Program-related investment and grant funding will help scale the development of affordable, factory-built housing across Minnesota CoNorth has received a Community Innovation award from the Bush Foundation to increase the supply of durable, affordable homes across Minnesota through new programs and services that build on the organization’s work supporting resident-owned manufactured home communities. The $3.4 million award includes $2 million…
Rooted in local ownership and shared decision making, co-ops are resilient and uniquely designed to weather challenging times. This year’s Minnesota Cooperative Summit will explore how cooperatives are truly built for this moment, leading with innovation, collaboration and a deep commitment to long-term solutions that support prosperity for all. The summit is organized by CoMinnesota, a program of CoNorth, and…
We’re proud to announce the launch of conorthhomes.org, a new website created by CoNorth to support and grow our CoNorth Homes program. CoNorth Homes — established in 2025 — represents a natural progression of CoNorth’s work to make homeownership in a safe, affordable, resident-owned community an achievable dream for as many as possible. CoNorth is affiliated with 18 resident-owned communities…
CoNorth is fortunate to have Crystal on board as our new Office Coordinator. She wears many hats: supporting the entire team in a technical and logistical capacity as well as providing direct support to the Executive Director, Director of Finance and Administration, and Director of Communications and Advancment. Her background in photography and website design also comes in handy. “I…
2025 was a year of tremendous growth and change for CoNorth. We expanded our ability to preserve and create safe, dignified and permanently affordable housing. Below are just a few of the highlights: We rebranded, launched a new website, and moved into a new office location In July, we officially changed our name from Northcountry Cooperative Foundation (NCF) to CoNorth…
Park Plaza Cooperative is one of the first recipients of the City of Fridley’s inaugural Sustainable Fridley Awards. The award celebrates efforts to make the city a more sustainable community and was given to an individual, a business, an institution and a youth. Mayor Dave Ostwald presented the award to Natividad Seefeld, President of Park Plaza’s Board of Directors, at…
On Dec.9, 2025, the residents of Oak Lane Mobile Home Park officially became cooperative owners of their community, preserving 32 homes in the Cannon Falls area and securing long-term affordability and stability through the formation of Lone Oak Estates Cooperative. CoNorth worked alongside the residents to transforms the community into a limited-equity cooperative, where decisions about rent, repairs, and improvements…
By Emily Haeg Nguyen, Clean Energy Resource Teams Manufactured homes provide affordable housing for thousands of Minnesotans, yet many contractors and weatherization professionals are unfamiliar with their designs. A new online training aims to change that. With support from the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), the nonprofit Slipstream has launched Manufactured Homes – Features and Functions, a no-cost, online training. The training…
We’re excited to introduce two of our newest team members who bring an wonderful mix of expertise, dedication, and passion to our mission. Each of them adds unique strengths to our growing organization—and we’re excited to have them on board as we deepen our work in cooperative housing development and support. Claudia Appel joined CoNorth as a Business Advisor in…
Nearly 200 people from a wide range of cooperative sectors attended the first-ever Minnesota Cooperative Summit in July. Located on the University of Minnesota-Morris campus, the day was filled with learning, networking, and renewed inspiration. The event was a great way to celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives and 97% of attendees reported that they would recommend this event to…
CoNorth Homes, our newly-launched manufactured home dealership, recently placed its first home at Hillcrest Community Cooperative in Clarks Grove, MN. The three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,140 square foot home will be available to tour at a community celebration at Hillcrest on Sept. 20. The public is welcome to tour the home, learn more about the dealership and learn more about additional home…
All residents of CoNorth affiliated communities are welcome to sign up for the 2025 Common Ground Conference from Oct. 10 to 11 and celebrate the power of cooperative communities. This year’s theme is Find Your Superpower! We’ve updated the way we gather this year so it’s even easier to attend, learn, have fun, and connect with other co-op members. Attendees…