The Growing Small Towns Show: Recent Episodes
Rebecca Undem
The future of small towns doesn’t depend on us finding more people; we need to better engage the ones who are already there.
Each week, join Rebecca Undem, small-town champion and rural entrepreneur, as she chats with people who are doing their part to grow their community. You’ll hear ideas and learn ways to better support your business community, create a sense of belonging for all, and foster a rich arts and culture scene in your small town.
If you live in a small town, care deeply about your community, and share the belief that “if you’re not growing, you’re dying”, this is the podcast for you.
This is a first on the podcast and a great ending to the first part of Season 5 (we’ll be back in September with more episodes!) One of Rebecca’s children joined us for the funnest episode ever about small towns through the eyes of a kid: what he loves, what he’d like to see, and the frustrations he experiences as a kid in a small town. About Carter: Carter is Rebecca’s 13-year-old son, the middle child, and a small-town connoisseur and font of wisdom about how to connect with and make small towns great places for kids. In this episode, we cover:
- What Carter loves about his small town
- What he’d like to see in his small town
- How to connect with kids and involve them in small towns
Carter’s Shout-Outs: The Butcher Shop, Inc.: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083102392378 The Bakery Shoppe - Oakes: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088962675005 Hearthside Vineyard and Winery: https://www.facebook.com/HeaOakesrthsideWinery Sweets n’ Stories: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063629827416 Feel Good Foods: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095018709672 Wild Wolff: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086460336567 Oakes Area Chamber of Commerce: https://www.facebook.com/oakeschamber Irrigation Days FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/970957665097391 MacDaddy’s Food Vendor: https://www.facebook.com/PhillyandMaceatery
Small-Town Shout-Out! We're celebrating the combined communities of Chamberlain and Oacoma. They have a trail system, and they’re building their very first bike-optimized trail! Sometimes, trail systems with options for both walking and biking aren’t prioritized, so major snaps to these communities for getting this done! A Note on Seasons: Our new format means that we’ll be taking a break for summer and picking back up in September. Don’t worry, we’ll still have plenty of content to share and we can’t wait to hit the ground running this fall. Follow us on Instagram (@growingsmalltowns) and Facebook (facebook.com/growingsmalltowns)
New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
This episode is about the rural lawyer shortage, why it’s happening, why it matters, and what we can do about it. This is a new-to-us topic, and we’re so excited to share it with you because it’s way more important and impactful than we realized. Lawyers have a crucial place in our small communities, from providing essential government services like prosecution to supporting small businesses and helping them thrive. Our guest, Hannah, is a law professor and author who took a deep dive into this issue, and we’re so glad she did. We learned a lot, and we think you will, too! About Hannah: Hannah Haksgaard is a Professor at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law, where she teaches and writes in the areas of property law, family law, and the rural practice of law. Hannah’s new book, The Rural Lawyer: How to Incentivize Rural Law Practice and Help Small Communities Thrive, is available on Amazon or through your favorite local bookseller. In this episode, we cover:
- Why do we have a rural lawyer shortage?
- Why that shortage matters
- How can we address it?
Resources Mentioned: Hannah’s Book: https://a.co/d/1iJyV9j
Small-Town Shout-Out! This week’s shout-out is to the small town of Burke, SD. We love hearing what different people love about their small towns, and Burke sounds like a fantastic place to live. Meredith loves the Get Fit with Jenny classes, Kelsey’s all about the Farmer’s Market and the town’s gorgeous park space, and Cheyenne appreciates that the town is about love and legacy built on a foundation for the future. Wahoo, Burke, for being amazing in so many different ways! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We focus a lot on belonging here at Growing Small Towns, and one of the most important groups (that sometimes gets neglected by traditional community development) is youth. Kids need to feel at home and welcome in our small towns, too, and when our young people are engaged, active, and have good places to hang out with their friends, the effect is like a shockwave in the best way. Today’s episode is with the amazing Karen Pifher, who is helping communities support their youth in very real, material ways. And with lots of food, because apparently that’s key for kid hangouts. About Karen: Karen Pifher is a powerhouse of heart, hustle, and humor, with a Master’s in Community Development, a Business Strategy Certificate from Harvard, and as a member of the international "Board of Experts" (what's that- check it out online and reach out with questions). As the founder of Creating Community Consulting, Karen has become a go-to force for turning bold ideas into thriving, people-centered projects. She knows firsthand what it’s like to face hardship — as a teen mother, Karen learned resilience, grit, and the power of community early on. Today, she channels that experience into her mission to create stronger, more connected places where everyone belongs. Her secret weapon? A wicked sense of humor, a bias for action, and the ability to make strategy feel exciting — even fun!
Outside of her work, Karen is a devoted wife, mom, and outdoor enthusiast, happiest when she’s paddling a river, hiking through the woods, or wrangling life’s chaos with laughter and love. Creating Community Consulting isn’t just a business; it’s the evolution of Karen’s lifelong passion for community, innovation, and change — built on grit, late nights, and a lot of coffee. She’s living proof that small-town roots and big dreams can shake up the world, one project (and one punchline) at a time. In this episode, we cover:
- Why Karen decided to get involved in making communities better places for youth
- The whole amazing story behind CornerStone Community & Youth Center
- How Karen and her organization help other small towns become great places for kids
Resources Mentioned and Projects They Serve: Creating Community Consulting and AI Grant Writer tool: https://www.creatingcommunityconsulting.com/ CornerStone Community & Youth Center: https://www.cornerstonefrazee.org/ Wannigan Park: https://wanniganpark.com/ Clay County Family Resource Center: https://claycountyfrc.com/ Economic Development in Frazee
Small-Town Shout-Out! This one is from our friend Jerome from Platte, South Dakota, and we’re shouting out two things that he shared with us. The first is the community’s multi-church youth group: the community recognized the benefit of having one large group of kids coming together rather than a bunch of little ones, and we love this (and the kids do too!) The second is the restored Lyric Theater. It’s a beautiful building that was in rough shape, which was purchased by an incredibly generous individual who restored it and brought it back to life, proving that when people care, big things happen. A big high-five to Platte for youth, collaboration, and restoration! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
When we think of politics, I think a lot of us feel intimidated or like there isn’t room for us in the process–we’re not “political,” or we don’t have time, or we’re not the right kind of person. Today’s guest shows that being an unlikely politician may actually be the best thing, and why we need more real people in politics (yes, that means you!) About Erin: Erin Oban is a lifelong North Dakotan and proud, Class B kid, raised in a farm family in Ray, ND. Her professional career has included experience as a middle school math teacher, in nonprofit management and educational leadership, and in politics and public service. In 2014 and again in 2018, Erin was elected to represent central Bismarck’s District 35 in the State Senate. In 2022, she received an appointment from President Biden to serve as North Dakota’s state director of USDA Rural Development, a federal agency responsible for making financing and technical assistance accessible to rural and Tribal communities across the country.
When not engaging in issues of importance and finding ways to make an impact, big or small, in her community, Erin enjoys a cold beer on the patio with friends, a cup of coffee with a stranger, live music and comedy, traveling, and being comfy at home in Bismarck with her husband, Chad, and their son and favorite human, Evin.
In this episode, we cover:
- How Erin became involved in the legislative world (kind of by accident!)
- Why voucher schemes and school choice don't help our small towns
- How every single one of us has something we can offer and something we can do about the things we care about
Resources Mentioned: https://www.ndforpublicschools.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ND4PublicSchools Think Again by Adam Grant
Small-Town Shout-Out! Wahoo to the unincorporated community of Guelph, ND (just a stone’s throw from Oakes) for showing that no town is too small to do big, cool things when people care. Two cool things we’re highlighting: Off the "Sheulph" Guelph purchased the old school building, where they host markets throughout the year and rent out the historic wood gym for events, and a young couple transformed the old train depot into a beautiful Airbnb, giving visitors a reason to come and stay. Good job, Guelph!! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Meredith is easily one of the most interesting and unusual people we’ve ever had on the podcast, and her story is a testament to just how much small-town living appeals to all kinds of people, even people that you may not expect. This episode is all about how Meredith–a Marin County, California native–found herself in rural South Dakota, and what we can do to make our small towns more welcoming for all different kinds of people who want to make their lives here. About Meredith: Meredith McMurray was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. She was home-schooled for all but one of her twelve grade school years.
Then, in 2006, she enlisted into the US Marine Corps at age 18 and served four years active duty, deploying twice during that time. After an Honorable Discharge, Meredith began an exploration into the world of health and healing practices such as yoga, neuromuscular therapy, meditation, self-inquiry, and performing arts!
She began learning Aerial Acrobatics in 2012, at first as a hobby. By 2016, Meredith began making a living off of teaching and performing Aerial Acrobatics.
In May 2019, Meredith was presented with an opportunity to take over ownership of Aerial Arts Fairfax (IG account no longer managed), a local beloved Aerial Academy in Fairfax, CA. The offer was for Meredith to purchase the business and facilitate over 200 actively enrolled students to continue their training—or watch it close and cease to exist due to the original founder opting to retire earlier in 2019.
Out of pure love for the art form (and a lack of awareness of what was to come), Meredith took a risk and invested five figures of borrowed money into purchasing the business. Aerial Arts Fairfax had eight great months under Meredith's leadership, and then March 2020 came along...
Obliterated by the statewide lockdowns and dysfunctional social practices implemented by the majority in the San Francisco Bay Area, Meredith consciously chose to no longer serve that community with her business nor her physical presence.
Meredith had heard former Governor Kristi Noem say, "All South Dakotans are Essential." So, after sixteen total months of fighting to regain any sense of meaning or purpose in California, Meredith packed her Prius and drove to South Dakota with no plan.
Once she arrived, Meredith was able to shake hands with Gov. Kristi Noem and thank her for standing up for the people of South Dakota and their occupations. Then, Meredith was able to work a seasonal job in South Dakota and earn enough to pay herself back from the five-figure financial wound created by the State of California.
After that, Meredith moved across state lines four times before eventually returning back to South Dakota, where she has been living for the last 2.5 years.
By no means is Meredith walking off into the sunset... She continues to wake up every morning wondering how she can best serve the community, make real friends, and express important messages in whatever form.
Please enjoy the speech Meredith recently gave at the Black Hills Aerial Cup: https://youtu.be/Y15XccuXMFw?si=IGgYzsz8jtsfQqpA
In this episode, we cover:
- How Meredith went from Marin County, CA to small-town South Dakota
- What she loves about small towns
- What she’d love for her own small-town experience
Resources Mentioned: Freedom Fest: https://freedomfest.com/ Speech for anyone who's ever felt "non-essential”: https://youtu.be/Y15XccuXMFw?si=IGgYzsz8jtsfQqpA Meredith’s website: www.DanglingDance.com Get in touch: DanglingDance@gmail.com
Small-Town Shout-Out! Big high fives to Ellendale, our county seat! A major economic development project—Applied Digital—is happening right there, and the revenue it brings is game-changing. But we’re especially cheering for Ellendale because growth like this brings big challenges, too. Just because something big is happening doesn’t mean anything was ever wrong before. We see you, we support you, and we’re in it with you. New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
This episode is a listener-submitted Small Town People Problem, and it’s one we hear a lot: What do we do about local negativity? How do we deal with it when the people in the town are the ones being the Negative Nancies (or Negative Normans), and what can we do about it? We are joined by the amazing Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer, who, as it happens, is someone who knows quite a lot about local apathy and what to do about it. About Heidi: Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer barely escaped law school. She became a freelance writer in 2006, the Mayor of HeidiTown.com in 2007, and a community builder in 2023 when she formed HeidiTown Consulting. Through years of visiting small towns as a writer and Mayor of HeidiTown.com, Heidi recognized that while she loved every small town she visited, the town's locals were often apathetic about where they lived. Today, Heidi reminds people to love where they live by telling them how to and why it is important. She believes it starts with the individuals in a community. They are the ones who have the power to make their town extraordinary.
"This isn’t economic development and this isn’t tourism; it is that sweet spot that inspires pride in place so that when they come, whether as a new resident or as a visitor, they are happy to be there." ~Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer
In this episode, we cover:
- Why it’s easy to get apathetic about our own small town
- What to do about a negative narrative
- Who our “front-line” people are and how we can help them be better ambassadors
Resources Mentioned: HeidiTown Consulting: https://www.heiditownconsulting.com/ HeidiTown.com: https://www.heiditown.com/ Heidi and Ryan’s Business: http://www.rtsfurnituredesign.com/ Knight Foundation: https://knightfoundation.org/sotc/
Small-Town Shout-Out! This week, we’re celebrating Sean Miller and the City of Pullman, Washington. Congratulations on opening your newest coworking space, the Gladish Collective! You know we love a coworking space ‘round these here parts, because creating beautiful spaces to gather, work, collaborate, brainstorm, and do cool stuff helps make our small towns so much better. High fives to Sean and Pullman, Washington! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We underestimate the power of love–or maybe limit the places where we deem it appropriate–but that’s silly because love is the most powerful motivator on the planet. We believe that love can actually be the key to unlocking the answers to some of our biggest questions and challenges in small towns. In this episode, Rebecca talks about all the ways that love can make our communities better places and what it looks like to show up with love. In this episode, we share three challenges for you to start using love as a force for good and change in your communities:
- Focus on doing more of what you love
- Ask yourself: What would make me love my town more?
- Pour out your love on the people who do the things that make you love your small town more.
Links + Resources Mentioned: Jeff Siegler’s book: Your City is Sick. Deb Brown’s book: From Possibilities to Reality: Save Your Small Town with these Uniquely Do-able Ideas, Projects, and Success Stories Inland Northwest Partners Cougar Cheese Sarah Kane of LaCrosse Community Pride Terri Cooper of Medical Lake Medical Lake’s Vacant Buildings Ordinance
Small-Town Shout-Out! This week’s shout-out is for the town of Medical Lake, Washington, and its mayor, Terri Cooper. In their small town, they have strong code enforcement policies around vacant buildings on Main Street to eliminate people owning buildings and just sitting on them and letting them fall apart. That takes tremendous courage and bravery because there’s no way that was universally popular. This is a bold, audacious move that is rooted in love and pride of place. They want their business district to be vibrant, to look good, and to be the kind of place where people want to have a business and that people want to visit. We salute them, their courage, and their love for the community! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Each season, we’re going to have a few episodes that directly address your small-town people problems. For our first one, we’re starting off with a question from a listener about one of the most common difficulties in small towns: what to do when the neighboring towns treat each other as competition instead of working together. Sometimes we’ll bring in a guest, sometimes it’ll be a solocast with Rebecca like today’s episode. Do you have your own small-town people challenge? Call in to the show and we’ll address it on-air! 701-203-3337 In this episode, we cover:
- The three ways we see this competition show up most often
- Four mindset shifts to help address the problem
Links + Resources Mentioned: Episode 107 with Melissa Nelson: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode107 Small-Town Shout-Out! There’s something in the water in Vergas, Minnesota. A listener wrote in to tell us that Vergas is the kind of community where you can feel the community pride in every single business. They decided that, despite being a destination lake town, they wanted to be more than just a tourist town, so they focus on what it feels like to the people who live there every single day, too. Walk into any business on Main Street and you’ll get the very felt sense that they want you there and you belong there. That’s what it’s all about! Big shout-out to Vergas, Minnesota! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
The “Returner” phenomenon is a very real thing: people leave their small towns as young people and come back later when they’re ready to settle down, and there is a huge opportunity for both the returners and the small towns they’re coming back to–but we’re not always open to these boomerangs. This episode is about inviting people back, creating spaces, and growing as communities so they everyone is thriving. We think you’ll love it! About Jessica: Originally from Winner, SD (pop. 2,852), Jessica Meyers was raised in Winner and Vermillion, SD, and earned her bachelor’s degree at South Dakota State University in Brookings. Jessica and her husband Matt followed the flight pattern of many young adults and left the small towns of SD for bigger cities. After 10 years of living in some of the largest cities in America, she now lives in Sioux Falls with her family. Pairing over 20 years of sales and recruiting experience, Jessica discovered a unique opportunity for the Midwest. She is co-founder and CEO of PorchLight, a talent recruitment firm that partners with rural communities to prepare for the 21st-century workforce and connect rural workers to employment opportunities.
Jessica created the first-of-its-kind PorchLight Certification and created the platform where rural development and job opportunities connect. Personally, Jessica has been married for over 20 years to her high school sweetheart Matt, and they have three daughters, Eve, Grace, and Juliet, who live in Sioux Falls, SD.
In this episode, we cover:
- What is a returner?
- A different approach to thinking about housing (hint: it’s not just workforce housing we need to consider)
- Why “People don’t want to work anymore” is a myth
- Why remote work works for small communities
- What every single one of us can do to support our community’s small businesses
Links + Resources Mentioned: PorchLight’s Website: https://porchlight-services.com/ Small-Town Shout-Out! This shout-out was blatantly stolen from the webinar with Saveyour.town, and in the chat, Jamie Shanks from Glendive shared an idea inspired by a Reimaginig Rural Event: They’ve recently formed a group focused on action vs meetings, and they call themselves the “VigiPlantes.” Their efforts are centered around planting new ideas, community beautification, planting actual trees and plants, and sometimes doing things in the wee hours so people in their community wake up to a surprise. Can you even?! Snaps to Jamie, Glendive, and the VigiPlanties for this very stealable, very amazing idea. New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Deb Brown is one of our favorite people in the world, and we’re so glad to have her on the show with us to share her words, her new book (!!!) and all the work she’s doing to help small-town dreamers just like you. This episode is all about approaching big problems in small towns in idea-friendly ways and starting small to build big. About Deb: Deb Brown is a dynamic small-town advocate and community development expert with a wealth of experience empowering rural communities. As the co-founder of SaveYour.Town, she has been working alongside Becky McCray for a decade, providing practical advice and innovative solutions to shape brighter futures for small towns.
Deb's background is diverse and practical. She served as a Chamber of Commerce Executive Director for 4 years, holding certification from the Institute for Organization Management. Prior to that, she was a Tourism Specialist for 4 years. Her varied business experience includes roles as a foreign casualty insurance underwriter, retail manager, and bartender.
Deb specializes in addressing common rural challenges, including:
- Revitalizing empty buildings - Downtown rejuvenation - Youth retention - Marketing and promotion for small towns - Business development and economic growth - Innovative rural business models
Deb excels at building connections, storytelling, and active listening. She guides people in taking small steps toward their ideas and helps them find the resources and connections needed to bring those ideas to fruition.
Her presentations are interactive and engaging, designed to provide attendees with actionable ideas they can implement immediately. Deb has spoken at local and national conferences, addressing chambers, economic developers, tourism specialists, museum experts, volunteers, residents and business groups.
Deb is the author of "From Possibilities to Reality: Save Your Small Town with these Uniquely Do-able Ideas, Projects, and Success Stories," a comprehensive workbook filled with practical strategies and real-world examples for small-town revitalization.
Through her work with SaveYour.Town, Deb provides weekly newsletters focused on small-town challenges and offers exclusive video content to Megaphone Members.
Deb Brown's passion for community development and her ability to provide real-world, practical solutions make her an invaluable resource for small towns looking to create positive change and build a thriving future.
In this episode, we cover:
- The process of writing and publishing her book
- Who and what her book is for
- Why you don’t need permission to do cool stuff
- Her favorite stories and concepts from the book
Links + Resources Mentioned: From Possibilities to Reality: Save Your Small Town with these Uniquely Do-able Ideas, Projects, and Success StoriesSaveYour.Town - Practical steps your rural community can take now Free Newsletters - Get your tips to address rural challenges Deb's Speaking Site - Take a look at how Deb can help you Andrew Laddusaw’s YouTube ChannelTrolls in DL website (from Small Town Shout-Out) Episode 49 with Becky and Deb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMo32Jzm5aM
Small-Town Shout-Out! The biggest shout-out to Becker County, Minnesota’s Project 412. They had the audacious goal of bringing world-renowned Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo to the area--and it happened!
“Trolls in DL” is one of 130 permanent art installations around the world. We love a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal) and we’re proud of you, Project 412. Thanks to Cody Piper for sharing this big freaking deal with us.
New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Joy can feel a little soft, or a little touchy-feely, but helping people find joy is a catalyst for positive change. This week’s guest is all about helping teachers and educators with professional development that focuses not on a list of things to do, but rather helps them re-discover their joy and passion for teaching and learning. The best part? This episode applies to anyone who is making a difference, pushing for change, and looking for joy. About Darcy: Darcy is the Founder of The Educators' Lab USA and a board member of The Educators’ Lab Global. After more than a decade in the classroom teaching English and theatre, Darcy now creates the type of PD she always wanted, driving change in education and empowering teachers as changemakers. Through her work, teachers reconnect with their purpose, rekindle their spark for teaching, and reignite the JOY of teaching and learning. She specializes in professional development design and implementation, interactive strategies for the classroom, meaningful tech integration, and building relationships with students. Darcy holds a Master’s of Secondary Education, is an ISTE Certified Educator, an experienced international presenter, and believer in the power of education. She lives in Fargo, ND with her husband Jeff, and triplets, Kurt, Ben, and Cora. In this episode, we cover:
- The inspiration for the Joy Lab
- Why AI isn’t going to replace teachers
- How helping teachers find JOY is so important
- Why competition and “good enough” can be antithetical to positive change
Links + Resources Mentioned: The Educators' Lab The Teacher Empowerment Incubator Joy Labs Small-Town Shout-Out! This week we’re shouting out Julia McCray and The Market Village in Tionesta, Pennsylvania. The Market Village is a seasonal shopping pop-up “village” that has become an incubator for new small businesses, made even better by being made “cute af,” in Julia’s words. It’s a creative solution to several problems, is prettier and more interesting than a vacant lot, and serves the community well. We love it! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Awhile back, we were having a conversation with Brodie on the podcast and he mentioned that he hires based on a “vibe check,” and given his success not only hiring but keeping long-term employees (many of whom are Gen Z gasp) we needed to bring him on to hear more about just what what means. This episode is all about how to hire and lead well for small businesses in our small towns and why culture is important, even when it’s not formalized with a mission statement on a wall. About Brodie: Brodie Mueller is a longtime Friend of the Pod and is our podcast producer and editor! He also happens to be the owner of Market on the Plaza in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Brodie has lived in Aberdeen for the past 8 years and owns the downtown business Dakota Territory Brewing Company. Dakota Territory is the first and oldest brewery ever in Aberdeen and services the community by creating small-batch craft beer, root beer, and cold brew coffee. Brodie has a Masters Degree in social work and has been involved in community building both downtown and city-wide through different groups and projects. The brewery is involved with various community projects and fundraisers throughout the year, gaining a reputation as a business that supports the community. As a fellow downtown business owner, Brodie is committed to making downtown better by supporting new ventures and The Market on the Plaza is a shining example of bringing new and innovative services to the neighborhood.
In this episode, we cover:
- How Brodie uses a vibe check when hiring new employees (and what that even means)
- Why we can’t expect employees to love a small business as much as an owner or founder–and why they don’t need to in order to love the work
- How to give employees ownership and inspire buy-in
- Babysitting vs. management
Links + Resources Mentioned: Brodie’s past episodes: Episode 127, Episode 82, Episode 72 and Episode 146The Market on the Plaza website: https://themarketontheplaza.com/ The Market on the Plaza Instagram: @themarketontheplaza The “Posing with Coffee Like Men Pose with Fish" Reel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFLIOHYuMI7/
Small-Town Shout-Out! This week, we’re high-fiving Chris Border and his entire community in Hope, Kansas. Chris is a new resident of the town, and he told us that despite living there for only two years and having no previous ties to the community, that little 200-person town welcomed him with open arms and made him feel like he belongs. This is a big deal because we know more often than not that in small towns, you can live there for years and still be “new,” which doesn’t exactly make people feel like they’re home. Thank you, Hope, Kansas and Chris Border, for giving us all more hope! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
It feels like you can’t go five minutes without hearing about AI–and often for good reason! We’re back with our favorite AI expert to talk about a “Hope over fear” approach for integrating AI into how we do life and business. We often face a skills and resource deficit in small towns, and AI can be an incredibly useful and powerful tool for bridging that gap, helping us work smarter, not harder, and even outsourcing tasks that we don’t love so we can spend more time on the things that make us light up. About Scott: Scott Meyer (@MrScottMeyer) is an entrepreneur and former professor working to scale and democratize education.
His experience founding the digital marketing agency 9 Clouds and launch an entrepreneurship center and accelerated learning program in higher education sparked his interest in combining education and web3 - what he calls ed3. He recently launched Ed3.gg - a consultancy working to scale education. Subscribe to learn more (http://digest.ed3.gg). In this episode, we cover:
- Where AI can fill core needs for people in small towns
- Replacing tasks vs. jobs
- AI as an idea machine and action catalyst
- Examples of tasks and applications for AI
Links + Resources Mentioned: CHIPP Website: https://www.chipp.ai/CHIPP Substack: https://substack.com/@chipp?utm_source=about-page Episode 96 with Scott: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode96 Small-Town Shout-Out! This week’s shout-out is for the city of Wilmer, Minnesota. They’ve just recently completed their first comprehensive plan for their community since 2009. The cool part? It’s the first time in the city’s history that community engagement is a priority in their plan. The way they discovered they needed that for their small town was by intentionally including diverse groups of people in the plan’s development. That’s how you create more engagement, more relevant and interesting output, and more interesting and diverse voices at the table: you invite them and include their perspective. Wahoo, Wilmer, Minnesota! New Segment Alert!
