MPR: Good Thunder: Main Street Economics

Good Thunder: Main Street Economics
By Mark Steil
October 6, 1997

Residents of small towns often feel they're on the periphery of the state's economy. In boom times like now, small towns are eager for some of the action, but often find it difficult to cash in. Take the community of Good Thunder in south central Minnesota. Officials there would love to bring some jobs to town, but that just hasn't happened.

Mainstreet Radio has been to Good Thunder several times. The very first Mainstreet radio story was about the town. Reporter John Biewen told how the community hired artist Tacumba Aiken to paint historical scenes on the towns' grain elevator. The huge mural is dominated by a 40-foot portrait of the town's namesake, Dakota Indian Good Thunder. One reason the town commissioned the work was to attract attention and possibly new residents to Good Thunder. In the fall of 1987, Ann Christenson saw the visible-for-miles mural as a beacon to artists wanting to live in a small town:

In the past we've had some artists living in town, potters. We had some fine antique stores. None of those are any longer here. But we felt we could rebuild, revitalize that arts environment, and try to expand on it.

Six years later Mainstreet Radio returned to Good Thunder. The huge painting still dominated the towns' skyline, but it was obscured at times this Saturday afternoon by smoky fires in some downtown buildings.

SFX: Street sounds. A back-up warning beep sounds on a truck
Fire chief has told us you guys have got to move. You can't be on this side of the street.

Police moved onlookers back from the intentionally set fires. Town officials wanted to demolish some eyesore buildings and offered them to area fire departments for a training session. Good Thunder leaders planned a community building and fire hall on the site. It was hoped the new buildings would be the centerpiece of a revitalized downtown. That hasn't happened. A fire hall was built, a carwash went up, and an addition is being built to the elementary school, but little else has changed in Good Thunder. Mayor Robert Anderson says the town's economic development efforts are at a standstill:

Ohhhh, there used to be a chamber of commerce, I don't believe there's any one of them. There used to some, like an economic development committee with a banker and few other individuals. I think that's gone to. No one takes an interest.

That doesn't mean the town of 650 people is near economic collapse. Most residents have good jobs in nearby Mankato. But it does mean Good Thunder isn't growing, and that's frustrating when many other towns are enjoying growth spurts. Mayor Anderson says one problem is the town doesn't have much land available for industry; farm fields circling town basically block expansion. Another problem is it's difficult to find volunteers to work on economic development. Anderson says past efforts have depended on a few key people. When they moved out of Good Thunder, the economic development efforts collapsed:

It's the same people that always volunteer. After a while they get burned out. You need new people that got ideas to come and help. But if nobody wants to come and help, then the old guys get tired and say "that's enough."

That's a familiar scenario to Dennis Welch. He works for Public Resource Group, a private Minneapolis company which helps small towns attract jobs. He says many communities cannot afford a professional, full-time economic developer. He says they should look instead at a part-time developer, or have an on-going effort to make sure there are enough volunteers to keep economic development efforts alive. He says continuity is crucial, because when opportunity arrives, the town must be ready to act:

Patience, patience. We instill that. Some want an overnight fix, that doesn't happen. It's a time consumer, but if the right steps are taken the projects will occur.

Welch says many towns make another common mistake. They look for a savior company. Welch says instead of trying to lure new companies to town, the best way to expand a small town economy is by helping local businesses grow:

Prospecting from outside is more difficult than growing your businesses from within. The businesses have a reason to be there and they want to continue to be there. If there expectations can be met, they'll stay.

That's a lesson Lincoln County has learned. The southwest Minnesota county concentrates mainly on helping homegrown businesses. Vince Robinson heads the Lincoln County Enterprise Development Corporation:

My perspective is I would rather see 200 - 300 jobs provided by 150 different businesses rather than 200 - 300 jobs in one business. Because if that one business runs into hard economic times, those jobs are in jeopardy. With diversity, the whole economy would have to take a major downturn in order for those jobs to be in jeopardy.

One of the businesses Robinson has helped is Scott's Electronics in Tyler. Scott Johansen moved back to his hometown to start his company. He works full-time at the job; his wife helps out part-time. He says he's very busy; today's schedule is typical:

First of all, I'm going to wire a house for a satellite dish and antenna. Then after that I have to put up a new small satellite dish. After that I have to repair some wire that was cut underground. Well, that's going to take up most of the day.

He says the Lincoln County Development group helped him plan his business and locate financing. In eight years the group has helped create or maintain about 300 jobs. That's about 10% of the work force in the county.

SFX: Sounds of sawing, hammering up

Back in Good Thunder, a couple blocks from the horses, Indians, and children painted on the grain elevator, an old building on Main Street is being remodeled. The building is owned by two artists. It's the kind of small scale economic development which helps keep communities alive. Rea Mingeva and her husband live in the building and plan studio space as well. She grew up in Minneapolis but says she enjoys small town life:

I guess the changes I've made living in a small town is I've relaxed a bit. No, I wouldn't think twice about going out after dark or leaving my door open or my husband going away for two weeks and me staying home alone. It doesn't bother me because the cop is a half block away. You see him patrolling all the time. He knows you, everyone knows you.

Good Thunder mayor Robert Anderson says that sense of security may be the town's biggest asset. He says even though Good Thunder hasn't had much luck bringing jobs to town, there will always be enough people attracted to small town life to live in the houses the town has available. He hopes at some point that can be combined with more jobs, providing the economic base for Good Thunder to grow.

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