Delta authority's new boss says he's cut overhead expenses and will send communities the money

Lee Powell, left, executive director of the Delta
Grassroots Caucus, talked with Peter Kinder.

The temporary boss of the Delta Regional Authority told a regional lobbying group Thursday that he had eliminated more than $500,000 in administrative costs from the agency's $30 million budget, and "We're going to push those resources out to the communities who need them, where they need to be. . . . I think that's a pretty good start for the first two months."

Peter Kinder, who was a three-term Republican lieutenant governor of Missouri, was appointed by President Trump as alternate federal co-chairman of the DRA, which covers 252 counties and parishes in eight states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky. Trump has nominated Christopher Caldwell, an aide to Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, as federal co-chair. The top post requires Senate confirmation, which is pending.

Kinder, who lives in Cape Girardeau, Mo., said the region has "some of the greatest economic challenges of any region in the country," but also has opportunities. He said it has shown its commitment to rural areas by sending 84 percent of its awards over the last six years to places with less than 50,000 population.

Kinder spoke to the opening session of a conference held by the Delta Grassroots Caucus, a coalition of local leaders in the region. Other speakers included Mayor Chuck Espy of Clarksdale, Miss., a former congressman; and Mayor Shirley Washington of Pine Bluff, Ark. Today's speakers include Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Sen. John Boozman and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas.

E. Ky. economic effort announces structure, plan; draws criticism for 'Old Guard' dominance

The bipartisan effort to reshape the economy of Eastern Kentucky, hit hard by coal-industry layoffs, now has an executive committee, managers, an office and a nine-month action plan that won't gather dust on shelves, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and Republican 5th District U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers announced Monday at Hazard.

"We have the elements to make it an ongoing, transformational process for Kentucky's Appalachian region," Beshear said of the Shaping Our Appalachian Region initiative. For a video of the event, click here. The 15-member executive committee includes Tom Hunter, former executive director of the Appalachian Regional Commission. He told the crowd, "We wouldn't have an Appalachian Regional Commission without Hal Rogers," who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.

Charles W. Fluharty, president and CEO of the Rural Policy Research Institute, will serve as SOAR's interim executive director while the executive committee searches for a permanent executive director. The on-site managing director will be Donovan Blackburn, city manager of Pikeville, where a SOAR office has been established. Rogers called him "the most forward-looking person I know in Eastern Kentucky."

Rogers said the key to the next few months will be working groups that will hold "listening sessions" on 10 issues, aiming toward a second regional summit in November. Former Gov. Paul Patton of Pikeville will chair a "Futures Forum" to frame and advance a long-term vision for the region. Rogers said the effort will also need money, and that will be up to a development committee headed by Pikeville banker Jean Hale, who told the crowd, "Kentucky needs to understand that it needs Eastern Kentucky for its success."

UPDATES, March 25: The selections got a mostly negative review from Tom Eblen, columnist and former managing editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader. He said Fluharty's role is unclear, and "The list raised eyebrows not so much because of who was included as who was excluded, which was pretty much everybody outside Eastern Kentucky's establishment power structure," such as staff of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, "which has been working on innovative economic development strategies in Central Appalachia since 1976," and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and environmental and social-justice group that "has been working effectively in coal-dominated Eastern Kentucky since 1981." He concluded, "If they want new ideas and the broad public support and credibility SOAR needs to succeed, they must be willing to give some seats at the decision-making table to people besides Eastern Kentucky's Old Guard. Otherwise, SOAR won't be any different than the failed efforts of the past."