We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Our small towns are ours to save–no one is coming to do that for us! However, sometimes it can feel nearly impossible to make changes in our small towns. Our guest this week has a different approach, and it’s different than The Way We’ve Always Done It but it really works, and is more accessible to small-town changemakers who want to get things done. About Becky: Becky McCray believes small towns have a future. She watches the global trends in the economy, technology, and society, then she delivers practical steps rural people can implement right now to shape the future of their town. Her advice is based on her real-world experience as a lifelong entrepreneur and cattle rancher. She makes her home in Hopeton, Oklahoma, a town of 30 people. She doesn’t just talk about rural issues; she lives them.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why we need to empower small communities to save themselves
- Why our solutions have to change with the world around us
- Becky’s “Start Small” approach to community transformation
- How starting small can lead to tackling the big stuff, too
Links + Resources Mentioned: 10 Years of Rural Insights webinar: https://learnto.saveyour.town/10-years-of-rural-insights-webinar SaveYour.Town Website: https://saveyour.town/SmallBizSurvival.com: https://smallbizsurvival.com/Invite Becky to your town or event: https://www.beckymccray.com/Becky’s only current social channel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckymccray/ Episode 49 with Becky and Deb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMo32Jzm5aM
Small-Town Shout-Out! This week, we’re celebrating Lander County, Nevada. They’re making the most of a recent boom in gold mining (yes, seriously) and focusing on how to make their community a better place to live by making it easier for people to clean up and improve their own property. They’ve got a unique approach that we love: with funding from the county, everyone in the community gets up to $500 to the local hardware store to get what they need to improve their property, whether it’s paint or weedkiller or something else. We love tailor-made, interesting approaches to small-town improvement so all the confetti for Lander County! New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
One of our favorite things is the impact of great employers on individuals, small towns, and the overall culture of the communities they operate within, and this episode is all about what happens when an amazing work culture fosters amazing things outside of the workplace. Amanda Gregory and Joe House both work for a manufacturing company called Design Ready Controls and co-founded MAKE (Manufacturing, a Kid’s Experience) in 2023 as a way to foster awareness about and interest in manufacturing in a way kids can understand. MAKE is about showing kids what kinds of possibilities exist in the manufacturing space and helping parents who work in manufacturing share what they do with their days in a kid-friendly way. Although entirely separate from their “day job,” the collaborative, open culture of Design Ready Controls directly influenced Amanda and Joe’s efforts and takes workforce development and passion to a whole new level, and we’re here for it. About MAKE: MAKE was founded in 2023 by Amanda Gregory and Joe House to educate children about manufacturing. The MAKE platform began with sharing stories about manufacturing through Blake Explores Manufacturing. Now with a monthly newsletter, Future Makers, they continue to inspire through building activities and manufacturing tours & experiences. About Joe: Joe started with Design Ready Controls in 2022 as Chief Commercial Officer, working alongside sales, marketing, and supply chain teams to strengthen our industry-leading customer and supplier partnerships. Prior to joining the team, Joe spent 9 years in sales leadership at an electrical distributor, where he worked as both a supplier and customer of Design Ready Controls. Joe graduated from the University of Saint Thomas in 2013 with degrees in Mathematical Economics and Business Management. About Amanda: Amanda joined the Design Ready Controls team in 2015, starting in office management and 5S initiatives. She quickly advanced to take on leadership roles in marketing and now leads marketing, sales development, internal communications, and office management. Amanda earned a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication with a minor in Marketing from Winona State University. Her professional background includes account and project management, as well as marketing experience in the produce and manufacturing industries.
In this episode, we cover:
- What MAKE is and how it started
- The culture at Design Ready Controls and how it relates to MAKE
- Why supporting passion is so important in cultivating the next generation
- How a company’s culture can completely change the perception of its industry
Links + Resources Mentioned MAKE Website where you can learn more, subscribe to Future Makers or purchase Blake Explores Manufacturing: www.makepublishing.comMAKE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makepublishingllc MAKE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/make_publishing MAKE on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-publishing/ Community Venture Network: https://brookshireco.com/services/community-venture-network/ New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Friends and neighbors (virtual and IRL): we are so excited to share this episode with you. Now, we know we say that every week, and what can we say, we’re excitable folks. But we’re extra excited for this one because it’s the first podcast of the rest of our lives, and we’re introducing the new format and components of this show, and giving you a peek behind the curtain into the behind-the-scenes and the future of Growing Small Towns. Instead of a guest, we have a guest host interviewing Rebecca about the changes in the podcast and the renewed vision and clarity for Growing Small Towns. Our guest host is Winona Dimeo-Ediger, who is not only one of our beloved past guests but also a GST board member. We love her and think you will too! This episode is an honest take on the work we and so many of you are undertaking, and we can’t wait to for you to hear it. About Winona: Winona has been a digital content creator for nearly a decade, writing about culture, travel, and politics for publications like National Geographic, Rolling Stone, and NPR. For the past few years, she’s been able to dig into her love of place marketing and talent attraction content as the editor-in-chief of Livability.com. She’s a lover of bookstores, vintage boots, dive bars, and bad jokes. The number of times she’s seen Celine Dion in concert may disturb you.
In this episode, we cover:
- The new format and new segments of the show
- The behind-the-scenes work that’s been happening over the last year
- Why having the right support is critical (and what that means)
- Where GST is headed and what work we’ll be doing
- Our very first small-town shout-out!
Links + Resources Mentioned
Ep. 92 with Winona and Tim: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode92 Fresh Air - This Anti-Social American Life: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1tpFsNrlrRcP0kXbuP5aj5?si=Fq-DzwM5SYes59qX24yA4w Plain English - The Anti-Social Century: America’s Epidemic of Solitude–And How to Fix It: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0FaZtbkN0wOz1zjtYJNQeq?si=-35pYo_FR7SwlzEKjAIZTA New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
- “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
- “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Our last Moments of Growth episode is about another event that will become at flagship bit of programming for Growing Small Towns: the Rural Mastermind. The first Mastermind group was inspired, in part, by Rebecca’s own experience with a Mastermind. Really good Mastermind groups can be pivotal and life-changing, and she wanted to bring that same experience to entrepreneurs and small business owners in Oakes. This episode features perspectives from all sides: one of our beloved coaches, several of our participants, and two of the participants’ mothers. Masterminds bring all kinds of people together to learn and grow. As the participants will tell you, the magic is in having a group of like-minded people in different stages of their business who are doing the dang thing, and the result is really, really cool. In this episode, we hear from: * Kim Nagle, author, entrepreneur, and coach * Haley Moen - Hearthside Vineyard and Winery * Addison Magill - Addison K Creative Co. * Kim and Kausha - mamas to two Mastermind participants () * Jake Kubela - Kubela Hedging * Brittney Harty - The Bakery Shoppe Oakes
Links and Resources Mentioned: Kim Nagle’s Website: https://www.damnplan.com/ Hearthside Vineyard and Winery: https://www.hearthsidewinery.com/ Addison K Creative Co.: https://www.addisonkdesign.com/ Kubela Hedging: https://www.kubelahedging.com/ The Bakery Shoppe Oakes: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Bakery-Shoppe-Oakes-100088962675005/ FitBar (run by Kim’s son, Chris, who was a Mastermind participant): https://www.fitbargym.com/ Episode 130 with Kim Nagle: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode130 Episode 131 with Kausha Magill: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode131 Episode 118 with Haley Moen: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode118 Episode 129 with Haley Moen: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode129 New Segment Alert! We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show: 1. “Small town humblebrags”: call in and tell us about something amazing that you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things. 2. “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear your messages!
When we were thinking about the kinds of people we wanted to talk to for this Moments of Growth series, we knew we needed to include people who have been impacted in some way by the work we do at Growing Small Towns. Some of these guests use Growing Small Towns in an official capacity—they have a formal role in economic or community development, or something similar, and have utilized our programming professionally. Others are members of our local school board, have engaged with us on a personal level, or for a small business. However their involvement, though, we treasure these thoughts and words from the people we serve, and we hope you’ll enjoy this episode! In this episode, we hear from: * Anna Sell - Superintendent of Oakes Public School * Sonia Meehl - former Oakes Public School board member * Matt Marshall - Member Services, Rates & Economic Development Manager at Minnkota * Ashley Berg - owner of Main Street Boutique in Rugby, ND * Bob Wurl - board member for Southern Valley Economic Development Association * Justin Meidinger - Director, Ellendale Opera House * Dawn Mandt - Executive Director of Red River Regional Council * Justin Neppl - former Economic Development Director for Southern Valley Economic Development Association * Roberta Forward - board member for North Dakota Grapegrower's Association, Riding for Dreams, and Oakes PTO Chapter * Jeremy Nelson - founder, Arthur Market * Melissa Beach - Economic Development Administrator, Minnkota
Links and Resources Mentioned: Oakes Public School: https://www.oakes.k12.nd.us/ Minnkota Power Cooperative: https://www.minnkota.com/ Main Street Boutique in Rugby, ND: https://mainstreetboutiquerugby.com/ Southern Valley Economic Development Association: https://www.facebook.com/Southernvalleyeda/ Ellendale Opera House: http://www.ellendaleoperahouse.com/ Red River Regional Council: https://redriverrc.com/ North Dakota Grapegrower's Association: https://www.ndgwa.org/ Riding For Dream: https://www.ridingfordreams.com/ Oakes PTO: https://www.oakes.k12.nd.us/families/parent-teacher-organization Arthur Market: https://www.thearthurmarketnd.com/ Episode 21 with Ashley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f503Im7Q3i4 Episode 135 with Jeremy: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode135
This Moments of Growth installment features some of the businesses/organizations and the people in them who are aligned with our beliefs and our hopes for GST. These are people without whom we could not do this work, and we want you to know them! This work can feel very lonely and so gathering up people who are passionate about the same things makes it feel less so. The links to all of their organizations are below, and if you are someone doing things in your small town, reach out to them! We all need partners, and these are some of the best. In this episode, we hear from: * Jordan DeGree - Co-Founder and Executive Director, Rural Ideas Network * Mike Knutson - Learning Network Orchestrator and Community Coach, Dakota Resources * Paula Jensen - VP of Program Development and Community Coach, Dakota Resources * Nick Fosheim - Client Relationship Director and Community Coach, Dakota Resources * Shane Akers and Jon Pedersen - Principals with Hometown Housing * Christy Dauer - Executive Director, North Dakota Women's Business Center * Jasmin Fosheim and Cassidy Blade - Realizing Rural
Links and Resources Mentioned: Rural Ideas Network: https://www.ruralideas.net/ Dakota Resources: https://dakotaresources.org/ North Dakota Women’s Business Center: https://ndwbc.com/ Realizing Rural: https://www.realizingrural.com/ Episode 69 with Jordan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFpYytI5MlU Episode 123 with Realizing Rural: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rs73PTv-kU Episode 143 with Mike: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode143
When we first launched Growing Small Towns, we did it with a bus tour. We loaded a bunch of business professionals from the Fargo-Moorhead area onto a bus and held them hostage for eight ours (okay, not really, they were completely willing participants!) and we did a tour of the area, visited local businesses and our building, and had such a ball that a bus trip of some sort has become a repeat event. It’s a flagship thing for GST and one of our favorites because of how unique it is, and the magic that happens when you get different kinds of people together, get them out of their comfort zones, and drive them around rural America for a bit. This episode features four bus tour participants (some multi-year participants!) and they’re here to talk about how they even heard about the tour, what they loved most about it, why it’s such a unique experience, and other things they learned while sort of captive on a bus for hours with a bunch of people they didn’t really know In this episode, we hear from: * Dr. Ruchi Joshi Bhardwaj, Senior Program Manager of Education & Research at Grand Farm * Lee Schwartz, Marketing Director at North Dakota State College of Science and Founder of Small Town Labs * Leah Reed, Operations Manager at Do Good Better Consulting * Emma McIntyre, Manager of Development and Partnerships at Folkways
Links and Resources Mentioned: A whole episode about the bus tour: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode87 Lee was a guest! Hear his episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiWP2iyctUA
This episode of the Growing Small Town Show features three humans that have, in some way, shape, or form, partnered or funded some of the work that we do here at Growing Small Towns. Because we’re a nonprofit, we are always looking for partners who believe in this work as much as we do to help make it happen. Our philosophy is “Work with the willing and love the rest,” because we don’t believe in forcing people to support this work if it’s not their thing! But, we do dearly love and appreciate the humans and organizations who come alongside us to bring the mission of Growing Small Towns to the communities that want and need our help. This episode features three of those humans, and each of them share why and how they chose to get involved with GST, why they’re enthusiastic about what we do, and what it means to them and their organization to partner with us. In this episode, we hear from: * Bernie Sinner, President and Senior Lending Officer at Bank North, and a member of our board * Kathy Marquette, Associate Professor of Business Administration and Management at North Dakota State College of Science * Paul Matthys, CEO of Cass County Electric Cooperative
This week’s episode is the next in our Moments of Growth series, and this one is about one of our favorite subjects: art! Lots of people think that art is a “nice to have” in a small community, but it’s really a need. Art and art programming gives people an opportunity to not only view and experience art made by other people, but to create their own through workshops or events. Tapping into our creative side means we make more vibrant, interesting, fun, and beautiful communities, and who doesn’t want that?! (Not us, because our building is designed to show off local artists’ work and hold workshops and classes so we’re obviously very into art!)
Art encompasses so many of the things that make our world more rich and beautiful—music, paintings, photography, dance, amazing food, sculpture, and so many others—and we want every small town to be bursting at the seams with art and creativity! In this episode, we hear from: * Amanda Hagen, a local artist and owner of Heartstrings Studio. * LesleyAnne, a local artist and one we contracted with to create some art for the building, including our beloved timeline and entryway. * James Bergman, a Fargo-based musician and songwriter * Lauren Starling, a Fargo-based artist whose art will soon get to be part of our small town!
Links and Resources Mentioned: Amanda Hagen’s Website: https://www.heartstringsartstudio.com/ LesleyAnne’s Website: https://www.lesleydidthat.com/ James Bergman’s Website: https://www.artistjamesbergman.com/ Lauren Starling’s Insta: https://www.instagram.com/starlingpaints/?hl=en Amanda was a guest on the podcast! You can find her episode here: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode84 StartUp Brew: https://www.emergingprairie.com/startupbrew-fargo/
This week’s episode is the first in a limited series we’re calling “Moments of Growth.” We had some big milestones this year, and we wanted to look back and talk to people that we’ve worked with and share the progress they’ve made (and us, too!) this past year. This first episode is about mental health programming. Awhile back, our local healthcare network, Catholic Health Initiatives, did a needs assessment for our community. Like many rural communities, mental health was at the top of the list. We formed a Mental Health Coalition comprised of people in our community who are simply interested in and willing to work on this issue in our community, and you’re hearing from some of the people involved with that today! In this episode, we talk about the challenges of mental health programming in rural areas, COVID-19’s impact on mental health, and suicide awareness, among other things, and hear from four people deeply involved in this work in different ways. In this episode, we hear from: * Josh Gow, Director of Mission at CHI Oakes Hospital * Monica McConkey, Licensed Professional Counselor and Mental Health Consultant * Michele Thorpe, psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner * Dani Dinger, Family and Community Wellness Extension Agent with NDSU
Links and Resources Mentioned: Monica was a guest on the podcast! You can find her episode here: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode117
Things are changing a little around here (don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere! You’re stuck with us!) and we’re very excited to share the future of the Growing Small Towns podcast with you. Brodie Mueller, one of our favorite people and frequent Guest of the Pod, is here to talk about what that looks like, how he fits in, and what we would like to hear from YOU, our listeners. About Brodie: Brodie Mueller, owner of Market on the Plaza, has lived in Aberdeen for the past 8 years and owns the downtown business Dakota Territory Brewing Company. Dakota Territory is the first and oldest brewery ever in Aberdeen and services the community by creating small-batch craft beer, root beer, and cold brew coffee. Brodie has a Masters Degree in social work and has been involved in community building both downtown and city-wide through different groups and projects. The brewery is involved with various community projects and fundraisers throughout the year, gaining a reputation as a business that supports the community. As a fellow downtown business owner, Brodie is committed to making downtown better by supporting new ventures and The Market on the Plaza is a shining example of bringing new and innovative services to the neighborhood. Brodie also just happens to be a podcast editor, audio-quality snob (in the best way) and someone who really understands podcasting world—hence why here’s here with us talking about the show! In this episode, we cover: * Our goals for the pod in 2025 * How those goals fit in with the overall mission of GST * Why podcast metrics are crucial but tricky, and how listeners can help * Some new ideas for podcast episodes and series * What we need from YOU, our listeners!
Links + Resources Mentioned Brodie’s past episodes: Episode 127, Episode 82 and Episode 72 The Market on the Plaza website: https://themarketontheplaza.com/ Brodie’s Recording Equipment Recs: RØDECaster Pro II Condenser Mic Headphones Brodie’s Podcast Library: SD SportScene Podcast Shrink Rap the Podcast Minnesota Youth Ultimate Podcast Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
It’s really easy to give people the highlight reel and act like everything is all hunky-dory, but that wouldn’t be authentic, and we’re all about authentic, so this episode is a bit of the Real Reel about some things Rebecca has been thinking and feeling during a bit of a hard season that a) we’ll all resonate with and b) are incredibly wise and things we should all keep in our back pockets. (Remember, Cassidy from our team writes these show notes so this is not Rebecca writing in the third person so she’s allowed to call it like it is and tell you that this episode is a Good One.) In this episode, we talk about some things that help keep us grounded and moving in the right direction, especially when things get tricky: 1. Having It All Together is a facade 2. How to offer support, and how not to 3. The importance of joy 4. Why it’s important that we share our appreciation 5. Why moving in is often the thing to do when we disagree 6. How to show ourselves the grace and kindness we deserve 7. Why your community needs YOU.
Links + Resources Mentioned Brene Brown’s Braving the Wilderness: https://brenebrown.com/book/braving-the-wilderness/ Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We’re back with another one of our favorite kinds of episodes: real stories of real people doing really cool things in their small towns. This episode features Terry Sando, a retired Air Force officer who’s built a brewery in his small town of Hillsboro, ND. We love this story because Terry was inspired to build a business to serve his community…so he did! He’s kept the community at the heart of everything he does, and he’s such a great example of what can happen with a dream, willingness to learn, and lots of hard work. About Terry: I was born and raised in Valley City, ND. In the summers, I worked on my grandparents’ farm south of Rogers, ND. I graduated from Valley City High School and went to college before joining the Air Force in 1979. I did 5 ½ years of enlisted time with my final assignment being a crew member on the B-52 at Grand Forks AFB. Duties included pulling nuclear alert and flying training missions. In November of 1984, I joined the 119th, the Happy Hooligans to become an Intelligence Officer and trained at Lowery AFB in Denver. My son Travis was born during my assignment there and my wife Deb wouldn’t tell me on the phone if it was a boy or girl! Happily, I was granted emergency leave and flew back to Grand Forks to see my son. I had different assignments at the 119th and returned to active duty to gain space operations background for future Air Guard missions in 1998. During my six years in Colorado Springs, I was assigned to Peterson AFB, Schriever AFB, and Cheyenne Mountain. 9/11 happened while I was stationed at AFSPC (Air Force Space Command) and I was selected to help stand up NorthCom. I was the first Guardsman to be qualified to stand watch at Cheyenne Mountain for NORAD/NorthCom. It was my most challenging assignment, but also my best assignment during my career. My next assignment in 2004 was at the National Guard Bureau in Washington D.C. and from there I went to the Air War College at Maxwell AFB where I got my Master of Strategic Studies. My final assignment was Plans and Requirements at 1st Air Force at Tyndall AFB. During this assignment, I grew an appreciation for craft beer brewing. I had a coworker who was a great homebrewer, and he got me interested in learning to brew beer. I had to put it into my bucket list of things to do when I retired. I retired in November of 2009 and came home to Grand Forks. After retirement I had jobs at the University of North Dakota as the Emergency Manager, Grand Forks Region EDC working on building the UAS ecosystem, a Norwegian company eSmart doing UAS operations for utility line inspections, and finally Mobile Recon a small UAS startup company. I decided to get into brewing in 2019 and started construction of a brew pub in Hillsboro. This became Goose River Brewing, and the pub has been open for two years. Two beta batches of beer were done in July of this year, so we’re officially brewing! Part of the goal was to have a blue-collar craft beer lovers social gathering location that would help make Hillsboro’s downtown a destination. We are working on building relationships with our local malt barley growers. We also have been giving our spent grain to a local cattle grower to use in the cattle feed ration. The pandemic had a big impact on raising the cost of construction and pushing out the opening date. My goal is to build a local team that will take over operations and then I can slow down and take advantage of retirement. In this episode, we cover: * What inspired Terry to get into brewing beer in the first place * How COVID threw a wrench in the plans for the brewery and what they did to compensate * Why businesses like this one could be a really cool opportunity for someone from a city who wants to move to a small town * The importance of community and relationship-building in long-term success and buy-in * Why you are never too old to learn or try something new
Links and Resources Mentioned: The Goose River Brewing Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GooseRiverBrewing
This is our first-ever LIVE podcast recording! This episode was recorded on the main stage of the 2024 Main Street Summit in Watford City, ND and features guests Pat Bertagnolli of Job Service North Dakota and Mike Knutson of Dakota Resources. When we got asked to host this live show during the summit, we took to the socials—as we do—to ask what our people needed the most help with. Overwhelmingly, the idea of how to get more people involved in making our communities great emerged as the topic, so that’s what this episode is about and we’re so excited for you to hear from these two amazing guests! About Pat: A native of Montana, and a North Dakota resident since 2011, Bertagnolli earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Carroll College in Helena in 1990 and has held his certification as a Senior Certified Professional in Human Resources since 2015. Prior to his appointment, Bertagnolli served in a variety of leadership roles in both human resources and operations, and most recently was the Community Enhancement Director in Watford City, ND. Bertagnolli was first appointed to the Workforce Development Council in 2014 by then-Governor Jack Dalrymple. He continues to serve on this council, as well as the State Board for Career and Technical Education, Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Administrative Committee for Veterans Affairs, State Information Technology and Advisory Board, Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems committee, and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. In February of 2022, Governor Doug Burgum appointed Patrick Bertagnolli to serve as the Executive Director of Job Service North Dakota. Job Service North Dakota has a statewide footprint and impacts North Dakota’s workforce through many workforce programs to connect employers and job seekers, through the unemployment insurance program to provide benefits to eligible workers, and through the labor market information department which provides education and insights for informed decision making. About Mike: Mike facilitates and orchestrates the Dakota Resources Community Learning Network. He also serves as a community coach for rural communities. He has spent 15 plus years working in rural community development. His commitment to rural communities began when he recognized that his own behaviors (i.e. – the lack of community involvement and buying locally) were contributing the decline of his community. Since 2008, Mike has operated his own business, MAK(e) Strategies, working primarily as a facilitator and coach in rural settings. Among his volunteer activities, Mike has served as the chairman of the board for Glacial Lakes Tourism, Dakota Wesleyan University Alumni Association, Rural Schools Collaborative, and Southeast SD Tourism. Mike grew up outside of Hartford, SD, and graduated summa cum laude from Dakota Wesleyan University. In this episode, we cover: * Why the “Same Ten People” can be frustrating for people on both sides * The idea of civic apathy and how it develops * How to combat civic apathy * What to do about Gen-Z (hint: they’re not really that different from generations prior) * How recruiting volunteers goes hand-in-hand with recruiting new community members
Links and Resources Mentioned: Ben Winchester’s episode: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode75 Jeff Sigler’s episode about combating apathy in small towns: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode99 Jeff Sigler’s episode about growing communities for humans: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode120 Job Service North Dakota: https://www.jobsnd.com/ Dakota Resources: https://dakotaresources.org/
Have you ever heard of the Norborne Soybean Festival? You might have, thanks to their recent recognition as the Cenex Hometown Throwdown Grand Prize Winner, but even if you haven’t, you’re going to love this episode. It’s about building amazing community events and what it looks like to swing for the fences. About Kyle: Kyle Durham is a sixth-generation farmer from Norborne, Missouri, an agricultural community of 700 residents. Kyle and his father farm 2,500 acres of soybeans and corn in the Missouri River bottoms. In addition to farming, Kyle is involved with numerous local, state, and national organizations as a board member and volunteer. These include the United Soybean Board, Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, his state and county Farm Bureaus, Trinity Lutheran Church, and the Norborne Soybean Festival. He also owns and operates The Slaboratory, a custom woodworking business in his hometown, specializing in unique handcrafted furnishings. Kyle and his wife Courtney have two sons, Simeon, 16, and Elijah, 12. In this episode, we cover: * What the Norbone Soybean Festival is * The Hometown Throwdown contest * Their plans for the prize money * How a good community event can be a catalyst for community involvement * The power of the “microask”
Links and Resources Mentioned: The famous Hometown Throwdown video entry: https://www.facebook.com/NorborneSoybeanFestival/videos/1055942345557323 The Norborne Soybean Festival Facebook, home of the Festival Friday updates: https://www.facebook.com/NorborneSoybeanFestival A few articles about the contest and the festival: https://www.kttn.com/norborne-soybean-festival-wins-hometown-throwdown-grand-prize/ https://www.kmzu.com/news/norborne-soybean-festival-crowned-best-in-the-nation-part-2/article_02d0a756-21d6-11ef-bf71-cb75605b6185.html https://www.agriculture.com/missouri-hometown-hero-kyle-durham-8385148
Mental health is something we’re incredibly passionate about here at Growing Small Towns, which most of you likely know by now given how much we love to talk about therapy and feelings and support around here! We are so appreciative of mental health practitioners like Jordyn Koski who are building practices aimed at helping our (sometimes secretly struggling) rural communities access better mental health. About Jordyn: I'm Jordyn Koski, therapist and Founder behind It's A Part Of, PLLC. I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of North Dakota and a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Minnesota. Providing individual therapy, family therapy, and couples counseling. I have had the opportunity to work within various systems including group home settings, inpatient hospitals, human service centers, and private practice. I have been able to see clients in all parts of their journey and appreciate being able to go alongside clients to work toward their goals in life. Outside of clinical work, I enjoy spending time with my husband, children, and family being outside and going on adventures. I love my circuit and I am an avid Pinterest enthusiast! In this episode, we cover: * How to fight the stigma around mental health, especially in rural areas * What telehealth is and how it can help * Some of the most common questions and concerns about therapy * What we can all do to support mental health in our communities * How it’s all a part of life, and how therapy and mental health services can bolster resilience
Links and Resources Mentioned: It’s a Part of Website: https://www.itspartof.org/ It’s a Part of Insta: @itsapartof It’s a Part of Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091817127486
We all know about TED Talks and how wildly popular and cool they are. But, what about a TEDx event in RURAL AMERICA? Can you even? We can’t, either, but Jeremy Ratliff could. This is an episode about audacious ideas, small towns getting it done, unexpected support, and dreaming big. About Jeremy: I grew up in the Midwest and graduated college from North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My first radio job was at WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have worked with Cox Media Group since 2007, when I joined the WOKV news team in Jacksonville, Florida. During my radio career, I have been a producer, news anchor, host, Assistant News Director and Program Director. I have been on-air on multiple stations for years. I have lived in six different states, including here in North Dakota of course, where I have lived since November of 2020. I also host the Rendezvous Region Today podcast, which shares local stories here in northeast North Dakota. I have an amazing wife, two fantastic daughters, a dog and an outdoor cat. In this episode, we cover: * How Jeremy even arrived in Cavalier, ND, and how his work has thrived since moving here * How the TEDxCavalier event was born * What moments he most remembers from the day * Why you should never discount local support * The value of surrounding yourself with positive problem-solvers
Links and Resources Mentioned: Twitter: Twitter.com/jeremyratliff Facebook: facebook.com/JeremyRatliffRadio Podcast: https://rendezvousregiontoday.podbean.com/ TEDxCavalier site: https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/56314
Oh, friends and neighbors, are we excited for this episode. We love education, and we love educators who love education, and we love a different take on education. This week’s episode checks every single boxes as we talk to a Superintendent who is doing things just a little differently in his North Dakota community. About Cory: Dr. Cory Steiner is currently the Superintendent of the Northern Cass School District for the past 10 years. He has been an administrator for 17 years. In his current role, he has worked with a dedicated and passionate group of educators to shift their entire system to personalized competency-based learning. He has served on the Governor’s Task Force on Innovation which has challenged North Dakota’s education system to think differently. Northern Cass was a finalist for the Yass Prize and they received $500,000 to develop a Full-Service Community School. Dr. Steiner believes every learner can change the world; therefore, we must provide a world-class education. It is a moral imperative we change our educational system to one which is uncompromisingly learner-centered. He also serves on the Education Standards and Practices Board, The Village Family Service Center, Rural Cass Special Education, and the Southeast Education Cooperative Board of directors. He is an adjunct professor for the University of Jamestown and the University of North Dakota. He is married to his wife, Jess, and has two children, DelRae (22), and Kelsa (19). In this episode, we cover: * How Northern Cass is different * What people love about it * Why things being hard doesn’t mean they’re not working * Why “Kids these days” are different, and why we should embrace that * But what about college admissions?
