“My next spot is already filled,” said Laurie Herbert, who runs a child care business in her Lake City home. “A lot of providers, their next baby spot will be filled before it’s even available.”
With that kind of demand, you’d think child care businesses would be popping up everywhere. But a study by the Minnesota Center for Rural Policy and Development and a separate study by the Lake City Economic Development Authority tell a different story. Child care is at a premium in Minnesota, and Southeast Minnesota faces a shortage along with the rest of the state.