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Maroney Commons: “Uncommon innovation” made common
December 28th, 2011
It’s old news now, but worth repeating. The Maroney Commons, a conference and training center in Howard, SD, recently received the 2011 Rural Smart Growth Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Smart Growth is a set of community design and transportation principles that govern the sustainable development of communities. In many ways, these principles are the vanguard against the urban sprawl that plagues our country. But the principles have impact in many other areas; hence the reason it makes sense to honor a rural project, where sprawl isn’t as much of an issue.
The Maroney Commons, a project developed by the Rural Learning Center, received this recognition for numerous reasons: First, it was built on Howard’s Main Street, rather than on undeveloped land outside of the town’s center. Second, it was designed through a process that engaged local citizens; community members provided input through a series of meetings on what they thought the project should look like and be like. And third, the Commons was built to LEED Platinum standards, making use of building materials from old, dilapidated buildings and state-of-the-art renewable energy.
To learn more about the project, I would encourage you to check out the facility’s website and watch the EPA video embedded below.
I’d also encourage readers to watch the Keloland television news story about the award. Titled “Uncommon Innovation,” it highlights the potential of innovative thinking as an economic development strategy. As reporter Perry Groten states:
So many small towns struggle to keep jobs. But by going green, the Maroney Commons could become a high-tech hub that employs a strategy of recycling to revitalize the rural economy.”
The economies of urban and rural economies alike are being driven by innovation. As we’ve talked about previously, rural communities need to reimagine and reinvent themselves. They need to develop and tap into new competitive advantages — or they won’t have a reason to exist.
That doesn’t mean that every rural community needs a conference center like the Maroney Commons. But Rural America would be a stronger place today if more communities made “uncommon innovation” more common.
Tags: community design, Howard SD, Maroney Commons
Posted in Community Design, Community Development, Economic Development, In the News | Comments (2)
My Return and “Rewriting the Rural Narrative”
December 21st, 2011
My return to Reimagine Rural as a guest blogger is finally at hand. And fittingly, the subject of my post is a Lakeland Public Television interview with Minnesota Extension Researcher Ben Winchester.
Titled “Rewriting the Rural Narrative,” the interview focuses on how many of the messages we hear about Rural America – and assume to be true – are often incomplete. For instance, Ben’s research shows that while young people do move away from their hometowns following high school, there is a movement of college educated adults age 30-45 year olds who are moving to small towns. In that context, saying Rural America struggles from “brain drain” is not completely accurate.
Regular readers of Reimagine Rural know that story; we’ve shared Ben’s research numerous times. What I enjoy about this interview, however, is that Ben fleshes out additional advice for rural communities. For instance:
- Rural communities are not all about agriculture. Ben cites statistics suggesting that fewer than 10% of rural Minnesotans are engaged in agriculture. Communities need to understand this statistic when making decisions about their future.
- The main reasons people move to rural Minnesota are not jobs. Ben’s research identifies the top three reasons as: slower pace of life, safety and security, and the low cost of housing. Rural communities need to consider how to tap into these reasons as they seek to attract new residents.
- Broadband Internet connections are not necessarily a pull factor for new residents. People have come to expect quality access. If you don’t have it, it will push people away.
- It’s just not people who grew up in rural communities who move to rural communities. Ben’s research suggests that only 43% of newcomers have a previous relationship to the community. Their connections are much more anecdotal; perhaps they visited the region once, liked it, and decided to return.
- Rural leaders need to remember that rural residents live in a regional economy. Some of Ben’s anecdotal research indicates that rural residents drive up to 45 miles to eat, shop, work, and play. With that in mind, communities would be foolish not to promote great restaurants and entertainment options in neighboring communities – even though those communities may be looked at as rivals.
I could go on and on with pieces of information like the above. Most 30 minute interviews are long for my tastes. But this one is a gem and is worth watching more than once. I wasn’t able to embed it in this post, so you will need to click on the link to watch it. I’m thankful Ben sent me an e-mail with a link to the interview. If you find it as valuable as I did, you will share it with others.
Tags: Ben Winchester, brain gain, Minnesota
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development | Comments (2)
Agripreneurs Live Here
October 5th, 2011
I’ve been watching farmers for a long time. Growing up as a farmer’s granddaughter and daughter I had no other aspirations than to not spend the rest of my life tied to this land. But being a farmer’s wife, mom to farmers, mother-in-law, sister, friend and now “Grandma” to up and coming young farmers has taught me a deep appreciation of local agriculture here in Miner County, SD where I make my home.
