Is small scale manufacturing a thing for small towns?
Just what is small scale manufacturing? It’s the artisan makers, the prototyping to small scale, it’s the production at scale, the makerspaces and the shared commercial kitchens and workshops. You’d be looking for craft brewers, artisan businesses, contract manufacturing, commercial kitchens, farmers market organizers, and the ‘connectors’. Let’s play a short game of who do…
Running on Fumes
I get it. Everything is coming at you at once. Trying to prioritize becomes an exercise in futility. You’ve lost your grip on being in control. Stop. Breathe. Realize that you don’t have to be in charge. In fact, being in charge and in control is a demon of the past, part of the old…
Raise Your Voice
Paula Jensen is a guest blogger, and I’m thrilled to share this article of hers. (All bolded letters are at my direction.) Raise Your Voice for Rural Communities It seems to me the only voices being heard in this world are from big companies, big cities and big government. The news blasted on my car…
Rebuttal to the New York Times
In 2016 we had a young man who was writing an article for the New York Times come to town. He was ready to tell the story of how our town lost a major manufacturer and it was awful for us. I disagreed and wrote this rebuttal. I like Brendan Hoffman. He first traveled to…
Empty Buildings Tour
We did an Empty Buildings Tour in Webster City, Iowa. It worked! Our next two part webinar is Filling Empty Buildings. It’s geared specifically towards small towns and we give them practical steps they can put into action right away. More info at www.saveyour.town/empty It begins June 12, 2018.
City Codes can be changed
If one city council can write a code, another one can change it! We talk about this a lot when sharing our empty buildings stories. I recently visited with a city clerk in Stanhope, Iowa and she mentioned they are working on changing their code. They are instituting Building Maintenance Code that they got from…
Artisan Pop Up
Every year Sidney, Iowa hosts a rodeo. People come from all over to attend and enjoy SW Iowa. It’s a big deal. Sidney is a pretty small town, about 1,100 people. Professional cowboys come to this rodeo to compete in this four day event. There’s carnival rides, bucking broncos and lots of cowboys! This year…