Here's a pile of awesome to start the day: GROW South Dakota and Dakotafire Media have received a Bush Foundation grant to promote constructive conversations among rural economic development experts and community members around northeastern South Dakota.
GROW South Dakota will use the $200,000 Community Innovation Grant to create the Prairie Idea Exchange. The money will help Dakotafire expand its weekly circulation from 12,000 to 30,000. GROW SD and Dakotafire will organize community forums to "discuss the ideas presented in the magazine, add their own ideas, and determine which of those ideas could be applied to their own communities." They offer an online branch of those conversations as well, for those of us who don't get out as much as we ought.
The Prairie Idea Exchange isn't politics as usual, but it is inherently and healthily political. The project represents what we should think of as politics: citizens coming together to discuss, formulate, and act on ideas for living together in community (the polis, as the Greeks who gave us the word politics would have called it).
Don't just wish this healthy political project well; be a politician (one who seeks to build and maintain the polis) and participate in it!
Good thing I looked up the Bush Foundation before I shoved both feet in my mouth. Not related to the war criminal Bushes. By all means, go for it.
"rural economic development experts"
That should be a red flag.
Right, Mike! Different Bush!
Steve, keep that flag at half mast. The important part here is that instead of making decisions in secret, those rural economic development experts will come out, talk with people, and, if the Prairie Idea Exchange lives up to its aspirations, engage citizens in a democratic process that guides real policy. What's wrong with that? (Uh oh, I'm asking for it....)
cory removes sibs ball from tee, asks him politely, but a bit suggestively, to leave.
sorry. irresistible w/ coffee in mah veins....
I appreciate the shout-out, Cory!
And just a note on which Bush this is: This Bush created his legacy at 3M, makers of tape and the Post-It note, among other things. https://www.bushfoundation.org/about-us It's pretty cool that there's a Minnesota-based foundation that also wants to support work in the Dakotas--Minnesota projects has a plethera of foundations to choose from (and let's not forget the Legacy Amendment, with which taxpayers support projects for the greater good), but the Dakotas have far fewer dedicated to our geography.
And just a note for others in the eastern Dakotas: We're focused on northeastern South Dakota mostly because there's an established network of economic developers here, and we're building on that. But anyone can join in the idea exchange! We'll have a section dedicated to the P.I.E. at our forum site: http://www.forum.dakotafire.net. Our stories based on the exchange will be available online also.
Last note: Inspired by the initials, and by my appreciation for a certain baked treat, we are planning to incorporate actual PIE into our gatherings. :)
Congrats, Heidi! And PIE! PIE! How did I not see that? With a snappy acronym and baked goods, you're bound to succeed. :-)