The Growing Small Towns Show

This week's episode is the next in our Moments of Growth series, and this one is about one of our favorite subjects: art!    Lots of people think that art is a "nice  to have" in a small community, but it's really a need. Art and art programming gives people an opportunity to not only view and experience art made by other people, but to create their own through workshops or events. Tapping into ou...

This week's episode is the first in a limited series we're calling "Moments of Growth." We had some big milestones this year, and we wanted to look back and talk to people that we've worked with and share the progress they've made (and us, too!) this past year.    This first episode is about mental health programming. Awhile back, our local healthcare network, Catholic Health Initiatives, did a ne...

Things are changing a little around here (don't worry, we're not going anywhere! You're stuck with us!) and we're very excited to share the future of the Growing Small Towns podcast with you. Brodie Mueller, one of our favorite people and frequent Guest of the Pod, is here to talk about what that looks like, how he fits in, and what we would like to hear from YOU, our listeners.    About Brodie:  ...

It's really easy to give people the highlight reel and act like everything is all hunky-dory, but that wouldn't be authentic, and we're all about authentic, so this episode is a bit of the Real Reel about some things Rebecca has been thinking and feeling during a bit of a hard season that a) we'll all resonate with and b) are incredibly wise and things we should all keep in our back pockets.    (R...

We're back with another one of our favorite kinds of episodes: real stories of real people doing really cool things in their small towns.    This episode features Terry Sando, a retired Air Force officer who's built a brewery in his small town of Hillsboro, ND. We love this story because Terry was inspired to build a business to serve his community…so he did! He's kept the community at the heart o...

This is our first-ever LIVE podcast recording! This episode was recorded on the main stage of the 2024 Main Street Summit in Watford City, ND and features guests Pat Bertagnolli of Job Service North Dakota and Mike Knutson of Dakota Resources.   When we got asked to host this live show during the summit, we took to the socials—as we do—to ask what our people needed the most help with. Overwhelming...

Have you ever heard of the Norborne Soybean Festival? You might have, thanks to their recent recognition as the Cenex Hometown Throwdown Grand Prize Winner, but even if you haven't, you're going to love this episode. It's about building amazing community events and what it looks like to swing for the fences.    About Kyle:   Kyle Durham is a sixth-generation farmer from Norborne, Missouri, an agri...

Mental health is something we're incredibly passionate about here at Growing Small Towns, which most of you likely know by now given how much we love to talk about therapy and feelings and support around here! We are so appreciative of mental health practitioners like Jordyn Koski who are building practices aimed at helping our (sometimes secretly struggling) rural communities access better mental...

We all know about TED Talks and how wildly popular and cool they are. But, what about a TEDx event in RURAL AMERICA? Can you even?    We can't, either, but Jeremy Ratliff could. This is an episode about audacious ideas, small towns getting it done, unexpected support, and dreaming big.    About Jeremy:   I grew up in the Midwest and graduated college from North Central University in Minneapolis, M...

Oh, friends and neighbors, are we excited for this episode. We love education, and we love educators who love education, and we love a different take on education. This week's episode checks every single boxes as we talk to a Superintendent who is doing things just a little differently in his North Dakota community.    About Cory:   Dr. Cory Steiner is currently the Superintendent of the Northern...

You know we love the idea of placemaking, Main Streets, and small things that have a big impact. Jaime Izuireta does, too, and has an architect and designer, he focuses not only on storefront design but the interaction between users and the built environment. This episode goes way beyond "How do we make Main Streets pretty?" to "How do we create an amazing Main Street experience?"   About Jaime:  ...

Most of us probably think we're good neighbors. But…most of us probably actually aren't. The Lost Art of Neighboring is something that David Burton is bringing back to help small towns and the people who live in them thrive.    About David:   David Burton has been a community development specialist with the University of Missouri Extension since 2001. He is headquartered in Springfield and creates...

Some of our favorite kinds of stories are the ones that feature people with a dream in their hearts to do something amazing in their small towns who then go ahead and get it done. This episode is about a dream, a restaurant, and the woman who made it happen.    About LeAnn:   LeAnn Moen always wanted to own her own restaurant, but between raising children and being active on the family's farm, the...