Meanwhile, Rogers cited SOAR and mentioned "the great strides that we’ve made over the last three decades in education, healthcare and job creation" in a response to a National Journal article noting that his district ranked last in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

W. Va. county hopes national pilot project will revitalize its failing schools and communities

It may take a village to raise a child, but in McDowell County, West Virginia, officials hope a nation can revitalize the school system. The American Federation of Teachers, a union that typically represents teachers in urban areas, has initiated an "unprecedented experiment" bringing together more than 40 public- and private-sector groups to develop an education plan for the county. A five-year project called Reconnecting McDowell will address issues like poverty, technology and transportation that limit educational opportunities in the county. AFT hopes the project will be a successful model for rural districts across the country. (Wikipedia map)

Poster at abandoned school in Iaeger, W.Va.
Washington Post photo by Michael Williamson

Amy Harris of The Charleston Gazette reports the state Education Department took over McDowell's schools in 2001 to fix its high rates of dropout, shortage of qualified teachers, very low reading and math scores and the "deplorable filthy, unsafe and disgusting" schools that were damaged by flooding, but are still in use. The department consolidated schools, hired new superintendents and built new facilities but failed to improve test scores. "There are issues in McDowell that go beyond the school system and get to ingrained cultural feelings about education and a number of economic problems," State Board of Education member Gayle Manchin told Harris. The wife of U.S. Sen. and former Gov. Joe Manchin sought AFT's help for such a project. (Read more)

Lyndsey Layton of The Washington Post reports the project's overall cost is unknown, but AFT has already committed staff time and $100,000 to the planning phase. Investments will directly affect schools, with companies including Cisco Systems, coal company Alpha Natural Resources and Frontier Communications pledging to improve the county's technology, Internet access and broadband service. Nonprofits have agreed to provide books, and the Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute will work on that infrastructure. Other groups have offered to give families better access to health care, drug prevention and treatment and more recreation. Layton reports a similar initiative created the "Harlem Children's Zone" and has been very successful, but these types of services in McDowell County must be built from the ground up because they don't currently exist. (WIlliamson photo: Students at Bradshaw Elementary, which doesn't have enough computers or Internet bandwidth)

Oregon land planning sets urban against rural interests

Northwest Oregon farmers are on the defensive as four governments from a three-county region debate unprecedented urban and rural land designations that could shape the future of the region. The state Land Conservation and Development Commission is considering a plan from Portland Metro and Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties that would designate "28,615 acres of urban reserves -- places eligible for eventual development -- and 267,000 acres of rural reserves that will be maintained as farms, forests or natural areas in the three counties," Eric Mortenson of The Oregonian reports. "No other region in the U.S. has attempted such long-range planning; approval by the LCDC is the final step." (Mapquest map)

"Farmers, the conservation group 1000 Friends of Oregon and the state Department of Agriculture oppose urban designations on three areas of prime farmland north of Council Creek, north of Forest Grove and northwest of Hillsboro," Mortenson writes. "The commission heard four days of testimony last week and said it needed more details on Washington County's designations in those areas." The Agriculture Department calls each area "foundation farmland," marked by large blocks of fine soil supported by an infrastructure of fertilizer, seed and equipment dealers, crop processors and irrigation.

"I've farmed next to cities all my life, and it's really tough," Bob VanderZanden, a farmer from Hillsboro, told Mortenson. "They don't blend well. The best way is to have some natural feature that absorbs a lot of that impact." Richard Meyer, development and operations director for Cornelius, said an urban designation for the most hotly contested area, just north of Council Creek, is essential for growth. "We need 4,000 jobs to have a jobs-housing balance that would cut back on our commuting," Meyer said. "Our city limits are right at the urban growth boundary, and all around us is farming." (Read more)

Report says rural Midwest needs to rethink development strategy of direct incentives

A new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs says the rural Midwest must "move past silos and smokestacks" to remain competitive in the 21st Century global economy. To encourage new industry and job creation, the region needs to "partner regionally to compete globally," writes report lead author Dr. Mark Drabenstott, founding director of the Rural Policy Research Institute Center for Regional Competitiveness. He reveals that nearly 80 percent of the money in development budgets in the 12 Midwestern states goes to recruitment incentives for projects like factories.

"The Midwest can no longer base its 21st Century future on this 20th-Century playbook," Drabenstott writes. The report, "Past Silos and Smokestacks: Transforming the Rural Economy in the Midwest," was released as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development directors for the 12 states -- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin -- meet in Chicago today to discuss how to allocate nearly $722 million in funding, according to a Newswise release.

