Last week, CURE’s Director of Rural Cooperative Energy, Erik Hatlestad, was named to the 2025 Grist50 list for his work on rural clean energy and electric cooperatives. This honor reflects Erik’s efforts helping design and pass the New ERA program that provides the largest investment in rural electrification in U.S. history. New ERA funding enables rural electric cooperatives’ transition to renewable energy, providing co-op member-owners with substantial savings on their energy bills, creating new rural jobs, and reducing climate pollution across our rural communities. Each year, the Grist 50 list features 50 climate leaders bringing unique and innovative solutions to their field, their community, and the world.
“Receiving national recognition from my peers for my contributions to the cooperative movement has been an honor. It has been a privilege to play a role in the movement that has accomplished so much for rural communities across the country,” stated Hatlestad. Looking ahead, he added, “Rural communities face unprecedented challenges that will require grit, creativity, and community solidarity to survive. In times like these, cooperatives must once again emerge as the primary defending force for rural communities, just as they have in the past.”
Hatlestad, a native of New London, MN, is a fifth-generation farmer and a long-time rural advocate. He joined CURE in 2013, where his work focuses on participatory democracy and the transition to clean energy in rural electric cooperatives. Last year, to support New ERA’s launch, the USDA “borrowed” Hatlestad from CURE for six months to help develop Community Benefits Planning—ensuring clean energy can benefit farmers and rural communities while addressing siting concerns. CURE and Hatlestad also lead the Rural Power Coalition and its work to help rural communities drive the clean energy future.
“Erik is passionate about strengthening rural communities, cooperatives, and providing more economic opportunities for farmers and small towns,” said CURE Executive Director Duane Ninneman. He continued, “The honor highlights the hard work, dedication, and leadership Erik brings to the movement for a rural clean energy future.”
Since 2016, Grist has published the annual Grist 50 list, a storytelling initiative featuring climate leaders you should know about, from all corners of the country — people working on unique and impactful solutions to the most pressing climate problems of today. The Grist 50 list highlights policymakers, artists, farmers, activists, entrepreneurs, chefs, clean-tech inventors, and more, and has often identified climate leaders before they become household names. Grist calls these people “Fixers,” recognizing their key role in driving positive change.
