Mitchell, S.D., and Walla Walla, Wash., recognized for using technology to revive their economies

The Intelligent Community Forum, a non-profit organization that describes itself as "a think tank that studies the economic and social development of the 21st Century community," has named its Smart 21 Communities for 2014, which recognizes communities "for their investment in broadband connectivity and their innovative use of Internet applications," Tim Marema reports for the Daily Yonder. Only four of the 21 are in the U.S., and two of those four are rural -- Mitchell, S. D. pop. 15,000, and Walla Walla, Wash., pop. 32,000. The list will be narrowed to seven in January, and in June the Intelligent Community of the Year will be named.

Mitchell Corn Palace (stillsstillmoving.com)

"Though Mitchell and Walla Walla may have smaller populations, the communities have big ideas about the role of broadband connectivity in raising the standard of living. And they’ve invested in infrastructure to help residents use digital tools to create jobs, improve education and reverse population loss," Marema writes. Both communities were seeing a sharp decrease in population, before making technological advances that encouraged people to stay.

Mitchell, which made the list last year, promotes "precision farming," using "GPS, Internet connectivity and other digital tools to control the cost of farming while increasing yields," Marema writes. "Mitchell has built a fiber-to-the-premises network that can serve every home and business in town, according to Prairie Business Magazine. Each seventh through 12th grader in Mitchell’s public schools receives a smart pad or laptop. The region has a two-year vocational school that teaches business, communications and precision farming. It also has a four-year college, Dakota Wesleyan University. The Prairie Business Magazine reports that a third of Dakota Wesleyan’s graduates stay in the area."

Whitman College students create prints for a Day
of the Dead celebration. Walla Walla's vibrant cultural
life was cited. (Walla Walla Union Bulletin photo)

Walla Walla "built a fiber-optic backbone for the area, improving the regions’ online connectivity. The network encourages new business development, and local leaders are currently working on ways to extend the network to more of the community," Marema writes. "Online tools are part of the region’s high-end wine industry, which now features 150 wineries and employs a few thousand workers, said Louis Zacharilla, also a co-founder of Intelligent Community Forum. A local-foods movement has enticed young chefs to move the area, he said, once again building on the region’s agricultural traditions in new ways." (Read more)