In a small Kentucky county with a population of just under 5,000 people, a community is coming together to build something beautiful. Hickman County, Kentucky was deeded a piece of land for “one whole dollar,” according to county judge/executive Kenny Wilson. The three-acre property features an acre-and-half lake, and when the property was handed over to the county, Wilson … [Read more...]
Rural business leader points to rural-urban interdependence
The rugged independence of rural life provides a fertile environment for entrepreneurship, but rural economies depend on more than just sheer grit and determination to succeed. Rural areas make extensive use of government programs. Rural broadband is partly made possible by a federal subsidy. More healthcare services are available thanks to a $400 million per year rural … [Read more...]
Rural, and making it: Bringing manufacturing to small towns
He charged companies whatever he wanted as a freelance industrial designer, but he left it all to become part of a rural manufacturing renaissance. It started five years ago, when after 15 years of designing, Jonathan Baker said goodbye to his comfortable career in New England and moved to the Pacific Northwest to design and manufacture his own product in a town of under … [Read more...]
Strong hospitals big for rural business
Keeping the local hospital strong is a must for building a rural economy. It’s possible, but not easy. In Nevada, Professors John Packham and Thomas Harris direct Nevada Rural Health Works (RHW), a program focused on the impact of healthcare on rural economies. In the Silver State it directly provides 6,000 to 7,000 good paying jobs and another 1,500 secondary jobs. In … [Read more...]
Creating a more resilient rural economy
Rural economies are becoming more versatile and, hopefully, more sustainable, bringing resilience in the face of industry changes. Diversification in rural economies is a real possibility thanks to technology enabling entrepreneurs to connect to a global marketplace. This is manifesting itself in several ways. For one, information technology (IT) companies are becoming … [Read more...]