Fergus Falls — At its regular meeting on Oct. 14, the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners approved two grants totaling $118,000 intended to address persistent workforce and child care shortages across the county’s rural communities. County documents and subsequent reporting confirm a $96,000 award from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to support the county’s Empowered Worker Program, and a $20,000 grant from West Central Initiative to assist a new child care facility in Ottertail.

The DEED funds are earmarked for outreach and training tied to agricultural careers, with program plans emphasizing recruitment and skills development in areas such as commercial driver’s licensure (CDL), welding, and meat processing, including butchering. County officials say the outreach component will link residents and farm families with local technical training providers to fill immediate labor gaps in farms, processing facilities, and related small businesses.

The West Central Initiative grant is designated to support construction and startup costs for a child care site in the village of Ottertail that county materials say could serve up to 50 children and is targeted to open in January 2026. County Community Development leadership noted the funding completes the local portion of the project at a time when other state child care funding pools have tightened, making local grants crucial to bringing the facility online.

Local leaders and service providers describe the combined investment as a strategic response to longstanding demographic and economic pressures. Declining rural populations, an aging workforce, and limited child care options have constrained the ability of agricultural employers and family farms to recruit and retain employees. By pairing workforce development with expanded child care availability, county planners intend to reduce barriers that force workers to choose between employment and family responsibilities, thereby supporting economic stability and community retention.

The approvals were recorded on the county’s Oct. 14 agenda and were summarized in regional coverage by Philanthropy News Digest and the Perham Focus on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18, respectively. Reporting and county records indicate these awards are new for 2025 and do not overlap with earlier county child care grants issued between 2022 and 2025.

Outstanding details that warrant follow-up include the precise disbursement schedule for both grants, the timeline and contractors for the child care facility’s construction, and the planned hiring of the part-time outreach employee who will carry out the DEED-funded recruitment. County officials and local stakeholders plan to track enrollments, placement outcomes for training participants, and how quickly the child care slots are filled, measures that will determine the programs’ longer-term effectiveness.

For Otter Tail County residents, the grants represent a targeted investment in maintaining the region’s agricultural base and supporting working families, linking workforce development directly with services that make employment feasible for parents across the county.