"Regional action across traditional political boundaries, targeted investment in public goods such as transportation and telecommunications, active efforts to spur innovation, and a focus on regional competitive advantages will stimulate the rural economy," says the release. Drabenstott calls for federal representatives, state governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to provide leadership and action for regional collaboration. (Read more)

USDA likely to announce regional-alliance program

A program favoring increased emphasis on regional alliances in rural America is likely to be announced soon, says the under secretary of rural development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dallas Tonsager hinted at the announcement while speaking to chairs of agriculture committees from 47 state legislatures meeting at the Legislative Agricultural Chairs Summit last weekend, Bill Bishop of The Daily Yonder reports.

"We’ll becoming out soon with a proposal on regionalism," Tonsager told the legislators. "I would urge you to look at what Iowa did when [USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack] did when he was governor [of Iowa]." While in Iowa, "Vilsack went so far as to propose reducing the number of counties from 99 to about 15, following the lines of community college districts," Bishop writes.

Advocates of rural regionalism say "counties working together will be more successful in their development efforts than if they plunge ahead without cooperating," Bishop reports. The summit also included sessions about dealing with animal rights advocates, creating rural caucuses in state legislatures, cap-and-trade legislation and the widening rural-urban division. (Read more)

Census, health reform, 'shop local' campaigns top 2010 rural small business trends to watch

Small Business Trends, an award-winning online publication for small-business owners, has released its top 10 rural small business trends to watch for 2010, and the census took the No. 1 spot. "Smart small towns and counties will be actively finding ways to get everyone counted," Becky McCray writes. "Watch for town meetings to answer questions, and a whole bunch of canvassing. Your small town business will be indirectly affected by the results for ten long years."

Health care reform, "shop local" campaigns, infrastructure and state budget crunches round out the top five trends to watch. Rural broadband ranks sixth on the list, which may seem low considering the heavy stimulus plan investment in high-speed Internet expansion. "Yes, it’s a trend this year," McCray writes, "but the solution will be a series of long-term projects." The migration of baby boomers to rural areas, regional partnerships across small towns, tightening of business lending and an added emphasis on close-to-home tourism close out the list. (Read more)

Cooperation makes food big business in small town

The story of Hardwick, Vt., reads like that of many other small mining towns. The granite company left town, and local businesses began to follow. Main Street emptied and the town's economy was in trouble. But where many towns work to bring in new business, or see a migration of residents, Hardwick is working hard to be "the town that was saved by food," reports The New York Times.

Residents are working collectively to build up local agriculture through mutual promotion, shared capital, business planning advice and borrowed equipment and storage. They buy one another's produce. “All of us have realized that by working together we will be more successful as businesses,” Tom Stearns, owner of High Mowing Organic Seeds, told Marian Burros of the Times. “At the same time we will advance our mission to help rebuild the food system, conserve farmland and make it economically viable to farm in a sustainable way.”

The town manager, Rob Lewis, says that the effort is paying off for the economy. With only 3,000 residents, 75 to 100 jobs were added in the last few years. Stearns says that six businesses spoke with him about moving to the area in the span of one week. “Things that seemed totally impossible not so long ago are now going to happen,” said Mateo Kehler, who with his brother, began aging cheese on the family farm, then expanded to start aging cheese for other farmers. “In the next few years a new wave of businesses will come in behind us. So many things are possible with collaboration.” (Read more)

Rural development specialist praises Ky. initiative

One expert on economic development in rural areas is praising a Kentucky initiative he says models a structure that will spread "as regionalism continues to make more sense to more people." Jack Schultz, author and CEO of Agracel Inc., a firm specializing in rural industrial development, writes on his BoomtownUSA blog that Northwest KY Forward is doing a great deal toward promoting industrial growth in the Kentucky counties around the city of Henderson, Ky. (Encarta map)

Schultz writes, "What most impressed me with this organization was their simple structure and also their straightforward strategy. The organization is lean with only four employees but the focus is on three areas: 1. Recruitment; 2. Retention and 3. Entrepreneurism." The company focuses on five areas of industry: aluminum, logistics, auto manufacturing parts, prepared foods and energy. Each area is selected carefully. For example, the area within a 60-mile radius of Henderson produces one-third of the aluminum in the U.S., employing over 8,000 workers.

