S2E9: Policy innovations that strengthen rural capacity to access investment
Release Date: 10/15/2024
S3E10: Progress reports: Revisiting people and places from Reimagine Rural
Reimagine Rural
The season three finale of Reimagine Rural has Tony checking in with leaders in places he previously visited to see how the towns are faring. From stalled industrial developments in central Ohio and rural California to devastating floods in Globe, Arizona, this episode reveals how rural communities adapt and persevere amid unanticipated policy changes, leadership transitions, and natural disasters, keeping their vision alive even as their paths take unexpected turns. . Reimagine Rural is part of...
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S3E9: Will a data center be good for Thomas and Davis in Tucker County, West Virginia?
Reimagine Rural
When a permit application for a proposed power plant heralded the possibility of a large data center being located near the towns of Davis and Thomas in West Virginia, local leaders and residents were taken by surprise and are determined to protect the creative economy and natural beauty of their place. In this episode, host Tony Pipa revisits Tucker County to capture the story of a community at the intersection of national technology policy and local control. For more insight, on the global race for AI, local impacts and trade-offs, and community oversight. . Reimagine Rural is...
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S3E8: America’s Rural Future, Interview with Tom Halverson, CEO, CoBank
Reimagine Rural
This special edition of Reimagine Rural features Tony Pipa interviewing Tom Halverson, CEO of CoBank and a member of America’s Rural Future: The Brookings-AEI Commission on Rural Prosperity. Halverson reflects on the commission’s visits and public hearings in North Dakota and Minnesota, emphasizing the diversity of rural places and important trends regarding rural youth, agriculture, innovation, and the need for holistic, bipartisan rural policy reform. . Reimagine Rural is part of the . Subscribe and listen wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback to .
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S3E7: Skowhegan, Maine, is making waves as it builds a vibrant future along the Kennebec River
Reimagine Rural
A former mill town once defined by economic decline, Skowhegan, Maine, is thriving again through creativity and collaboration. From a growing regional food hub and a major riverfront revitalization effort to new housing and early education projects, residents are proving that rural communities can innovate, adapt, and build a vibrant future rooted in heritage and shared vision. , senior advisor for economic development and professor of the practice at Carnegie Mellon University, to discover how federal investments can help distressed rural areas achieve long-term prosperity. . Reimagine Rural...
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S3E6: How immigration is reshaping and revitalizing rural Beardstown, Illinois
Reimagine Rural
Since the 1990s, Beardstown, Illinois — official population 5,800 — has experienced steady immigration due to the meatpacking industry, breathing new life into this once declining town. Now a multicultural community with residents from over 30 countries, newcomers have integrated throughout neighborhoods, revitalized storefronts, and enriched local schools. In this episode, Tony Pipa explores how this small Midwestern town has learned to embrace change and built a vibrant downtown, and how policy changes and the national narrative about immigration are affecting this rural place. See...
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S3E5 How Ord, Nebraska’s hospital injects vitality into this rural town on the edge of the Sandhills
Reimagine Rural
Through community-driven investments in health care, economic development, and civic leadership, the town of Ord, Nebraska, stands as a model for rural renewal. A modern hospital with state-of-the-art features has helped to attract and retain residents, and a local sales tax fund has provided resources to finance projects that have made Ord’s business community vibrant. Exceptional among many neighboring towns across the prairie, Ord has a vibrant civic culture and economic future. Also, see Tony's on the role of rural hospitals in sustaining community health and development. . Reimagine...
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S3E4 The Morris Model is helping a Minnesota prairie town go green and avoid partisan divides
Reimagine Rural
Morris, Minnesota, a rural place on the edge of the prairie, is at the forefront of environmental sustainability. In this episode, Tony Pipa visits Morris to discover how its residents and local leaders have set aside partisan politics to build powerful, trusted partnerships to invest in clean energy and conservation practices that improve the town’s economic viability and offer new opportunities to build lasting community wealth. Also, see Tony's , founder and CEO of Nature is Nonpartisan, on a nonpartisan approach to conservation and clean energy. . Reimagine Rural is part of the ....
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S3E3 Hazard, Kentucky's civic renaissance is changing the narrative about Appalachia
Reimagine Rural
Hazard, Kentucky, is overcoming the decline of its coal industry and the impact of the opioid epidemic, creating a vibrant downtown business district and renewed civic spirit. In this episode, Tony Pipa visits the Queen City of the Mountains to meet the people who decided downtown was worth fighting for and understand how they brought it back to life. Also, see , executive director of Appalachia Funders Network, as they explore the powerful ways that narratives—both positive and negative—can shape a community’s identity and future, and the role philanthropy and policy can play in...
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S3E2 How Canton, North Carolina, is maintaining its identity and resilience after multiple disasters
Reimagine Rural
A single natural disaster can change a community for generations. In the span of five years, Canton, North Carolina, experienced Tropical Storm Fred, Hurricane Helene, and a significant economic shock: the closure of its paper mill. The 115-year-old institution had employed more than a thousand people and was a source of pride for workers and their families. In this episode, Tony Pipa visits Canton to understand how residents are working together to navigate this series of crises, and what it means to be a mill town without a mill. , director of the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North...
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S3E1 Restoring outdoor recreation in Old Fort, North Carolina, after Hurricane Helene
Reimagine Rural
Over the past several years, a set of partners in Old Fort, North Carolina, has been developing a network of elite mountain bike and hiking trails that was starting to put the town on the map. In September 2024, Hurricane Helene left the place in ruins, damaging homes, trails, and more than a dozen businesses that had opened as the outdoor recreation economy took hold. In this episode of Reimagine Rural, the first of season 3, Tony Pipa visits this small western North Carolina town to learn how it plans to keep its vision for a just and sustainable future intact as it continues to rebuild...
info_outlineThe importance of public investment, and the difficulty rural places have in accessing it, are recurring themes in the stories we gather for the podcast. Communities often lack the time and staff to navigate the maze of available resources and match them to their project plans and aspirations. Policymakers are beginning to recognize that strengthening local rural capacity is a key to unlocking the investment that these communities need to thrive. In this final episode of season two, Tony Pipa sits down with state and federal leaders to learn how they are developing new ways to support rural America and the impact it’s having.
Episode transcript and show notes.
Reimagine Rural is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.