Less than 2% of us
I used to put 100 pennies in a line on the kitchen table and explain that the first penny and about half of the second represented the number of farmers and that these few, in turn, grew the food for all the rest of us. Today’s farmer feeds an average of 155 people so I need to revise my teaching tool! We all need to be paying more attention to our young farm families.
Above Average
I also believe really good farmers are well beyond the average. It’s not enough to academically understand all that goes into farming from soil testing to crop planning to machine maintenance and storage. It’s not enough to have the ability to think generations ahead in a breeding program, plan for proper nutrition and health, drive facilities design, construction and management. Today’s agriculture is all of those things and more. You have to be a marketing expert,financial planner, strategic thinker and a resilient soul. You have to consider your neighbors – the wildlife and plant life with which you share space and resources and your human neighbors who look to you for help and assistance.
More than making a living
I recently learned a new phrase and I think I’m going to love it –“agripreneur”. This is a new phrase and just being developed but I will add that I hope it begins to describe the business, entrepreneurial and comprehensive ability components of today’s successful young farmers. It’s a competitive world pitched against large ag corporations and the number of young farmers is fewer and fewer. You have to be good at what you do. You have to keep learning and growing in your work. You have to love it so much that you attend to it every day, 365 days a year. Hopefully you are so devoted to it that you teach your children to love it just as much as you do.
The other 153 plus of us are counting on you!
Tags: agri, miner county sd, production agriculture
Posted in Agriculture, Community Development, Gen Y, Quality of Life, Rural, Youth | Comments (0)
Understanding Poverty in rural places
September 27th, 2011
“It’ll be next week before I’m okay again!” That was my honest response to participating in the Poverty Simulation sponsored by NESDCAP in Sisseton, SD on September 14. Ann Pollert, Executive Director at North Dakota Community Action Partnership based in Fargo, North Dakota, facilitated the simulation held in St. Catherine’s Hall.
I admit that I registered and drove to Sisseton because of the working relationship we have with the team at NESDCAP and NESDEC. I expected to show up as a good team member would.
What I didn’t expect was an experience that would keep coming back to me for days afterward.
We were assigned a “family” and given the specifics of our home situation. In my case I was a 21 year old community college student – mom was out of the picture, dad in jail for 45 days, my sisters were 13-year-old twins and our little brother was 3 years old. We had $100 in cash, daycare and rent paid to the end of the month. GO!
I spent the next few hours working as hard as I ever have in real life trying to apply for some help with my siblings, pay our rent, pay for food. Getting to class was the first thing that fell off the plate. I LIED on my application for part time employment indicating that I would be a dependable employee by showing up for work on time, working my full shift and taking advantage of training opportunities. The girls skipped out of a field trip because we couldn’t afford the $5 they needed to participate! I was so angry with the parents who had put the three little kids and ME in this position. It wasn’t fair!
It isn’t fair. That’s what the simulation really brought home to me again. Working hard, paying attention, having a plan is not enough. Programs address only one aspect of real life – each program requires so much from the applicant in terms of information, follow-up, etc. that it doesn’t take long to simply wear out. No one at the community level has authority or oversight of the whole set of needs.
I’ve had firsthand experience in being a single mom, low-income, living on the edge. I thought I had put those emotions and nightmares behind me but the Poverty Simulation reincarnated these for me.
I needed to be reminded of the real-life challenges many people face every day. I needed to see why more and more people are in this situation every day. It means a good deal to the long term for our communities. I needed to remember what poverty looks, smells and feels like. I hope this experience stays with me and with my work in building better communities for a long time.
Photo: Ann Pollert presenting at the simulation.
Tags: NESCAP, North Dakota Community Action Partnership, poverty, Sisseton SD
Posted in Community Development, Training and Events | Comments (2)
Jason Dorsey on Gen Y and small towns
September 23rd, 2011
Yesterday I sat in on a live chat video interview between Jodi Schwan of the Sioux Falls Business Journal and Gen Y expert Jason Dorsey. It’s been my experience that most Gen Y experts either trash rural communities or show a lack of understanding about what rural communities have to offer. With that in mind, I didn’t expect much from Dorsey.
But after listening for about fifteen minutes to what seemed like good advice, I decided to use the chat feature to ask:
What advice do you have for small, rural communities who are trying to communicate the value of living of living in their community?”
Rather than bumbling through the question, Dorsey nailed his response.
Market around lifestyles and relationships
In a nutshell, he said: Since Gen Y is all about lifestyles and relationships, rural communities need to showcase those aspects of life in their community.