Links and Resources Mentioned: Nice Bike book: https://nicebike.com/about-the-book/ Northern Cass School District: https://www.northerncassschool.org/
You know we love the idea of placemaking, Main Streets, and small things that have a big impact. Jaime Izuireta does, too, and has an architect and designer, he focuses not only on storefront design but the interaction between users and the built environment. This episode goes way beyond “How do we make Main Streets pretty?” to “How do we create an amazing Main Street experience?” About Jaime: Jaime J. Izurieta is an architect, designer and author focused on improving the quality of the interaction between users and the built environment. Jaime is the founder of Storefront Mastery, an award-winning creative agency that imagines and designs local experiences by working with place management organizations and local businesses. Jaime is also the author of Main Street Mavericks and The Ten No-B.S. Rules For Successful Storefront Design. With over 20 years of experience as small business owner, urban designer, Placemaker, and economic development consultant, Jaime proudly serves communities all over the nation from Montclair, New Jersey. In this episode, we cover: * What “street experience” means and why it matters * Why it’s easy to “right-size” the idea of urban vitality * The difference between transactional and experiential * Jaime’s advice for business owners about where to start when it comes to experience, their business, or where they can start when thinking about storefront design * What every business owner can do to improve the street experience
Links and Resources Mentioned: Storefront Mastery: https://storefrontmastery.com Main Street Mavericks: https://mainstreetmavericks.carrd.co SM's Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/storefrontmastery Jaime’s LinkedIn profile: https://linkedin.com/in/izurietavarea Book mentioned: Drawing for Architecture by Leon Krier
Most of us probably think we’re good neighbors. But…most of us probably actually aren’t. The Lost Art of Neighboring is something that David Burton is bringing back to help small towns and the people who live in them thrive. About David: David Burton has been a community development specialist with the University of Missouri Extension since 2001. He is headquartered in Springfield and creates educational programs focused on leadership and becoming an engaged neighbor. In 2021, David created Missouri Good Neighbor Week. The Governor signed a bill making Missouri Good Neighbor Week official in 2022. Then, in 2023, Missouri Good Neighbor Week was named America’s Neighboring Program of the Year by Neighborhoods USA. His Engaged Neighbor program was also named the program of the year by the University of Missouri Extension. MU Extension programs and events like "Neighboring 101," “Show Me Neighborhood Art Week” “Missouri Good Neighbor Week” and “Neighbor Kindness Day,” help to raise awareness about the importance of being an engaged neighbor and the positive impact each of us can have on our neighbors, our neighborhood and our community. Born and raised in Ash Grove, Mo., David is proud to call the Ozarks home. He is a two-time graduate of Drury University (1988 and 2001) with degrees in political science, journalism, and integrated marketing and communication. David is a prolific writer and still writes “Live and Learn” each week for the Greene County Commonwealth, and a monthly column on neighboring in the Springfield Daily Citizen. David and his wife, Stacey, live in Republic. Their family includes their dog Otis and their two grown children: Lauren and Matthew (and his wife Megan). They are active at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield, where David has served as Chairman of Deacons, twice chaired the pastor search team, and is preparing to lead their Neighborhood Mission Trips. In this episode, we cover: * How David even got started in this whole neighboring thing * Why we don’t need more good neighbors, we need more engaged neighbors * Why grassroots neighborliness actually works * How to navigate change and push against the norm * What we can each do about being neighborly in our own communities
Links and Resources Mentioned: David’s website: engagedneighbor.com David’s blog: https://we-are-neighbors.blogspot.com/ University website where you can enroll in Neighboring 101 for $25 or find other Engaged Neighbor programs: https://extension.missouri.edu/ Missouri Good Neighbor Week: https://www.missourigoodneighborweek.com/ National Good Neighbor Day: https://nationalgoodneighborday.com/ Take the Engaged Neighbor Pledge: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EngagedNeighborPledge Subscribe to my Engaged Neighbor newsletter: https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/dotdigital/preferences/county/Greene/Preference-en.html?utm_campaign=1020591_Becoming%20an%20Engaged%20Neighbor%20-%20%20%20February%202024%2C%20Issue%201&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&dm_t=0,0,0,0,0
Some of our favorite kinds of stories are the ones that feature people with a dream in their hearts to do something amazing in their small towns who then go ahead and get it done. This episode is about a dream, a restaurant, and the woman who made it happen. About LeAnn: LeAnn Moen always wanted to own her own restaurant, but between raising children and being active on the family's farm, the timing was never quite right. Once her children were grown, though, she knew it was time. She started looking for spaces in her small town of Twin Valley, Minnesota that could accommodate the picture she had in her head, and finally, the stars aligned, and the perfect space became available. After more than a year of renovations, LeeAnn's dream became a reality last December with the opening of The Grove. The Grove is more than a restaurant--it's also a bakery, a cafe, and a gathering place for her community that has quickly become the vibrant local hub she's always dreamed of. In this episode, we cover: * The vision LeeAnn had for a business in her small town * How that vision became The Grove * Why, when things fall through, it can actually be a good thing * Why sharing your vision with employees is so important * What has surprised her in the first few months of running the business
Links and Resources Mentioned: The Grove website: https://thegrovekitchen.com/ The Grove Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Grove-Kitchen-Coffee-and-Bake-Shop-100091526800096/?locale=af_ZA
We love small-town events (duh) and we love the people who make those events happen (also duh.) Thus, we love this whole episode. We get to talk to Jeremy Nelson about an amazing market he’s started and grown in his small town of Arthur, ND, and it's become kind of a whole thing. This episode is a transparent, honest look at what it looks like to do something big in a small town! About Jeremy: Jeremy was born in Northfield, MN and earned my BA in social studies secondary education in 2000 from Bethel College in St. Paul. He began his teaching career in St. Charles, MN, and spent six years teaching history along with several other courses, some of which were outside of his licensure area (welcome to small rural schools!), and helped create the girls' soccer program. Jeremy married his wife, Amanda, on New Year's Eve 2003 and they moved to Fargo, ND, in June of 2007 to pursue a career opportunity for Amanda. He continued his teaching career at Park Christian School in Moorhead, MN that fall and is now wrapping up his 17th year at that school. In 2017 they moved our family into a big old house in Arthur, ND, about 35 miles NNW of Fargo. In 2018, he received his Masters Degree in administration from Minnesota State University Moorhead, and in 2020 he stepped into the role of community coordinator for the City of Arthur, a fantastic side hustle that has allowed him to exercise his administrative chops. While in that position, he’s been in charge of a monthly newsletter, submitting grant requests for municipal projects, and organizing a variety of community events. One big idea he brought to life is the Arthur Market, a farmer's and maker's market held three times each year. Started in 2020 as simply an event under the community coordinator position, the Arthur Market has grown to such an extent that during the winter of 2023/2024 he worked to establish it as a separate nonprofit LLC in the state of North Dakota. The heart of the organization is to support, promote, and collaborate with local small businesses in order to create a thriving rural community. In this episode, we cover: * What the Arthur Market is and who it’s for * Lessons he’s learned heading into year five of the market * Why he decided it was time to create a separate nonprofit for the market * Why impact is the lens he uses when thinking about community events * Why having a sandbox mentality is so important
Links and Resources Mentioned: Arthur Market Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093882913776 (Website coming soon!) Get in touch: thearthurmarket@gmail.com
What does it look like to enhance communities through art, partnership, and general change-making? Well, we can’t think of anyone better than Maggie Strong to talk to about it. Maggie loves to work with communities to spur the change they know they need, and do so in a way that makes communities better and more beautiful for all. About Maggie: Maggie Strong is a community builder. She founded Strong Consulting in 2016 to help organizations and communities think creatively and act strategically. A former economic development vice president and marketing executive, Maggie has 20 years of experience in strategic planning, communications, and public engagement. She gets excited about people and data and how combining the two can empower and position communities to achieve real change with lasting impact. Maggie works with civic and nonprofit clients to research, develop, facilitate, and implement strategic plans, assessments, and communication plans. She coaches community leaders, nonprofit executives, and their governing boards on how to be more effective and impactful. Maggie brings authenticity, humor, and urgency to her work and a deep respect for all people. Maggie holds a bachelor's degree in arts management and a master's degree in business administration, both from Quincy University. She is an expert facilitator, trained in the McNellis Compression Planning® methodology, and is certified in Nonprofit Board Consulting through BoardSource. She is a lifelong learner, pursuing her certification as an AI Consultant for Nonprofits. She has served on several nonprofit boards primarily for organizations with missions focused on young people and the arts. Maggie and her husband, Aaron, spend their time raising their kind and courageous kids, Alex, Charlie, and Cecilia, and renovating their beloved 100-year-old bungalow in their hometown of Quincy, Illinois. In this episode, we cover: * Why art is so valuable for small towns * How to embrace the subjective nature of art (and other things) for small-town development * What it means to “Be the Change” in small towns * Why we don’t have to personally love something in order to recognize its value * The power of partnership
Links and Resources Mentioned: www.MaggieStrong.com (Under construction, but the new website should be up soon!) https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggiestrong/ https://www.facebook.com/strongconsultingquincy
This is an episode about people and why how we treat them matters, as viewed through the lenses of politics and living in a small town. We cannot possibly agree on everything, and it feels as though nothing makes that clearer than politics. Given that we’re headed for another election season (yay) we wanted to share this reminder that people should be at the center of everything we do, and a better future starts with us, at home, with how we treat one another and how we learn and grow and literally do better. Don't worry--this isn't a high-horse episode wherein we preach on high from our cloud of perfection. We're human, too, and so we know how hard it can be to keep it classy and cool when big issues are on the line. It's about what we can all do, right now, today, to make our communities better places, starting with how we treat one another. (that’s real heavy sarcasm in case you hadn’t noticed.) In this episode, we cover five things you can do right now to make your community better: 1. Notice and call out the use of labels 2. Employ the Golden Rule 3. Consider the implications of selective rights and privileges 4. Beware the echo chambers 5. Make repairs
Links + Resources Mentioned Ep. 92 with Winona and Tim: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode92 Role Call Talent Attraction Summit: https://www.rolecall.pro/talent-summit Putting People Back in Politics Blog Post: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/putting-the-people-back-in-politics Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Young people moving to our small towns—either coming back or relocating from somewhere else—is imperative not only so we know the newest slang but also to keep our towns growing and thriving. Having a person dedicated to bringing in new people and making their transitions easier is a proactive way to achieve this. We’re so excited to share this episode with our very own Relocation Specialist, TJ Roney! About TJ: My name is Taylor (TJ) Roney and I am the Relocation Specialist in Oakes, ND! I graduated from OPS in 2018 and then went on to NDSU for fashion and business. After pursuing a dream in Minnesota for a few years, I decided it was time to come back to Oakes and venture down a new path in life! It has been amazing being back here with all of my family and so many friends. I have many passions and hobbies that I enjoy spending my time doing, some of which include photography, sewing, ancestry, golfing, and jamming out to Taylor Swift (really any music!) In this episode, we cover: * Why a pilot program is a great way to try out a new idea * What problems TJ solves as a Relocation Specialist * Why we can’t leave relocation efforts to employers * Why Gen Z are the perfect candidates to move to small towns * How to bring back people who have moved away, too
Links and Resources Mentioned: Oakes’ Move Here Page: https://oakesnd.com/move-here.php
“Are Chambers of Commerce even relevant anymore?” In our humble (but not too humble opinion:) YES ABSOLUTELY. While the idea of a Chamber of Commerce is an old one, an active, progressive Chamber can be an enormous benefit to small towns. We brought our very own Chamber Director to talk about everything she does and the benefits of an active, involved Chamber. About Kausha: Kausha lives on her family’s farm and ranch about 15 miles north of Oakes. She and her husband Chuck have been married for 30 years and have three children: Dalton, who is married to McKinzee, and their daughter Nellie Mae; Addison and her husband Parker; and their youngest son Garret. They are so proud to say that their sons are part of the family farm/ranch and so that legacy will continue for the Magill homestead. Their daughter is also involved in agriculture and has started her own Ag Marketing business where she designs and produces bull sale catalogs along with other creative advertising for ag-related businesses. Kausha was an English Teacher in her early days then worked side by side with her husband for several years until their sons were able to be involved in the day-to-day operations. Then, the wonderful opportunity to become the Oakes Area Chamber of Commerce Director became her part-time job, and she’s been serving in that capacity for nearly four years! She can honestly say that she’s never had a day where she dreaded coming to work and finds her job to be incredibly rewarding. She get excited thinking about the fact that there are young people who are coming back to Oakes because it’s a thriving small town! “We can actually boast that we don’t have an empty building on Main Street even though we aren’t immune to the challenges that come with being a rural community.” She loves being able to help our chamber membership promote what they have whether that is merchandise, services, opportunities, or events for the public, as well as just promote Oakes as a whole. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family (especially her new granddaughter!) and work on puzzles and read in the winter. Her summers are usually filled with outdoor activities along with riding horses as much as she can! In this episode, we cover: * What a Chamber of Commerce is, and how they’re funded * What Kausha does to help local businesses and events * Why seeing things through the eyes of a newcomer can be so helpful * The power of being helpful and welcoming * Why we should never discount the passion of transplants
Links and Resources Mentioned: Oakes Chamber Website: https://oakesnd.com/chamber Oakes Chamber Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oakeschamber/ NDSU Extension Community Impressions: https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/extension-topics/leadership-and-civic-engagement/programs/community-impressions Irrigation Days: https://oakesnd.com/irrigation-days
We all want our small towns to grow and thrive, but often, we don’t offer enough support to the people who are integral in making this happen: the entrepreneurs. Kim Nagle is an author, coach, speaker, and entrepreneur who helps her clients start profitable businesses, and she’s here to share with us what supporting entrepreneurs could look like in our small towns. Hint: it’s magic. About Kim: Known as The DAMN Plan lady, Kim is definitely a woman with a plan. Her life’s work is evidence of her deep-seated love for all things entrepreneurial. She started her first business at 14 and has owned 6 businesses since. As a result of working with Kim, well over 250 clients have started profitable businesses they love. Kim has been a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs since the late 1900’s. As the founder of the SBA-funded Minnesota Women’s Business Center she elevated women-owned businesses as powerhouse economic drivers in communities. Kim is the author of The DAMN Plan® How To Find Freedom, Love, And Money In Your Business and soon-to-be-released Determined to Succeed. In her books, she presents lessons learned and core principles for success learned over 30 years of being in the trenches every day- doing the damn thing. If you get a chance to work with Kim, she will show you how to magnify your determination, make decisions accordingly, and take action like your life depended on it. Because it does. Life on your terms is waiting. It's just one determined-decision away. In this episode, we cover: * The #1 reason people don’t start businesses in small towns * Why do businesses “fail,” and what is failure, anyhow? * The power of “How can I help?” * Why embracing the process is worth it * The messages we give to our children
Links and Resources Mentioned: More about The DAMN Plan Book: https://www.damnplan.com/the-damn-book LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/thedamnplan Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedamnplan Instagram: www.instagram.com/thedamnplan YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/KimNagle Free 30-minute Coaching Call with Kim: calendly.com/kimnagle/30mincall Order The DAMN Plan®: www.amazon.com/dp/1952233518
When we last talked to Haley, she was pushing full steam ahead on building the beautiful Hearthside Vineyard & Winery. She’s still going full steam ahead but has had to push through some major, heartbreaking setbacks. This episode isn’t the bright, shiny one she (or we!) was hoping for, but it’s better because it’s real and it shows how hard entrepreneurs work to get their dreams off the ground. Real life is rarely bright and shiny, but hard-won victories taste even sweeter—literally, in Haley’s case, since her hard-won victories will end with a beautiful, amazing winery. This episode is for anyone who is building dreams and overcoming obstacle after obstacle to make them happen. About Haley: Haley Moen, from Oakes, North Dakota, is the owner of Hearthside, a startup vineyard and winery. As a fifth-generation farmer who holds a Master of Science in Plant Science, Haley is well-equipped to make Hearthside thrive. Hearthside Vineyard and Winery was born from the love Haley has for her home state and the desire to explore growing less-heard-of crops in North Dakota. Haley will be dedicated to producing authentic North Dakota wines that truly reflect the uniqueness of the area. She is excited to share their wine with the world and can’t wait for people to try the fruits of their labor. In this episode, we cover: * What to do when a crisis hits * The value of working through knee-jerk reactions * How to effectively outwork a “no” response when it should be a “yes.” * When “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger” is the dang truth * Why keeping clarity in the long game and the “why” is necessary to get through tough times
Links and Resources Mentioned: Hearthside Vineyard and Winery: https://www.facebook.com/HearthsideWinery Haley’s past episode: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode118
Instead of bringing on a guest to end the year (or kick off a new one) we’re going to do a yearly recap and reflect on some things we’ve learned. If you’re a doer and a dreamer in a small town, this is for you. 10 Reflections From Us to You (and from us to ourselves because we need to be reminded of these things on the regular) 1. Quit expecting people to behave in a way they don’t. Let them act how they’re going to act. 2. No one is ever unbiased. You included 3. Try to not judge the closed-minded people the same way you feel judged by their unwillingness to look at new ways of doing things. 4. Keep the invitation open. 5. Community improvement isn’t a project, it’s a long game. It might look like a series of small projects but don’t lose hope if you don’t see immediate results, like you’d want to. 6. Ideas aren’t enough; we need to execute. 7. You can have nice things in your small town. Audacity is aspirational. 8. All business is personal; quit saying it’s not. Community development is personal. Art is personal. What drives us is personal. 9. Whether you articulate the culture in your community intentionally or not, you DO have one. 10. All people yearn to feel important. Treating people as if they are important is not just stroking egos…it’s treating people with the most humanity possible.
Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We are so excited to start a new kind of episode here on the Growing Small Towns show where we check in with some of our favorite past guests to find out what’s happened since we last had them on the show—which for some of our guests is a whole heckuva lot. Brodie Mueller is the owner of The Market on the Plaza, among being a part of MANY other amazing things in his small town of Aberdeen, SD. This episode is part status check, part business convo, and part therapy sesh (as all the best conversations are.) About Brodie Brodie Mueller, owner of Market on the Plaza, has lived in Aberdeen for nearly a decade. He has a Masters Degree in social work and has been involved in community building both downtown and city-wide through different groups and projects. The brewery is involved with various community projects and fundraisers throughout the year, gaining a reputation as a business that supports the community. As a fellow downtown business owner, Brodie is committed to making downtown better by supporting new ventures and The Market on the Plaza is a shining example of bringing new and innovative services to the neighborhood. In this episode, we cover: * What he’s learned about business going on year three with The Market on the Plaza * How he creates buy-in and fosters loyalty among his team * Why he prefers partnership and how to find partnership even if you don’t have one in your business * How to create novelty in a business that also needs constancy * The importance of building relationships as a business owner in a small town, and the Brodie Method for getting it done.
