Hey everyone, I'm Sheila Jenkinson and you are listening to the Growing Small Town Nebraska Podcast where my co-host, Marcie Sextro, and I ask community leaders and business owners about their efforts in revitalizing the Cornhusker State. If you love your small town and you're looking for ways to make it even better, or maybe you're interested in what this revitalization movement may mean for you and your family. Join us as we talk with small town Nebraskans making our state the definition of "The Good Life."
Hello, everyone. I'm Marcy Sextro. We are coming to you from the Intersect Co-working and Incubator podcast booth here in downtown Norfolk. Intersect is a co-working community that gives workers the spaces and tools they need to succeed. Join a like-minded community of founders, remote workers, startups, and freelancers with 24/7 access to a dedicated office or private desk. They have extremely fast internet and as much coffee as your heart desires. Intersect is your place to collaborate with others and get things done. Find out more on their website intersectcoworking.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
GROW Nebraska helps Nebraska entrepreneurs have access to the global marketplace. Started in 1998, GROW Nebraska is an educational nonprofit that strives to help Nebraska entrepreneurs increase online visibility through social media and other platforms. They help these businesses get connections to move their business forward. They also provide free training to the public every third and fourth Thursday and Google training on the first Wednesday of the month. Find out more at grownebraska.org.
Phelps County, located in south central Nebraska, has had several successful revitalization projects in their small towns; and with us today is Ron Tillery from the Phelps County Development Corporation. Welcome to the podcast. Ron.
Well, thank you for having me, Marcie, I really look forward to the conversation that we're going to have.
So, many people don't know about Phelps County, and you kind of have a unique county as far as you have one larger town and then you have several villages. Can you tell us a little bit about Phelps County...where you're located...and those type of things so that as people want to vacation there, they would know where to go.
Sure. As you mentioned, it's in South Central Nebraska. We've got the county seat in the center of the county is Holdrege, a community of about 6000 people (a little less than that.) One of the things that (we're) we're pleased with is that Holdrege actually grew in the last census. That's the first time it's shown population growth for two or three decades. And that's typical of many more rural, smaller communities. Population growth has not been on the radar for quite some time. So, we were pleased, because that's one of the metrics by which we can measure whether or not the work that we're doing (is) is having tangible results. We've also got several smaller built villages in the community. Starting on the far west of the county, we've got Bertrand, about 900 people, and then Loomis (another smaller village has about 400 people (and then we've got Atlanta and Funk, both very small villages in the county. Our organization works to support all of them. And we've done projects in every one of those little communities in addition to Holdrege. (To) describe where we are and in what we're about, we're right in the heart of one of the more robust production agriculture areas in the country. Holdregee is where the network of the irrigation surface irrigation began back in the '30s. That led to the creation of Lake McConaughy, and Kingsley Dam, and that hydro facility out there and there is a spiderweb of surface canals that every year draw water from Lake McConaughy and provide irrigation in this three county area that includes: Kearney County, Phelps County, and several of the surrounding counties as well. But that has made a tremendous difference in the consistency and the production of corn and soybeans and other, you know, commodities that are grown in this area. It also helps to recharge the aquifer and (on top of) Holdrege sits on top of the deepest and most robust part of the Ogallala Aquifer. So we've got a healthy multiple component irrigation and production agriculture situation here, which really buoys the overall economy. Production agriculture, of course, is the most important contributor to our economic health in Nebraska. It's Nebraska's largest industry by category. Holdrege is really kind of the heart of it in Nebraska.
Fantastic. Yeah, absolutely. Going back to Lake McConaughy, what a beautiful area! (I'm) I'm a water girl. So any anything like that, that's a huge asset. Ron, can you tell us some of the unique things possibly that are available to people in each of those villages,
We have a couple of good stories in Bertand that I like to point to. There was a couple, a young couple with children, that took a road trip a couple of years ago at the height of the COVID pandemic, because they were frustrated with the quality of life they were experiencing in Denver, and they just wanted to get the kids and RV and go see the countryside as a family. And they pass through Bertrand and just thought that was the perfect spot to relocate their family and to just put down roots. They didn't feel rooted in Denver; and they were always on edge because of everything that goes along with being in a large urban environment. So the husband is a contractor. He set up a contracting business doing roofs and siding (and) and renovations and in Bertrand. And then he and his wife together bought a downtown building that had stood vacant for some time, and she's opened up a yoga studio, a coffee bar, and they conduct art classes. And they've essentially turned this unutilized building into a community activity center. And it's just a fabulous story. It's exactly the kind of thing that we hope will happen, that we try to make happen and stimulate to happen. And that's just one really good example I think of what's unique about Bertrand. They've embraced that family, just as the family has embraced the community.
