“Know Thyself” urges the inscription on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, repeated throughout the Platonic dialogues of ancient Greece. In 1651, Thomas Hobbes opens Leviathan by urging his readers nosce te ipsum—only by study can we understand our world. In building community, no matter if you choose a traditional dichotomy between Action and Planning, or adopt a cumulative and […]
Redefining the Rural Narrative
We’re living in exciting times in Rural America, have you heard? We’ve just completed the third out of the last four decades of overall population gain in Rural America, growing from 53.5 million in 1970 to 59.5 million in 2010. Midwest farmland is bringing record prices. Land in Rock County, Minnesota, has recently sold for […]
Brain Gain in Greater Minnesota: A Continuing Rural Success Story
Migration from rural to urban is the story of America’s progress. In our just over 200-year history, we’ve moved from a nation of Jeffersonian farmers to a majority of urbanites. Bigger is better, of course. But not always is bigger better. And if America is anything, we’re a nation of rebels and rabble-rousers who relish […]
What Women Want (When Thinking About Moving To A Small Town)
Proving the adage that great minds think alike, in a post at Blandin on Broadband blog today Ann Treacy follows-up on Ben Winchester’s work on the Rural Brain Gain, which I mentioned earlier this week. The BoB blog is, of course, focused on the broadband angle, but this entry speaks more generally to how communities prepare (or […]
Building Community: Sweat the Small Stuff
3 key themes–involvement, leadership, problem solving.
