Below are some recent news articles featuring the Heartland Center and its programs.

"Rural Nebraska Reaches Inward to Meet External Changes"

W.K. Kellogg Foundation website - 2009

     When author Willa Cather talked about the "human yearning for something enduring, without shadow of change," she could have been describing the wishful mindset of small-town America at the end of the 20th century. In too many rural areas, a steady stream of decline has drained communities of population and opportunity.

     In Cather's native Nebraska today, an initiative called HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC) is teaching small towns statewide that collaborating to take control of change may be the key to preserving rural towns - with 21st century improvements. Read more.

"Model of excellence"

Omaha World-Herald - September 28, 2008

     Examples of excellence in entrepreneurship dot the Nebraska landscape. Such economic vision is critical to maintaining and growing businesses and communities in rural and urban areas.

     Outsiders are paying attention. Recently, a group of 30 entrepreneurship coaches from south-central Kentucky visited the Cornhusker State and came away impressed by what they observed. Read more.

"Mythology feeds debate on future of small towns"

Lincoln Journal Star - September 8, 2008

     The Journal Star's editorial on Aug. 17 called for a public debate to spawn new and creative ideas on how to help Nebraska's small towns thrive. The editorial cited data indicating that Nebraska towns since 1890 have shrunk in median size. On the average, however, town size grew from 939 in 1890 to 2,147 in 2000, counting the towns that survived between then and now (and excluding Omaha and Lincoln).

     Conventional wisdom, so-called, often drives what we think is true about small towns. Here are the Heartland Center for Leadership Development's "Six Myths about the Future of Small Towns," which turn conventional wisdom on its head. Read more.

"Speaker: Young are key to city"

Jackson Citizen Patriot - October 16, 2007

     Making a community viable for the future and ensuring its success means identifying energetic entrepreneurs and making sure students appreciate the greatness of their hometown.

     That's according to Milan Wall, who spoke Monday night on strategies to reshape the future of small towns to a crowd of about 120 people at the Ella Sharp Museum Community Room. Read more.

"Small Rural Towns With A Plan Can Prosper, Speaker Says"

Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan - July 3, 2006

     In his travels across the Midwest, Milan Wall has seen small towns where people are too busy with activities that don't help their town survive.

     That could all change if they only had a plan, said Wall, co-director and founder of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development in Lincoln, Neb. Read more.