Workforce is a Rural Challenge

illustration by Mars Manderico of adults and students working with hammers and nails

The Survey of Rural Challenges is now available through the end of May for you to share your rural challenges and assets! Results will be shared on January 1, 2025. One of the top 5 challenges consistently over the years is Workforce. Let’s take a look at just one of the challenges in the category. CHALLENGE: Need more…

Read More

10 Questions for Rural People

Take the Survey of Rural Challenges. https://saveyour.town/survey2024 These 10 questions will provide information to many organizations and people on what is challenging for rural communities. Are you rural? This survey is for you. Your answers to the Survey of Rural Challenges will: Prepare better services for rural communities: “It gives us great insight as we…

Read More

Advice to those working in small towns

The International Economic Development Council published my article that includes advice too: Survey of Rural Challenges: Results Show Optimism and Big Disconnects, and what economic developers can do about it.   The article was about the results from the Survey of Rural Challenges, and some advice to economic developers and others working in rural communities. You…

Read More

We tried an idea

RAGBRAI bike riders in Webster City

The Survey of Rural Challenges had a place to add comments. We were pleasantly surprised to see how many people shared something related to “we tried an idea.” Here’s a few: New idea for a restaurant: Adding a lunch counter and doing things totally different than anyone else in town. People either love it or…

Read More

Have you shared your rural challenges on our survey yet?

What challenges do you face in your community and business? SaveYour.Town (Becky McCray and I) have had over 1400 people have share their rural challenges with us since 2015. With all the change we’ve been through, have your priorities changed? We’d like your help to get an updated view of the challenges to your community…

Read More

Results from the Survey of Rural Challenges

word cloud for community

Every other year we send out a survey of Rural Challenges. We expected Covid 19 to lead in challenges this year, however we were surprised!  Long-term local rural challenges outweighed the impact of COVID-19. We found that rural community stories are not what the media is telling everyone. Common themes in media coverage and policy…

Read More

Survey of Rural Challenges 2020/21

Becky and Deb downtown photo

The Survey of Rural Challenges is open for rural and small town people to answer. www.saveyour.town/survey2020  This is not a survey about Covid 19, this survey is different. Becky McCray and Deb Brown, co founders of SaveYour.Town have been asking for and listening to rural challenges since 2015. “We use the results to create practical…

Read More

Survey of Rural Challenges

Take the Survey of Rural Challenges! Wouldn’t it be great if the people who way they want to help rural people would actually listen to rural peoples own challenges? The survey is open for rural people from all over to tell about their needs. It helps us at SaveYour.Town and SmallBizSurvival.com to tailor our offerings…

Read More