Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Americana
Why does your town exist? What makes your community thrive? How is that for holiday time existential questions? Recently I revisited a recording by Minnesota Public Radio of a community meeting up in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in the heart of 10,000 lakes country. Two University of Minnesota Extension educators in the Community Vitality program, Ben […]
Diary of Orrin Brown, outside White Oak, South Carolina Fifth Part of Journal Wednesday–Feb. 22nd We were on the road at 6 AM marched out 4 or 5 miles and haulted for one of the other divisions to pass. Started up again and passed through White Oak Station on the Charleston and Richmond R. R. […]
Diary of Orrin Brown, Sister’s Landing, Georgia Tuesday–Jan. 31st We had another cool night but it came of warm and nice through the day. We had company drill this AM and about 11 AM I was detailed with 17 others of the company to go down to the river and unload a steamer, it was […]
The financial path our cities are on is fast falling apart, as our Suburban experiment of the last half-century shows its age. Our future prosperity depends on the ability of local leaders to transform their communities. How do we do that? That’s what Charles Marohn came to town to talk about, bringing his Strong Towns […]
It’s said that when your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Who said it first is up for debate, but it is said. And it is sad, because the aphorism rings true. The designer’s dilemma is finding new solutions for old problems. The good folks at Placemakers considered this in […]
Cross-posted from JohnScout: It may be one of the worst kept secrets in modern politics, but before Texas Gov. Rick Perry throws his hat in the Presidential ring and this topic gets all political on us, I wanted to say a few words about a book he wrote. In 2008, Perry published a semi-autobiographical commentary […]
This, my friends, is too good to pass up. From Seth Godin’s blog Monday: Responsibility and authority Achievers in traditional organizations often say, “I want more authority.” They mean that they want the power to make things happen, the mantle of authority that will allow them to get things done. This is an industrial-era mindset. […]
3 key themes–involvement, leadership, problem solving.
4-H, Extension & Communities that thrive
