Our Towns Flyer | June 2021
Our Towns took to the air in June for the first time since the pandemic began. After so many Zooms, phone calls, Skypes, webinars, and emails, it was exciting and even a bit scary to see places and talk with people in person.
We traveled for two weeks throughout South Dakota, from bustling Sioux Falls to tiny De Smet, best known as home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and soon to be possibly even better known as home of an innovative experiment in local journalism.
In Sioux Falls, we were thrilled to watch – Hollywood style – the theatrical premiere of Our Towns, the HBO documentary, at the newly renovated State Theatre. It was the first time that the filmmakers, Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan, and we had seen the film on a screen bigger than that in our living rooms and with an audience bigger than ourselves. We joined Paul TenHaken, the made-for-silver-screen Mayor of Sioux Falls, to talk about the film and the town, which was the first place we visited on our 100,000-mile journey, and which plays a formidable role in the documentary. You can read all the earlier dispatches from Sioux Falls here.
Also, the four of us joined our colleague Ben Speggen as part of the Global Summit Speaker Series with the Jefferson Education Society. And Jim and Deb talked with Mike Knutsen of Dakota Resources at their annual, but first hybrid, RuralX Summit in tiny Hartford SD. The live venue was staged at Hartford Buffalo Ridge Brewing; ask Jim about the Thrice Hung IPA!
As Jim portends on the Our Towns website, “we’re not traveling just to travel any more…but to learn specific lessons from one town that might be applied, adapted, or improved elsewhere.” What can we learn from Hartford and the Dakota Resources as feasible strategies for smaller-town America? What do Watertown SD and Lake Area Technical College show about “new economy” opportunities? And De Smet’s paper about the promise of local journalism?
There is plenty more on the horizon for us this summer. Besides the newsletters, follow us on the Our Towns Foundation Instagram and Twitter, as well as Jim's Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Deb & Jim Fallows
Reports from the Road
Learning from a Prairie State
The Our Towns Journey began in Sioux Falls, and Deborah and James Fallows returned to the city for the first in-person showing of the Our Towns HBO film. What specific lessons can the communities in South Dakota, from the small town of De Smet to the regional megalopolis of Sioux Falls, teach us that could be replicated and applied elsewhere? Read Jim's reflections on his and Deb's recent two-week trip back to South Dakota.
Voices from America
In May, we launched installments I and II of "Meet Erie," a series that explores how the town of Erie, Pennsylvania has navigated its renaissance amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. We give you: Meet Erie: Part III.
Meet Erie: Part III - Cultural Impacts of a Pandemic
What do arts, entertainment, education, and recreation do for a community as a whole? For Jessica and Nick Taylor, the answer is simple: these cultural features dramatically improve the quality of life in communities, and the loss of such amenities can threaten a community’s improvement just as profoundly as more measurable bricks-and-mortar, dollars-and-cents setbacks can. Read our writeup and tune into Part III here.
Revitalizing Charleston, West Virginia Brick by Brick
Meet Tighe Bullock: the accountant, lawyer, real-estate developer, construction contractor, and distillery owner extraordinaire who is working to rebuild Charleston, West Virginia. Read Ben Speggen's profile on Tighe to learn how support for local businesses and artists has catalyzed Charleston's renewal.
Our Towns Viewer Response Roundup
You –the Our Towns Community– spoke, and we listened! Since the Our Towns HBO film debuted on April 13, viewers from small towns, big cities, and abroad have responded to us with their reactions. Read how themes of hope and optimism resonated with audiences around the world in our viewer response roundup.
Erie Celebrates World Refugee Day with New Film
Erie, Pennsylvania has long found success as a resettlement city for refugees, and it has become increasingly diverse despite its overall populations shrinking. Read Ben Speggen's piece about MenajErie's new film that celebrates Erie's refugee population and describes the comparative and competitive advantages of a strong, diverse community.