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

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!)

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, buildin

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

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, you'll hear: That your energy is a limited res

One of the most common concerns we hear from small-town leaders and residents is the idea of the “brain drain,” or the fear that young...

We’ve heard it, and you probably have too: “People don’t want to move to rural communities.” Or, “Talented people don’t want to live in...

Housing development is a key focus for many small towns, and for good reason: we need places for people to live! But, sometimes...

We are kicking off the second part of Season 5 with a bang and sharing one of the coolest programs we’ve had the pleasure of learning...

This is a first on the podcast and a great ending to the first part of Season 5 (we’ll be back in September with more episodes!) One of...

This episode is about the rural lawyer shortage, why it’s happening, why it matters, and what we can do about it. This is a new-to-us...

Meredith is easily one of the most interesting and unusual people we’ve ever had on the podcast, and her story is a testament to just how...

This episode is a listener-submitted Small Town People Problem, and it’s one we hear a lot: What do we do about local negativity? How do...

Each season, we’re going to have a few episodes that directly address your small-town people problems. For our first one, we’re starting...

The “Returner” phenomenon is a very real thing: people leave their small towns as young people and come back later when they’re ready to...

Awhile back, we were having a conversation with Brodie on the podcast and he mentioned that he hires based on a “vibe check,” and given...

It feels like you can’t go five minutes without hearing about AI–and often for good reason! We’re back with our favorite AI expert to...

One of our favorite things is the impact of great employers on individuals, small towns, and the overall culture of the communities they...

Friends and neighbors (virtual and IRL): we are so excited to share this episode with you. Now, we know we say that every week, and what...

Our last Moments of Growth episode is about another event that will become at flagship bit of programming for Growing Small Towns: the...