For small-town economic success, broadband is the new railroad
Residents of Emporia, Kansas, weren’t laughing when the satirical news site The Onion named it “best small town to escape from” in 2017. In fact, “brain drain” from rural areas has been a problem across the country for decades. But Emporia has a new plan that harks back to its business past, a railroad hub that helped spur a local manufacturing base. Thanks to an existing local fiber network and help from the Rural Innovation Initiative, Emporia is hoping to become a rural tech hub, with an incubator for entrepreneurs who will bring jobs to the area.
If you’re a member of your local public radio station, we thank you — because your support helps those stations keep programs like Marketplace on the air. But for Marketplace to continue to grow, we need additional investment from those who care most about what we do: superfans like you.
Your donation — as little as $5 — helps us create more content that matters to you and your community, and to reach more people where they are – whether that’s radio, podcasts or online.
When you contribute directly to Marketplace, you become a partner in that mission: someone who understands that when we all get smarter, everybody wins.