We love small-town events (duh) and we love the people who make those events happen (also duh.) Thus, we love this whole episode. We get to talk to Jeremy Nelson about an amazing market he's started and grown in his small town of Arthur, ND, and it's become kind of a whole thing. This episode is a transparent, honest look at what it looks like to do something big in a small town!   About Jeremy:  ...

What does it look like to enhance communities through art, partnership, and general change-making? Well, we can't think of anyone better than Maggie Strong to talk to about it. Maggie loves to work with communities to spur the change they know they need, and do so in a way that makes communities better and more beautiful for all.    About Maggie:   Maggie Strong is a community builder. She founded...

This is an episode about people and why how we treat them matters, as viewed through the lenses of politics and living in a small town. We cannot possibly agree on everything, and it feels as though nothing makes that clearer than politics. Given that we're headed for another election season (yay*) we wanted to share this reminder that people should be at the center of everything we do, and a bett...

Young people moving to our small towns—either coming back or relocating from somewhere else—is imperative not only so we know the newest slang but also to keep our towns growing and thriving. Having a person dedicated to bringing in new people and making their transitions easier is a proactive way to achieve this. We're so excited to share this episode with our very own Relocation Specialist, TJ R...

"Are Chambers of Commerce even relevant anymore?" In our humble (but not too humble opinion:) YES ABSOLUTELY.   While the idea of a Chamber of Commerce is an old one, an active, progressive Chamber can be an enormous benefit to small towns. We brought our very own Chamber Director to talk about everything she does and the benefits of an active, involved Chamber.    About Kausha:   Kausha lives on...

We all want our small towns to grow and thrive, but often, we don't offer enough support to the people who are integral in making this happen: the entrepreneurs. Kim Nagle is an author, coach, speaker, and entrepreneur who helps her clients start profitable businesses, and she's here to share with us what supporting entrepreneurs could look like in our small towns. Hint: it's magic.    About Kim:...

When we last talked to Haley, she was pushing full steam ahead on building the beautiful Hearthside Vineyard & Winery. She's still going full steam ahead but has had to push through some major, heartbreaking setbacks. This episode isn't the bright, shiny one she (or we!) was hoping for, but it's better because it's real and it shows how hard entrepreneurs work to get their dreams off the ground. R...

Instead of bringing on a guest to end the year (or kick off a new one) we're going to do a yearly recap and reflect on some things we've learned. If you're a doer and a dreamer in a small town, this is for you.    10 Reflections From Us to You  (and from us to ourselves because we need to be reminded of these things on the regular)   Quit expecting people to behave in a way they don't. Let them ac...

We are so excited to start a new kind of episode here on the Growing Small Towns show where we check in with some of our favorite past guests to find out what's happened since we last had them on the show—which for some of our guests is a whole heckuva lot.    Brodie Mueller is the owner of The Market on the Plaza, among being a part of MANY other amazing things in his small town of Aberdeen, SD....

We are here with the longest episode in the history of Growing Small Towns because we just couldn't stop talking to our next guest. Ben Muldrow caught Rebecca's eye on Facebook, and he happens to have worked with Friend of the Pod Jeff Siegler. This is a long conversation but it's so good - around every corner is yet another amazing concept or idea and we know you'll love it as much as we did.   ...

This episode is for, well, the dreamers. The people who believe big things are possible, even (especially!) in a small town.    In this episode, we cover ten mindset reminders to help:  Bolster you, our small-town dreamer Help you navigate difficult situations Provide some inspiration and hope And, really, just encourage you to keep those big dreams coming   Links + Resources Mentioned Nome School...

We live almost in two worlds now: the real one that we move around in physically, and the one online. The internet can be an amazing and helpful thing, but it can also be incredibly problematic. How do we navigate that balance and make sure that how we show up in the real world is not overly influenced by the engineered spaces we encounter online? It's a meaty topic, and we have an extra-long epis...