Poverty rates grow in Olmsted County

from the Post Bulletin

By Laura Gossman

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

From 2000 to 2005, the number of people in southeastern Minnesota below the poverty line grew by about 7,000 people -- roughly equivalent to the population of Stewartville, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A total of 26,908 in the seven-county area were below the poverty level in 2005, and poverty rates increased in all seven counties between 2000 and 2005.

In Olmsted County, the poverty rate went from 5.4 percent in 2000 to 6.6 percent in 2005. Winona County saw the biggest jump, from 8.5 percent in 2000 to 14.1 percent in 2005.

Statewide, the poverty rate was 9.2 percent in 2005, up from 6.9 percent in 2000.

Olmsted County community service director Paul Fleissner said he's seen more people needing government assistance.

"Applications for medical assistance have exploded," Fleissner said. "We can barely keep up."

Last year, his department saw 9,500 applications for medical assistance programs such as MinnesotaCare, a jointly funded, federal-state program that offers subsidized health coverage to eligible Minnesotans.

Mina Wilson, director of Olmsted County's Family Support and Assistance Division, also has seen an increase in people seeking health care assistance.

In 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau considered a family of four with a gross income of $19,350 or less to be at poverty level.