Strong Towns Message Making Inroads on the Range
This is our first Curbside Chat+, where we meet people on the ground for in-depth, weeklong conversation in a targeted region. The Iron Range events have been informative, engaging, and challenging. We're especially pleased with the local response to these events. Here is some recent press coverage of our work on the Range:
Hibbing Daily Tribune
The Hibbing Daily Tribune ran a Sunday article about Strong Towns' visit in advance of the week, sharing the schedule of events and explaining the purpose of the Curbside Chat:
The conversations will highlight creative ways to build better places and create more job opportunities, all while utilizing the assets that already exist in the community. [...] “This is not a visioning session and it’s not a public hearing. We’re not here to transcribe people’s thoughts and we won’t be producing a final document to sit on a shelf and gather dust,” said Marohn.
The Hibbing Daily Tribune continues to cover Strong Towns events throughout the week.
KBJR TV
On Monday, local TV station, KBJR, attended a panel discussion hosted by Chuck Marohn in Grand Rapids. They included clips from the meeting and an interview with Chuck in their reporting:
“There are a lot of people who are doing artistic, cultural things along with some cool business owners. These are the foundational building blocks of a really great place. These are the foundational building blocks of community wealth.”
Aaron Brown for the Hibbing Daily Tribune
Local writer and blogger, Aaron Brown, wrote a succinct column for the Hibbing Daily Tribune that set the stage for the week's events and provided context on the Iron Range from his perspective. Aaron wrote:
What’s unique about Chuck and his organization is that Strong Towns sells ways for us to keep and better use our tax dollars inside our communities. He’s not selling a boom, he’s selling a way to make towns sustainable, so that they endure booms and busts with the same dignity and purpose they had when they were founded.
Fox 21 News
Fox 21 News covered the events and filmed during a Curbside Chat in Hibbing, including an interview with Chuck Marohn. They described the Curbside Chat presentation:
Ideas focused on the wealth of core neighborhoods and building upon them. Strong Towns suggests the communities work on small projects rather than the large multi-million dollar ones.
This week, local radio, tv and newspapers played an important role in getting the word out about our events on the Iron Range. They did a great job of communicating the Strong Towns message in their reporting.
(Top photo by Lee Bloomquist)