Journal article
Small towns, big dreams: a depressed farm economy and industrial decline are taking their toll in the Midwest, but these three small towns have launched a comeback
Planning, Vol.52(11), pp.4-9
11/01/1986
Abstract
The mining town of Babbitt, Minnesota, nearly destroyed by the 1981 closing of Reserve Mining Co., has refused to give in to economic pressures. Through the work of its citizens and of mayor Don Cole, Babbitt has remained alive. Cole and a team of volunteers sold the city as an aggressive local developer -- one of Minnesota's Star Cities. Another small town success story, Guttenberg, Iowa, has grown largely through the personal commitment of its mayor, Karen Merrick. Her goals to beautify the town grew into an attempt to secure tourist money to strengthen the community's economy. Citing the example of Grinnell, Iowa, Kansas State University professor Vernon Deines notes that college towns offer not only the obvious benefit of a stable major industry, but also a highly educated faculty that can provide a core of community vision and leadership. According to Deines, some 10% of small towns have 3 advantages that enable them to stabilize their local economies in the face of industrial decline and a depressed farm sector: 1. quality of life, 2. a skilled labor force, and 3. the infrastructure to support new industry. However, the advantages must be carefully developed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Small towns, big dreams: a depressed farm economy and industrial decline are taking their toll in the Midwest, but these three small towns have launched a comeback
- Creators
- Jim Schwab
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Planning, Vol.52(11), pp.4-9
- ISSN
- 0001-2610
- eISSN
- 2162-4577
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 11/01/1986
- Academic Unit
- Planning and Public Affairs
- Record Identifier
- 9984288738902771
Metrics
5 Record Views