I love it. That is what it's all about. How about some of the other ones?
Well, Atlanta is an interesting small town, because it was the home of a World War II POW camp populated mainly by German prisoners. And there are remnants still of the POW camp. And then there is a large display (historical display) and artifacts included in the Nebraska Prairie Museum in Holdrege. But Atlanta, back in the 1940s and after the war, many of those German prisoners decided that life was pretty good here and decided to stay. And so there are still those German immigrants, let's call them, and their families farming (and) and building businesses in Nebraska to this day,
There's home businesses there as well, right? In Atlanta there are quite a few?
There are. And it's also home to a large Cargill, a processing facility, that was built back in 2014 -sh/2015. A large 15 million dollar operation that Cargill put there right on the Burlington Northern Railroad. So Atlanta is a very small village. But as you mentioned, there are people there that are working out of their homes as well as commuting to physicians in Holdrege and elsewhere.
That's great. We're both remote workers. So we kind of understand that whole home- based business type of thing. So Loomis is known as the marriage village.
Yeah.
You have acouple of bridal boutiques there.
That's right! People drive from all over the place to go to the Bridal Isle in Loomis, and they recently expanded the store, bought the adjoining building and renovated it. We helped them do that. And the store is bigger than ever now. That's an interesting story, that people will drive for hundreds of miles to that wedding boutique, mainly because they have so many choices available on site. You don't have to just look at things in the book and say, I'd like to try that one. And they've got everything right there.
Oh, that's wonderful. (That) it's such a job to have to try to find a wedding dress. I've done that a couple of times with my girls. So Holdrege has a huge downtown revitalization project that you have been in the process of and it has brought new businesses downtown and things. Can you tell us a little bit about that project and the ongoing work you're doing there?
Well, we think downtown any downtown is the heart and soul of the community. Visitors will make judgments about your community based on the vitality of a downtown area: how it looks, if there are people on the street, the condition of the infrastructure, sidewalks, and streets. We've made a concerted effort to to help businesses or building owners renovate the facades of their buildings. Or we have another program that's called the Building Integrity Grant and that helps address foundation or structural issues that otherwise would prevent somebody from investing in improvements. I can't recall off the top my head how many downtown buildings that we've done, but it's a lot, we typically make our funds available in grant form, up to a certain point, with the encouragement of the business or the building owner to either restore it as close as possible to its original appearance. Or, if that's not possible, make sure that it's compatible with the neighboring buildings and is a good design overall. This is probably a poor analogy, but it's kind of like the broken window syndrome. If you've got buildings that have broken windows, they tend to deteriorate quickly and aren't contributing to the greater good of the community. We know that it's important for our (building) buildings to look fresh, and, if not new, fresh, and inviting to people to come in. And it's a snowball effect. When one building makes that investment, improves their facilities, then the neighbors take the cue and do it as well.
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You have a unique grant program, your GO! program, tell us a little bit about that, because it's very multifaceted. It's not just for revitalization in the town, but it's also trying to increase your population and also helping people gain in their dream of being able to have their own small business.
Well, that right. GO! is actually an acronym for growing opportunities. But it's also an action word. We try to incorporate that into a lot of the programs that we offer to either businesses or individuals. And I think one of the things that you may be interested in is our GO! Home Program, which helps with downpayment for people that are new to the county that are looking to buy a home early on. When I got here, we did some research and discovered that our inbound commuter population is 2200 people per day that are commuting into Phelps County or Holdrege from other places. We created GO! Home more as an employer benefit, because we knew that if people lived nearer to their place of work, then retention of those employees who would improve, their on-time performance would improve, and families would put down roots and be more involved in their community. So we devised the GO! Home Program really to target either commuters or people that were being imported from someplace else by an employer. And if the employer identifies somebody within their business that they would like to support in that way, we will match what the employer provides as an incentive to move to Phelps County.