Help people recognize how they can experience outdoor activities and enjoy a more relaxed pace of life. Make sure they know that your school offers children a great education. And emphasize the friendships that people build within your community. And use social media (especially a Facebook Page) to show what makes a small town special. (Hopefully, regular readers of Reimagine Rural have heard that before.)
Watch and listen yourself
Dorsey offers greater details during the interview. I’ve embedded the Sioux Falls Business Journal’s recording of the interview below. (He addresses my question around the 18:00 minute mark.)
I think the video has more to offer, however, than just his response to my question. For instance, Dorsey addresses what small business owners can do help maintain employees when other businesses can offer more money. That’s definitely a message small town businesses owners should pay special attention to.
I’ve not heard of Jason Dorsey before today, but I’ll pay closer attention in the future. It’s nice to hear from a Gen Y expert who understands small, rural communities and offers good advice.
Tags: marketing, marketing rural communities, millenials, millennials, Sious Falls Argus Leader
Posted in Community Development, Community Engagement, Gen Y, Rural, Uncategorized | Comments (0)
More inspiration from Odessa in Alberta
September 14th, 2011
If you are like me, you’ve occasionally complained about young people (i.e. – What’s that stupid music those kids are playing?). But more often, they are a source of inspiration. Such is the case with Odessa Sherbaniuk.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Odessa’s efforts to start a Twitter conversation around the topic of Why Rural Rocks. The project started as a part of her summer internship with the University of Alberta, Augustana campus. (The internship program is pretty cool on its own.) Each week this summer, Odessa offers a recap of the top tweets-of-the-week.
While following this online conversation has been exciting, what I find most inspirational is that Odessa has decided to continue the project even though her internship is over. She has even created a new blog titled Reasons Rural Rocks to showcase her effort
If you haven’t done so already, make sure you check out this new blog. I’d also highly recommend you add Reasons Rural Rocks to your RSS Feed Reader so that you can stay up-to-date on Odessa’s latest posts.
For those who haven’t figured out how using RSS Feed Readers can help save time, I’d encourage you to read this blog post by Michael Hyatt and watch the short video embedded in it. Feed Readers are really easy to use and can help you stay on top of what’s being posted on your favorite rural community development blogs.
I’d also recommend that you ask yourself, “What can I do to help build stronger rural communities?” Odessa offers a great example of how a young person can contribute using social media. Whether young (like Odessa) or old (like me), it’s a question worth answering.
Tags: Alberta, Reason Rural Rocks, RSS Feed
Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (1)
Population Decline: a “Main Event”
September 7th, 2011
Population decline is the “main event” and just not a symptom of another problem (i.e. – the lack of jobs). That’s the message shared by Caleb Pollard in a recent blog post titled “Solving Population Decline in Rural Nebraska.”
Caleb is the Executive Director at the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce. He makes this point while advocating that Nebraskans support a legislative resolution authorizing an interim study on rural population decline.
For some people, this argument may seem like semantics. After all, economic opportunities and population growth or decline are tightly connected.
I for one agree with Caleb. It is time that we look at the health of our communities through the lens of why people move to and from rural communities.
Luckily, I see good resources beginning to be developed in this area. For instance the Center for Applied Rural Innovations has created a section on their website called the Buffalo Commons. Similarly, the University of Minnesota Extension has begun sharing similar resources on their website in a section titled Brain Gain in Minnesota.
I’m not sure what a legislative study on rural population decline will accomplish, but I think it’s a significant step that Nebraska’s policy makers are begining to see rural population decline as the “main event.”
Tags: brain gain, Minnesota Extension, Nebraska, Ord NE
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (5)
Yes, size does matter in community development
August 30th, 2011
What is your small town’s competitive advantage? If you are uncertain, you need to listen to DeLon Mork’s commentary in the following video. He believes that being small has its advantages.
DeLon owns a Dairy Queen in Madison, SD (pop. 6474). For the past six years running, his store has sold more Blizzards as a part of the Miracle Treat Day than any other Dairy Queen in North America.
(source: “Small Town Dairy Queen Smashes Blizzard Record,” Daryn Kagen, DarynKagen.com, )
Although DeLon is talking about the competitive advantage of his business, the same holds true for small towns.
But being small doesn’t guarantee success. It’s how you use this competitive advantage that matters most.
For DeLon that means building relationships. He makes a concerted effort to get to know people in his community.
Helping people in your small town is a great way to take advantage of your community’s small size. But it’s probably not the only way.