Links + Resources Mentioned Brodie’s past episodes: Episode 82 and Episode 72 The Market on the Plaza website: https://themarketontheplaza.com/ SD SportScene Podcast Shrink Rap the Podcast Minnesota Youth Ultimate Podcast The Energy Bus Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We are here with the longest episode in the history of Growing Small Towns because we just couldn’t stop talking to our next guest. Ben Muldrow caught Rebecca’s eye on Facebook, and he happens to have worked with Friend of the Pod Jeff Siegler. This is a long conversation but it’s so good - around every corner is yet another amazing concept or idea and we know you’ll love it as much as we did. About Ben: Ben Muldrow is a place branding and economic development expert who has spent the last 21 years assisting communities develop identities that attract investors and encourage private and public organizations to commit to community development projects that lead to economic vitality, environmental stewardship and social advancement. As a partner at Arnett Muldrow & Associates and founding contributor at Proud Places, Ben has designed creative branding and marketing systems in over 800 communities across 40 states and 5 countries, making him a true global leader in place branding and cementing his ability to combine strategic planning, brand development, interactive marketing, public relations, and social media capabilities to preserve and promote the power of place. In the Main Street world, Ben is known as a true innovator. Not only has been introduced the main street world to branding, he has introduced the ideas of Micro-retail incubation, Public Arts Master Plans, the Five Audiences of Main Street, and most recently he has created a template adopted across the country to communicate the effectiveness of our local programs. Ben has spoken at 15 National Main Street Conferences, Keynoted numerous State and Regional Main Street Conferences, and has spoken to over 250,000 people about the importance of America’s downtowns. In this episode, we cover: * Why the first thing he looks for in the communities he serves is passion * The power of the “first slow clapper” * What to do about the wet blankets - and how they can be an indicator of when you’ve arrived * Gender roles and economic development * Investing in schools vs. invitations
Links and Resources Mentioned: Arnett Muldrow website: http://arnettmuldrow.com/ Your City is Sick: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/your-city-is-sick-jeff-siegler/1143949924
This episode is for, well, the dreamers. The people who believe big things are possible, even (especially!) in a small town. In this episode, we cover ten mindset reminders to help: * Bolster you, our small-town dreamer * Help you navigate difficult situations * Provide some inspiration and hope * And, really, just encourage you to keep those big dreams coming
Links + Resources Mentioned Nome Schoolhouse Episode Get In Touch Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We live almost in two worlds now: the real one that we move around in physically, and the one online. The internet can be an amazing and helpful thing, but it can also be incredibly problematic. How do we navigate that balance and make sure that how we show up in the real world is not overly influenced by the engineered spaces we encounter online? It’s a meaty topic, and we have an extra-long episode to talk about it! About Chris: My name is Chris Burgess. I am a writer, editor, musician, teacher, songwriter, audio producer and a storyteller. I am also a former Navy Radioman holding a BA in Political Science, an MA in Medieval Studies, and an MA and PhD in English Literature with a focus on narrative emotion and rhetoric. I developed a deep appreciation for the relationship between leadership, storytelling, emotion and the art of persuasion through my academic studies. My tenure as the Campus Chief Steward for the graduate student union COGS/UE Local 896 at the University of Iowa provided real-world experience for these leadership skills. Upon completing my PhD in 2015, I explored the art of persuasion in the digital age, serving as an adjunct professor of English for six years. As a professor, I developed and taught a curriculum emphasizing persuasion, storytelling, critical thinking and digital and information literacy. In this episode, we cover: * The sense of groundedness that exists in the Midwest and how we could replicate that elsewhere * Why authenticity is the most important part of storytelling * What digital literacy looks like in an age where the algorithm is designed to divide us * The antidote to division and bridge language vs. chasm language * What a Doom Loop is and how to react to people who are stuck in one
Links and Resources Mentioned: https://unlockingpersuasion.com https://dirtroadradio.com https://www.facebook.com/dirtroadradiostreaming
We love when we find people who support small towns doing big things in ways we’ve never seen before, and this episode features two people and a business that is doing just that. Jasmin and Cassidy are two sisters behind an organization called Realizing Rural that offers important services like grant-writing, project management, graphic design, and marketing to small towns and the organizations in them who may not have the staff to support those tasks but who need them to grow. About Jasmin and Cassidy: Jasmin Fosheim and Cassidy Blade are sisters living in rural South Dakota. Both balancing new families and serving their community in various capacities, Jasmin and Cassidy are passionate about the advantages of rural life. This passion and belief that rural is an asset, not a detriment, led them to create Realizing Rural. Since 2020, Realizing Rural has provided grant writing, project management, marketing, and consulting services for rural businesses, organizations, and communities in North Dakota, South Dakota, and beyond with the mission of shifting the rural narrative from surviving to thriving. “We grew up running barefoot along the gravel roads of the Black Hills, chasing butterflies with nets and gathering wildflower bouquets. Our most formative childhood memories were built around fishing poles and fire pits, curled up in camping chairs and tucked into hammocks, making s'mores and reading books, all surrounded by those we loved most. It was in those moments that our love for rural was sparked. And it was in those fields and streams and tents and trails that we gained the curiosity that carries us, the compassion that comprises us, and the love that leads us. It was in those moments, years before the creation of our business, that we began realizing rural.” In this episode, we cover: * What Realizing Rural does and how they help * Why grant money isn’t really “free money” and why alignment with the funding or the project is so important * Why communities shouldn’t hesitate or beat themselves up if they need help with grant writing or project management * Their journey with imposter syndrome * The difference between doing things you’re good at vs. things you love
Links and Resources Mentioned: Realizing Rural website: www.realizingrural.com Realizing Rural Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realizingrural Article on Time Management Quadrant: https://lindsay-jopson.medium.com/a-powerful-tool-to-show-us-where-to-spend-our-time-a8e564656bdf
We are so excited for another crossover episode with one of our most favorite people: small-town nonprofit expert and fun-haver Patrick Kirby. Hosted by Patrick, this episode is all about how to shift mindsets and rethink rural giving for small-town nonprofits. In this episode, we cover: * How the Rural Bus Tour works and… * Why you need one of your own * Why nonprofits are so important for small towns * The thorny problem of self-limitation in the nonprofit world, both financially and… * In the way that nonprofits think about the future
Links and Resources Mentioned: Uncharitable Movie: https://uncharitablemovie.com/ Do Good Better Consulting Podcast: https://www.dogoodbetterconsulting.com/dogoodbetterpodcast
This episode is about dreams, missions, storytelling, and how Cory Hepola combines all of those things into his life as a storyteller and documentarian and how he uses his gifts and skills to highlight small towns. About Cory: Cory Hepola is an Emmy Award Winning TV Anchor and Documentarian. Currently, he serves as the Vice President of Communications, Growth & Strategy at The Brookshire Company where he helps businesses around the world reach their fullest potential through strategic connections, high-impact storytelling and inspiring purposeful partnerships. A dynamic leader led by his core values and mission to empower others, Cory has earned two Emmy Awards for Outstanding TV Anchor at KARE 11, been named “100 People To Know” by Twin Cities Business Magazine as the creator & host of his own daily show on iconic WCCO Radio, developed and hosted the popular docuseries “Rural By Choice” and ignited a 3rd party Campaign for Governor of Minnesota. Last year, Cory was honored by his alma mater, Concordia College, with the “Sent Forth Award” which is presented “to a young alumni who has made an impact early in their career, emphasizing service to others and demonstrating a strong vocational commitment.” In this episode, we cover: * Cory’s road from broadcast journalism to his current role * The power of learning more about yourself and your own mission, and planting the right seeds * Why he’s so passionate about rural America * Why rural America isn’t what many people think it is * How the way we communicate has changed, and why it matters
Links and Resources Mentioned: Brookshire’s Community Venture Network: https://brookshireco.com/services/community-venture-network/ Rural By Choice: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuZ3BsRIR3ZIM83HKbgu-CYi_R60WwdHz Episode 112 with Erik Osberg: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode112
Jeff Siegler is back with an incredibly thought-provoking episode about built places, communities, assumptions, and loneliness, and why designing our spaces and cities and towns to promote community is so important. This episode has it all: hot takes, hard truths, hard-to-discuss-but-mega-important ideas, and solutions to forge a better path forward. (Please tell us you also read that last sentence like Bill Hader's SNL character Stefon on Weekend Update.) About Jeff: Jeff Siegler is a writer, speaker, and consultant concerned with the powerful role place plays in our lives. He is the founder of the civic pride consulting firm, Revitalize, or Die and co-founder of the organization Proud Places. After obtaining his Masters in Urban Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University, Jeff went to work on Main Street. First as a downtown manager, and later as the Ohio Main Street State Coordinator. His first book, “Your City is Sick" is scheduled to be released on September 1st.. Jeff and his wife Amber and their four kids call Pittsburgh home. In this episode, we cover: * Why we need to be intentional about our communities * Why beauty actually isn’t all that subjective * How the “urban” and “rural” labels can contribute to divisiveness and blind spots * How much our built environment affects our health * A better way forward
Links and Resources Mentioned: Your City is Sick Website (almost ready! Keep checking back!) YourCityisSick.com Ann Sussman's Cognitive Architecture Ep. 99 with Jeff - How to Combat Apathy in Your Small Town: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode99
Strong small-town businesses are the backbone of our communities, and when our local small businesses are thriving, so are we. Aly Robins is a rural resident, business coach, and marketing expert and she joins us in this grab-a-pen episode all about business foundations, marketing, mindset shifts, and how small-town businesses can use all of them to put themselves on a path to growth and success. Seriously, grab a pen and some paper, you’re going to want to take notes! About Aly: Aly Robins is a digital marketing strategist and business coach for agriculture and rural businesses. She grew up on a ranch outside of Helena, Montana, and got a bachelor's degree in rangeland management. After feeling unfulfilled working at her 9-5 job, she decided to take her marketing business full-time. Now, she helps her clients set up their business for sustainable growth so they can have a bigger impact on their family and community. She believes that when you can make good money you can then do amazing things in your life and for others around you. In this episode, we cover: * What good marketing is and why you need to do it * What a marketing funnel is and how you can use it in your business * How to take yourself out of the equation to better serve your customers and grow your business * The four foundations of business * Why small towns should care about any of this!
Links and Resources Mentioned: Aly’s Website: https://www.alyrobins.com/ Snowy Mountain Marketing: https://snowymountainmarketing.com/
When Haley Moen was getting her master’s degree in plant science, she planned to continue on to get her doctorate—a dream she’d held since 10th grade. But she realized that would likely take her away from her beloved North Dakota, and that it might mean she would have to spend her time in a lab. As a farm kid who loves her roots the wide-open North Dakota spaces, that wasn’t what she wanted. She decided to embark upon a journey to build a vineyard and a winery in her hometown of Oakes, North Dakota, and this episode is about the whole process. Instead of “Go big or go home,” she said “Go big AND go home,” and we’re so here for it. About Haley: Haley Moen, from Oakes, North Dakota, is the owner of Hearthside, a startup vineyard and winery. As a fifth-generation farmer who holds a Master of Science in Plant Science, Haley is well-equipped to make Hearthside thrive. Hearthside Vineyard and Winery was born from the love Haley has for her home state and the desire to explore growing less-heard-of crops in North Dakota. Haley will be dedicated to producing authentic North Dakota wines that truly reflect the uniqueness of the area. She is excited to share their wine with the world and can’t wait for people to try the fruits of their labor. In this episode, we cover: * Why it’s okay to change your mind * When “just start” isn’t the best advice * How to have a vision and hold it in the face of criticism or unbelief * Why community and a support network is so helpful for entrepreneurs * How to communicate the vision to those who can’t see it
Links and Resources Mentioned: Hearthside Vineyard and Winery: https://www.facebook.com/HearthsideWinery
Mental health in small our small towns is one of the issues that is top of mind here at Growing Small Towns, and we know that is true for many of you in your communities, too. It’s an issue that can be really difficult to tackle, and we feel so lucky to have Monica on the show to talk about it with us, share her expertise, and give us all some actionable items and things we can pay attention to in order to help ourselves, our families and friends, and our communities About Monica: Monica Kramer McConkey has 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field as a counselor, program supervisor and administrator. She has a Masters Degree in Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Minnesota. The focus throughout her career has been to increase access to, and remove the stigma often attached to mental health services in rural underserved areas. Monica travels throughout the country educating and speaking through her business Eyes on the Horizon Consulting helping individuals and organizations improve resilience and mental wellness. In this episode, we cover: * Why mental health can be so challenging in small towns * The four protective factors for mental health * + Physical + Social + Psychological + Spiritual * One thing small-town residents can do today to address mental health in their own community
Links and Resources Mentioned: Eyes on the Horizon Consulting: https://www.eyesonthehorizon.org/ Eyes on the Horizon Consulting on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eyesonthehorizonconsulting/ Surgeon General’s advisory about loneliness and isolation
This week’s episode is a special sort of follow-up to last week’s episode about remote work in our small towns, and it’s special because it’s featuring a member of the Growing Small Towns team! Cassidy has been with Rebecca and Growing Small Towns for four years as a remote virtual assistant, and this episode takes our listeners through the whole story and how being a virtual assistant opened the door for so many other things. About Cassidy Cassidy (but call her Cass) is a wife, mother, first-generation rancher, communicator, and yes—virtual assistant! She lives on a large cattle operation in Colorado with her husband and three boys. Because the life of a working cowboy and his family often involves a lot of moving, at least in the early years, after the birth of her second son Cassidy set out to build a business that would go with her wherever life took them, and virtual assisting was her first remote gig, and Rebecca was her first client! Since then, her business has grown to more VA clients and more recently has evolved into agriculture consulting, communications, and speaking. In this episode, we cover: * How Rebecca and Cass even got introduced (thanks, internet!) * What a virtual assistant does (and why you might need one) * How to have a successful relationship with a VA or remote employee * What being a virtual employee can do for small-town residents * How to find your own virtual gig or hire someone virtually * How weird it is for Cass to be writing all of these posts about herself in third person (kidding, but also accurate and delightfully silly.)
Links and Resources Mentioned: Cassidy’s LinkedIn (her most active online home): https://www.linkedin.com/in/casskjohn/ Cassidy’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casskjohn/ Cassidy’s Website: www.casskjohnston.com
Remote work is, to use a buzzy buzzword, a game-changer for small communities. One of the only good things to come out of the pandemic, the rise in remote work opportunities means people can move to small towns without having to quit their job or ask their spouse/partner to do the same, which is, well, fabulous for us! Danielle Teigen is kind of an expert in small-town remote work—it’s kind of her actual life—and she’s here to talk us through what that can look like and share the possibilities, and how to highlight what makes our small towns great so more people want to move here. About Danielle Danielle Teigen is a professional communicator with more than a decade of experience in journalism, public relations, digital content creation, and marketing. She is the author of two nonfiction history books and the managing editor of Forum Communications' parenting brand. After living in Fargo for nearly 16 years, she recently moved back to her small hometown in South Dakota with her husband and three children. In this episode, we cover: * How Danielle got into remote work * What remote work means for small towns * The value of personal recruitment * How to get the attention of a news outlet * How to recruit people like Danielle to your small towns
Links and Resources Mentioned: The Forum: https://www.inforum.com/ Danielle’s article she mentions about her small town’s jelly maker: https://www.inforum.com/news/south-dakota/small-favor-turns-into-big-business-for-homemade-jelly-maker
If you have listened to our show for any length of time or follow us on social media, you know that here at Growing Small Towns the traditional approach to economic growth just doesn’t get us real excited. While it’s great if a big business does want to come to your town and build an office or something, we like to think outside that particular box. What we like to focus on is how our communities feel and make others feel and what kinds of mentalities are holding us back from realizing our full potential, both as individual humans and as small town communities. This episode is all about those feelings and mentalities and it all shows up in practice.
In this episode, we cover:
- Two big feelings we at GST like to generate: juicy connection, and brain/heart swell
- Why we as humans love an either/or, black and white scenario, and why those scenarios aren’t the most productive
- Three of Those Scenarios:
-
- Audacity OR pragmatism
- Love/Acceptance of What IS OR Desire to Make it Better
- We’re the Most Unique-ist OR We’re Just Like Everyone Else
Links + Resources Mentioned
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Get In Touch
Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Startup Colorado is a 501(c)(3) that works with rural entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders throughout the state to cultivate successful environments to start and grow businesses in the places that they call home. They have an amazing, effective approach to supporting entrepreneurs in rural places and if you are involved in this work and their Communications and Editorial Director, Margaret Hedderman, is here to tell us all about it.
About Margaret
Before relocating to the Front Range, Margaret managed the marketing and events programs for several independent businesses and startups in Durango, CO. She specializes in developing strong community initiatives to not only support business growth, but also foster creative connections and opportunities. In 2016, she conceptualized and created the annual Women Outside Adventure Forum and Colorado Trail Days festival. She is also a writer of creative non-fiction, screenplays, and the odd bit of fiction. Margaret recently earned her MA from the University of East Anglia in England. Originally from rural New Mexico, she considers the empty, quiet places of Colorado home.
In this episode, we cover:
- What an entrepreneurial ecosystem is and why it’s so complicated
- The importance of partnership and trust
- Why it can be helpful to emphasize regionality
- How storytelling fits into rural entrepreneurial ecosystem building
- How an online community can work in tandem with in-person efforts
Links and Resources Mentioned:
Startup Colorado Website: https://startupcolorado.org/
Startup Colorado Facebook: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode99
Startup Colorado Podcast
What does it look like to write your own rural narrative, and how can you actively incorporate that idea into convincing people to move to your small town? Well, we happen to have Erik Osberg to tell us all about it. He’s his county’s (and perhaps the country’s only) Rural Rebound Initiative Coordinator and yes, it’s the coolest. About Erik Erik Osberg is the Rural Rebound Initiative Coordinator for Otter Tail County which is in west-central Minnesota. In 2016 Otter Tail County embarked on an effort to create a position that would take advantage of the "Brain Gain" phenomena through resident recruitment efforts. Through a series of grants and other funding mechanisms, Otter Tail County created the Rural Rebound Initiative Coordinator position and Erik was tasked with the experiment of creating what is believed to be the first nation's first such job in January 2017. Erik is a self-described social-media zealot and believes in a simple, yet effective approach to marketing. His wife is a principal at Freshwater Education District in Wadena, MN. They have three children, ages 11, 13 & 16. Erik is also the Chair of the 2020 Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener planning committee. The Governor's Opener will be held in Otter Tail County in May of 2021. And given a choice, Erik would rather be fishing. In this episode, we cover: * The “Brain Gain” idea * What it means to “Write your own rural narrative.” * His community’s approach to rural resident recruitment and the role a rural narrative plays in that process. * Why most change is positive but it’s rarely easy—and why that’s normal * One thing every single person can do right now to start rewriting their own rural community’s narrative
Links and Resources Mentioned: Episode 75 with Ben Winchester: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode75 Episode 99 with Jeff Siegler: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode99 Otter Tail County’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ottertailcounty Daily Yonder article: https://dailyyonder.com/rural-brain-gain-in-otter-tail-county-minnesota-state-community-technical-college/2023/01/19/
Happy New Year! We’re so excited to be back, although we’re not quite sure how we got here. Because we’re more mindset folks than resolution folks around these parts, this episode is all about things to try this year for all of you small-town changemakers. When we have a new goal or are ready to embark on a new journey, we need to make sure we’re starting with sustainability in mind, meaning that we aren’t setting ourselves too many new things or habits, and that the processes we are using are going to be helpful, buildable, and conducive to long-term success vs. failure. We think of these things in two broad categories: subtle mind
We think of these things in two broad categories
- Subtle mindset shifts
- Simple process tweaks
Subtle mindset shifts for 2023:
- Prioritize your joy
- Don’t take things personally
- Show yourself radical compassion
Simple process tweaks for 2023:
- Take your holiday cards and each week (pick a day that works for you), choose 3 and send them a note of appreciation for their role in your life.
- Schedule time to improve the area of your life that’s holding you back the most.
- ChatGPT - embrace AI for good
Links + Resources Mentioned
Patrick’s post: https://www.dogoodbetterconsulting.com/post/the-future-of-nonprofits-how-to-ensure-your-skills-are-ai-proof
My blog post: https://rebeccaundem.com/blog/the-future-is-herehow-small-town-small-businesses-can-embrace-ai
Jordan Peterson’s ChatGPT Query video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUkTz_1uzSs
Get In Touch
Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Happy December! Today we’ve got a solocast and it’s all about what holds small towns back. There are five things, and Rebecca is here to talk through all of them.
So what are those five things that hold small towns back?
- Constraint-led thinking
- Underestimating the cost of doing nothing
- Treating today’s decisions as if they’re only about us
- An unwillingness to right-size ideas
- Accepting sliding standards
Links + Resources Mentioned
How to Combat Apathy In Small Towns with Jeff Siegler: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode99
How to Host a Community Cleanup Event with Aaron Baker:
https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode102
Keeping Your Fire Lit in a Small Town with Rebecca Undem:
https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode103
Get In Touch
Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We are so excited for another (crossover!) episode with one of our most favorite people: small-town nonprofit expert and fun-haver, Patrick Kirby. This episode is all about how small town nonprofits can raise more money and create a bigger impact. About Patrick Patrick Kirby is the Founder of Do Good Better Consulting and a believer that “we’ve always done it this way” is the most dangerous phrase in the English language. Patrick has spent over a decade working in nearly every capacity in the nonprofit industry, for organizations of all shapes and sizes, and strives to ‘Do Good Better’ every day. From organizing $10,000 cure walks to $1 million galas, Patrick’s passion lies in creating creative solutions to make fundraising less boring. He cut his donor relations/fundraising teeth as the Alumni Coordinator at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, MN, before trying his hand as a manufacturing sales rep to companies such as Target and Best Buy. Tired of being yelled at for uncontrollable international shipping issues in both English and Chinese, Patrick re-joined the world of nonprofit work as the Sr. Development Director at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation MN/Dakotas Chapter before taking the Chief Development Officer position at the Anne Carlsen Center. He earned his B.A. in “B.S.” (politics) at Loras College in Dubuque, IA, and is hopelessly addicted to super nerdy Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels and old school SquareSoft ® RPG Nintendo games. Patrick married out of his league to his wife Shannon, has three ridiculously adorable children named Spencer, Preston, and Willow, and lives in West Fargo, ND. In this episode, we cover: * The unique struggles of small town non-profits * Why we need to be more intentional with our giving * Why we need to say no to form letters * What steps to take to transform your fundraising * What the future of impactful, aligned philanthropy looks like
Links and Resources Mentioned: Do Good Better Consulting Website: https://www.dogoodbetterconsulting.com/ Do Good Better Consulting Podcast: https://www.dogoodbetterconsulting.com/dogoodbetterpodcast
You may have heard about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) since it’s a hot topic for many companies today, but how can we apply those principles to our small towns in a meaningful and intentional way? Rebecca and Cecily talk about what embracing diversity in small towns looks like, and how to have these own difficult but valuable conversations in your own sphere. About Cecily Cecily Engelhart is an Ihanktonwan & Oglala mother, artist, coach, media nerd, foodie, bookworm, and kitchen dancing enthusiast. She was raised in South Dakota; her school years spent with her mother in the small college town of Vermillion and summers with her father, grandparents, and innumerable cousins on the Yankton Sioux Reservation along the muddy banks of the Missouri River. All her fondest memories relate to cooking delicious food, being in the sunshine, playing favorite games, and watching movies. She is unwaveringly passionate about how methods of expression shape our understanding of ourselves and each other. Her personal and professional work have consistently coalesced around storytelling in its various forms, most often through cooking, design, writing, and filmmaking. Through all her contributions to the world, she seeks to be a good relative, a good future ancestor, and a responsible steward of Unči Maka. In this episode, we cover: * How diversity affects the growth of our small towns * Why wanting our communities to improve does not equal throwing them under the bus * We don’t know what we don’t know, and that’s okay. * Intentional, nuanced engagement vs. checking a box or tokenism * Ways to increase the diversity of your own circle
Links and Resources Mentioned: Seven Fires Community, a nonprofit that Cecily is a part of launching: www.sevenfirescommunity.org The consulting company Cecily works for: www.hopenationconsulting.com/transformational-coaching Cecily’s small business: https://www.facebook.com/rosiematho/
Melissa Nelson is a woman after our own hearts here at Growing Small Towns. She is a lifelong small-town girl and rural champion who uses her love of agriculture, community development, and creativity to inspire ways to get involved in small towns.
About Melissa
Melissa Nelson is a Nebraska farm and cattle gal who transplanted to Northwest Iowa after college to build an agricultural education non-profit and marry an Iowa farm boy. Her farm background and creative, entrepreneurial spirit allow her to put a unique spin on everyday items in her small business, Hungry Canyon. Melissa assisted in the foundation of the non-profit, Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom and served as Director of the organization from 2013-2018. In 2018, she began serving as Externship Coordinator for the Applied Agricultural and Food Studies Department at Morningside University. Melissa and her husband Mark have two boys--Roy and Charlie-- seventh generation farm kids and lovers of tractors and cows. They live on a farm near Correctionville, Iowa.
In this episode, we cover:
- How passion can inform how we get involved in our small communities
- Amazing ideas for small town events
- Fostering the next generation of small-town champions
- How a simple idea can be the catalyst for a small business
- How to get involved when you’re new in town
Links and Resources Mentioned:
The Hungry Canyon Website: https://www.hungrycanyondesign.com/
Hungry Canyon IG: https://www.instagram.com/hungrycanyon/
Rural Route Ramble: https://www.facebook.com/RuralRouteRamble/
This is the second part of our two-part series with Phil Eich about storytelling. The first episode was the why, and here is the how! This episode is one of the most actionable we’ve ever recorded—it has all you need to go out and start telling your own community’s story.
About Phil
Phil Eich is the founder of Storyville, an agency born in Saginaw dedicated to telling the stories of our cities to cultivate community pride, support small businesses, and attract and retain talent and investment. Through interviews, writing, photography, videography, and podcasting, Storyville's human-centered approach to civic marketing shines a light on communities across the country and their greatest strengths: their people.
In this episode, we cover:
- The principles of storytelling
- Why motivation matters
- The elements of a Storyville Story
- Practical tips and tricks to get started
Links and Resources Mentioned:
Part 1 of this series: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode105
The Storyville Website: storyvillesocial.com
Storyville Newsletter: storyville.substack.com
Otter.ai
Storytelling is kind of having a moment: everywhere we go, we hear about “sharing your story.” The thing is that it’s really excellent advice—when it’s done well. This is part one of a two-part series all about why storytelling is so important for small towns, and why you should care.
About Phil
Phil Eich is the founder of Storyville, an agency born in Saginaw dedicated to telling the stories of our cities to cultivate community pride, support small businesses, and attract and retain talent and investment. Through interviews, writing, photography, videography, and podcasting, Storyville's human-centered approach to civic marketing shines a light on communities across the country and their greatest strengths: their people.
In this episode, we cover:
- The meaning and power behind real storytelling
- The principle that makes successful storytelling work
- How warmth and competence are both necessary elements of trust
- How to convince people that storytelling is impactful, worthwhile, and has a place for small towns
- How storytelling can help provide the foundation for everything our small towns need to thrive
Links and Resources Mentioned:
The Storyville Website: storyvillesocial.com
Storyville Newsletter: storyville.substack.com
Otter.ai
Welcome back to the new season of the Growing Small Towns Podcast! Oh man, we are so excited to be back with a routine and a schedule and new episodes and new things in the works, we just can’t even.
This episode is a solocast with Rebecca talking about loving on our locals—sure, we want to invite people into our small towns, but are we doing that at the expense of the people who already live there?
