S5:E14 - How to Engage Youth in Small Towns with Karen Pifher
Release Date: 05/12/2025
S5:E31 - What’s to Come in 2026 Rebecca Undem
The Growing Small Towns Show
In this solo season finale, Rebecca shares an honest reflection on entrepreneurship, community work, and the courage it takes to keep trying when things feel uncertain. It’s a reminder that success doesn’t have to look one way, and that showing up, evolving, and staying in the work matters more than perfect outcomes. This is the final episode of Season 5! We’ll be back in February, refreshed and ready with Season 6! In this episode, we cover: Why most business owners and community leaders quietly want to quit — and why that’s normal The myth that success requires scaling,...
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S5:E30 - Life by Design with Brooke Clay Taylor
The Growing Small Towns Show
Brooke Clay Taylor is a force. We are so excited to have her on the podcast because her story is so darn inspiring, and she’s just a really cool human. In this episode, Brooke shares her journey from growing up in a small town, moving to the big city for college and work, moving back to a small town for entrepreneurship and love, and then becoming an entrepreneur, mother, and cancer survivor. This episode explores what it really looks like to design your life with intention, build community by being a “villager,” and choose authenticity in both business and life. About Brooke: Brooke...
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S5:E29- How Chambers Can Change with the Times with Kausha Magill
The Growing Small Towns Show
We’re back with one of our most very favorite people and Oakes local, Kausha Magill, to talk Chambers of Commerce. This episode explores how Chambers of Commerce can stay relevant by embracing collaboration, experimentation, and a regional mindset. It’s a practical, uplifting look at what happens when chambers evolve with the times instead of sticking to the “Well, this is how we’ve always done it.” About Kausha: Kausha lives on her family's farm and ranch about 15 miles north of Oakes. She and her husband Chuck, have been married for 30 years and have three children: Dalton,...
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S5:28 - Fostering Belonging and Creating Community with Emma McIntyre
The Growing Small Towns Show
Loneliness is a big deal, and it’s become an actual epidemic. And, while it may seem simple to combat (the opposite of loneliness is belonging and community, right?), creating belonging and community can actually be much harder. This is what Emma McIntyre is all about. She builds events that create belonging — from farmers markets to winter festivals to senior socials — and this episode is all about how small towns can replicate these ideas at any scale by focusing on comfort, connection, and purpose. It’s a roadmap for how to build community in ways that actually stick. ...
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S5:27 - Cattle, Creativity, and Community with Tesa Klein
The Growing Small Towns Show
This episode dives into the amazing creative journey of Tesa Klein, the cowgirl-turned-entrepreneur behind Wildflowers, who rebuilt her business after years in the rodeo world and rediscovered her spark. She’s deeply rooted in rural (she lives in a NoDak town of 50!) but has had her share of big-time viral moments. It’s an inspiring look at trusting yourself even when your dreams don’t seem to match your zip code, and we love hearing her take on balance and dreaming big from her tiny ND town. About Tesa: Tesa is the owner, operator, and creative artist behind Wildflowers, a western and...
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S5:26 - Generational Perspectives in Small Towns with Jackie Knutson and Lisa Schulz
The Growing Small Towns Show
In this episode, we sit down with “Oakes Folks” Jackie Knutson and Lisa Schulz, a mother–daughter duo who represent two generations deeply invested in their hometown. They talk about leaving and returning, building belonging, showing up for community, navigating change, and why small towns need to both embrace the future and remember the past in order to thrive. It’s a heartfelt, grounded conversation about loving where you live, even when it’s not perfect. About Jackie and Lisa: Jackie Knutson and Lisa Schulz are a mother–daughter pair deeply rooted in GST’s hometown of Oakes,...
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S5:E25 - Rural Housing Data with Ben Winchester
The Growing Small Towns Show
One of our favorite guests is back! Ben Winchester is a rural researcher who digs into the intersection of housing, demographics, and community vitality. In this episode, we’re going over some of his latest research and the trends he’s seeing, and why now is the time to make plans for growing our small towns. There are tons of opportunities, but we have to go out and grab them! Our favorite thing about Ben is that he provides context and action around data (even tough data!) and provides communities with real options for addressing some of their most pressing concerns, like housing and...
