A rural developer is building a town square from scratch in the small town of Mapleton, North Dakota. Justin Forde recently completed the first building in the Maple River Town Square development. The six-acre project is selling commercial space to businesses looking to serve the town, which has seen its population double over the last decade, according to … [Read more...]
Nonprofit model for civic engagement transforms hundreds of small towns
When the Verso Paper Mill in Bucksport, Maine, closed its doors in 2014, it was a devastating blow to the small community of 5,000. Nestled alongside the Penobscot River on the way to Acadia National Park, Bucksport draws summer tourists, but up until December 2014, it was a paper mill town first and foremost. Bucksport lost 40 percent of its tax base with the closure of the … [Read more...]
New approaches to the rural grocery store
In rural communities around the country, independent grocery stores are at risk. Retiring grocery store owners are struggling to find buyers, while low prices at big box convenience stores add increased pressure to already slim profit margins. In rural Kansas alone, 105 grocery stores shuttered from 2008-18. More than half of those communities are still waiting for a store … [Read more...]
Episode 38: Community Heart & Soul
Community Heart & Soul is a resident-driven process that engages the entire population of a town in identifying what they love most about their community, what future they want for it, and how to achieve it. Developed and field-tested over a decade in partnership with more than 90 small cities and towns across America, Community Heart & Soul is a proven process for … [Read more...]
Redefining the ‘Small Town Mentality’: Matt Dunne on Burgeoning Rural Digital Economies
Recession, automation and globalization have created a divide between the economies of urban and rural places. Together these forces have led to population loss and “brain drain” as college graduates strapped with student loan debt moved to bigger towns with more job opportunities. That too becomes a catch-22 — less local talent means less opportunity for entrepreneurship and … [Read more...]