When English poet John Donne wrote No Man is an Island in the 17th Century, he probably wasn’t thinking about rural North America in the 21st. And it’s safe to say he didn’t have community...
Small Town Economic Development and Leadership
Leadership vs. Public Opinion: A democratic dilemma “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” – Winston Churchill Given the choice we will always choose democracy. No...
Community Economic Development Consulting: What We Do, Why We Do It, And How We Can Help You
Community Economic Development Consulting: What is it and why do we do it? On May 9, the Empire-Advance newspaper in Manitoba published a story about me and 13 Ways Inc. under the headline,...
Community in the Metaverse – What It Is and Why You Should Care
Community: What will it look like in the Metaverse? In October of 2021, a NASA flight surgeon was beamed aboard the International Space Station as a hologram. Dr. Josef Schmid had his feet planted...
The Politics of Civic Engagement
The Politics of Civic Engagement: A Concept Pushed Too Far? Or a Critical Tool for Your Community’s Success? Civic engagement: what is it? When asked for his secret to a successful political career...
Four Trends in Small Town Economic Development
Trends in Small town economic development strategies Two Trends to Try, and Two to Leave Behind Two Small Town Economic Development Trends to Try: Small town economic development strategy is about...
Community Development Strategies: The Future vs. The Obsolete
Community development strategies were on my mind the other night when I decided to sit down for an evening to watch a movie. If you watch a movie, on what do you watch it? Do you go on your Netflix...
Unmasking the Opposition to Masks
If it’s not obvious by the title, I take issue with those opposed to wearing masks in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The anti-maskers make four basic arguments that may sound reasonable at...
The Value of Video Games
I have teenage boys who love playing video games on their PlayStation. To be honest, I like playing on occasion, too. It’s an outlet for stress, frustration, and creativity when I can’t walk, or...
Building Community Success
We should have known 2020 was going to be a bad year from the get-go. In the first week of January, residents of Hinton, Edson and Lacombe learned their local newspapers were closing. The Hinton...