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S5:24 - Learning As We Go in Economic Development with Ashley Geigle
The Growing Small Towns Show
This week, we’re chatting with an amazing human about amazing stuff. Okay, fine, every week we talk with amazing humans about amazing stuff, but this episode is a great one. Rebecca visits with Ashley Geigle, Economic Development Director for Murdo, South Dakota, about how she built a brand-new role from scratch. (Like, from scratch, like growing and milling the wheat for the flour level of scratch, not box mix scratch.) Ashley talks about learning through challenges, building trust, and finding beauty in small progress. She, like Justin Neppl, has reimagined what economic development...
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S5:23 - Reimagining Economic Development with Justin Neppl
The Growing Small Towns Show
In this episode, Rebecca talks with longtime friend and former economic developer Justin Neppl about what it really means to reimagine economic development for small towns. For years, economic development has focused on the same things, but the future looks different. This episode is about collaboration, trust, and people-centered leadership and how they can come together to update traditional models to make futures brighter for our small towns. About Justin: Justin Neppl is a community-focused entrepreneur from Breckenridge, Minnesota, where he lives with his wife, Jamie, and their three...
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S5:E22 - Love Notes to the Lonely, Uncertain, or Scared with Rebecca Undem
The Growing Small Towns Show
Sometimes things are rough, whether it’s for a little bit, a season, or longer. This episode is straight from our founder and leader, and she’s sharing reflections and encouragement for anyone who’s felt exhausted, uncertain, or overwhelmed by the weight of showing up for their community or business. It’s lovely work, but it can also feel heavy and lonely, so if you’ve ever felt that way, this episode is for you. In this episode, we cover: That your energy is a limited resource. Why it helps to stay in alignment with your internal values/beliefs/deeply held truths. Why...
info_outlineWe focus a lot on belonging here at Growing Small Towns, and one of the most important groups (that sometimes gets neglected by traditional community development) is youth. Kids need to feel at home and welcome in our small towns, too, and when our young people are engaged, active, and have good places to hang out with their friends, the effect is like a shockwave in the best way. Today’s episode is with the amazing Karen Pifher, who is helping communities support their youth in very real, material ways.
And with lots of food, because apparently that’s key for kid hangouts.
About Karen:
Karen Pifher is a powerhouse of heart, hustle, and humor, with a Master’s in Community Development, a Business Strategy Certificate from Harvard, and as a member of the international "Board of Experts" (what's that- check it out online and reach out with questions). As the founder of Creating Community Consulting, Karen has become a go-to force for turning bold ideas into thriving, people-centered projects. She knows firsthand what it’s like to face hardship — as a teen mother, Karen learned resilience, grit, and the power of community early on. Today, she channels that experience into her mission to create stronger, more connected places where everyone belongs. Her secret weapon? A wicked sense of humor, a bias for action, and the ability to make strategy feel exciting — even fun!
Outside of her work, Karen is a devoted wife, mom, and outdoor enthusiast, happiest when she’s paddling a river, hiking through the woods, or wrangling life’s chaos with laughter and love. Creating Community Consulting isn’t just a business; it’s the evolution of Karen’s lifelong passion for community, innovation, and change — built on grit, late nights, and a lot of coffee. She’s living proof that small-town roots and big dreams can shake up the world, one project (and one punchline) at a time.
In this episode, we cover:
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Why Karen decided to get involved in making communities better places for youth
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The whole amazing story behind CornerStone Community & Youth Center
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How Karen and her organization help other small towns become great places for kids
Resources Mentioned and Projects They Serve:
Creating Community Consulting and AI Grant Writer tool: https://www.creatingcommunityconsulting.com/
CornerStone Community & Youth Center: https://www.cornerstonefrazee.org/
Wannigan Park: https://wanniganpark.com/
Clay County Family Resource Center: https://claycountyfrc.com/
Economic Development in Frazee
Small-Town Shout-Out!
This one is from our friend Jerome from Platte, South Dakota, and we’re shouting out two things that he shared with us. The first is the community’s multi-church youth group: the community recognized the benefit of having one large group of kids coming together rather than a bunch of little ones, and we love this (and the kids do too!)
The second is the restored Lyric Theater. It’s a beautiful building that was in rough shape, which was purchased by an incredibly generous individual who restored it and brought it back to life, proving that when people care, big things happen. A big high-five to Platte for youth, collaboration, and restoration!
New Segment Alert!
We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show:
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“Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
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“Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
Get In Touch
Have an idea for a future episode/guest, have feedback or a question, or just want to chat? Email us at hello@growingsmalltowns.org
Subscribe + Review
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!