In this episode, we cover:
- Why businesses that mean it when they say “Our people are our most important asset,” are the ones who are going to be the most successful, and why our small towns should think like those kinds of businesses
- Becoming tourism-focused at the expense of the small town’s culture and residents
- Why we need to reward the regular Joes (and Jolenes, obviously) for the amazing things they’re doing—big and small—that make our small towns better places to be
- How we can increase the “20” in the 80/20 rule
- How the rule-enforcing entities of small towns (necessary!
- We need those!) can become less roadblock-y and more set-the-tone-y.
Links + Resources Mentioned
How to Combat Apathy In Small Towns with Jeff Siegler: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode99
Get In Touch
Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
A Note to Our Listeners:
We are taking a break until mid-September because we are working on some big things behind the scenes that we can't wait to share with you. Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook or Instagram to get the latest news!
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Rebecca is flying solo today with a podcast version of a recent blog post that took on a life of its own, and talking about how to keep your fire lit while you’re trying to do big things in your small town—the stages you’ll go through, the people you need, and how to prevent burnout (or getting snuffed out!) along the way. In this episode, we cover: * Why burnout is a symptom but not a diagnosis, and why burnout may not actually be burnout, but more of a “snuffing out.”
* What it looks like to be a firestarter
The stages of an idea, how certain stages are more vulnerable to that snuffing out
* The different kinds of people that are key during each stage
Links + Resources Mentioned
How to Keep Your Fire Lit blog post: https://rebeccaundem.com/blog/how-to-keep-your-fire-lit
Get In Touch
Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
A Note to Our Listeners:
We are taking a break until mid-September because we are working on some big things behind the scenes that we can't wait to share with you. Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook or Instagram to get the latest news!
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Aaron Baker really loves small towns, particularly his small town of Atlanta, Missouri. He is an expert and community clean-up events, engaging help and funds, identifying creative ways to solve problems, and his enthusiasm and passion are infectious.
About Aaron
If you know anything about Aaron Baker, you know he is obsessed with his small town. He’s also in constant motion to keep Atlanta, Missouri moving forward.
Aaron will tell you his most important job is being a husband to Erica and father to their four children. Then, he’ll tell you about being the local 4-H Club leader. Aaron works form home in government affairs and crisis communications for several Fortune 500 companies. Aaron says his real job subsidizes his habit of loving his community.
Aaron also helps organize an annual Sunday morning workday at his local church when the congregation leaves the church to be the hands and feet of Christ in the community. This year, around 400 volunteers served on 24 teams in two counties to do volunteer work outside of the church on a Sunday morning. This included more than 60 volunteers working in Atlanta on various projects.
On this episode, Aaron talks about motivating people in “micro towns,” those communities that don’t have an Airbnb or a large employer, but have people committed to improving the local quality of life. Through small grants, fundraising and sweat equity, Aaron has worked with others to keep his small town alive; this includes about 100 locals that have volunteered for community workdays to paint, landscape, clean-up and more. The Bakers help organize annual events in the community to keep people connected to each other and the local K-12 school, where Aaron is a school board member. Each year, the Bakers also help organize and host events in downtown Atlanta, where thousands of people gather throughout the year for the area’s largest Easter Egg Hunt, the annual “Big Wheels” event, and the town’s Homecoming Festival. Aaron has also helped the city receive grant funds to demolish abandoned homes and commercial buildings that have resulted in new homes being built and young families moving back to the area.
One century ago, areas like this in North Missouri had twice the population they do today; Aaron wants to reverse that trend.
On weekends, you can find Aaron spraying weeds around town or mowing neighbors’ lawns that need a little help. Aaron will be the first to admit he doesn’t have it all figured out, but he’s going to keep working hard to keep his small town growing.
In this episode, we cover:
- How tact plays an important role in community morale when you’re trying to move people forward.
- Managing liability and risk and weighing your options
- How practical things like a place for yard waste and clean fill in a small town can keep folks encouraged to keep up with properties.
- Why demolition projects are so important to keep a town moving forward and looking alive.
- Asking for help in a way that is specific, personal, and effective.
Links and Resources Mentioned:
To learn more, email Aaron Baker at abaker@cloutpublicaffairs.com
Episode 99 with Jeff Siegler: http://growingsmalltowns.show/99-how-to-combat-apathy-in-small-towns
Rebecca is solocasting about the mental and emotional side of the work she and so many of our listeners do. This episode is about knowing yourself and how you think, how to relate to other people who may think differently than you, and how to experience new things to help you learn and grow. Ideas for Holding the Vision, Even When Others Don’t/Can’t: 1. No story, no problem! 2. Along the same line, assume good intent. 3. Recognize the immense difference between a strong preference for sensing v. intuition. 4. “It’s hard for us to imagine something we’ve never experienced.” 5. Know thyself. Personality tests can be so helpful here!
Links Mentioned A Free MBTI: www.16personalities.com HBO Documentary: https://www.hbomax.com/feature/urn:hbo:feature:GYC1puQhu1cLCwgEAAAA0 A Note to Our Listeners Thank you for listening to this show and for helping us remain in the top 25% of podcasts according to our listener stats. That is actually just incredible and proof that our small towns NEED each other! So if you know a great person to bring on the show, shoot me a text at director@growingsmalltowns.org. We just want to continue to elevate the great work being done in pockets of rural places all over the country. Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We are so excited to have Charlie Birch on the podcast! She is small town born and bred, and is kind of a shopping local expert. Charlie joins us to talk about making a web presence work for a brick-and-mortar store.
About Charlie
After living the digital nomad life later popularized by Instagram, our founder Charlie returned home to South Jersey in 2016. Not long after, she founded a web design studio, Charlie Birch Consulting, to help small brick-and-mortar businesses build their online presence. In 2020, this business transformed into Third Eye Web Strategies, which continued to focus on brick-and-mortar businesses while expanding to help entire Main Street communities.
As a millennial consumer with a multidisciplinary background and 10 years of real-world experience helping online businesses with branding, content creation, and website design, Charlie is in a unique position to help brick-and-mortar businesses and Main Street communities uplevel their online presence.
“I intend Third Eye to be a first stop shop where Main Street leaders - who want to convert more web traffic into foot traffic - can access legit website strategy advice and services, backed by research, delivered in plain English, and customized to meet their unique needs!”
~ Charlie Birch
When she is not geeking out on Main Street web strategies, Charlie enjoys spending time with her family. Her interests include food, travel, live music, nature, fashion, dance, group fitness, and snowboarding.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why not all businesses need a website (but why some do)
- How websites and an online presence help stores that DO NOT have any eCommerce
- Why no one is entitled to a successful business
- What the biggest threat to small town businesses is
- Why every small town needs to intentionally help small businesses thrive
Links and Resources Mentioned:
Charlie’s Website: https://thirdeyewebstrategies.com/
Schedule a call: https://thirdeyewebstrategies.com/meeting
The best place to connect with Charlie online is inside the Clubhouse community the SMB Think Tank. They do a free networking group T&Th at 2pm EST and two monthly special events a Thought Leadership Forum the 1st T of the month and an Expert Panel the last Th of the month. People can register for the newsletter here, or email Charlie at Charlie@ThirdEyeWebStrategies.com to find out about upcoming events.
Charlie’s LinkedIn is here.
Charlie’s link tree
Jeff Siegler knows small towns. He loves them. And he wants the people who live in them to love them, too. This episode is all about apathy in small towns--what it looks like, how it starts, how it gets worse--and how we fix it.
About Jeff
Jeff Siegler is a writer, speaker and consultant concerned with the powerful role place plays in our lives. He is the founder of the civic pride consulting firm, Revitalize, or Die. and a co-founding partner of Proud Places. Having grown up in a struggling rustbelt city Jeff understands the devastating cost of civic apathy and works everyday to combat its effects. After obtaining his Masters in Urban Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University, Jeff went to work on Main Street. First as a downtown manager and BID director, and later as the Ohio Main Street State Coordinator. As a consultant, Jeff's work takes him around the country to assist cities in their efforts to restore civic health. He believes we have to move beyond economic development and tourism and instead focus on making our cities into places residents can be proud to call home. He is currently in the process of writing his first book, titled Your City is Sick. Jeff, his wife Amber, and their four children call Pittsburgh home.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why you can’t out-plan or out-fund apathy
- Civic pride as self-esteem
- How do we get people to care? (Spoiler: socializing is kind of a great place to start.)
- Why place matters
- Why specific asks are almost always better than just asking someone to join a committee
Links and Resources Mentioned:
Revitalize or Die website: www.revitalizeordie.com
Revitalize or Die Facebook: www.facebook.com/revitalizeordie.com
We are so excited to share this episode with you! This is a story not only about innovative reshaping of a family farm to continue the legacy but also enhancing a small-town community with a new place to gather and eat and drink with friends.
About Stacy and Dan:
Dan Heising and Stacy Nelson-Heising are Cottonwood’s orchard and cider house lead drivers and co-founders. When one is in the driver’s seat, the other sits happily in the passenger chair, supporting the other. Dan is our head cider maker. Stacy is Cottonwood’s head orchardist.
The couple lives at Cottonwood Farm. They are parents to Ben, Kevin, Dharma and Greg. Ben is their only two-legged child who helps his mom maintain the orchard. He’s their team’s funnyman and is willing to do just about anything to help out his parents. In addition to Ben, Dan’s sister Heather also assists them with running the business. She’s a wiz with numbers and keeps Cottonwood on a straight path. Stacy’s grandparents Norman and Louise, parents, Chuck and Roberta, and Dan’s mother, Katie, support the couple in making Cottonwood Farm and Cottonwood Cider House a success.
“We’ve really gotten a lot of support and help from our family and friends over the years to help us make our orchard, future cider house and goals a reality. Everyone has stepped up when necessary to help us achieve these goals. We strive to raise healthy apples, grown in the manner that is healthiest for our planet, organically and Biodynamically. We want to make
amazing hard cider, have fun while doing it, and craft our brew together. Those are our goals.”
In this episode, we cover:
- The practical steps it took to take a dream and make it a reality
- Why it’s important to just try things
- The value of tapping into the experiential nature of small towns
- The struggle of finding a community and support system in a very rural area.
- What resourcefulness can look like and how that applies to starting a new business
Links and Resources Mentioned:
Cottonwood Ciderhouse website: https://cottonwoodciderhouse.com/
Cottonwood Ciderhouse Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cottonwoodciderhouse
We hear a lot about less stress, more peace, and creating more balance and more emotional awareness…but how do we do this, and what’s the actual point? In this episode, we’re going to tell you. Well, we aren’t, our guest Kristy is!
About Kristy:
Kristy Berger Jelinek is the founder and owner of KBJ Coaching & Consulting. She has been referred to as "a bridge between knowing and doing" as she energetically holds space for others so they may see themselves in a new and different way. Kristy is a soul speaker who brings a new form of acceptance and understanding to make what feels impossible possible.
Kristy's own journey began from a state of stress and overwhelm bringing her to a life coach who helped her discover how to manage her thoughts and emotions. Through simple tools and actions (and a lot of intentional work) she has walked one step at a time from less stress to more peace.
Today, she supports others through one-on-one coaching and leads teams through stress & burnout workshops connecting them to their own self-awareness so they may begin creating the changes they want in their lives. A self-declared student of life, Kristy's curiosity is a gift that creates a magical way of making those around her feel comfortable and safe.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why not all who wander are lost
- Why willpower may not actually be what you’re lacking if you’re struggling to change
- Why framing change or a new life phase as “recalibration” can be so helpful.
- Why boundaries are important
- Steps to creating a better response to stress
Links and Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Joe Dispenza: www.drjoedispenza.com
Kristy’s Website: www.kristybergerjelinek.com
Kristy’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristyBergerJelinek
The Body Keeps the Score
This episode is all about education—where we are, where we’re going, and how to get there. Education is foundational to any place but especially to small towns, not only for our small-town schools but because learning and education is lifelong, something we carry with us, and is how we find and create opportunity at every stage of life.
About Scott
Scott Meyer (@MrScottMeyer) is an entrepreneur and former professor working to scale and democratize education.
His experience founding the digital marketing agency 9 Clouds and launching an entrepreneurship center and accelerated learning program in higher education sparked his interest in combining education and web3 - what he calls ed3. He recently launched Ed3.gg - a consultancy working to scale education. Subscribe to learn more (http://digest.ed3.gg).
In this episode, we cover:
- Why and how we should rethink the skills we teach and learn
- Why school should be “K to Gray” instead of a hard stop post-college
- Portfolio-building v. credential-chasing
- College degrees and higher education institutions
- Barriers to learning and how to tackle them
Links and Resources Mentioned:
Subscribe to learn more (http://digest.ed3.gg).
Today, Rebecca is back with another solo episode--not because we can’t find enough rad people doing rad things, but because of one of her own close-held “truthiest truths,” which is that one of the best ways to support one another is to share the best of what we’re learning and ideally, in as close to real time as humanly possible.
She’s also here to share with us some advice she learned in therapy—something she believes in so fiercely—so we can get better, too. And for free, YAY!
We’re actually going to share two episodes of content today: the first is the one Rebecca wrote shortly after the situation happened and the second is the one Rebecca decided to share after she’d also talked to her therapist about it.
The first is pretty good, but boy oh boy, is the second one better!
In this episode, we cover:
- The game of life is truly about people: learning how to read, relate to, connect with, influence, and work with others.
- A situation that prompted a big reaction…
- Rebecca’s first take on the situation
- Her therapist’s take
- And the change-making framework that Rebecca’s therapist shared that she is now sharing with us.
A little cryptic, maybe, but you’ll just have to listen!
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
This episode is a little heavy, a little funny, and we talk about something we need to have more conversations about: mental health in small towns. This is a crossover episode with the amazing Franne and Becky from Shrink Rap the Podcast and they are so qualified, fun, and experienced in the specific area of mental health in small towns. They are here with us today to discuss barriers to rural mental health and decreasing stigmas surrounding getting help.
About Franne & Becky
Dr. Franne Sippel is a Licensed Psychologist and a post divorce mediator. She has worked with children, adolescents, and adults for over 25 years, specializing in the LGBT-Q population. Franne uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to address issues such as stress/coping, behavioral concerns, divorce, anxiety, depression, grief, healthy relationships/boundaries, and personal growth.
Becky Kuch is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health and a National Certified Counselor. She works primarily with ages 18 and older. She has over 20 years experience working with individuals and couples. She assists people with a wide range of issues, including, but not limited to depression, anxiety, relationships, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), grief, personality disorders, and stress management. While she has a varied range of experience, she primarily practices Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Becky is a certified facilitator for Prepare Enrich (www.prepare-enrich.com.). She is also certified in Critical Incident Stress Management and Debriefing (www.icisf.org) and is a volunteer provider with the Give An Hour project (www.giveanhour.org).
Together they host Shrink Rap the Podcast, a podcast that gives proper respect to various mental health issues, with a healthy dose of smart assery.
In this episode, we cover:
- How being in a small town changes how we look at and treat mental health
- Why mental health should be preventative
- How small towns excel at some things but need help with others
- How we can help destigmatize mental health
- How we can help our friends and neighbors with mental health
Links and Resources Mentioned:
Shrink Rap the Podcast on Facebook: https://www.rolecall.pro/
Listen to Shrink Rap: https://linktr.ee/shrink_rap_thepodcast?fbclid=IwAR0Dtp8ogropkcVgPx1tod761t9XLnl6waRpBTLIH_6HqzpLlfgx60tAXUU
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive/dp/0062457713
Our host and fearless leader Rebecca is here to share a few prompts that she’s working through herself this week to prepare for a brand-new year. Each of these things could be have an added lens of home versus work versus community involvement—you can add whatever context you want, but these prompts might be a little different than what you’ve used in the past.
Most of these questions are reflections from 2021, prompting you to consider what to either bring into 2022 or just leave in the dust of 2021! We will be sharing more about these on social, so listen on in and follow us as we work through each of these prompts!
Prompts to Reflect Upon 2021 and Prepare for 2022:
- Who are the people that made a difference for you last year? Buy a box of thank-you notes and commit to sending them all by the first week of the year.
- What were the times that made you feel the most yourself?
- Who are your loved ones that you struggle to fully love this past year? What boundaries could be put in place to make you love them more freely?
- What makes you laugh harder than anything else?
- What do you love to do and who do you love to spend time with?
- What triggered you in 2021—i.e. what made you feel defensive, offended, upset, etc.
- What do you truly love about where you live?
- Who did you give too much power to in 2021?
- In what ways did you beautifully serve in 2021 and in what situations did you serve out of guilt?
- What made you truly proud in 2021?
Links + Episodes Mentioned
Love the One You’re With: https://rebeccaundem.com/episode42
Dakota Dirt Coffee Episode: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode90
Don’t forget to follow along with the Growing Small Towns journey on IG: https://www.instagram.com/growingsmalltowns/
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growingsmalltowns
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Tim Carty and Winona Dimeo-Ediger from Role Call are our guests on today’s episode and seriously, we could talk to them all day long! Overall, the topic today is about attracting people to our communities and how the approach to making that happen is going to look really different from how we’ve traditionally approached economic development. What would it look like to get people to actively choose their community every single day? What makes your community special? These are a few of the questions we talk about and our hope is that this discussion will help you think differently about how you’re attracting people to your town.
About Tim & Winona
Tim began his career in sales and marketing before discovering a passion for community advocacy and economic development. Through his work at the chamber and serving as the director of talent attraction for the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area, Tim developed an innovative talent attraction strategy that formed the basis for RoleCall. He’s a husband, a dad, a baseball fan, a weirdly good limerick writer, and a whiskey enthusiast. Tim is constantly in awe of the people and organizations working in this space, especially in smaller cities. He is driven by the desire to help amplify their work and show their immense value to their communities and stakeholders. He lives in Iowa City, Iowa (and would love to take you to his favorite restaurant).
Winona has been a digital content creator for nearly a decade, writing about culture, travel, and politics for publications like National Geographic, Rolling Stone, and NPR. For the past few years, she’s been able to dig into her love of place marketing and talent attraction content as the editor-in-chief of Livability.com. She’s a lover of bookstores, vintage boots, dive bars, and bad jokes. The number of times she’s seen Celine Dion in concert may disturb you. Winona is obsessed with capturing the unique magic of a city and telling its story in a way that makes locals proud and prospective residents curious enough to take action. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee (and would love to take you to her favorite honky tonk).
About Role Call:
One of our core company values is “effusive honesty,” so here’s the honest truth about us:
We met at the International Economic Development Council conference, where we presented on talent attraction strategy by day and karaoked “Glory Days” together by night —and we strive to maintain that same balance of professionalism and joie de vivre in everything we do.
More real talk? We truly love this work. We love figuring out what exactly makes a city special. We nerd out about place marketing strategies. We can talk for hours about relocation trends and skills matching and the pros and cons of incentive programs for remote workers (yes, we are very fun at parties). In this episode, we cover:
- How we are facing a massive reframing about what economic development is and how we can consider ourselves successful in it
- What a holistic approach to econonomic development could be
- Why “How many jobs is this going to create?” may not be the right question to ask when assessing the value of new ideas in your community
- The value of putting on the eyes of a newcomer in your community
Links and Resources Mentioned:
The Role Call Website: https://www.rolecall.pro/
A webinar about DIY Incentive Programs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8jNEfcO5n4
Today’s guest is Rikka Brandon, recruiting expert and all-around fun person. She joins us today to talk about recruiting and workforce development and why that isn’t a concept that’s limited to large or urban businesses—small-town businesses benefit from a recruiting strategy too!
About Rikka
Rikka Brandon is a serial entrepreneur, recruiter, author, and speaker. She is the founder of Recruit Retain Rock and Building Gurus, and the creator of popular programs like Recruit Retain Rock and Hire Power Live. Rikka’s the go to girl for growth minded entrepreneurs and forward thinking business leaders. She’s spent her career helping companies find, hire, and retain the talent they need to achieve their goals. Her clients have ranged from small businesses to the Fortune 100. She’s now sharing the secrets and strategies anyone can use to attract, find, and engage top talent for their business.
Rikka is focused on results, she talks fast, cracks jokes, and really believes growing your business should be fun. It’s this energy and enthusiasm that has made the national media and business world take notice. Rikka’s been featured numerous times on Fast Company, Huffington Post, American Express’s Open Forum, the NFIB and CBS.
Join her FREE Facebook Group the RRR Society for access to free trainings, resources, and a community of growth minded entrepreneurs and leaders. https://www.facebook.com/groups/rrrsociety
In this episode, we cover:
- Rethinking your approach—you may not have it wrong, but a shift in your thinking might work wonders!
- Why retention starts at recruiting
- Scarcity—it’s real! Finding/keeping good people is really hard, and you shouldn’t hire people just because they can “fog a mirror”
- The importance of defining your culture and how this allows you to recruit for quality over quantity
- Considering what a career path could look like in your business for rural business owners
Links + Resources Mentioned
Website - https://recruitretainrock.com/
Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/rrrsociety
Book a free strategy call with our team - https://calendly.com/rrr-chelsae/connect/
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Today’s guests are two of the three founders of the locally owned Dakota Dirt Coffee in Milnor, ND. Landon and Wyatt Mund are also brothers so they join us to talk about how they (and their friend, Beau, who wasn’t able to join us for the episode) started a coffee roasting company alongside each working a full-time job in a town of just under 800 people. They share about their startup journey which is soon to boast a new physical roasting facility and event center. About Dakota Dirt Coffee Dakota Dirt was founded by three friends who were sick of coffee that didn’t deliver. While other coffee companies claim to roast small-batch freshness, Dakota Dirt actually means it. We’ve made it our mission to guarantee great taste and fresh grounds with our small-batch, made-to-order process. Being raised in small-town Milnor, North Dakota, we realize the value a strong, Midwest work ethic brings. When you try Dakota Dirt you will taste the difference. Wake up and start your day with us. “Good From the Grounds Up" In this episode, we cover: * A key question to ask yourself if you know you want to start a business, but you’re not sure what to start * What it means to “surprise and delight” customers as part of your brand * How to balance working with family and friends without letting it ruin your relationships * Why it’s now possible more than ever to start a business on the side without quitting your full-time job * Creative ways to get your product/idea into people’s hands when starting out
Links + Resources Mentioned Dakota Dirt Coffee Website: https://dakotadirtcoffee.com/ Dakota Dirt Coffee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DakotaDirtCoffee Dakota Dirt Coffee on Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/dakotadirtcoffee/ Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you! Today’s guests are two of the three founders of the locally owned Dakota Dirt Coffee in Milnor, ND. Landon and Wyatt Mund are also brothers so they join us to talk about how they (and their friend, Beau, who wasn’t able to join us for the episode) started a coffee roasting company alongside each working a full-time job in a town of just under 800 people. They share about their startup journey which is soon to boast a new physical roasting facility and event center.