The foundations of the organization were laid in the mid-1990s, when some of the counties jointly developed an industrial park. Since its official inception in July 2005, Northwest KY Forward has "landed new companies, helped start some new businesses, expanded employment and has a number of future projects on the drawing boards." Kevin Sheilley, president of the organization, tells Schultz: "We've got four companies looking at doing new projects here that have over 500 acres optioned." (Read more)

Western Colorado counties are an example of regional cooperation for rural development

Experts agree that the three-legged stool for rural economic development is: Build on your best assets; encourage entrepreneurship; and cooperate across political boundaries. The latter is often difficult; it's human nature to look for advantage in relationships, and rural jurisdictions often compete politically and in other ways. When you spend much of Friday night cheering for your team to beat the other county's brains out, it can be harder to cooperate on Monday morning.

There are "darn few successful examples" of regional cooperation, Bill Bishop writes today in the Daily Yonder, but cites an important one: Club 20, a longstanding organization of the 20 Colorado counties on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, founded in 1953 by Preston Walker, who was publisher of The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, the rural region's largest city. Their first success was lobbying jointly in Denver for road money. The group now has 22 counties and the Ute tribe, all with an equal vote. Most work is done in committees on tourism, public lands, energy, education, water and health care. It also holds political forums; photo by Bishop shows Democratic U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar praising the group and urging it to stay bipartisan.

"There have been some ideological dust-ups as the issues have gone beyond roads and water. There are also constant reminders throughout the day that Club 20 has survived by finding issues that cross political boundaries," Bishop writes. "Club 20 has been successful enough that two other groups of counties in Colorado have copied the Western Slope coalition. There is now Action 22, made up of counties in southeast Colorado. And Progressive 15 is a coalition of rural counties in the far northeastern corner of the state." (Read more)

Tennessee governor gets rival counties to cooperate for economic development in rural areas

Experts agree that regional cooperation can spur economic development in rural areas, but getting counties that have long been rivals on the football field, the basketball floor and the job-chasing circuit takes some doing. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is doing it, or at least trying to, and took his program on the road this week. (Photo from The Leader, Covington)

"The program is designed to acquaint veteran site selectors with development opportunities in Tennessee's rural communities and to give those communities the opportunity to gather feedback from veteran business consultants," reports Gary Nelson of the tri-weekly Crossville Chronicle, who covered Bredesen's "Orange Carpet Tour" stop in an adjoining county. Bredesen's program also "includes an expanded series of tax incentives for companies investing in rural communities with historically high unemployment and the Rural Opportunity Fund, a new source of capital available to rural Tennessee businesses."

Nelson reports that the mayors of three adjoining counties on the somewhat mountainous Cumberland Plateau "signed a memorandum of understanding requiring the counties to provide preliminary data for the Orange Carpet Tour, present an economic development project presentation to the site-selection consultant in order to receive suggestions and feedback, seek out opportunities for regional collaboration, work with [state] regional jobs development specialists and community development specialists to implement action items identified by the site selection consultant, and submit quarterly reports ... regarding progress of implementing action items identified during the Orange Carpet Tour. The reports must be available for a period of two years."

"Officials say some counties were reluctant to sign on to the Orange Carpet program because the agreements require local governments to try to implement any improvements recommended by the consultant," The Associated Press reported. But Cumberland, Morgan and Roane counties "have already entered into the Plateau Partnership Park on a piece of land in the three counties consisting of more than 1,000 acres," Nelson reports. (Read more) The area is near an airport and an Interstate 40 interchange.

Bredesen made four other stops to recognize tri-county groups: Clay, Pickett and Fentress in north-central Tennessee; Coffee, Franklin and Lincoln in east south-central; Lewis, Wayne and Lawrence in west south-central; Lauderdale, Haywood and Tipton in the west. For his news release on the tour, click here.