Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Americana
Despite a slight rebound from October’s five‑year low, Creighton University’s latest Rural Mainstreet Index report shows the Midwest & Northern Rockies heartland still mired below growth neutral, with weak grain prices, soft ag land values, and cautious rural bankers keeping recession risks elevated. November’s RMI: Off the Floor, Still in the Red The Rural Mainstreet […]
Black Friday. Small Biz Saturday. Sunday. Cyber Monday. Whatever Whenever. There’s no good excuse not to buy somebody you love some good music for Christmas. Or Hanukkah, Or Kwanzaa, Or Yuletide. Or Whatever. The Americana Radio Charts et al are bursting with late year releases of Roots and Traditional Country music. New stuff is Autumn […]
2016 was a year for the books. I read a lot more this year, and listened to a lot of good music, so that’s a good thing. On the other hand, as demographics and biology would decree, our Greatest Generation and Baby Boomer heroes passed away at a seemingly increasing rate—time even started catching up […]
2015 was 150 years from the end of the Civil War, and 1 more year that I changed jobs and moved, this time back to the Centennial State of Colorado. I started out continuing the daily journal of my ancestor Pvt. Orrin Brown, then relaxing my publishing schedule and finishing with some pretty good Americana music. […]
Cowboy Poetry Week, April 19-25, 2015, got me nostalgic for the pure American joy I am blessed with living and working in the rural West. It took me a week longer than Cowboy Poetry Week to dig this back out, but here’s a throwback from Montana Days, my tribute to small town rodeo. At the […]
If you create a city that’s good for an 8 year old and good for an 80 year old, you will create a successful city for everyone.— 8-80 Cities A well-designed place works for all of its residents, from the youngest family to the eldest veteran. We seem to have forgotten that in our rush […]
UPDATE: At the time I wrote this, I was seeking a new opportunity in community and economic development, policy analysis or public administration, particularly in the Rocky Mountain or Great Plains states. I do my best work with a small team of professionals dedicated to excellence in public service. I was considering opportunities where I […]
Spring is in the air. Local citizens are coming out of their winter’s cocoons and are eager to do something. You’re right on top of that, coaxing your friends and neighbors to stop pushing buttons (between planning and doing) and starting to move their Flywheel of incremental, constant improvement. You’ve spent your winter getting to Know […]
“You can’t save everybody / Everybody don’t want to be saved” –Kieran Kane Everybody agreed the unincorporated community needed attention. The County Comprehensive Plan had highlighted concerns with increasing density in the area just outside city limits. The City Comp Plan had acknowledged the community’s vision as “an attractive, semi-rural neighborhood”. The State Rural Development […]
This was a year of transitions and commitments. I changed jobs, changed states, and started to follow my ancestor Pvt. Orrin Brown on his march with Gen. Sherman to the Sea. In the new year, we’ll follow him as they turn North for home. And I hope you’ll follow me as I explore new stories […]