Resourcefulness and ingenuity are often found in rural America, and the foundation of both of those things are connection and community, and this week’s episode is all about how to go about fostering connection, how we invite people in, and what happens when people feel invested in their small towns. As someone who grew up in a small town (in our very own North Dakota!) but who has lived and traveled in communities of many sizes and is now a researcher and expert in rural resiliency, our guest for episode 89, Dr. Kendra Rosencrans, understands the power of community. In this episode, she shares her wisdom plus some amazing actionable tips and tricks for building community and inviting connection into our own lives to foster resourcefulness and ingenuity to help our small towns grow and thrive. About Kendra Dr. Kendra Rosencrans is a consultant and researcher focusing on ways to encourage creative, inventive change through shifting organizational or community imaginations about what's do-able, what's possible, and what's good for a healthy, vibrant future. She is also a postdoctoral fellow with Cynefin Centre Australia, studying how groups that change their stories can change their futures. Rosencrans earned a PhD in complex organizational systems from Saybrook University in 2019. As a doctoral student, she received the Margaret Mead Memorial Student Award from the International Society for the Systems Sciences. The award, named for the anthropologist Margaret Mead who was a co-founder and the first woman president of the ISSS academic society, recognizes doctoral research that addresses contemporary challenges within communities in ways that empower agency with integrity, imagination, and well-being. Rosencrans is also the co-founder of a new digital academic publication, the Systemic Change Journal. Prior to her doctoral work, Rosencrans earned a master's of divinity degree in 2004 from Luther Seminary in St. Paul. She also holds a master's of journalism degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Rosencrans started her newspaper reporting career at the Jamestown (ND) Sun in 1990. In 1997, she was part of the Grand Forks Herald-Knight Ridder reporting team that won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the Red River flood. Kendra grew up in Hettinger, ND, where her dad was the county extension agent and her mom was a reporter, social worker, and teacher. Being a county agent's kid, Kendra was deeply involved in 4-H, and will always view being named North Dakota's 1983 Swine Project Champion as one of her biggest accomplishments. Kendra lives in Kirkland, WA, with her husband, their 3 teenagers, a cat, and a dog, but no pigs. Some thoughts from Kendra: I grew up in an extraordinary small town in southwestern North Dakota that never acted like it was too small to accomplish big things. While Hettinger has been impacted by the shifts in agricultural markets and other forces that continue to challenge rural areas across the country, the community and people I know there continue to impress and stand as one of many examples of what can happen when people in small towns choose to work together to invest in themselves and love where they live. Hettinger, now with a population edging 1,110, has a nationally recognized rural medical center, a newly restored bowling alley, a coworking/rural incubator space, plans to upgrade its indoor swimming pool -- and-- continues to demonstrate that small towns succeed in the face of their challenges with big hearts and big imaginations. I've lived in the nation's biggest city -- New York City -- and in one of the fastest-growing cities -- Austin, TX. I currently live with my family in Kirkland, Washington, which is considered one of the nation's top 25 "best" small cities and sits on the eastern shore of Lake Washington, across from Seattle. Each of these places are really a series of small towns, knit together within a larger governing fabric called "Manhattan" or "Kirkland." To thrive, everyone needs a small town -- and but some small towns are more spread out than others. Within the relationships and imagination that drive what a small town is and can be -- come the strengths and vulnerabilities that make a neighborhood or community what it is. We all have our small towns -- no matter where we live geographically. However, I do believe there is something incredibly special and important about rural small towns -- and that for health, success, and future of our nation -- we need to invest in, restore, and nurture small towns. As a journalist, I dedicated my career to telling the living stories of incredible small towns in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. I saw what kinds of transformation can happen when small towns and small cities in these rural states shift their imaginations about their future -- and work together to create a new story about who they are and will be in the 21st century. This happened when I was a reporter for the Aberdeen American News in South Dakota -- and it was the experience that drove me to get my doctoral degree in complexity, stories, and organizational systems. I want to work with organizations and communities that are interested in doing more with their imaginations and their superpowers for making do. The ingenuity that propelled the founders of these communities to lay the groundwork for the future is needed today -- and the key to unleashing this inventive energy can be found in the stories that people tell about what's happening, what's possible, and what they are willing to do -- or not -- to make things better today, tomorrow, and in the future. Ingenuity is a creative solution-crafting skill and an inventive, adventurous spirit that finds a way around obstacles and moves into the unknown one step at a time, trusting that each move opens the way to resources, ideas, and solutions that are more resourceful, more effective, and a much better fit, for what's needed to create a vibrant small town with a higher quality of life for all residents -- present and future. It all starts with curiosity, and a willingness to look at what's happening, and what's possible, differently. At the moment, I'm doing some of this work in my role as a resiliency specialist with the Red River Regional Council in Grafton, working with the amazing Dawn Mandt and her team there, and I'm doing some of this work in the course I teach on organizational theory for the University of Jamestown's Master's of Arts in Leadership program. I'd like to do more, and that's why I'm excited to connect with Rebecca and Growing Small Towns. In this episode, we cover: * The role of connection in small town development * How to be resourceful in a small town * The value of practicing being invitational * What belief and creativity have to do with building the future * The power of asking “What if we…?” to get your idea going
Kendra’s Published Works: Rosencrans, K., (2020). Tohu va-Facebook and Dave Snowden. In (D. Snowden, S. Blignaut, Eds), Cynefin -- Weaving sense-making into the fabric of our world. Singapore: Cognitive Edge.
Download a sample here: http://cognitive-edge.com/cynefin-wearving-sense-making-into-the-fabric-of-our-world/
Rosencrans, K. (2019). Narratives of Ingenuity: Using Coworking Space Stories to See Systems Change. (Doctoral dissertation). Saybrook University. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 13898081.
Rosencrans, K. (2017). Pilot case study: How two nonprofit education foundations use social media to support systemic engagement. Proceedings of the 61st Annual Meeting of the ISSS - 2017 Vienna, Austria, 2017(1). Retrieved from https://journals.isss.org/index.php/proceedings61st/article/view/3129
Rosencrans, K. (2016). Proposing values and practices for a culture of organizational ingenuity: Hacking systems thinking to pursue the preposterous and produce the impossible. Proceedings of the 60th Annual Meeting of the ISSS - 2016 Boulder, CO, 2016 (1). Retrieved from https://journals.isss.org/index.php/proceedings60th/issue/view/16
Rosencrans, K. (2014), Nurturing Faith for Action: Theological Education and Global Responsibility. Dialog, 53: 304-311. doi:10.1111/dial.12133 Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
This week Rebecca is sharing her top ideas for better handling the people side of change management—something that she’s dealt with head-on over the past year while building Growing Small Towns. She talks personal growth, the discomfort that comes with that growth, and the critical importance of building and leveraging the social capital in your community or company as you seek to build consensus around ideas. Key takeaway: we can get all the processes, systems, and data right, but if we don’t take the time to truly invest in social capital, our ideas will fall flat. And, the time required to build commitment and buy-in can be tremendous, but that time will pay off in spades when Launch Day arrives. In this episode, we cover: * The benefit of asking more questions * Allowing your own beliefs/positions to be challenged * Pleasing other people: even though you can’t please everyone (like, EVER!), you can make a point to try to listen to as many perspectives as possible. * Controlling what you can (hint: people do not fall into this category) * Why data doesn’t matter if people aren’t engaged
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We're back with the first episode of the new season and we're so excited! Our guest for this episode is Jodee Bock, Director of People Development with BNG Team, and a participant in this summer's Rural Bus Tour. Jodee joins us to talk about the tour, about urban-rural collaboration, and corporate investment in small towns. This episode also includes a little update about what's been going on with Growing Small Towns--big things have been happening while we've been away for the summer! About Jodee Jodee Bock is a dynamic business communicator who encourages people to practice riskful thinking as opposed to merely wishful thinking. By encouraging them to think beyond their reasons, she leaves audiences with new insights, along with ideas for turning their knowledge into action. Jodee is the founder of Bock’s Office Transformational Consulting and has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of corporate communication, media relations, executive coaching, and training and development. She holds certifications in Life Purpose and Career Coaching, Extreme Leadership, PSYCH-K Facilitation, Job Relations Training (JRT), Bob Proctor’s Life Success Consulting®, and Accelerated Innovation Training and Coaching from SolutionPeople in Chicago. The author of several books, podcast interviews, speeches, and blog posts, Jodee is a thought leader who has been called a boat rocker and a people enhancer, thanks to her unique ability to add a new perspective to common ways of thinking. Jodee is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and business consultant. She has spoken at events all over the United States and designed and delivered customized workshops and seminars for hundreds of clients. In this episode, we cover: * What’s happening with Growing Small Towns * The Rural Resources Roadtrip * What rural/urban and regional collaboration might look like * Why being a Pollyanna is sometimes okay * The importance of being authentic in our strengths and talents and gifts
Links + Resources Mentioned * Jodee’s Website: https://jodeebock.com/ * Nome Schoolhouse Episode: https://www.growingsmalltowns.org/post/episode76 * Kahoot app: https://kahoot.com/ * Humanocracy book: https://www.amazon.com/Humanocracy-Creating-Organizations-Amazing-People/dp/1633696022
Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Today’s guests are repeat visitors! Brodie Mueller and Carly Pochop, founders of The Market on the Plaza and the Rural Revolution podcast are back to talk to Rebecca about how their first month of business went. We can all watch what gets posted on social media, but as people who want to inspire others to chase their big dreams in their rural places, these two know the value of sharing what happens behind the scenes. About Brodie and Carly Carly Pochop, co-owner of The Market on the Plaza has run Colorful Creations in Aberdeen since 2015. She went to school for Art Education and after 2 years of teaching quickly realized there was a gap in the community for students needing more outside school creative outlets. She has learned how to wear many hats and grow her business to a profitable sustainable creative outlet for northeastern South Dakota. She has since moved downtown two years ago and has since found a love for growing downtown. After being involved within the Aberdeen Downtown Association, Business Improvement District, The Parking Board, and 1 Million Cups Aberdeen, she quickly realized there was a gap in the community once more for locally made Aberdeen-inspired swag and gifts. Brodie Mueller, co-owner of Market on the Plaza, has lived in Aberdeen for the past 8 years and owns the downtown business Dakota Territory Brewing Company. Dakota Territory is the first and oldest brewery ever in Aberdeen and services the community by creating small-batch craft beer, root beer, and cold brew coffee. Brodie has a Masters Degree in social work and has been involved in community building both downtown and city-wide through different groups and projects. The brewery is involved with various community projects and fundraisers throughout the year, gaining a reputation as a business that supports the community. As a fellow downtown business owner, Brodie is committed to making downtown better by supporting new ventures and The Market on the Plaza is a shining example of bringing new and innovative services to the neighborhood. In this episode, we cover: * How if you get the people right, everything is fixable * Using a tool, like the Enneagram, to successfully navigate culture challenges in the workplace * The value of being forced into things faster than you planned * How freaking hard it actually is to get the people right
Links + Resources Mentioned The Rural Revolution Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1400992%E2%86%97%EF%B8%8F The Market on the Plaza Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themarketontheplaza/ The Market on the Plaza Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themarketontheplaza/ The Market on the Plaza website: https://themarketontheplaza.com/ Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Rebecca is flying solo today with something that’s been on her heart and mind for a long time. In February, Rebecca and her family went on a trip to Arizona for a breather, some warm weather, and a chance to connect with family. And maybe an energy vortex. You know. While there, she and her husband and three children went on a hike up Cathedral Rock and she found so many parallels between that amazing hike and doing big things in small towns. In this episode, we cover: * How we’re often sold an idea of what something will look like, but the real journey and learning process is nearly always different. * The fact that no one on the journey themselves is going to criticize you for being there, too. * The importance of taking things one step at a time.
Links + Resources Mentioned More about Cathedral Rock: http://www.arizonahikersguide.com/all-hikes/hike-cathedral-rock-trail-sedona Don’t forget to follow along with the Growing Small Towns journey on IG: https://www.instagram.com/growingsmalltowns/ And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growingsmalltowns Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We are so excited to share our first Meet the Maker episode with you! Meet the Maker is all about highlighting small-town artists and makers who enrich our communities and make them more beautiful. This episode features Amanda Hagen, an artist that we are so excited to be working with for the Growing Small Towns building. Amanda is an architect by trade who leaned way in to her lifelong love of painting during the pandemic and eventually started Heartstrings Art Studio. This is the coolest story full of God winks and kindness and community! About Amanda: Amanda Hagen was born and raised in small-town rural Mantador, North Dakota. She and her husband and son reside in rural Leonard, ND. Amanda’s work encompasses Acrylic, Pastel, Watercolor, and Mixed Media painting – with a focus on rural and North Dakota inspired pieces. Amanda is an Architect by trade, practicing full time as a Partner with Shultz + Associates Architects in Fargo where she has been employed for the past 9 years. She dedicates free time to her Art Practice on evenings and weekends, with hopes to raise awareness of the value and importance of creative outlets. Practicing art as a hobbyist for years, Amanda felt something tug at her heart while sheltering in place early during the 2020 Pandemic. This led to a renewed focus on painting and creative work. With no formal Art education, Amanda furthered her knowledge of various painting techniques through online workshops by Artists whose work she was inspired by. These include professional pastelists Marla Baggetta and Bethany Fields. Amanda additionally reached out to a local Artist, Barbara Benda Nagle (Moorhead, MN) for insight into the Art profession early into her art journey. As a generous mentor and encouraging friend, Barbara has been instrumental to Amanda’s development as an Artist. You can visit her online shop here: https://barbarabendanagle.com/ In 2020, Amanda founded Heartstrings Art Studio to begin sharing her work and connection with others. Heartstrings Art Studio’s Grand Opening Event is scheduled for May 15, 2021 at the Memorial Building in Kindred, North Dakota. You can find stay up to date on the latest Heartstrings news by visiting https://www.heartstringsartstudio.com/ and following our Instagram and Facebook pages. “I believe each person is blessed with valuable, unique gifts. My hope is to inspire others to pursue their passions, share their gifts, and in so doing elevate the communities in which we live.” - Amanda What Amanda Makes: Heartstrings Art Studio was founded in 2020 with the mission of making happy art for happy hearts. Amanda creates rural-inspired fine art that brings joy and shines a spotlight on small-town life. Support Amanda’s Work: Heartstrings Art Studio Website: www.heartstringsartstudio.com
Heartstrings Art Studio on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Heartstrings.Art.Studio Heartstrings Art Studio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartstrings.art.studio/ Subscribe + Review + Refer Thanks for tuning into this week’s Meet the Maker episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If you’ve loved what you’ve heard, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback help us showcase the best of what small towns have to offer! Also, we want to meet your makers! If there’s a small-town maker you think we should know, we encourage you to send us an email at director@growingsmalltowns.org and share him/her
When our founder, Rebecca, was invited to be a guest on Studio 701, a lifestyle show featuring all things North Dakota, she knew she wanted to invite the host and producer, Amber, to be a guest on our podcast! Amber shares the story of how she created the show, how she thinks about media now, and offers some great ideas for those of us living in small towns to ensure our stories and voices are heard. About Amber I’m a small-town North Dakota girl at heart who hails from New England, ND. My three siblings and I learned from wonderful teachers and coaches in NE, including both my parents. From the southwest part of the state, I moved to the far northeast part of the state where I attended and graduated college from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Majoring in Mass Communication, I got the TV bug at my internship with UND’s Studio One and have been all about news ever since. My first job in TV was working in the majestic Black Hills for nearly three years as a reporter and fill-in weekend anchor at KOTA-TV in Rapid City, SD. From there, I was hired as the weekend anchor and weekday reporter at KXMB-TV in Bismarck, ND. At KX News I would go on to report, produce, and anchor for both the evening shows and the morning show, Good Day Dakota. I’ve been recognized by the Associated Press and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association for writing and reporting. My nearly nine-year run at KX News ended with the birth of my first beautiful baby, Daisy. I chose to stay home with her and freelance write and edit. Eventually, I delved into nonprofit work, becoming the executive director of the Bismarck Library Foundation, Inc. My husband and I have since been blessed with a second beautiful baby, Everett. Although my hands are full with my two babes, my dog Chewie, my cat Bear, my hubby Matt, and an occasional volleyball match- I’m very excited for my newest adventure… Studio 701 is a lifestyle show on KX News that celebrates all things about living in the 701! I’m so excited to be the host and producer of this lifestyle show, designed to entertain viewers of this great state that I love so much. If you have ideas for segments or interviews, please contact me at aschatz@kxnet.com In this episode, we cover: * How to pivot when your life requires a change * The role media plays in our lives * How to filter the news for your good * Ways small towns can get their stories and voices amplified
Links + Resources Mentioned Studio 701 Website: https://www.kxnet.com/studio701/ Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
We’re back with Brodie and Carly of the Rural Revolution Podcast for a general life and status update! If you missed the first episode with Brodie and Carly, you can find it here. About Brodie and Carly Carly Pochop, co-owner of The Market on the Plaza has run Colorful Creations in Aberdeen since 2015. She went to school for Art Education and after 2 years of teaching quickly realized there was a gap in the community for students needing more outside school creative outlets. She has learned how to wear many hats and grow her business to a profitable sustainable creative outlet for northeastern South Dakota. She has since moved downtown two years ago and has since found a love for growing downtown. After being involved within the Aberdeen Downtown Association, Business Improvement District, The Parking Board, and 1 Million Cups Aberdeen, she quickly realized there was a gap in the community once more for locally made Aberdeen-inspired swag and gifts. Brodie Mueller, co-owner of Market on the Plaza, has lived in Aberdeen for the past 8 years and owns the downtown business Dakota Territory Brewing Company. Dakota Territory is the first and oldest brewery ever in Aberdeen and services the community by creating small-batch craft beer, root beer, and cold brew coffee. Brodie has a Masters Degree in social work and has been involved in community building both downtown and city-wide through different groups and projects. The brewery is involved with various community projects and fundraisers throughout the year, gaining a reputation as a business that supports the community. As a fellow downtown business owner, Brodie is committed to making downtown better by supporting new ventures and The Market on the Plaza is a shining example of bringing new and innovative services to the neighborhood. In this episode, we cover: * How to move forward as people post-pandemic * The value of third places and what the future of placemaking might look like * The challenges that no one wants to talk about for entrepreneurs and small business owners * How art in its purest form can help with healing * The value of finding and nurturing “your people.”
Links + Resources Mentioned The Rural Revolution Podcast Dakota Territory Brewing Company on Facebook Colorful Creations Art Studio website The Market on the Plaza website Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
When you meet today’s guest, Charissa Rubey, you’ll likely be charmed by her salt-of-the-earth friendliness and unassuming nature. But don’t let that fool you—named North Dakota’s Small Business Person of the Year in 2020, Charissa, alongside her husband, Dave—whom she affectionately refers to as her favorite person in the world—run a manufacturing company with 25 employees and a global dealer network over 700 worldwide. And they do it all from a town of less than 50 people that no longer even has a post office. She joins us to share her incredible story. About Charissa Charissa Rubey is a business owner, artist, graphic designer, photographer, wife, mother, hunter, gardener, beekeeper, and serial hobbyist who makes sure all the soup cans are always facing labels out in the kitchen cabinet. Originally from southern California, Charissa moved to North Dakota at the age of 20 with her husband Dave to take over the family farm. In 2002 they started Dakota Micro, Inc., a business that manufactures the AgCam and EnduraCam camera lines. Charissa’s most recent endeavor of acrylic painting allows her passion for the rural countryside to shine through. In July of 2019, Dakota Micro, Inc. had the honor of being invited to the White House to represent US Manufacturing for the State of North Dakota. When asked about the experience, Charissa shared that “…it was so amazing! To be able to set up our products IN the White House, who gets to do that! We got to meet so many amazing people, VP Mike Pence and Dr. Ben Carson, just to name a few.” Charissa and Dave have two children whom they are incredibly proud of. Alexander is currently serving in the US Army in the 25th ID, and their daughter Christina has joined the ND Army National Guard. She will begin basic training in the winter of 2019-20 with plans on attending Nursing School afterwards. When elaborating on her kids, Charissa also shared “plans change, you never know what their, or our future will bring, and that’s the adventure.” In this episode, we cover: * How to discern “good” advice from “right for you” advice * What it means to say “a change that’s easy isn’t all that meaningful” * How Charissa’s original goal of creating extra grocery money turned into a full-blown business * How a neck fusion surgery and a rock sucked into a combine header created the idea that sparked the start of her business * Why people need to “hear the hard stuff” about starting and running a business
Links + Resources Mentioned Charissa’s book recommendation: “Traction: Get A Grip on Your Business” by Gino Wickman Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Our local law enforcement agencies are the backbones of our small towns and unless we’re part of that world, we often don’t stop to think about the impact on these professionals dealing with people in our communities when they’re at their worst.
Today’s guest, Melinda Padilla Lynch, is part of that world and in fact, in her role as an Administrative Assistant to a local police department, she’s an integral part of making everything run smoothly.
When she was feeling like she could use more connection, support, training, and education to help her be more successful (and handle the stress more effectively) she started looking to see what was available to her in North Dakota, the state where she works.
Finding next to nothing, she started to think about what it might look like to start a conference for this important group of people,and she joins us today to share how she did just that.
About Melinda
Melinda Padilla Lynch is a coffee loving, problem solving, obstacle course race junkie. But her true passion is organizing networking events to connect women to their dreams and goals. Melinda has worked for the Bowman Police Department as an Administrative Assistant since 2016. She has over 20 years of experience in some role of office management, event planning, and/or administration. Over the years, she has gained experience leading mission teams to other countries, developing mentor programs, and event planning.
Melinda is proud to develop and facilitate a one-of-a-kind conference geared towards Administrative Support employees. With her experience and passion for networking, she found her role and need for training and support for Law Enforcement Administrative Support employees in ND, MT, SD, WY.
Melinda was born and raised in Kansas City, KS- KCK. She and her husband decided to move to Bowman, ND in 2011. They now have 2 crazy, very active little boys. They own a small remodel construction company. When she is not home controlling the chaos, you will find her in the gym, continuing her weight loss journey and running in a muddy obstacle race.
In this episode, we cover:
- Several of the challenges transplants feel when moving to our small communities
- How to create something brand new in a community
- The value of connection with other people like you
- Things local people say to newcomers that might not be the most welcoming
- What the “Six degrees of North Dakota” game is and how it impacts newcomers
Links + Resources Mentioned
Melinda’s book recommendation: “13 Ways to Kill Your Community” by Doug Griffiths
For more information about the Law Enforcement Administrative Support conference being held October 20-21, 2021, contact Melinda directly at the Bowman Police Department at 701-523-5672 or mplynch@cityofbowman.com
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
When she found herself out of a job in the midst of a global pandemic, Michelle Fishburne got the idea to hop in her RV and travel the country to find out how people have fared throughout 2020. Her oral history project called Who We Are Now highlights the first-hand stories she’s gathered on her journey and today, she joins us on the podcast to share her insights into what she’s learned about people in small towns.
At a time when so many things threaten to divide us, this episode reminds us of all the ways in which we’re united. If we can “park judgment” as Michelle says, and keep our minds and hearts open, there is nothing we can’t get through.
About Michelle
Michelle Fishburne started Who We Are Now in September 2020, when she left her home in North Carolina and RV'd west, all the way out to Wyoming, in search of stories of how Americans are making their way through this challenging time. She's interviewed small town mayors, yoga instructors, doctors, teachers, grocery store owners, corn hole board makers, etc. All sorts of people because everyone has a story. Everyone's life has changed in some way because of the pandemic. Who We Are Now captures those stories, in each person's own words.
In this episode, we cover:
- What it means and why it matters to “park judgment”
- The role that fear and assumptions play in our inability to connect with others
- How to be our best selves and focus on serving one another
- The value of local leadership and local decision-making
- The ways that the pandemic has made us better
Links + Resources Mentioned
New stories are posted every week to Michelle's Who We Are Now website: www.whowearenow.us and her Facebook and Instagram accounts @whowearenowusa.
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Our guests on today’s show are a pair we lovingly deemed “Ord, Nebraska’s power couple” but not because of their affluence and important names or titles, but because of their hearts, their mindfulness, and the way they live their lives with complete intention.
Together, they run a construction company and a busy household and they join us on the show to talk about the impact a focus on personal development and growth has had on their lives. Talking about topics like a growth mindset, limiting beliefs, and choosing your highest intention are not things that are often discussed on Main Street in small towns. After hearing this episode, you might feel like maybe they should be.
About Tanner and Jeana
Tanner and Jeana Hackel love being a transformative, small giant construction company. As owners of Hackel Construction, they use the Design-Build approach to collaborate and innovate successful construction projects, especially in rural communities.
One rewarding aspect of their company is talent development and acquisition. At Hackel Construction, they invest in their employees’ success through a program called Synovation Valley Leadership, which is a mastermind for personal and professional transformation. Tanner and Jeana believe they have exceptional talent who align with their mission for quality, efficiency, and budget, so when they add to their team, they look for those with technical skills as well as a growth mindset.
Working in the construction industry means navigating changes, challenges, and processes to create that tangible needed end product. It’s inspiring to be a part of that whole process and have fun doing it! Creating an emotionally intelligent team means they utilize and inspire efficacy, trust, and potential in their team and lead each project with intrinsic motivation to build strong customer relationships and successes. They see each day as an opportunity to learn new things, grow in maturity and share the God-given talents that they possess with family, friends, clients, and their community.
In this episode, we cover: * What energy has to do with it * What’s a “program” and how do we uncover our own * How we can choose a different set of beliefs to move us forward * How our families of origins and upbringing can impact the way we view the world * How to “make the unhelpful, helpful”
Links + Resources Mentioned
- www.synovationvalleyleadership.org
- www.hackelconstructioninc.com
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
When people start businesses, they usually get the most freaked out about all the decisions and details that the process entails. Finding the right suppliers and vendors, creating a marketing plan, and figuring out who to hire—these are the things we spend most of our time considering.
Today’s guest, Pam Burch, founder of The Peacock Mercantile in Hettinger, ND, didn’t approach it this way. Instead, Pam spent the time it takes to really define and clarify her mission for starting her business. It’s common for people to mistake mission/vision/value statements as fluffy, touchy-feely, non-critical things. Pam is proving how a clear, grounded mission statement makes all those other decisions easier and in this episode, she shares why.
About PamPamela was raised in rural Mott, ND and has a passion to bring her love for gourmet coffee in an upscale, positive environment to Hettinger. Pamela has worked in the travel industry for the last 20 years and has owned her own travel agency since 2003. While working for Rosenbluth International, Pamela worked her way up through servicing travel clients like Bank of America and Oracle Corporation to be the Quality Assurance Manager for Orbitz.com. Her duties included managing a team of agents who monitored phone calls for accuracy and to find out what was driving the calls. Pamela was then responsible for changing policies and/or procedures to ultimately eliminate the drive of those calls. Years ago, she was a food court manager for Buttrey’s grocery store, which included managing day to day operations for the sub sandwich bar, fried chicken and espresso bar. Exceptional customer service and an entrepreneurial spirit have driven her to success in every new niche market she has ventured into.
In this episode, we cover: * How to turn naysayers into fans * The role vulnerability plays in being a business owner * The power of the tourist for local businesses * How to be intentional about your mission without forcing it * Why it matters to let your customers be a part of your business
Links + Resources Mentioned
- The Peacock Mercantile website
- Facebook Page: The Peacock Mercantile: Artisan Coffee, Tea and Gifts
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Imagine the owner of a fiber mill partnering with a needle felting sculpture artist. Now try to picture that duo finding, buying, and renovating a 100 year-old building in a rural North Dakota town of about 60 people to house a future facility where people can stay, meet the alpaca/sheep herd, watch how the fiber mill works, eat amazing food prepared by a chef, and get their hands into creating your fiber art projects. Can you picture it? Does it sound like a pipe dream? Well, you probably can’t and it’s not. Our podcast guests today are Chris Armbrust, the mill owner, and Teresa Perleberg, the needle felting artist and what was described above is what they’ve collaborated on to create and build.
