Author: Becky McCray

Lack of broadband internet is one of the biggest challenges I hear about from small towns in the US. Many of you have awful connectivity, and you just want to get into the modern age!  While there’s no one magic answer that works for every town, we can apply some Idea Friendly thinking here and…

You’ve seen signs that thank people for their past donations. Let’s put up a sign to thank people for their future donations.  Right next to where you’ll be putting an improvement, put up a sign “This improvement will be funded by your future donations.” For bonus points, also list how they can donate. You can do…

We spend enough time reminding people our town has a past. We don’t spend enough time reminding people our town has a future. If every mural depicts the past, who is showing the future?  Every town needs a future mural, or a series of them.  I love that you did a display of historic photos…

Your big idea for your town doesn’t require unanimous consent. You just need you and your big idea. Put your idea on a flag, and plant your flag where everyone can see it. People who like the idea will be drawn to you.  Here’s the thing: don’t tear down anyone else’s flag. You don’t have…

This one is a simple idea that came up when I was visiting Cathlamet, Washington, population 553: Post your local hashtag where visitors will see it.  The Cathlamet Chamber of Commerce does an awesome local photo contest. Most of the photos come from locals. They use these on their annual events calendar and other publications. …

This is as close to magic as I know in changing people’s behaviors.  If you want to change how someone acts, change their identity, how they see themselves.   If you see yourself as a certain kind of person, that’s how you’ll act. Makes sense, right? If you see yourself as an involved member of your…

It’s not the officials who make your town what it is going to be. It’s not the leaders or the important people. The people who make your town are just like you.  Every morning, you get up and you decide what kind of town you’re going to make today. Probably you don’t think about it,…

Your town probably has an empty gas station, maybe a few. How are you going to fill them?  Here’s the Old Way to do it. I just saw an ad from a development association that said, “Seeking proposals for the operation of a gas sales and/or automotive repair business to be conducted in a former…

You do some events that are open to the public, right? Here’s the tip to get more locals to attend:  When you hold an event that is open to the public, put up a sign that says, “Open to everyone! Come on in!” Of course you know it’s open to the public, and of course…

In May, a teen from Kansas will become the first student ever to graduate with a high school diploma and a Harvard bachelor’s degree at the same time. You might have seen the headlines last week. But they missed two important points: the student is from a rural small town, and the Harvard degree came…

To help out a fellow reader, I asked you for examples of local governments that act in an Idea Friendly way. Y’all came through with some good examples and even a list of principles that any local government could use.  If you’re facing some challenges with your local government, you’ll want to read these stories! …

There is no one right answer, no single solution that will “save” all rural places and small towns. That doesn’t mean ignoring rural places is right either. Rural people and places are staggeringly diverse. In the US alone, we’re talking 60 million rural people. Add 9.5 million rural people in the UK, 6.1 million rural…