Reaching new audiences on energy

This week, Center of the American Experiment kicked off a campaign to reach out to new audiences with our radio ads on Minnesota’s rising cost of energy. The radio ads will run throughout the state in English, Spanish, and Somali. You can listen to the ads by clicking here.

I have wanted to make ads like these since beginning my tenure at American Experiment nearly four years ago, because rising energy costs are especially burdensome on families with lower incomes. This subject is personal for me because I grew up on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin, and money was always tight. Rising costs for electricity, diesel fuel, or fuel oil made a big difference for our family budgets.

The same is true for many people living in Minnesota, whether they live in St. Louis County or south Minneapolis. Family incomes in rural areas tend to be lower than those in the metro areas, and average family incomes for black and Latino households are substantially below the incomes of white and Asian households. This means these communities have a shared interest in ensuring that energy prices are as low as possible.

By running these radio ads in English, Spanish, and Somali, we hope to share our perspective with a much wider audience and implement policies that are designed to reign in the rising cost of energy in Minnesota.