A statewide hub for cross-sector cooperation in Minnesota — which has more cooperatives than any other state — started in late 2011 by volunteers asking why the state's co-ops didn't collaborate and promote themselves across sectors. It works to raise public awareness of co-ops, connect credit unions, rural electric, worker, agricultural, housing, consumer, purchasing, and other co-ops, and is building a Minnesota Cooperative Directory. A program managed by CoNorth (formerly Northcountry Cooperative Foundation), guided by a steering committee drawn from each co-op sector, and funded in part by the McKnight Foundation and a USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant. Runs Co-ops 101 sessions, a policy workgroup, and the LaunchBox starter resource for people new to the co-op model.
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An evening celebrating cooperatives at Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative in Northeast Minneapolis, aimed squarely at people who are new to co-ops or co-op curious. Meet more than 20 local co-ops — credit unions, housing co-ops, food co-ops, worker-owned businesses, energy and interpreter cooperatives — with snacks, coupons, and swag at each table, co-op bingo with prizes, and a cooperative art project. The first 150 people to register get a drink ticket; kid-friendly, with a food truck. Co-hosted by CoMinnesota, Cooperative Development Services, the Minnesota Credit Union Network, the Twin Cities grocery co-ops (Eastside, Rivers, Seward, Wedge), the Minnesota Coalition of Community Owned Real Estate, and Broken Clock. Register on Eventbrite. 4-7pm CT.
A lunch-hour Zoom session for the co-op curious: what cooperatives are, how they connect to the wider cooperative movement, and why they matter now, with time for questions. Register through CoMinnesota's events page. 12-1pm CT.
Checked Oct 21, 2026 for ways to get involved: found the events listed above, and found no community to join.
Found through U.S. Co-ops' news feed rather than RESEARCH_QUEUE.md. Added: Own It! A Co-op Fest (2026-10-29) and the next Co-ops 101 session (2026-12-09). Its events page also lists two save-the-dates that aren't CoMinnesota's: the Cooperative Network Annual Meeting (December 1-2, 2026, Eau Claire, WI) and the 2027 Minnesota Cooperative Summit (July 28-29, 2027, Mankato), which has its own website — both candidates for whoever runs them. Co-ops 101 looks like a repeating session with no published cadence, so only the dated one is listed. No forum: an email newsletter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, all one-way.