Strong cities vital to Great Plains

There is no question that great parts of the Great Plains region, particularly those dominated by agriculture and energy production, are having difficulties. But this does not mean the region is a basket case.

Many of the problems areas in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and elsewhere result from increasing competitiveness and rising productivity - not decline.

What we see in much of the coal industry, for example, is rising production, rising revenues to coal companies, rising profits, increasing revenue yields to state tax coffers - but steeply declining employment. So, we are producing more with fewer people. That's a success story.

But productivity improvements that lead to economic and business success sometimes create community and social problems. People lose their jobs and move away. Communities are fractured. Tax bases shrink. This reduces the quality of life for those left behind. These problems are real and must be addressed. But they do not define the region.

This region is not dominated entirely by small rural communities dependent on agricultural and energy production. Only 602 of the region's 3,067 counties are agricultural; 176 are mining- or energy based.

Many rural counties are doing well, including retirement and recreation counties and urban spillover counties. Rural areas close to an interstate highway, an airport or a university or a community college tend to have healthier economies.

In short, there are all kinds of situations in the Great Plains where people have been dealt a good hand and need only the wits to play their cards right. That's why investment in community leadership, most of which is voluntary, is so important.

In fact, this region is not even dominated by rural people and rural communities. The Great Plains is one of the most urbanized regions of the U.S. If you rank the states by percentage of the population living in communities of more than 15,000 people, most of the Great Plaines states are near the top of the list.

So, the rise or decline of the Great Plains region - even its rural areas - will depend primarily on the health and vitality of its cities and towns. In the new economy, healthy cities and towns promote rural vitality, not the other way around, as it was in the old economy.

The future of the Great Plains is in its cities and towns. That's where new and transforming industries are taking shape. For example, food processing in Omaha and telecommunications-based back office operations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A healthy economy in cities and towns provides part-time work for those engaged in marginal economic activities in rural areas. Good services in cities and towns help those in rural areas cut their overhead costs and remain competitive in the global economy.

Those who would forecast the future of the Great Plains must first look to its cities and towns. That's where the action is.