It is called the news desert: areas of North America that no longer have a local newspaper. And the desert is growing, swallowing up larger and larger swaths of the continent as newspapers shut...
Lean and Mean: Municipalities Need a Little Fat
Once upon a time, back when I had more time and fewer responsibilities, I loved going out into the woods of Canada each fall on my own. Armed with the most basic of equipment, I would build my own...
The “Tradition Trap”: It’s Time to Toss Out Old Ways That Aren’t Working
I have a friend who once shared a story about family traditions that I found humorous and endearing but realized it came with an inadvertent cautionary tale. She said that one Christmas she was...
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo: Add a Little Disney Magic to Attract Immigrants to Your Community
Our rural towns could learn something from Disneyland. It might be a theme park but it’s also a community of sorts. Like all of Disney's parks, it is filled with different places, cultures, and...
Community Building: The importance of childcare to your community
Community Building: You might never have heard of Benson, Minnesota, a pretty little town of 3,200 on the banks of the Chippewa River. But there are Bensons scattered across North America, small...
Keys to Municipal Economic Development Success: Five ways not to kill your community
Municipal Economic Development: In my extensive travels across North America the past year, I made an interesting discovery that might surprise or even shock you. It was a discovery that supported...
Covid, Crises and Catalysts: How the pandemic hasn’t really upended our world
Once upon a time, when I was a know-it-all university student rolling my eyes at my father’s insistence computers were a fad, my grandfather delivered a shock to my smug world view. He phoned me...
Community and Regional Development: Plan Alone, Die Alone
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,...