What’s happening in your small town? How are you using your small size to your advantage?
Note: Thanks to Linda Salmonson from the REED Fund for passing along this video.
Tags: Madison SD, South Dakota
Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (0)
Maroney Commons & 3 Reasons Rural Rocks
August 22nd, 2011
During the Grand Opening for the Maroney Commons last week, I was reminded of numerous #ReasonsRuralRocks. (Read “Reasons Rural Rocks” to learn the #ReasonsRuralRocks project.)
Before reading my list, I would encourage you to watch the recording of the ribbon cutting ceremony, which I’ve embedded below. Perhaps some of the dignitaries will inspire you to add your own #ReasonsRuralRocks to the list.
Video of the Grand Opening Celebration
(click here if you are having trouble viewing the video in the browser. )
3 Reasons Rural Rocks
Because time is short, I’ll highlight only three of my reasons #ReasonsRuralRocks. Feel free to add yours.
1) Rural people are great at help you clean up following an event. After the ceremony ended, everyone was invited to tour the new facility and enjoy some refreshments. Rather than partake in the refreshments, however, many audience members jumped in to help staff members who were clearing the chairs from Main Street so that it be reopened. Their help saved us a ton of time. Maybe this same volunteerism happens in urban areas as well, but it is always refreshing to receive unsolicited help.
2) Life in rural communities is rich in community life. I often tell people that I love homecoming parades in small towns because they epitomize the strong social bonds that exist in rural communities. Events like the Maroney Commons grand opening are very similar. People from all over the region joined local residents in the celebration and rekindle old friendships. There’s nothing better.
3) Where else can city dwellers go to enjoy a beautiful, starry evening in a cornfield? Later in the evening, I met some visitors from a city on the East Coast who were in town for the event. None of them had ever walked through a cornfield. And as strange as it may sound, one of the guys explained that it was on his “bucket list.” In an effort to accommodate him, a friend helped us get permission from a landowner to walk through his field. I then joined the group on their walk through the cornfield, presumably to make sure they didn’t get lost. I probably didn’t enjoy the walk as much as they did, but meeting new friends was awesome.
Tags: Howard SD, Maroney Commons, Reasons Rural Rocks
Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (0)
Maroney Commons: What is it?
August 17th, 2011
“What is that huge, new building being built on Howard’s Main Street?”
That’s a question I’ve fielded more than once in the last year.
I usually respond by telling people “It’s the Maroney Commons (or a previous iteration of the name), and it’s the culmination of a decade-long effort to build a place where rural community leaders can gather to work on the future of their communities. It’s also a place that will offer workforce development training for people looking to enter the renewable energy fields.”
If no questions immediately emerge, I follow up saying, “It will house a restaurant, hotel, and conference training facility, and cost over $6.5 million to build.”
Unfortunately, this description is inadequate, but it usually starts a conversation.
Joe Bartmann, President of the Rural Learning Center, does a much better job of explaining. For that reason, I asked him to flesh out the details of the project in the video below.
A bold vision
Joe’s right. It is a bold vision. But that type of thinking is not new to Howard and Miner County. It was just ten years ago this October that Howard launched its efforts in the wind energy field by becoming the first municipality in South Dakota to own and operate wind turbines. Sitting on the edge of Howard on Hwy 34, passerbiers will see two wind turbines that helped launched a growth in jobs for the region. They also serve as a symbol for how the community is attempting to reimagine its future.
In many ways, the construction of the Maroney Commons is a continuation of that effort.
Why is that important?
Last June, Karl Stauber penned two articles in the Daily Yonder calling for a New Rural America. In these articles, he cited Miner County as one of the communities working towards that goal. (read them here and here.)
While there’s a lot to learn from Karl’s comments, what struck me was his belief that rural communities need to continually reinvent their competitive advantage. Agriculture alone cannot provide a future for our small towns.
Equally important, he goes on to say that the speed at which communities need to reinvent themselves is accelerating. He writes:
Historically, communities had to create a new competitive advantage every 50 to 70 years…. Today the cycle is every 10 to 15 years, which, in reality, means that communities must be continually reinventing their economies.”
Building the Maroney Commons is a bold vision for the Miner County community and not without its risks. But rural communities everywhere have to dream big. They have to find ways to reinvent themselves. And if Karl is correct, they must do it every 10 to 15 years.
As I wrote the other day, Howard will celebrate the opening of the Maroney Commons on Thursday at 1:00 pm. More information can be found here. We hope you will join us.
Tags: Howard SD, Maroney Commons
Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (0)