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Are cities healthier than rural communities?
September 9th, 2011
Can the report be true? Life in a city is healthier than life in a rural community?
That’s the message, we hear from the County Health Rankings study conducted at the University of Wisconsin and reported on yesterday by CBS News.
(source: “City counties ranked healthier than rural!” CBS News, Sept. 8, 2011)
So what do you think? Is your rural community as unhealthy as the headline suggests? Are cities really healthier?
If you are into boosterism (i.e. – my community is better than yours), you are probably thinking of ways to refute the study. That where my mind first turned.
Instead, I‘d recommend you consider the following:
First, take a look at the data for your county and use it to start a conversation in your community. The results of the County Health Rankings are reported on a county-by-county basis online. When I went online, I discovered that Miner County, SD, where the Rural Learning Center is located, is ranked in the middle of the pack in South Dakota (28th of 54 counties). More interesting, however, was seeing that Hamlin County, SD with similar demographics ranked #4. Why are they doing so much better? Looking closer at the data might facilitate an interesting conversation with your friends at the coffee shop tomorrow.
Second, ask “What can we do to improve the ranking in our community?” Although not universal, cities may have an advantage over their rural counterparts in that they often formulate public policies that encourage healthier lifestyles. For instance, they make walking and bicycling easier for residents. And they are concerned with helping residents gain access to healthy foods, rather than frozen meals and junk food. Not only do these policies help produce healthier residents, but they also help create communities that are more attractive to prospective newcomers.
And finally, formulate a plan to make your community healthier. I appreciate that the County Health Rankings website has a section dedicated to this subject. Of particular note is the Guide to Funding, which every community leader is always concerned about.
Many rural communities have already initiated this process. If you know of one, I hope you will share the ideas here. Large or small, we can all benefit from making our communities healthier places to live.
Tags: bicycling, cbs news, Hamlin County SD, South Dakota
Posted in Community Design, Health Care, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (2)
Just another typical Millennial
January 20th, 2009
Should we be surprised when a seventeen year-old high school student buys a grocery store in his rural community? We assume all young people just want to get out of town, go to college, and then get a good paying job in the city? But is that really the case?
After watching this CBS News story about Nick Graham, a young entrepreneur from Truman, MN (pop. 1,259 ), I had to stop and rethink that assumption. Hopefully after watching it, you will too.
Before going further, I want to credit the Blog for Rural America for bringing the story to my attention. The video is a year old, and I missed their original post a year ago January. Luckily their latest update caught my attention.
What’s happened in the last year
The Blog for Rural America’s post is worth checking out, but here are a few brief highlights about what’s happened with Nick during the last year. First, Nick purchased two more grocery stores in rural communities. Sounds like things were going well, but he recently sold all three to another grocer who gave him a good offer. Nick has since moved on to a sales career and is currently helping out a struggling daycare center.
While some people probably think Nick is the exception among young people today, I don’t. If we step back and examine the Characteristics of Gen Y, we see that Nick fits the mold of his generation:
- He wants to make a difference, and believes he can. (Nick even has plans for additional business ideas for Truman.)
- He’s tech savvy. (Apparently, he’s written a software program to help the daycare.)
- He thinks like an entrepreneur. (I don’t think any additional comment is needed on this subject.)
So if Nick is not the exception, why aren’t more Millennials jumping into business in our rural communities? And if they have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, is there something rural communities can do to encourage them to start businesses in rural communities?
This needs more study
Admittedly, I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I’ve already started digging into some research. I’ll share whatever I find, and I hope you’ll help me out by sharing what you think. Because I can’t stop thinking about it, however, I’m going to throw out some ideas that I have on the subject.
My List of Recommendations
- First, make sure Millennials know that your community needs them. To quote Nick “I’m here hopefully to make a profit, but I’m not here for that in and of itself. I’m here because this community needs me to be here.” (from the CBS video) We hear Millennials are motivated to help change the world. Spread the message that saving the world can begin with saving their hometowns.
- Second, celebrate young entrepreneurs. I’d highly recommend that you forward Nick’s story to every high school teacher and administrator you know. Encourage them to have a conversation with their students about what Nick has done. But don’t just leave it to educators. Take the responsibility yourself to seek out young people in your community and engage them in a conversation. You could be the spark they need.
- Third, be ready to step up to the plate financially. You may not personally be in a situation to help out financially, but someone in the community surely is. In Nick’s case, the Truman Development Corporation lent him $22,000. I’m sure it was scary lending that much money to a 17-year old, but somebody has to do it or there’s no sense in encouraging young people.
I arrived at these ideas without any “deep thinking”, so feel free to criticize or clarify them. Like the topic of “third places,” I believe we need to build a deeper conversation on this subject. I hope you’ll add to this by identifying other ways rural communities can encourage the development of entrepreneurs like Nick. After all, the futures of our rural communities may depend on it.
Other resources on Nick Graham
- “Stocking Shelves, Restoring Hope“ at American Profile
- “17 year old reopens Truman’s Main Street Market“ at The Free Press, Mankato
- “Teen sells Truman store he saved“ at The Free Press, Mankato
- “Graham moves on to other ventures” at The Fairmont Sentinel
Tags: cbs news, entrepreneurship, Gen Y, grocery stores, Localism, millennials, retail, Truman MN, Youth
Posted in Economic Development, Gen Y, In the News, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (2)