Amid ongoing discussions about economic development, Iola City Administrator Carl Slaugh maintained Iola is well-purposed to grow its own.
Slaugh commented at Friday’s See, Hear Iola session where he regularly gives updates about city affairs.
Slaugh referred to a publication that he says lists ways the community can grow from within.
The 2009 article, published by the Rural Sociological Society, “Rural Realities: Homegrown Responses to Economic Uncertainty in Rural America,” was given to Slaugh recently by local Republican activist Virginia Macha.
The article lists three strategies small communities such as Iola can utilize:
1. Incorporating or capitalizing on distinctive characteristics of a particular location, such as natural resources, cultural heritage or other amenities.
2. Economic gardening — “growing your own” — utilizes a collaborative approach by having several community members form small groups to take requests from others wanting to start a business, then look at neighboring communities to find ways to turn those dreams from reality. A project in northeast Kansas revealed that 80 percent of Hiawatha’s growth over a three-year period “came from within,” Slaugh said.
Even so, Hiawatha lost population from 2000 to 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. During those 10 years Hiawatha went from 3,462 to 3,172, a loss of 8.38 percent of its population.
3. Cultivating creativity and talent, and fostering an environment for people who use art and design. Communities also should take full advantage of higher education, through universities, community colleges trade schools or technical education centers.
In a nutshell, Slaugh concluded, “rural communities were hard hit by the recession. Those that look inward to community strengths and existing resources often fared better than those that attempted to lure outside companies to relocate by promises of low wages or tax incentives.”
STEVE NORMAN of Ravin Printing spoke about the history of his father’s printing company, which now is nearing its 59th anniversary.
On June 1, 1957, Dean Norman purchased the old Allen County News Journal — a weekly newspaper that quit printing newspapers and instead focused solely on commercial printing.
Norman’s earliest printing equipment consisted of a hand-set type and hot lead lineotype machines and hand-fed presses.
After about 10 years, as newer presses and improved technology came along, the elder Norman continually upgraded his equipment.
