And the finalists are...
This week, four great cities went head-to-head in the semifinals of the 2021 Strongest Town contest: Bentonville, Bismarck, Lockport, and Oxford. We would have been proud to crown any of them this year’s Strongest Town. But in the end only one city can win, and only two can advance to next week’s Championship Round. Here are the final numbers:
Oxford, MS: 67%
Bentonville, AR: 33%
Lockport, IL: 58%
Bismarck, ND: 42%
Everyone on the Strong Towns staff would like to thank the teams from Bentonville and Bismarck. They put their heart and soul into every round of the contest. They inspired us and and offered powerful insights on how to grow more economically resilient cities. We’re grateful.
The Championship Round is going to be a lot of fun. We’re doing a series of live webcasts. Here’s the schedule:
Monday, April 5: Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn will interview representatives from Lockport and Oxford.
Tuesday, April 6: Strong Towns program director Rachel Quednau talks with past Strongest Town winners about this year’s finalists.
Wednesday, April 7: Chuck Marohn hosts a conversation with a few Strong Towns members about this year’s contest.
All the webcasts are at 11 a.m. CDT. You can watch the webcasts live on the Strong Towns YouTube channel. You’ll also be able to watch them on our site (we’ll post them here when they go live).
So the championship matchup is set. Which city—Lockport, Illinois or Oxford, Mississippi—will be 2021’s Strongest Town winner? Come back on Monday and help decide!
