I live and work in a small town in rural southeast Iowa. It’s just like the small towns in rural areas for many of the readers here. A town square. Dedicated, selfless members on the town council and school boards and county supervisors. Friday nights are all about high school football. Parents love their children…
Need ammo for your shop local campaign? Use this fact: local merchants are worth three times as much to your local economy as the chain stores. From Civic Economics: The analysis demonstrated that locally owned merchants generate more than three times the local economic activity of their competitor chain stores on equal revenue. Found in…
Karen Payne, yet another Okie, sent me this list. Though I couldn’t find an author or attribution, I want to share it with you. You can share it with your local community. Top Ten Reasons to Shop Local 10. Local stores are more likely to carry locally produced foods which supports local agriculture. 9. Local…
Want a trend report that pays attention to small town trends? Read the top 10 trends for 2008 from Jack Schultz, author of Boomtown USA. My top 5 picks from his list are: NWOSU Ranger Rodeo Team,These Millennials are shapingthe future of small towns 1. Millennials-Hard to believe that this generation, ages 10 to 27,…
Here’s a nifty site. It will reveal all kinds of great, useful demographic information with only the input of a 5 digit zip code. Want to know how many folks have a high school diploma? How about the rate of unemployment? Here it is. Whatever has been reported for a zip code seems to be…
Ever feel like your town is too far gone to come back? Well, how about Timbuktu, coming back after hundreds of years of obscurity. Originally, it was a center of learning because it was on important overland trade routes. History and change turned it into a backwater. But the people held on to their heritage….
Rural facts from the rural UK: In 2005 the average rural business employed 6 employees. This compares with 16 employees in urban firms. The three-year survival rate of enterprises registering in 2002 in rural areas was 76% (6% higher than urban districts). The UK is addressing rural issues with a Commission for Rural Communities. They…
Buffalo Oklahoma Centennial Celebration a Smashing Success Submitted by J.J. Struther to our Brag Basket I was an innocent victim of a marketing campaign. My son came home from school last month with a couple of very professionally designed, full-color brochures in one hand while waving a nifty red wrist band in the other, excitedly…
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