If there was ever an episode that inspired us to believe in the power of what’s possible, this is it. You can’t help but be encouraged by their story.
About Teresa
Teresa Perleberg and her family raise a flock of 125 Romney sheep by Fort Ransom, ND and Teresa uses their wool to make 3D sculptures of animals using the art of needle felting. She has been teaching others how to needle felt since 2008 through kits and an online Academy membership. Teresa has a passion for online marketing and ships her kits out to crafters all over the world and has over 300 members in her online Academy.
About Chris
Chris Armbrust operates Dakota Fiber Mill by Kindred, ND where she processes fiber for customers from all over the nation, taking the raw fiber and, picking, scouring and either carding into roving or yarn for her customers. Over the years she has raised a variety of fiber animals such as Alpaca, several different breeds of sheep, Llama, bunnies, and a camel. Many have enjoyed tours of her mill and meeting the animals that provide the fiber.
About Teresa and Chris
Teresa and Chris partnered their businesses and formed Shepherd Industries, LLC in 2018. They purchased the Nome Schoolhouse in Nome, ND and are currently renovating it with plans for it to be a Fiber Arts Retreat Center/Event Center. All of the mill equipment will be moved to the school, a small education herd of fiber animals will live in the barn behind the school, and The Shepherd Industries store will be in one of the classrooms. Their focus will be Fiber Arts retreats but will welcome any form of crafting retreat. The school will have 11 guest rooms, a commercial kitchen for serving events and guests, an event center (gym), and classroom space for ongoing learning just to name a few of the amenities. The building had sat empty for years and is undergoing a remarkable transformation.
In this episode, we cover: * How traditional means of financing might not always work for big ideas in small towns * The power of collaboration and partnership * What a vision, faith, and belief can create * How to eat an elephant (hint: it’s always a bite at a time) * The value of transparency in telling your story * What a kickstarter campaign could look like to launch a big idea * How to keep fear in check
Links + Resources MentionedWeekly updates on our EweTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EweTube
Follow our progress on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NomeSchoolhouse
Follow Bear Creek Felting on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bearcreekfelting/
Follow Dakota Fiber Mill on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dakotafibermill
Follow Nome Schoolhouse on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nomeschoolhouse/
Follow Bear Creek Felting on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prairieshepherd/
Nome Schoolhouse Website: https://nomeschoolhouse.com/
Bear Creek Felting Website: https://bearcreekfelting.com/
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Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
As a research educator with the University of Minnesota Extension’s Center for Community Vitality, today’s guest, Ben Winchester digs into the research data that helps us better understand the truth behind the idea that “rural America is dying”. Not only has he found that the data doesn’t suggest that, he helps us see that we are more in control of re-shaping that narrative than we might otherwise believe. About Ben
Ben has been working both in and for small towns across the Midwest for over 25 years. He lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota with his wife and two children. Ben is trained as a Rural Sociologist and works as a Senior Research Fellow for the University of Minnesota Extension, Center for Community Vitality. He conducts applied research on economic, social, and demographic topics surrounding a theme of “rewriting the rural narrative” that are vital to rural America. Winchester received his B.A. in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Minnesota, Morris (1995) and M.S. in Rural Sociology from the University of Missouri, Columbia (2001). He was a founding employee at the Center for Small Towns, an outreach and engagement program at the University of Minnesota, Morris and specializes in community development, demographic analysis, data visualization, and moving communities away from anecdata.
In this episode, we cover: * The falsehood of the rural “brain drain” and how we’re actually seeing a “brain gain” * How to celebrate a “Middle of Everywhere” concept as a region * The importance of how welcoming our communities are * What a “resident recruitment model” is and how we can start to build one in our communities * Why newcomers are the ones we should be listening to * Several data points that show the positive future for small towns
Links + Resources MentionedBrain Gain: http://z.umn.edu/braingain
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Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Our host, Rebecca is flying solo for this episode, and she’s talking about hope and the new year. 2020 was hard, friends, there’s just no denying it. But this isn’t about looking back on a hard year, it’s about looking forward to what’s coming and some ways that you can keep up your momentum and hope in the new year. This episode is full of encouragement and actionable steps to keep getting closer to your goals, no matter what they are. In this episode, we cover: * Why there is no replacement for action * The importance of checking your source--are you acting out of fear, or hope? * Why we need to ask for help * How and why to allow for magic * Discipling your disappointment * Celebrating more, even when it feels like there’s nothing to celebrate (spoiler: there really is!)
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
As a Civic Engagement and Leadership Specialist with NDSU Extension, today’s guest, Jodi Bruns, knows small towns. She shares her perspective about how to help small communities embrace change, adopt best practices to encourage leadership development, and change the narrative about who we are. About Jodi
Jodi Bruns is a Leadership and Civic Engagement Specialist with NDSU Extension. She develops resources for local Extension agents to utilize when working with communities and organizations. Jodi is a certified mediator, facilitator for numerous processes such as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Real Colors, etc. She trains organizations in best practices, leads groups in strategic planning steps, and is a passionate cheerleader for rural initiatives. Jodi earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from North Dakota State University. In this episode, we cover: * How to get people involved in your community * The roles generations play in community engagement * Why rural communities are well-positioned to offer remote worker initiatives * The importance of making small bets and celebrating small wins
Links + Resources Mentioned
- NDSU Extension Remote Work Certification: https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/lead/remotework
- NDSU Extension Board Management and Best Practices: https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/community-development/board-management-and-best-practices/cv1965.pdf
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
It’s our first-ever crossover episode! Our guests today are Brodie Mueller and Carly Pochop. Both successful business owners in the rural community of Aberdeen, SD, and are co-hosts of the Rural Revolution Podcast and recently co-founded a brand new company called Market on the Plaza. They join us to talk about the value of collaboration among people and communities because in rural places, no one can do it alone. About Brodie and CarlyCarly Pochop, co-owner of The Market on the Plaza has run Colorful Creations in Aberdeen since 2015. She went to school for Art Education and after 2 years of teaching quickly realized there was a gap in the community for students needing more outside school creative outlets. She has learned how to wear many hats and grow her business to a profitable sustainable creative outlet for northeastern South Dakota. She has since moved downtown two years ago and has since found a love within the for growing downtown. After being involved within the Aberdeen Downtown Association, Business Improvement District, The Parking Board, and 1 Million Cups Aberdeen, she quickly realized there was a gap in the community once more for locally made Aberdeen inspired swag and gifts.
Brodie Mueller, co-owner of Market on the Plaza, has lived in Aberdeen for the past 8 years and owns the downtown business Dakota Territory Brewing Company. Dakota Territory is the first and oldest brewery ever in Aberdeen and services the community by creating small-batch craft beer, root beer, and cold brew coffee. Brodie has a Masters Degree in social work and has been involved in community building both downtown and city-wide through different groups and projects. The brewery is involved with various community projects and fundraisers throughout the year, gaining a reputation as a business that supports the community. As a fellow downtown business owner, Brodie is committed to making downtown better by supporting new
ventures, and The Market on the Plaza is a shining example of bringing new and innovative services to the neighborhood.
In this episode, we cover: * How to steward your ideas forward * The value of curiosity in overcoming fear * How to quit apologizing for where you’re from and start being proud of your small town * The value of small pilot trials in testing new ideas * The immense value of cultivating a network
Links + Resources Mentioned
The Rural Revolution Podcast
Dakota Territory Brewing Company on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DakotaTerritoryBrewing/
Colorful Creations Art Studio website: https://www.thecolorfulcreations.com
The Market on the Plaza website: https://themarketontheplaza.com/
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Judy Larson, writer, musician, and artist, can remember a time when she wouldn’t have considered herself a “creative”. On today’s show, she shares her journey of embracing her own creativity, nurturing those skills and talents in others, and the impact it’s had on her own life and her community. Not sure what creative placemaking even is? You need to listen to this one! About Judy
With a background in healthcare and economic development, JUDY LARSON has found her passion in building healthy communities. She’s a connector and communicator, a listener and lover of people. In 2018, Judy helped to establish Placemakers Co-op, a group dedicated to creating space for makers and do-ers to share ideas, collaborate, build relationships and use their talents. In addition to hosting a unique community-focused event each month, Placemakers Co-op also works with LIVE Inc., an entity that provides services for people with developmental disabilities. Judy has been instrumental in forging a relationship between the two groups by organizing events and classes, (including an artist in residence) for all to enjoy, regardless of ability. In the spirit of People First Language, she believes we are all “people needing support”--people who are happier, healthier and better able to use and expand our talents when we are in a healthy, supportive community. In this episode, we cover: * The one thing each of us is compelled to give to the world * The difference between Strategic Planning and Strategic Doing * What “Fail with Friends” is and how to start one in your community * How to use micro-commitments to build involvement * The value of simply creating space for people to explore
Links + Resources Mentioned
The Placemakers Co-Op website: https://www.placemakersco-op.com/
Artists to check out and support!
John Lopez: http://www.johnlopezstudio.com/
Brittany Schnell: https://brittanyography.com/
Kathleen Norris: https://writingforyourlife.com/
Shasta Marie Designs: https://shastamariedesigns.com/
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
From an early age, today’s guest, Amy Suda, knew that being an entrepreneur would be her future. Being born and raised in Grafton ND, and marrying her high school sweetheart, she also knew that when the time was right, she’d open her business in her hometown. In this episode, she shares the journey to starting her new skincare clinic (opened in May of 2020) and how owning a small-town business has further fueled her vision for her community. About Amy
Amy Suda, MSN, FNP-C,and DCNP, is the founder/owner of Skin Rehab. She has been practicing Dermatology since 2009. She attended the University of North Dakota, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. After completing 2 years of rural practice in Grafton, ND at Unity Medical Center, she returned to UND to achieve a Master of Science in Nursing, specialization in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program. She also passed her specialty exam in October 2019 to be considered a Dermatology Certified Nurse Practitioner. Amy serves as a dermatology preceptor for students in nursing programs throughout the region. Amy enjoys practicing both medical and cosmetic dermatology with a special interest in evaluating and treating the whole person. She resides in rural Grafton with her husband and five children. Her family enjoys camping and a variety of year-round sports and can often be found on a court, field or in a rink. In this episode, we cover: * How to focus on doing “the next right thing” when you’re starting something big * Things to ask yourself when considering starting a new venture * The value of hiring skills that complement your own * Knowing where to invest your time, talents, and energy * The importance of balancing a strong vision with a flexible approach to business
Links + Resources Mentioned
The Skin Rehab website: https://theskinrehab.com/
The Skin Rehab on FB: https://www.facebook.com/skinrehabnd/
The Skin Rehab on IG: https://www.instagram.com/skinrehabnd/
Mention the podcast and get 20% off your facial booking!
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Are rural communities the future hotspot for entrepreneurship? Today’s guest, Jordan DeGree, founder of the Rural Ideas Network, sits down with us to share why he believes they are, and what it means for those of us living and working in rural America. We talk about how the network helps small towns to encourage entrepreneurship, foster creativity, and drive innovation. Whether you’re an entrepreneur in a rural community or a person who cares about supporting small businesses in your town, this episode is for you! Be sure to catch Jordan’s Fast Five (we love a solid soapbox!) to hear his answer to the question posed above. It’s such an exciting time to be in a small town! About Jordan
Jordan founded the Rural Ideas Network in 2018 as a way to support entrepreneurs in rural communities. In his role at the Rural Ideas Network, Jordan oversees network efficacy and provides coaching to entrepreneurs. Jordan is a social enterprise entrepreneur, focused on starting both for-profit and nonprofit initiatives that have a positive impact on communities. In 2020, he was selected by the governor to serve on the Empower Rural Iowa Taskforce, with a specific focus on supporting entrepreneurial development. In 2018, Jordan received a Governor’s volunteer award for his various community service efforts in Iowa. In 2008, Jordan launched Creative Adventure Lab, a nonprofit organization on a mission to foster creativity and innovation. Over the past 11 years, Creative Adventure Lab has grown to provide innovative learning experiences to people of all ages, through a variety of programs, and serves more than 20,000 people every year. Jordan also helped launch The Innovation Lab, a coworking space and innovation services provider with multiple locations throughout the midwest. The Innovation Lab provides office space, entrepreneurial support programs, and innovation services to existing businesses (like John Deere and Alliant Energy). DeGree has successfully launched and sold a residential property company and is currently majority owner of the Dubuque Idea Campus, a 42,000 ft2 commercial real-estate development in downtown Dubuque. To complement his 12+ years of entrepreneurial & management experience, DeGree has a master’s degree in educational leadership and professional experience designing curriculum, developing effective educational models, and providing instructional and advisory services to individuals. In this episode, we cover: * The meaning of creativity and innovation and how they work together * The value of co-working in a small town * How The Rural Ideas Network can support you and your community * What all businesses can focus on while still dealing with the pandemic * When your idea takes longer to implement than you planned...
Links + Resources Mentioned
Molly Knuth Media (Thanks for connecting us, Molly!!) https://www.mollyknuthmedia.com The Rural Ideas Network—Community Tools page: https://www.ruralideas.net/community-tools The Rural Ideas Network—Entrepreneur Tools page (classes & coaching): https://www.ruralideas.net/entrepreneur-tools (Use Coupon Code GST20 to get 20% off your registration!)
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
Welcome to the brand new Growing Small Towns Show! We are so stinking excited to roll out our first episode of this new season and in today's episode, you get a guest host! Nicole Pond, founder of The Yellow Bird, an online skincare company that makes exceptional and affordable skincare for your whole family, takes over the mic to interview Rebecca Undem, your usual podcast host about the journey of Growing Small Towns, the North Dakota-based 501(c)(3) she founded in 2019.
About Rebecca
Rebecca Undem has always been passionate about at least two things: people and talking to people. As an inspirational speaker, community advocate, and host of the podcast The Growing Small Towns Show, she’s put her gift of gab to good use. Rebecca spent over a decade in the organizational development industry, helping companies of all sizes, types, and industries make good on their commitment to make their people their top priority. She’s most passionate about encouraging people to steward their gifts well and she strongly believes this is how we create meaningful change and a lasting impact. As Founder and Executive Director of Growing Small Towns, a regional non-profit organization, Rebecca helps the communities in southeast North Dakota be places people love to call home through programs that grow their human, social, and cultural capital. Not one to let people down, Rebecca still lives up to her childhood label of drama queen. She binges on Netflix shows, coffee, and anything that leaves her verklempt—her self-acclaimed favorite feeling. Rebecca went against her youthful declarations and married a farmer, Jeremiah, and together, they have three amazing kids named Andrew, Carter, and Brynlee. They love their small town and the crazy-good life they get to live there. In this episode, we cover: 4:46 - How small towns offer possibilities most don't see 7:25 - An updated definition of growth for small towns
13:14 - How clearly defined values shape behavior
24:07 - What to focus on when pursuing a big goal
26:12 - The value people can expect from our organization
Links + Resources Mentioned
Growing Small Towns website: www.growingsmalltowns.org Growing Small Towns Facebook: www.facebook.com/growingsmalltowns Growing Small Towns Instagram: www.instagram.com/growingsmalltowns Join the community on FB! www.growingsmalltowns.group Yellow Bird website: www.yellowbird.co (use coupon code REBECCAUNDEM at checkout to get 10% off!) Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!
In this teaser episode, we are excited to introduce The Growing Small Towns Show! Your host, Rebecca Undem, shares all the things you need to know about why we’re rebranding the show, the reasons for these changes, and what to look forward to in the coming months.
On today’s show, we’re joined by Amber Adrian, former Teach For America teacher, to talk about what racism means, how it shows up in our world, and what we, even in our small towns, can do about it.
Confronting Racism Episode Summary:
Amber Adrian, former Teach For America teacher, shares a few of her personal stories and offers some practical ideas for how we, even in the smallest of towns across America, can begin to open our minds and hearts to what systemic racism is, how it affects us as a society, and what our individual and collective roles are in changing it.
About Amber Adrian:
Amber Adrian is a former middle school English teacher who worked in Los Angeles through Teach For America and was a founding staff member at a unique charter school in St. Paul, MN. She was raised in the Mitchell, SD, area and recently relocated back there alongside her husband Ryan, a native of the Twin Cities.
Amber is a freelance writer and an at-home parent to her daughters, Alice (4) and Clare (2). When she isn't cooking or tending to toddler emotions, she writes materials for businesses, maintains a blog and monthly(ish) newsletter, and writes occasionally for the local paper. Amber has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Education, and she's passionate about conversation, community, and personal growth.
In this episode, we tackle…
What is systemic racism and why is it so important that we understand the difference between that and overt acts of racism?
For many of us, when we hear the word “racist” we take personal offense to the suggestion that we play a role because frankly, most of us are not bad people that truly hate people of color. But Amber shares a lot of information about the nature of systemic racism and how it’s not about individual acts, but it’s about an entire system designed originally to keep POC from advancing. There are remnants of that original system left today, which makes access difficult for some and not for others.
What’s the reason that we don’t engage in discussions about race more in small towns/rural America?
In this time of heightened politicizing, it’s because the language around racial equality and justice for all typically belongs to the liberal side of the aisle. With small towns and much of rural America being more conservative politically, we hesitate to have these conversations because we don’t want to align with the “other side”.
As Amber shares, you’ll hear that race isn’t about sides. This is about humanity and how we each have a role to play in ensuring that everyone is seen, valued, and welcomed in our society.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- Why listening is the key to unlocking more understanding
- What it means that racism is “the water we swim in”
- How to start the work of learning and growing our own understanding about racism
- What our role is and why it matters, even in small towns
- When good intentions matter and when they don’t
- Why “call-out culture” is unproductive to the actual cause we’re claiming to care about
- How to approach this topic with love, grace and calming energy
Links Mentioned
Teach For America
The Banker: Movie Rebecca mentioned about redlining
Systemic Racism Explained: “Now This” video Rebecca mentioned seeing on Facebook
Article: Blackface: The Birth of an America Stereotype
Emmett Till post written by Amber’s friend: https://amybosthenegar.com/blog/emmett-till
Amber’s blog post about Philando Castile: https://alternativegrace.com/philando-castile-and-shalom/
The book Amber is reading right now: White Fragility
The poetry book mentioned in the episode: Bronx Masquerade
One of the most helpful books for Amber when she was teaching: Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race in School
Family movie to encourage inclusion: Zootopia
Connect with Amber
Blog: http://alternativegrace.com
Instagram: @amber.adrian
Newsletter: https://alternativegrace.com/slow-curated-words-for-a-more-intentional-life/
On today’s show, Rebecca chats with Adam and Karlyn Armbruster about starting a meaningful, community-focused business in a small town. Adam and Karlyn are both practicing physicians who yearned for some pizzazz for their small-town main street, and what started as a pipe dream ended up as a full-blown business idea and a plan to renovate the town’s nearly-century-old movie theater.
Reimaging a Movie Theatre Episode Summary:
Adam and Karlyn Armbruster of Sleepy Eye Coffee Co. and Sleepy Eye Brewing Co. share the story of starting the coffee shop and brewery in the town’s old movie theater, and all of the bits and pieces that make it such a meaningful addition to their small town.
About Adam and Karlyn Armbruster:
Adam and Karlyn each grew up in small Minnesota towns and met at the University of Minnesota, Duluth while in medical school. They married in 2009 and residency training took them to Wichita Kansas. After completing residency, they signed on to return to Adam’s home town of Sleepy Eye, MN in 2012 as Family Practice physicians providing broad spectrum primary care to the town of 3500.
Together they enjoyed small town life with their 3 children, but missed the variety of restaurants and entertainment available in larger cities. Their interest in travel, food, wine, beer, and small downtowns pushed them to purchase Sleepy Eye’s long-shuttered Pix Theater building in 2017 with plans to renovate it into a coffee shop and brewery.
Opening in late 2019, the completely renovated Pix Theater houses the Sleepy Eye Coffee Company and Sleepy Eye Brewing Company and has quickly become a social hub for the small town.
In this episode, we tackle…How can you take a passion that’s not your day job and turn it into a business?
Just give it a try. It can be scary, but sometimes you just have to listen to your heart and take the leap. When you share your passion with others, even skeptics might see the amazing potential.
How can a small-town business involve the community? Adam and Karlyn did not take this project on alone. They involved friends and the whole community in the excitement and renovation of the movie theater, and that ownership and passion helped it become a community hub that is so much more than just a coffee shop or brewery.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- How to have a small business while also having a full-time job
- How your hobbies can become a business and serve your community
- How we can encourage folks to come back to our small towns
- Why small towns can be the best places to start a small business and a great place to support small businesses
- How involving the community in a project like this can make it so much more meaningful that just the business itself.
Connect with Sleepy Eye Coffee Co.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sleepyeyecoffee/
Instagram: @sleepyeyecoffee
Website: https://www.sleepyeyecoffee.com/
Connect with Sleepy Eye Brewing Co.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sleepyeyebrewing/
Instagram: @sleepyeyebrewing
Website: https://sebc.square.site/
On today’s show, we’re joined by Rebecca’s good friend, Patrick Kirby, to talk about how to move forward with purpose during this difficult time. When all our events are being canceled and the “way we’ve always done it” won’t work anymore, we need to get creative and Patrick’s a great guy to spitball with. He recently moved up his in-person conference 3 whole months to offer it virtually because he knew his audience needed it. He shares the best of what he learned to help us make a similar positioning.
Purposeful Repositioning Episode Summary:
Patrick Kirby, non-profit organization champion and virtual event pioneer, offers some great ideas for all of us who host events for our businesses or communities to purposefully reposition so we can still serve our people well.
About Patrick Kirby:
Patrick Kirby is the Founder of Do Good Better Consulting and a believer that “we’ve always done it this way” is the most dangerous phrase in the English language.
Patrick has spent over a decade working in nearly every capacity in the nonprofit industry, for organizations of all shapes and sizes, and strives to ‘Do Good Better’ every day. From organizing $10,000 cure walks to $1 million galas, Patrick’s passion lies in creating creative solutions to make fundraising less boring.
He cut his donor relations/fundraising teeth as the Alumni Coordinator at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, MN, before trying his hand as a manufacturing sales rep to companies such as Target and Best Buy. Tired of being yelled at for uncontrollable international shipping issues in both English and Chinese, Patrick re-joined the world of nonprofit work as the Sr. Development Director at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation MN/Dakotas Chapter before taking the Chief Development Officer position at the Anne Carlsen Center.
He earned his B.A. in “B.S.” (politics) at Loras College in Dubuque, IA, and is hopelessly addicted to super nerdy Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels and old school SquareSoft ® RPG Nintendo games. Patrick married out of his league to his wife Shannon, has three ridiculously adorable children named Spencer, Preston and Willow, a chunky dog named Grover, and lives in West Fargo, ND.
In this episode, we tackle…
What’s a question we should all be asking ourselves right now?
Pulling out the standard “leadership seminar” concept of brainstorming your BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) Patrick suggests that this challenging time when everything has slowed way down is a great time to actually do this.
What is it that you really want to accomplish? Define it and then figure out what easy, simple things you can do to get there.
What’s the most important thing we can do for the people we serve?
Pick up the phone, reach out, and simply ask, “What can I do to help you?” More important than whether they actually need you or you end up serving them specifically, the fact that you offer is what keeps you and your business top-of-mind.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- How to overcome the mental hurdle of accepting this challenging time as reality
- What grace as to do with repositioning your offers
- How to create meaning when the events you always hosted can’t happen
- Why purpose matters and how it can open up new ideas for offers/services
- Why now is the best time to pursue partnerships/collaborations
- In what ways virtual events can be even better than in-person events, even though every part of you wants to resist this!
- Why inaction is the only way to fail right now
Links Mentioned
The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
Priya’s podcast: Together Apart
Connect with Patrick
Website: www.dogoodbetterconsulting.com
Book: Fundraise Awesomer: A Practical Guide to Staying Sane While Doing Good
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DGBConsulting/
Instagram: @fundraisingdad
Podcast: The Official Do Good Better Podcast
On the show today, Rebecca is talking COVID-19. In this unprecedented time, we can learn so much about ourselves and there are always bright spots in the midst of hardship (as her yard can attest.) She talks about the clarity this time has brought, how she is recommitting to values and her mission both in her personal life and for her business, and the importance of nurturing what you already have. She also talks about why she is so grateful for her small town (always, but particularly right now) and why the future of small towns could actually be brighter post-COVID.
In this episode, we tackle…
What we can learn about ourselves and our towns from COVID-19
Rebecca has always been about Feeling Your Feelings, and now is absolutely no exception. It’s a big thing with big feelings attached, and it’s important to both honor those feelings and also find a way forward. Hard times also bring clarity, and Rebecca shares how her mission and values are clearer than ever and what that means going forward. She also offers up so much hope about why our small towns could come back stronger than ever post-COVID, and offers sincere prayers and hope for you and your small town, too.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- Honoring your feelings
- Why there’s no “right way” to Corona
- Recommitting to core values and looking for opportunities
- Nurturing vs. reinventing the wheel
- Gratitude for small towns
- What the future of our small towns could look like post-COVID.
