BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - While there is an appetite for small-town lifestyles in North Dakota, rural communities in the Upper Midwest have to rethink how they build their populations, approach economic development and develop their leaders, according to a conference held Wednesday called “Rewriting the Rural Narrative” at the Bismarck Country Club.
Ben Winchester, a research fellow on community vitality for the University of Minnesota Extension, said rural communities are not dying, The Bismarck Tribune (https://bit.ly/2cLVFx9 ) reported.
“We’ve had some really interesting countertrends. We have 30- to 50-year-olds moving to our communities. They’re starting new nonprofits. They’re starting businesses. They’re buying businesses. We’ve got people that used to live in urban areas coming to our small towns,” said Winchester, who studies trends in rural towns. “The reasons people are moving to small towns is the slower pace of life, safety and security, and lower cost of housing.”
While it is good to engage people who are new in town, Winchester advised not to overwhelm them with too many large responsibilities at once.
“For the social moments, ask, ’Do you want to help us peel potatoes at the church this weekend?’” he suggested, rather than immediately letting them know a new board member is needed.
Factors that draw people to small towns center around safety and community, according to Winchester.
“They want to raise their kids in a safer environment. Sometimes they didn’t want to deal with the commute, the crime in the neighborhood. They moved because they were aspiring for something new for themselves, their families and their kids,” he said.
Winchester said small towns around a regional center tend to draw more people.
“While the larger urban areas are more attractive to the 18- to 30-year-olds, the smaller and remote communities are of definite interest to the 30- to 60-year-olds,” he said.
Communities should ensure features such as opportunities for boating and canoeing are listed on Google Maps, according to Winchester.
Lynette Flage, director for the Center for Community Vitality for the NDSU Extension Service, said rural communities also can build on their agriculture traditions as a source of economic development.
“We are very much an agriculture state. We’re an energy state. It’s another economic sector we can take a look at with local foods,” she said. “People are individually growing, selling and marketing to institutions, schools and hospitals. Farmers markets are an opportunity for development.”
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, https://www.bismarcktribune.com
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