That's fantastic. What a unique program and a great way, like you said, you know, you live closer to where you work, you're going to stay there longer. And then everything else goes hand in hand as you're making those improvements in these communities, adding boutiques, adding stores, adding things for people to do within the area. Well, that's all just going to work together. And is that what you've been seen?
Yeah. And it doesn't happen overnight. You have to be patient and confident that it will produce results. And so over the past six years of the GO! Home Program, we've relocated approximately 350 family members into the community. and some of those family members are not in the workforce now, but they will grow into the workforce in the future. So that helps another area. That's always a challenge for smaller, more rural communities.
Yeah, absolutely. Your go Dream Program, I thought was really interesting as well. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Yeah. And again, DREAM is acronym: downtown revitalization (nd I'm sorry, I'm not going to be able to rattle off the whole thing.) But we want people to think bigger, think outside the box, and to always try to grow and stretch beyond where they are right now. So GO! Dream was designed to...we drew our own downtown boundary on the area that we wanted to focus on. And we've worked with virtually every business owner in downtown Holdrege and several business owners in Loomis and Bertrand and even one in Funk now. We haven't done a GO! Dream grant yet in Atlanta, but at some point we may. We've done other projects there, but GO! Dream is essentially designed to revitalize and strengthen downtown buildings. so that they will be productive and habitable into the future. You know, it happened slowly. So sometimes people forget what downtown look like five or six or eight years ago. If you go through the list and remember things, it's really quite remarkable the the transformation.
Well, that's great. We appreciate everything you you've all been doing there. Of course, any time any small towns or areas in Nebraska get built up, it helps the rest of our state. So we appreciate that. And we do have a final question for you, Ron, today.
Yeah.
What do you love about living in small town, Nebraska?
That connectedness. I enjoy working with other people to accomplish stuff; and I just have the best relationship with my board of directors and other people in the community. It's very gratifying. I think I told you, when we first started talking about doing this podcast, that I had a broadcast career for a little over 20 years. And I love broadcasting, but that business has transitioned over time. And it just doesn't seem as meaningful as the work that I'm doing today. And I'm very grateful to be able to continue to do this kind of work.
Well, thank you. And you keep up the good work. And thanks for being our guest today.
Yes, we really appreciate you coming on with us, Ron.
Well, thank you for your interest and for including me in your program.
Yeah, absolutely. Well, best of luck with everything that you're doing. And we're hope to be traveling through your area in the next couple months. So we will try to stop by and see you.
So Marcy, besides being on the Growing Small Town, Nebraska podcast, you are involved in a ginormous project over in Battle Creek; and I love hearing about it, but I think our listeners would like to hear about it, too.
Oh, thanks. We're working on the Heritage Park. As we're getting ready, we've got about eight weeks left before the 150th celebration on the third of August. And we're doing so many different things in that Heritage Park. It has never been open. So it will be open. Once we get everything done. We just had a huge arboretum planting that we did 341 plants, 40 trees and bushes. We had a mulch party last night where we several FFA students came out and helped us to be able to get the mulch on the plants after we have them in and keep them watered so that everything grows and thrives. So we've had such an enjoyable time working with our local FFA chapter. These young people have been absolutely wonderful. They're so invested in the project. And it's really fun to see them take ownership of it as well as us working together. And I'm just getting to meet some really wonderful young people. So it's a huge thing for me, and just a joy in doing the project.
Fantastic. What's next?
We are painting buildings yet. We have a museum to put together, and then we have to sow some grass seed because we've torn everything up so bad putting everything in that. We'll be doing a lot of that in the next few weeks.
And this is all in Battle Creek. And where's that located?
So the park has a fenced in section of it. That is the Heritage Park and there's a lot of historical buildings and stuff inside of it. So that's where it's located.
Can't wait to check it out.
All right, great.
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Join us again next time as we talk with business and community leaders who are working to revitalize the Cornhusker State. Thanks for listening!
