Rotary Club

Rotary Club met Wednesday with speaker Rex Nelson presenting. Nelson is the Senior Editor for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. He spoke yesterday afternoon about Arkansas’s growth over the years and the importance of continuing to cultivate a culture of growth within many of Arkansas’s rural towns. Arkansas as a whole grew in population when comparing the 2020 census data to the 2010. However, Nelson made mention that across that same time frame 53 of the 75 counties within the state actually decreased in population. So where is everyone going? The 3 areas that saw the most growth over the past decade were NW Arkansas, Little Rock, and Jonesboro. When asked how declining rural communities can begin to thrive and grow throughout the state Nelson said, “Make your public schools as good as they possibly can be”. After schools it’s about economic development and creating a culture that makes people want to come back. 

Nelson described Nashville as a Critical Mass Community or a community in which people gravitate to. Such communities, he said, are essential to the growth of Arkansas