Author: Becky McCray

Delmont, South Dakota (pop 234), was struck by a tornado in 2015. Several people were injured, and the whole town was evacuated for safety. You could forgive the people of Delmont for despairing for the future of their town.  Clean up and repairs started, and the town slowly made progress on recovering. In the months…

You want to bring more life and activity to your downtown, but big events are a big pain. Let’s do some tiny events instead. They’re a small pain, but a lot of fun.  Recruit anyone who gives lessons to hold a student performance (could be music, dance, martial arts, drama, writing, language, anything!) Students bring families,…

People tell me about their big dreams, the big goals and the compelling vision for where they want to end up. We talk about what is holding them back. Often they can’t get started on it because it’s too big.  A woman in Kansas can picture her dream so clearly: a community dinner that shuts…

Marci Penner with the Kansas Sampler Foundation shared this story. I couldn’t resist it:  An empty can of “elbow grease” is being passed around in Lindsborg, Kansas. A small group decided to recognize those who were making an extra effort in Lindsborg. What happened next was beautiful. The can quickly became a coveted item that…

A couple of people lately have mentioned wanting to add new benches in their downtown. I’m all for that. When you give people a place to sit, especially in a comfortable place, they’re more likely to linger. And we want people to linger downtown. It’s good for business.  First was Fred Kent from PPS Placemaking…

B.C.  wrote to me about her town officials and how they keep shutting her down. I want to share it with you because I want you to know that you are not alone. You’re not the only one who gets shut down when you try to do good things. And I want to share with…

“Didn’t get to attend yesterday’s public workshop? Share your ideas for the Park on our online survey.” It sounds good, doesn’t it? “We held a workshop! We let everyone else give input with an online survey! We’re being open to people!”  No.  Asking people to fill out your survey or attend your public meeting or…

Those stubborn owners of empty buildings in small towns. You tell me about the worst ones everywhere I go. Seems like every town has one or two. They won’t sell. They won’t do repairs. They won’t pay their taxes until they’re about to lose the building, then they pay at the last second. They let…

When I met with the people interested in forming a downtown development group in Pullman, Washington, I shared some basic ideas about the Innovative Rural Business Models, then we all walked through downtown together to spot opportunities. At the end, a reporter asked me why I didn’t start in the usual way. He said he…

Remember how Deb encouraged you to be a ninja and go clean up those local eyesore buildings that need it? I shared that story when I was in Pullman, Washington, and they told me this story of a time that really happened.  In Pullman, they have the National Lentil Festival. Volunteers were going out to…

This is an Idea Friendly story.  In Centerville, South Dakota, a small group of people decided it was time to repaint the picnic tables in the city-owned park. They approached the city council to ask just for the cost of the paint. The volunteer crowd would do all the work. The council declined, but the…

I think it’s time to stop calling things a failure just because they come to an end. This comes up because I asked a friend about a project in her town that rehabbed downtown buildings.  “It’s not really active anymore,” she said with more than a note of failure in her voice.  Let’s check that…