Local
Turning a school into apartments in a small town with adaptive reuse project
I talked about adaptive reuse in our Rural Housing webinar. In May of 2019 three young business owners, under the age of 35, bought the abandoned Bowtie School in Homestead PA, population 2800 people. It took them two years to figure out what to do with the building! They finally decided to turn it into 31 apartments. It took…
Read MoreDo we rebuild?
In July of 2022 Letcher County, Kentucky had a 100 year flood, that left many businesses having to decide if they should rebuild or not. The devastation was beyond believe. The IGA Grocery store in the small town of Isom was one of the many businesses affected. On a visit to the county one year…
Read MoreThey put a restaurant in a roofless building
I created the Tour of Empty Buildings ten years ago, in 2013. There have been many towns that ran with the idea and host tours too. Natchez, MS, Danville, KY, Jefferson, IA, Oglesby,Il are just a few of them. The Texas Historical Commission has been hosting Imagine The Possibilities Tour in small towns state wide…
Read MoreIowa Blogger Conference – March 19, 2016
Iowa Blogger Conference is 10 days away. It’s not too late to register and attend! http://www.iowabloggerconference.com/ It will be held at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Reasons to attend: 1. It’s a one day educational conference for beginners and intermediate bloggers. You will learn about bloggers and take home a digital tool…
Read MoreToulouse-Lautrec on a Barn
I saw the article in the paper and promptly forgot about it. Then my friend asked if I wanted to go take a picture of it. I didn’t realize it was so close to where I lived, just west of Dayton on Highway 175. What a great story! How often do you see the Peter…
Read MoreThe Family Farm
When I grew up I played in the corn and the wild grass and under the biggest tree in the county I climbed many trees and walked the creek with my grandpa in search of a big fish I played around tombstones and pretended I was a preacher In the grass under a circle of…
Read MoreWeed Whackers and Windex
Ninjas Needed I visited Roscommon County, Michigan and toured a few empty buildings. On one corner, a major intersection into town, there was an empty building on each corner. We talked about building possibility, working with the county and the town and hosting a tour. Next to one of the buildings that needed to be…
Read MoreWhat is Showrooming?
You see something on tv, or online. You go to your local store to actually look at the item. Then you go online, often on your phone while you’re in the store, to find it somewhere else cheaper. That is showrooming. We live in a small town. Small towns need local jobs, sales tax revenue,…
Read MoreGeneva Church Ladies Cook Book On Sale Now
These recipes are tried, tested and true. They are from women who are known across the state for the best church dinners ever known to man, at least in the state of Iowa. Now you may think I’m exaggerating, but I’m here to tell you that I am not. The Geneva Church Ladies host a…
Read MoreOverheard: Corporate Speak
I was in Des Moines this week and while in Casey’s standing in line I overheard two staff members talking. “Did you read that email from corporate?” “The one about not using the elevators at work? And we should use the stairs? Get our exercise, stay committed to wellness?” “Have they ever been in a…
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