Jun. 1—WESSINGTON SPRINGS, S.D. — Small rural towns have a special place in Danna Larson's heart.

As a small-town girl from Odebolt, Iowa, Larson knows the challenges rural communities with populations around 1,000 or fewer are facing. Now, she's on a mission to revive small towns where declining populations and vacant Main Street buildings are the norm.

The Iowa-based entrepreneur and podcaster

has built a consulting company that aims to revitalize small Midwest towns, and she provided strategies to a group of South Dakota rural community leaders on May 31 during the 2023 Energize conference in Wessington Springs hosted by South Dakota State University Extension. Larson served as the keynote speaker at the economic agriculture event.

"In my town, we have some empty buildings on our Main Street that we need to fill with businesses. In order for people to want to bring their business to our town, they have to know we are committed to them. They have to know we are going to support them if they open a business," she said.

An aging Main Street that's seen a growing number of buildings come down has been the tale of the tape for Odebolt, Iowa — the small town of about 1,000 where Larson resides and is helping revive.

To chart a new path forward for Odebolt's Main Street, Larson created a community foundation that raises funds and seeks grants to help the city restore buildings at risk of being torn down. And it's already saved a few in the community, she said.

"I went to town council and said, 'Please don't tear this down, and let's see if we can save it,'" Larson said, noting the council unanimously voted against tearing the building down and partnering with her community foundation. "We're a town of 1,000, and the city can't afford to do everything on our list. By having a community foundation, we can get extra funds to come alongside the city and help support projects that need more funding than they can provide."

The challenges in Odebolt, Iowa, mirror many small South Dakota towns.

To reverse the trajectory, Larson urged the group in attendance to host more community events that showcase Main Street businesses, agriculture and arts.

Larson said a survey that polled rural town residents revealed they wanted to see more arts and entertainment options. The survey also showed the closure of Main Street businesses and population declines were two major issues the respondents said are hurting their communities.

"Start some events to draw younger crowds. Arts and entertainment like the survey results said, is something we need to bring more of to our towns. And that is cheap compared to putting $1 million into fixing up an old building," Larson said.

Larson used a success story of a Minnesota couple who moved back to the husband's hometown of McIntosh — a town with just under 600 people — as an example that reviving rural communities can be done.

"After they moved back, they decided to help rebuild the small downtown by starting a vintage business. Then they decided to fix up a building downtown and ended up buying nearly all the buildings that they rent to shop owners," Larson said. "They worked hard to create this experience for people to want to come to McIntosh. They do things with food trucks and events. They have five events each year."

By hosting community events on Main Street and revitalizing aging buildings, Larson said it provides the youth a reason to stay and build a career in their rural hometowns.

"I think there are a lot of young people and young families who would love to move back if they could, if the right opportunity was there. Our job is to give them that opportunity," she said.

While Larson has success in sparking revitalization efforts in small towns around the Upper Midwest, she acknowledged that "it's easy to get discouraged when not all community leaders get on board."

"Unity is key. If everybody has the same vision, it makes the momentum that much stronger. To get everyone on the same page, communication is key," she said.

Larson challenged the group to take leaps at their entrepreneurial dreams and encourage the youth to do the same.

"Stay positive and leverage social media to reach people beyond your town. Create space for untapped dreams, which creates opportunity for economic development," Larson said.