On today’s show, we’re joined by returning guest, Lee Schwartz, founder of Small Town Labs, to discuss some ideas that communities could consider when dealing with the economic fallout of COVID-19.
Lee Schwartz, founder of Small Town Labs, a business dedicated to supporting the economic development of small towns, joins us to discuss different approaches that community leaders, individuals, and business owners might try to deal with the challenges of the mandatory business closures due to COVID-19.
In this episode, we tackle…
What has been one of the key lessons you’ve learned while growing The Midwest Girl?
According to Marissa, it all took a lot longer to build than they originally thought or hoped it would and while that could be defeating if you took it out of context, the way The Midwest Girl has grown over time is a much more accurate portrayal of the journey of building a brand.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- The blessings of being in business with a relative (Marissa runs The Midwest Girl with her older sister, Marah)
- What it takes to build a following of people who act like brand ambassadors
- How to grow a brand purposely and mindfully
- How to deal with change as a company
On today’s show, we’re joined by our guest, Marissa Hoffman, one-half of the sister-duo who founded the brand called The Midwest Girl. She shares the journey of this popular brand’s startup and how she and her sister pragmatically scaled it over time.
Marissa Hoffmann, one of the two sisters behind the brand The Midwest Girl, joins us to share the full story about how they started their brand, the pivots they made along the way, and the challenges they’ve faced as a small startup brand.
In this episode, we tackle…
What has been one of the key lessons you’ve learned while growing The Midwest Girl?
According to Marissa, it all took a lot longer to build than they originally thought or hoped it would and while that could be defeating if you took it out of context, the way The Midwest Girl has grown over time is a much more accurate portrayal of the journey of building a brand.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- The blessings of being in business with a relative (Marissa runs The Midwest Girl with her older sister, Marah)
- What it takes to build a following of people who act like brand ambassadors
- How to grow a brand purposely and mindfully
- How to deal with change as a company
On the show today, Tara Brandner, nurse practitioner and passionate infertility advocate, joins us to talk about how her own journey of infertility in a town of around 750 people led her to form a non-profit to help other women feel less alone and to reduce the stigma associated with infertility.
About Tara Brandner:
Tara Brandner currently practices at Ashley Medical Center in her rural hometown of Ashley, North Dakota. Tara serves as the co-legislative liaison and president for the North Dakota Nurse Practitioner Association. She also served as the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Fall 2016 Health Policy Fellow. Tara and her husband endured a long road of infertility. This prompted Tara to take action and she introduced a bill to North Dakota State Legislation to mandate insurance coverage for
infertility care and cancer preservation. She soon realized the need for a nonprofit in North Dakota supporting those diagnosed with infertility and from this Everlasting Hope was born.
Everlasting Hope is the first and only in the state raising awareness on infertility, connecting with infertility patients across the entire state, and awarding financial assistance to patients.
In this episode, we tackle...
What effect does being in a small, rural town have on the journey of infertility?
Tara is proud to be back in her hometown of Ashley, ND, and while there are many things to love, she shared how being in a rural community added a degree of difficulty in accessing the medical professionals she needed and she often felt more isolated than she might have living in a larger city.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- The stats regarding infertility in the US
- How to advocate for yourself if you end up battling infertility
- Advice for friends and family who are supporting a loved one battling infertility
- The fears most people face when receiving the diagnosis of infertility
Connect with Tara:
- Websites: raisingeverlastinghope.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raisingeverlastinghope/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingeverlastinghope/
On the show today, Jessie Veeder, musician, rancher, and author of a weekly column in North Dakota’s largest news publication, joins us to talk about her journey back to her rural community in western North Dakota. She shares about growing up in her community, and how she wasn’t encouraged to return due to the belief that there wasn’t a future for her there. Now, after making her way back home, she’s contributing so much to the vibrancy of her community and she encourages us to do the same.
About Jessie Veeder:
Singer, songwriter, writer and community advocate Jessie Veeder tells the story of Western North Dakota. An Americana musician with heartfelt honest lyrics, Jessie has been singing and talking about the buttes and creeks of her family’s working cattle ranch since releasing her first original album at age 16. Since then she has gone on to tour nationally and record four more albums, the latest, “Northern Lights” recorded in Nashville in 2015. Jessie’s nationally acclaimed song “Boomtown,” a folk ballad about life for people in the Bakken has been featured on area news programs, national and international documentaries and put her on the frontlines of telling the story of community in oil country.
Since 2010 Jessie and her husband, Chad, have worked alongside her father as the fourth generation stewards of the Veeder Ranch where she chronicles life on the land as a weekly columnist for state-wide newspapers and on her popular blog titled “Meanwhile, back at the ranch…Her book “Coming Home,” released in 2017 is a compilation of her favorite photos, poems, stories and recipes.
Jessie is currently working on a new album, “Playin’ Favorites,” due to be released this spring. Jessie is a founding member of McKenzie County’s Long X Arts Foundation where she works as Tourism’s Art and Event director to help create and promote cultural and arts based activities in her hometown, blending her love and connection to the arts with her drive to make her community a better place to work and live.
In this episode, we tackle...
Why did it seem that you had no future in your small town?
At the time when Jessie graduated, it didn’t seem that they were many prospects. Now, with great rural internet, she’s living a multi-passionate life that allows her to express all her unique gifts in a way that only she can. This future didn’t really exist for her then and now, it does.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- How to create a sense of place in your community and why it matters
- Why quality of life and economic development are no longer separate in small towns
- How to make changes without ruffling feathers
- How reconnecting to what you loved as a child can spark ideas
- Why giving others ownership over projects is so important
Connect with Jessie:
- Websites: www.veederranch.com or jessieveedermusic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jessieveeder
- Facebook: facebook.com/veederranch
On the show today, Stephanie Wilde, founder of Say Anything Jewelry, shares her entrepreneurial journey of starting and growing her jewelry business. She offers lots of insights and wisdom about how to be a business owner and she also shares how her customers turned her on to a cause that she now passionately advocates for—suicide prevention. Rural America is grappling with an increase in suicide so this timely episode is not to be missed.
In this episode, we tackle...
What was the hardest part about scaling your business?
Stephanie shared that many people tried to tell her that having only jewelry in a brick and mortar store would never work. And while she admits to the need to have an online presence as well—she started her lines on Etsy—she never allowed what other people thought to deter her from what she wanted to create.
How did you become involved in supporting suicide awareness and prevention?
Stephanie shares that her customers really drove this in her life. Because Say Anything Jewelry designs customized pieces often stamped with handwritten notes and/or fingerprints, many people were ordering pieces to honor someone they lost. As more and more customers started sharing their stories of losing loved ones to suicide, Stephanie felt a deep calling to do something more. Listen in to hear what’s doing and how you can get involved, too!
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- Why it’s so important to create a business that supports your family and lifestyle rather than trying to make your family adapt to your business
- The importance of asking your friends and family, “How are you feeling?” and being ready to hold space for whatever their answers may be
- Why there is still such a stigma around mental health, particularly in rural areas
- How our businesses can open up our lives to passions we never considered before
- Why the “green bead wearers” are the unsung heroes of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention walks
Connect with Stephanie:
- Say Anything Jewelry Website
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
On the show today, Terra Cypher, founder of @wildgoatdesign, an Etsy shop where Terra creates hand-lettered signs and other items, joins us to share how she started her business, what it’s meant to be really encouraged by her loved ones, and why she thinks small towns are the best place to start a new business.
About Terra Cypher:
Terra Cypher is the artist behind Wild Goat Design, a creative adventure full of painting signs, globes, murals, and teaching.
Apart from managing her studio, traveling to craft shows and teaching classes, she enjoys reading, coffee with good conversation, and finding fun hidden gems in small towns. Or just hanging out at home cozying up with her husband and two obnoxious cats.
In this episode, we tackle...
What was the hardest part about starting an “art-based” business?
Terra said it herself: “Starting!” She talked about how she really needed the nudge to take the leap—and boy, did she get a great nudge!—because she might have continued to wait until the timing seemed better. But there will never be a perfect time...you just have to leap!
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- Why having our gifts cultivated from early on is so important
- How Terra came to name her business Wild Goat Design
- Why having a “disgustingly encouraging” husband has been such a blessing in her life
- How Terra dispels the prevalent belief that creativity in only given to a select few
- Why small towns are the best place to start businesses
Connect with Terra:
- Wild Goat Design Etsy Shop
- Wild Goat Design Facebook Page
- Wild Goat Design Instagram: @wildgoatdesign
On the show today, Sarah Calhoun, founder of Red Ants Pants and the Red Ants Pants Foundation, which started the Red Ants Pants Musical—the Montana Office of Tourism Event of the Year as determined by the governor of Montana. She shares her passion and love for small towns, along with valuable insights for starting a business and creating a movement regardless of the size of your small town. If you love your small town and want to be inspired to create something that puts your community on the map and gets everyone involved, listen in to this episode!
About Sarah Calhoun:
Sarah Calhoun has two decades of leadership experience in both the non-profit and small business sectors, working in the outdoor education industry before founding Red Ants Pants in 2006.
Raised on a farm in rural Connecticut, Calhoun was inspired to move to Montana by Ivan Doig’s This House of Sky. From her home in the small town of White Sulphur Springs, she has become an inspiration to entrepreneurs nationwide and is known for her dedication to supporting rural communities.
Tired of wearing men’s work pants that didn’t fit, Calhoun designed pants that would fit, function and flatter working women. Red Ants Pants are made in the USA and that will not change. Red Ants Pants is based out of White Sulphur Springs, Montana where the storefront, distribution center, and international headquarters all reside in an historic saddle shop. Known for their grass roots marketing efforts, including ‘Tour de Pants,’ the direct sales business model is proving effective.
To show support for the hard-working side of Montana and beyond, the Red Ants Pants Foundation was born in 2011. The Foundation supports women’s leadership, working family farms and ranches, and rural communities – the three things most important to Calhoun and the Red Ants Pants Community. That same year the Foundation launched its first program – the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. In 2011, over 6,000 fans came to celebrate rural Montana in a cow pasture. Over the years, attendees have enjoyed headliners including Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Wynonna Judd, and Keb’ Mo. The festival continues its success into its tenth year on July 23-26, 2020 aiming to improve upon the authentic, rich community culture the 16,000 attendees enjoyed during the 2019 festival.
Calhoun’s grit has brought her enterprises national recognition over the years – in 2018 she was named to the Montana Business Hall of Fame and the Festival received the prestigious Event of the Year award from the Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development. In 2016, featured in The New York Times and The Huffington Post. In 2015, selected as one of only 100 businesses nationwide to participate in the Small Business Majority’s Small Business Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. In 2012, named the National Women in Business Champion for the Small Business Administration. In 2011, invited by President Obama to attend a White House forum on jobs and economic development after serving as a US Delegate to the APEC Women in Business Summit in San Francisco. Closer to home, she was honored when Governor Schweitzer named her the 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year for the State of Montana. Calhoun and her company have been featured in many national publications including Entrepreneur, National Geographic, Delta Sky, Country Woman, and Sunset.
Calhoun has been called a “revolutionary figure in rural business today” and a “powerhouse of inspiration for women in business.” Her dynamic style and inspiring experiences as an entrepreneur make her a highly sought after keynote speaker. She has given two TEDx talks, dozens of keynote addresses, and has been featured on national television programs such as CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg.
As Calhoun has risen to the top echelons of success as a rural entrepreneur, she is paying it forward by actively encouraging and mentoring other women starting their own businesses.
Calhoun spends her free time enjoying Montana’s great outdoors, cutting firewood, hunting, and camping. She lives in White Sulphur with her dog Nellie.
In this episode, we tackle...
What makes being a transplant difficult for people?
Sarah personally didn’t struggle with this, but how she assimilated into a the town she chose with no natural network offers lessons for all of us. It starts with how you view the community you’re joining. If you come into a community roaring to change it because of all the experience you bring, you’ll likely create walls that never come back down. Sit back. Slow down. Observe your town. Immerse yourself in it as it is, before you set to the work of trying to change. Bottom line: if you believe that where you came from is “better”, you’re setting yourself up to create more enemies than community-altering changes.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
- How to create something that people really want to be involved with
- Why small towns can create things of significance more easily than large cities
- How transplants can become assimilated into their new small town
- Reasons to find ways to make your spot on the map bolder
- What mindset you really need to pull off big things in your community
Connect with Sarah:
- Red Ants Pants Website
- Red Ants Pants Music Festival
- Red Ants Pants Foundation
On the show today, Elizabeth Shipstead, founder of The Rural Sisterhood, shares her story of starting the blog and the eventual Facebook group. She shares about the importance of having a place to be truly vulnerable and how each of us can create a solution to the problems we face in our own lives.
About Elizabeth Shipstead:
Elizabeth Shipstead is the farm wife, momma, friend and founder of The Rural Sisterhood! She and her husband farm in northeast Montana. They raise wheat, peas, lentils and canola! They have a small but growing herd of black angus cows and they also have two little, sweet, and crazy farm girls!
Elizabeth can be found writing while flagging for her equipment-driving hubby (only while waiting safely on the next approach for him to catch up, of course) toting around a huge bag of toys, books and any other items that might keep her busy girls' attention while she runs the swather and/or combine, running into town in grubby clothes for that one necessary part, trying to stay on top of a losing battle with the weeds in her garden, and giggling, crying and empathizing with the women of The Rural Sisters' Community, who have become wonderful friends and sisters in this wild and crazy Ag life we live.
In this episode, we tackle…
Why is vulnerability so important to cultivating community?
When we can truly let our guards down and feel safe to share the challenges and joys of our lives with other people, inevitably, we’ll hear others saying “I’ve SO been there!” or even “I’m in the midst of that right now!” Being able to honestly share of yourself is the quickest way to create deep, meaningful connections with other people and the key to getting there is feeling safe to be vulnerable.
Listen to this episode to hear more about:
🐮 why small towns need to remain open to new ideas (and people)
🐮 why quality trumps quantity, even in an online business
🐮 why we all need a place where we can be vulnerable
🐮 how to avoid creating divisions when starting a community
🐮 the danger of tying our identity to something external
Connect with Elizabeth:
Website: www.theruralsisterhood.com
Social Media: www.facebook.com/theruralsisterhood
Email: theruralsisterhood@gmail.com
On the show today, the show’s host, Rebecca, shares 4 ideas to help shift the way you think about the people you feel aren’t fully unsupportive of your big ideas. When you take on something new and significant you’re going to need support and these ideas will help you when you feel like the people you’re relying on to give it—even if they’re your family—either don’t get it or simply don’t believe in what you’re trying to do.
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
- The Good Life Project Podcast website: https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/
- “To Succeed at Anything, Do This” Episode: https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/success-2020/
Today’s guest is Joan Sacrison, founder of the website www.travelbackroads.today where she features small town events, businesses and what she calls “clusters” to help people interested in finding those “diamonds in the rough” while they’re taking the roads less traveled.
On the show today, Joan shares her entrepreneurial journey—which started with her selling everything under the sun as a young girl—and her philosophy that you’re never too old to learn something new. As a rural champion, Joan has a passion for celebrating all that’s to love about living and working in rural America.
Today’s guest is Deanne Frieders, the woman behind the blog This Farm Girl Cooks. She joins us to talk about her journey as a food blogger and how her small town of 1,400 people pulled off a community dinner.
On the show today, Deanne shares how she turned her need to create farm-family-friendly meals into a successful blog where she offers practical tips to help busy families keep mealtimes a priority. She also shares how she successfully offered a community dinner in her small town.
Today’s episode marks the official one-year anniversary of the Small Town Big Talk Show! (Well, to be clear, it’s really the 52nd episode so we’ve finally shared a full year of weekly shows!) To celebrate, Rebecca is going back to her roots and she’s offering some ideas for improving your interpersonal skills that can help when you’re working with groups—committees, boards, heck, even your family.
Today’s guest is Rebekah Scott, servant to God, wife to Nicholas, mother of 4 and founder and designer at Rebekah Scott Designs. She joins the show today to share how she started her company and how as she grew it, she made intentional choices to stay true to herself and the things she values most.
Today, Rebecca’s going solo to share the top ten takeaways from the podcast in 2019! Relive this year’s amazing guests—they are all amazing—and commit to putting these ideas into practice in your small town in 2020.
On today’s show, Rebecca chats with Deb Brown and Becky McCray, co-founders of Save Your Town, a website dedicated to showing people specific ways to make their small town a better place. Deb and Becky create videos, courses and toolkits that help small town people learn, grow and take action. They believe small towns can be saved by their own people using their own resources.
Today’s guest is Dayna Jones, singer/songwriter and lover of small towns. She joins us on the show to talk about how to pursue your passions in a small town and how she balances her big aspirations with her small-town life.
On the show today, Dayna will inspire you to get out there and chase down your dream. She’s a kindergarten teacher by day and takes stages at night as a singer/songwriter. She even shares about how she landed on stage with her idol, Martina McBride, singing a duet!
Today’s guest is Joe Bartmann, President of Dakota Resources, an organization that helps rural communities help themselves through innovative processes, tools, training, and research. He joins the show to chat about how small towns can begin shifting their mindsets to embrace creativity, innovation, and the belief that everyone should love the town they live in.
Today’s guest is Tiffaney Holm, a corporate trainer, mom, wife, and friend to many. Tiff joins us on the show to discuss her very personal story about mental health and offers ways we can all get better at talking about it and helping others (or ourselves) when struggling with it.
On the show today, Tiffaney bravely shares her story of losing her dad to suicide and how she’s grown from and used that experience to guide herself through her own journey as an adult living with a mental health diagnosis. She offers ideas to help all of us feel better equipped to talk about and support each other if dealing with mental health concerns.
Today’s guest is Wendy Royston, a professional writer, editor and writing coach with over 20 years' experience and she shares her journey of becoming a freelance writer while living in a town of only 330 people.
On the show today, Wendy Royston will inspire anyone who has a marketable skill of any kind to explore the various ways it could be leveraged into freelance work, regardless of the size of the town where you live. Wendy loves the freedom her work offers to balance her responsibilities of being a mom to her five daughters plus the important choices she’s modeling for her kids as she pursues her passion in a non-traditional way.
On the show today, Aubrey Mathis shares why she believes small-town people are better able to make a big impact than what we’d typically believe.
As a small-town girl who just “went for it” with both her book and the dream of the non-profit she had on her heart, she wants to encourage all of us that live in rural places to lean into what makes them wonderful and think about what it might mean to change the narrative about who small-town people are.
On the show today, Molly Knuth—or Iowa Rebecca as you’ll hear she now calls herself—joins Rebecca to chat about her journey of becoming a social media marketing expert that supports small-town entrepreneurs and small business owners to better connect with their customers.
Molly shares a wealth of information about how to start doing social media marketing, even if you’re scared or you believe you just don’t have the time to devote to doing it well. She makes a case for why all digital marketing (website and social media) is here to stay and what local businesses are missing out on if they don’t have a web presence.
Today’s show features host, Rebecca Undem, as she shares the top customer service top strategies from a recent workshop she offered to a conference for both rural entrepreneurs and professionals involved with community or economic development.
On the show today, Chrystal Checketts joins Rebecca to discuss the importance of cultivating real connection in small towns, which requires honesty and vulnerability that doesn’t naturally occur in many rural environments.
Chrystal is a “homecomer” and she shares of the beauty of being able to appreciate and honor the work-ethic and legacy of her ranching/farming family while also trying to shape the future for a more open-minded and open-hearted community.
On the show today, Kraig Steinhoff, superintendent of Oakes Public Schools, shares a new and exciting approach to education that is being piloted with selected schools among the nation. Kraig and his team at OPS have a reputation for being innovative, and Kraig believes it’s partly due to their commitment to demonstrating continuous improvement as a school district.
We talk about how the future of education is changing because the future workplace our kids will eventually enter is changing. He shares how important he believes the collaboration between the school and community is as well as what he’d suggest all small-town residents do to take an active role in the success of the community’s education system.
On the show today, Patrick Kirby, founder of Do Good Better Consulting, shares his thoughts on how small-town organizations and nonprofit groups can take a fresh approach to fundraising. We talk about how to make a bigger impact with a simpler approach that’s person-focused and aligned with your values.
Let’s face it: we’re all looking for new ideas to raise money for all the groups we support in our communities and Patrick is just the guy to ask!
On the show today, Rebecca shares five specific lessons she’s learned while trying to get her social-entrepreneurship startup off the ground in her hometown.
Rebecca shares the big vision for her business venture and where she’s at in the process along with five main takeaways for you to consider if you’re trying to get a big project, idea, or business off the ground in your small town.
On the show today, Rebecca chats with Elaine Sveet, a pastor, wife, mom, and founder of a new online community called Chasing Abundant Life, which was created to help women connect about the daily joys and struggles of life.
In this chat, Elaine shares her experiences of having moved from small town to small town, and how isolating it can sometimes be. She offers insights into how to bloom where you’re planted, always believing that there’s a purpose for your time in a given place.
Welcome to this episode of the Small Town Big Talk Show. Today, we have Lee Schwartz, who is the founder of Small Town Labs and is passionate about helping small towns develop a marketing plan to help them be sustainable in the future. We talk about what small towns can do to market their community, even when they are lacking resources.
Today’s guest is Ashley Berg, owner of Main Street Boutique in Rugby, ND. She’s also the President of Rugby’s Chamber of Commerce, on the board of directors for the CVB and recently, was elected as a County Commissioner.
Ashey is a true ambassador for her hometown and she and Rebecca talk about how and why she chooses that attitude.
Every single one of us that lives in a small town can choose to also be an evangelist for our community.
Ashley is always talking about, promoting, sharing, and encouraging others to visit—and even relocate to—Rugby.
If every single one of us adopted this kind of attitude, think of the impact it could have on the future of communities—our schools would stay full, our businesses would thrive and our communities would have longevity.
Her energy and passion are infectious and it will inspire you to catch some for your small town!
Marlene Eick—speaker, coach, and podcaster for Millennial leaders, especially women connected to agriculture—is Rebecca’s guest today. They sit down to talk about how to “network” in a small town and though we tend to have a pretty narrow view of what that means—handing out business cards at stuffy corporate-like events—this isn’t the only way to look at it.
Marlene’s hometown is Jenera, OH (pop. 400) and she transplanted to Wooster, OH, so she knows how interwoven the relationships can be in small towns and how difficult it can be to navigate that dynamic as a transplant.
She also knows how our preconceived ideas can hold us back and offers some practical and important ideas for how to increase connection when you tell yourself that you already know everybody.
We all need community and connection. When we can be honest about the thoughts and beliefs that might be holding us back from creating connection in our small towns, we open ourselves up to all the ways we can intentionally foster real relationships.
Rebecca is joined by Molly Bestge, CEO of Cultivate21, a nationally recognized professional development company that focuses on providing effective professional learning experiences for educators that directly impact shifts in instruction and application of STEM/STEAM, Project-Based Learning, and 21st century skills into the classroom.
As you may have guessed, Molly and Rebecca talk about educating our youth in small towns.
Our kids are our future and often times in small towns, we fear that they’ll be limited by opportunities because of being in a smaller school.
It’s also a bit trickier to feel equipped to advocate for our kids’ education in a small town where we know all the educators and staff personally.
Molly shares ideas to help us model for our kids to help them develop the skills she trains educators to incorporate and because she herself lives in a small town, these ideas can be used immediately no matter your zip code.
Check out more about Cultivate21 on Facebook HERE and take to heart all the ways that each one of us can encourage and support our kids to become the kind of people that demonstrate a work ethic we can all be proud of.
Emily Costopoulos (pronounced just like Uncle Jesse’s last name on Full House) is Rebecca’s guest on today’s episode. Emily is the host of the Stand to Serve podcast, owner of The Local, a co-working space in Sturgis, SD, and creative guru at www.emilycostopoulos.com.
Emily shares her winding journey of being an engineer turned creative entrepreneur and how she isn’t waiting for others to bring to her small town the things that herself wants to see.
Every single one of has the power to create significant change and innovation in our small towns. Emily will inspire each of us to think bigger, lean into the discomfort, and never be afraid to try new things.
You can learn all about Emily’s creative work by visiting her website at www.emilycostopoulos.com. Listen to the Stand to Serve podcast at https://standtoserve.com/ and follow along with The Local, her Sturgis, SD, based co-working space at https://thelocalsturgis.com.
Brit Kolo, founder of Marketing Personalities is today’s talk show guest.
Brit’s entire business was created to help entrepreneurs and small business owners discover how to market their businesses in a way that feels good to them and in this week’s episode, she joins Rebecca to expand that topic into how to be yourself in a small town.
Learning to embrace who you really are extends far beyond business and impacts every other aspect of life.
Living in a small town can feel like you’re under more of a microscope than in larger communities; there is literally no way to be anonymous.
That in itself is not a bad thing, but it can present a problem for people when it comes to finding the courage to be themselves.
In small towns, progress and innovation can only happen when people are brave enough to step up and try new things; the only people who can do that are people who know and trust themselves.
This episode can help you start that journey—and it is a journey, there are no shortcuts to personal growth.
Be sure to visit Marketing Personalities to discover your best marketing strategy based on your MBTI type and connect with Brit over on Instagram or Facebook to get daily encouragement to own who you are and believe that you’re enough. Just as you are.