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The Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT) is proud to announce its 2024 Scholarship Program, which will award up to five $2,000 scholarships to high school juniors. The Scholarship Program is designed to heighten awareness among young people about Minnesota’s grassroots township government. 

All students currently enrolled in 11th grade and attending a Minnesota public, private, or parochial school, or a home-study program, are eligible to apply for this program. Since its inception in 2001, the MAT Scholarship Program has had over 2,300 submissions and 103 winners.

Applicants should submit a written essay using critical thinking on the topic of promoting awareness of township government by June 1, 2024. Winners will be chosen by an independent panel of judges and will be notified in September 2024. They will also be invited to attend MAT’s annual conference in December 2024 in St. Cloud.

The 2024 essay question on promoting township government is, “Describe ways in which broadband Internet access improves the lives of rural residents. What challenges exist in providing broadband Internet in rural areas? And what policies should governments at all levels, (federal, state, and local) adopt to ensure that regardless of geographic location all Americans have equal access to broad band Internet?”

For more information and application details, please call the MAT offices at 1-800-228-0296 or visit the MN Association of Townships website and it’s scholarship page.

“The MAT Scholarship Program has made a real difference for our recipients and has also been an opportunity to learn about township government, which embodies the values of ‘grassroots government’ where local citizens directly participate. We encourage as many high school juniors as possible to apply, whether they are from rural areas or urban cities,” said MAT Executive Director Jeff Krueger.

 There are approximately 914,000 township residents in 1,780 townships in Minnesota.