Latest Updates from ruralprosperityne.unl.edu

I’ve written and read many “Year in Review” columns in my career. It’s the end of the year, so it’s time for another one. This column started out in just a couple of papers at the first of the year, and now it is in several more, so you might not have seen every column this year.

Rural resident recruitment is evolving and expanding in its scope. As smaller rural areas continue to depopulate, communities struggle to maintain vital services and businesses. Traditional recruitment efforts have focused on industrial recruitment and attraction. However, with low unemployment rates and a shrinking labor supply, communities find themselves expanding their recruitment efforts to also focus on creative placemaking, tourism and offering a welcoming environment for individuals to stay, work and raise their families.

Concerns about severe drought are at their highest level since the Nebraska Rural Poll began questioning the state’s rural residents about weather events.

For business owners, transitioning out of a business can be complicated. A lot of boxes must be checked before letting go of the keys. To help individuals navigate the red tape, the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has created the “Business Transition Models” booklet, a step-by-step guide that walks business owners from ideation to closing the doors.

Lincoln, Nebraska, Dec. 2, 2022 — Rural Nebraskans are concerned about water quality and water contamination affecting their own or their family’s health, according to the 2022 Nebraska Rural Poll.

Two-thirds of respondents to the poll — an annual survey of rural Nebraskans conducted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln — say they are “somewhat concerned,” “concerned” or “very concerned” about contaminants in their water supply impacting their health.

The Nebraska Cooperative Development Center is hosting a winter webinar series focused on cooperative businesses in the food system. During the Co-op Innovation in the Food System series, attendees will hear from a wide range of businesses and learn how they use the cooperative model to address issues such as land access, infrastructure needs, fair prices, and land stewardship.

Is there a community that you see that is doing something well? Perhaps you wished your community was able to copy their success? Maybe you can.

There are some communities that have a track record of success. Maybe they have had success in attracting new housing. Maybe their downtown is full and vibrant. How do you learn from them? A simple way is to pick up a phone. Call the city office, ask them questions about their success. Many times there is a process that they have followed in order to bring change to their community.

As you look across your rural town, are there community development opportunities and projects that go untouched? Are there areas where the community could use a fresh perspective? What if you harnessed the energy, talent, and knowledge of college students for a summer to help your town move these opportunities forward?

Last month I talked about “Three Wishes” for a community. With this column I’d like to continue that conversation with other questions I ask communities to learn about them.

One of the questions I ask when I visit a community is, “What should I see in the area?”

Oct. 24, 2022, Emerson, Neb.—Emerson’s recently opened Post 60 Market, 109 Main Street, will hold its Grand Opening from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 29.  They invite the public to drop in for taste testing, sign up for door prizes, and check out their amazing product selection.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at noon.  Pulled pork sandwiches will be served at 11 a.m. until gone.

Our newsletter for the fourth quarter of 2022 is here!

Download the latest updates from the RPN team on community development and vitality in Nebraska.

In rural communities across Nebraska, a cooperative is not a new or novel idea. The ag cooperative is often a recognized punctuation mark in the town skyline or as the economic anchor in the region. Yet co-ops are much more than a grain elevator, the community’s lead employer, or even a grocery store.

Murals have long been part of Nebraska’s culture. Omaha is home to “Fertile Ground,” one of the largest murals in the country at 32,500 square feet. Designers spent 40 years installing 20 murals in the State Capitol. This summer, Rural Fellow Faith Junck contributed to that culture by helping paint the newest of 12 murals in Chadron’s downtown Art Alley.

“I never thought that I would be able to help paint a mural because I’m not super artistic,” Junck said.

But in Chadron, anyone who was willing was welcomed to help.

Summer 2023 will mark the Rural Fellowship program’s 10th anniversary. The seven-week program, housed in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, places college students in Nebraska towns to help create and execute community-improvement projects.