05/19/2026
🫶🏻
For many of us, summer break starts this week or next week, yay!
(Well, supposedly--it's currently 45°F and rainy here in Oakes which isn't precisely summer weather but we're required to say we're glad for the moisture but man we wish it would get warm already)
And summer in a small town can be magical.
Main street festivals and events. Farmers markets. Parades where you know most of the people in it and most of the people watching.
Kids running around until dark because everyone's keeping an eye out. Neighbors gathering on porches. The local ice cream shop with the line out the door.
We're so excited for (hot) summer nights, magic, all of it.
This is the stuff we're fighting for when we talk about "Growing small towns."
Not just economic development or population growth (though those matter too). We're fighting for THIS. For communities where people know each other. Where summer nights feel safe and full of possibility. Where gathering places actually exist and people show up to them. Those 90s kinds of childhood summers that we love to romanticize because they were kind of awesome.
We're fighting for places our kids might actually want to come back to.
So this summer, while you're living it—soak it in. (Literally, if it's raining 😂)
Notice what makes your town special. The traditions. The gathering spots. The people who show up and make things happen.
And then think about how you can protect that magic and build on it. Because THAT'S what growing a small town is really about.
What's your favorite thing about summer in your small town? Paint us a picture!"
