Economic opportunity in the Mankato region might be rated as something short of ideal, but something clearly above small-town mediocrity.

The Free Press will be over the next year examining the health of the Mankato regional community as measured against eight dimensions of a healthy community. The measures were developed by the Blandin Foundation, of Grand Rapids, Minn., and the leading foundation for funding outstate Minnesota community development efforts.

A quick review suggests the Mankato region meets many of the eight dimensions of a healthy community, could do better in some areas, and falls short in some areas.

Economic opportunity

On one measure, economic opportunity, there’s clearly a mixed bag of results with some clouds on the horizon.

Blandin’s definition of economic opportunity calls for a community to have enough good paying jobs for people to “live with dignity.”

We know incomes have been rising in parts of the Mankato region as measured by the average weekly wage. We also know the number of people who want jobs but don’t have them is increasing.

We’ve done reasonably well at attracting new business to the area. Some are retail businesses where wages are typically lower, but some also are businesses that require higher-skilled workers — the national truck dealers and repair shops coming to North Mankato come to mind.

The community continues to await the construction of the Wal-Mart distribution center that is expected to provide some 500 jobs — the most offered by one new employer in many years. While Wal-Mart has agreed to locate in Mankato, it put off its start date a couple of times due mostly to the downturn in the economy.

Overall employment in Mankato and North Mankato peaked at about 53,900 in May 2005 and is now hovering around, 52,900. Wages paid by employers in Blue Earth County were an average of $592 per week in 2004 and have grown through 2008 to end up at $658 per week, a growth rate of about 2.13 percent per year.

Disconcerting, however, are recent figures on the poverty rate in the region. This is where the living with dignity comes in.

The rate of children living in poverty in Blue Earth and Nicollet counties is below the state average, but poverty rates for children are higher than the state average in outlying counties like Watonwan and Faribault.

Another Blandin measure of the health of a community’s economy revolves around the economy being “sustainable and not dependent on exploiting human beings or depleting the natural environment.”

The Mankato region seems to meet that criteria fairly well. There do not appear to be any so-called major “sweatshop” employers where workers are treated poorly. There are no industries that appear to be depleting natural resources recklessly.

The Mankato area’s natural environments remain fairly stable. Long term concerns may involve the adequate amounts of clean drinking water via an aquifer that risks depletion. However, regional governments have recently joined together to conduct studies on the use of the acquirer and its ability to replenish itself.