash.
Britt Aamodt: Farther north in Halstad, in the fertile Red River Valley, is Rachel Arneson, the fifth-generation owner of Arneson Farm.
Rachel Arneson: We have about 4,000 acres of soybeans, wheat, corn and sugar beets.
Britt Aamodt: Unlike Carrie, Rachel Arneson grew up in the farming business, and she's noticed the rise in women producers.
Rachel Arneson: Certainly, you see more women in produce and organic farming, things that are generally more smaller scale than what I'm doing. And then you have this very special niche of sugar beet farming. And I mean, I can count on one hand the number of women who are in a meeting, because we are vastly outnumbered.
Britt Aamodt: But numbers are shifting as more women opt to make farming a career or a side business. Susanne Hinrichs--
Susanne Hinrichs: Women are involved with a variety of sizes of farms all across the breadth of farming in Minnesota.
Britt Aamodt: For North Star Stories, this is Britt Aamodt.
ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.
Families affected by recent wildfires in northeastern Minnesota are getting the support of some furry friends. The non-profit Teddy Bear Crawl donated 60 teddy bears to kids in Virginia, Carlton and Duluth and hope to deliver even more. The organization's founder, originally from Virginia, jumped into action after learning of the devastation in the region. Teddy Bear Crawl is a nationwide non-profit started in Northern Minnesota that provides stuffed animals to hospitalized children. They expanded their efforts to include kids impacted by the recent wildfires. Donations can be made on the organization's website and social media sites.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.