Rural Futures Institute's forum to highlight area successes, address challenges

The forum will include overviews of the Rural Futures Institute’s Competitive Awards projects, tours of the community successes, a community visioning process for youth, discussions with business, education and health care leaders and group work aimed at addressing local challenges.

“When you bring a group of people together from communities like West Point, North Platte and Chadron for an event like this you are in awe of the work they are doing and the solutions their communities have found,” said Chuck Schroeder, founding executive director of the Rural Futures Institute. “And then they take it a step further with what their hopes are for the future—you just want to work with them.”

“The forums, specifically, are an opportunity to get many different people in the same room with the focus being—how can we all work together to get rural communities in Nebraska where they want to go? RFI is here to facilitate those discussions, offer options and ideas and learn from these communities on behalf of other rural communities in Nebraska and beyond.”

Challenges identified by steering committees include housing, business development, leadership transition and recruitment of residents and professionals. Chadron also identified tourism development, retaining younger residents and technology-based entrepreneurship.

After a welcome from CSC President Randy Rhine, Competitive Awards projects will be presented by leading scholars and practitioners: Healthy Food - Healthy Choice, Enhancing Nebraska’s Ecotourism Industry and Bridging the Skills Gap.

Tours will focus on capitalizing on community strengths with a walk through the Rangeland Complex and the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center on Chadron State’s campus, innovative collaboration at Chadron Community Hospital and entrepreneurial investment downtown.

The afternoon’s panel will discuss regional entrepreneurship and innovation and include Ron Rosati, dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

“We all need to think and talk regionally, and this forum will help us do that,” said Chadron steering committee member Jenny Nixon who serves as a University of Nebraska Extension community vitality educator for the region. “It will give us a chance to focus, and put some action around some of our biggest issues such as housing, tourism and retaining youth.”

Updates about the forum are available on Twitter @rural_futures, #RFIforums and Facebook “RuralFutures.”