With so many issues demanding our attention, it is often difficult to decide between what’s important and what is relevant to our daily lives. As community advocates and stakeholders this is also true as we work to understand which issues we should be spe

Many communities recognize that there aren’t as many folks around town as there used to be. Why is that? In this episode, we will talk about a fascinating series of articles published in 2020 on www.westsb.com called “More People.” The articles focus on h

It’s the remix!  DORA legislation successfully passed in Marietta in late April 2021.  In this episode, Sam and Bret give updates and lessons learned on the DORA process since we last talked about it on Episode 2 in July 2020.  We will give five key point

Transportation is a key challenge facing all aspects of daily life for citizens, especially for folks living in rural communities.  On this episode, Sam and Bret give their ideas about how new technologies could improve transportation options in rural com

Everyone fails! Failing is an important part of learning and improving. This is just as true for individuals and private businesses as it is for governments. On this episode, we’ll talk about some of the stereotypes and fears that hold our governments bac

We support public employees of all types – some of us have been public employees!  We also know that a reimagining of some public positions could help our small communities prosper and become increasingly resilient.  In this episode, we will introduce the

Is there enough public space or seating in the downtown you love to visit? Have you ever wondered how a community could quickly (and cheaply) implement more outdoor seating? A parklet may be for you! Join us as we discuss a pop-up parklet we built in conj

Investing in the quality of our places is perhaps more important now than ever before. Creating communities where people want to live, work, and have fun is challenging. Doing this effectively in rural communities is.  In this episode, we each offer an id

In March the American Rescue Plan was passed and signed by President Biden, providing over $360 billion in relief funding and programming in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, we talk about what this funding means for rural communities, h

Preemption, huh? What happens when local regulations conflict with state statutes? What about when state laws conflict with federal regulations? To what lengths can local officials go in creating policy that best serves local communities? Our special gues