Report shows economic hardships for many area households

Herminia Mack, a healthcare professional from Owatonna, has always been a prideful person. She always wants to help.
But the reality is, when tragedy struck, she had to seek help, due to her limited income.
“When tragic events happen, you feel like this scattered puzzle that is shattered and you don’t know how to start and put yourself together,” Mack said during the rally.
She’s one of thousands of people in Steele and Dodge Counties, and one of many across the state who is deemed as “ALICE” which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
Limited Wages
Mack was one of the guest speakers at the Capitol Rotunda recently, as the United Way launched a new report titled “ALICE in Minnesota: A Study of Financial Hardship.”
According to United Way of Steele County President Annette Duncan, the report offers “a clear picture of employed Minnesota families and individuals.”
“ALICE® stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and provides a statistical look at wages, essential expenses and inflation broken down statewide, countywide and even communitywide,” Duncan wrote in a media release. “ALICE is a way of understanding families, neighbors and colleagues who work hard, earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but don’t make enough to afford a basic household survival budget. ALICE workers include childcare providers, home health aides, cashiers, retail clerks, waiters, nonprofit professionals and others — those working low-wage jobs, with little or no savings and one emergency from poverty.”
Duncan, and others at the event, described the State joining the United for ALICE network, as a “national movement to raise awareness about this growing but often hidden population in our communities.”
“United for ALICE was first launched by United Way of Northern New Jersey, whose first ALICE project was for a small New Jersey county in 2009, with its first statewide report released in 2012,” Duncan said.
Community Members
Mack, a healthcare worker, was on the frontlines of Covid-19, helping patients' health physically, and at times, helped ensure families everything would be OK, when visitation was limited.
While doing so, she was one of approximately 3,800 households in Owatonna, who were either considered at the poverty level or at the ALICE level in 2022.
“It was such a blessing and an honor to be able to serve and be an ambassador for that family member in that moment, even though our hours and wages…..,” Mack said.
In Owatonna, according to the data 35% of households in 2022, meet the ALICE or poverty level. Blooming Prairie was at 38%, Medford saw 20%, and Ellendale saw 36%.
Overall, 24% of households in Steele County were ALICE, in 2022, according to Duncan, compared to the 26% state average, which means those households earned “above the poverty level but making less than the cost of basics.”
Another 9% of households were considered poverty levels, meaning, 33% of households, a total of 4,887 households, “were below the ALICE Threshold and unable to afford the essentials,” Duncan said.
“While many of these low-income workers saw their wages grow at the fastest rate in four decades, it wasn’t enough to eclipse the burden of inflation – making it nearly impossible for ALICE to keep pace,” Duncan wrote.
She explained, a family of four, including an infant, and a preschooler, the costs of basics in Minnesota “excluding tax credits, rose from $63,444 in 2021 to $77,304 one year later.”
“Compounding the issue in 2022 was the loss of up to $15,000 in federal child tax credits and stimulus payments that this family had access to in 2021,” Duncan wrote. “Household costs in Steele County in 2022 for a single adult ($25,620) and a family of four ($73,932) were well above the Federal Poverty Level of $13,590 and $27,750 respectively.”
As Duncan explained it, the findings of the report, is part of a more than decade long trend.
“Since the end of the Great Recession, despite some ups and downs, the number of ALICE households in Minnesota has been steadily growing,” Duncan wrote. “From 2010 to 2022, the total number of households rose by 10%, households in poverty increased by 1% — and the number of ALICE households grew by 33%.”
With the report, it's the hope by officials from the United Way, to be able to bring to light what households across Minnesota are facing, including Mack, and to come up with ways to help.
“I just want to say thank you again for giving me this opportunity to be here as a living example (of ALICE) to continue to move forward,” Mack told the crowd.
Dodge County Sees High Levels of ALICE
Communities in Dodge County aren’t immune to having ALICE households.
In Dodge County, a single adult on a surviving budget needs to make at least $14.37 an hour, and a household consisting of two adults, an infant and a  preschooler needs to make $40.42 an hour.
According to the data, 42% of households in Claremont, 42% of households in Hayfield, 29% of households in Kasson, 34% of households in Dodge Center, and 30% of households in Mantorville were considered to be ALICE and or poverty households, in 2022.