Strongest Town Contest Sister Cities Come Together
Representatives of both Norwood, OH, and Jasper, IN, meet up in person after facing off in the finals of this year’s Strongest Town Contest.
Dozens of aspiring towns entered the competition to be named 2022’s Strongest Town. The two finalists—Norwood, Ohio, and Jasper, Indiana—are both midwestern towns of similar population, the former an urban place surrounded by the metropolis of Cincinnati, and the latter a rural county seat in the farmlands of Indiana. Both towns are moving in a similar trajectory, revitalizing their downtown areas, creating events that bring residents together, building collaboration between city entities, and being mindful of their financial futures.
Those of us in Norwood, Ohio, gathered on the steps of our historic middle school with music, our local coffee trailer, balloons, and face painting in April to celebrate the results of the Strongest Town competition, regardless of the outcome.
Our advancement round after round had us elated to be able to come together and celebrate the resilience of our community, and it was clear that our co-finalist, Jasper, Indiana, was a worthy contender. Before the results were in, a connection had already been formed in the interest of the two towns moving forward together, learning from each other, and celebrating the good things happening in both communities.
The celebration of the 2022 Strongest Town Contest outcome in Norwood, OH.
The winner: Jasper! Even after the results were in, we committed to maintaining our towns’ newfound connection to each other, and the Jasper team graciously invited the Norwoodians to join them in their celebration and for a tour of their town when Strong Towns Founder Chuck Marohn came to visit and present them their award. When the time came, three of us from the Norwood team piled in the car on a road trip to celebrate with our colleagues. We weren’t expecting to be the main event, but, due to unforeseen issues and delayed flights, Chuck Marohn got stranded in the Atlanta airport while we were treated to the VIP tour of Jasper!
Upon arrival, we spent our first moments stretching our legs meandering around the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center before lunch at the Mill House Restaurant. We enjoyed the grand city signage, the artistically painted colorful crosswalks, and the clean and tidy feel of the town. Houses and yards were well kept, curbs were painted, streets and sidewalks were in great shape.
As the day progressed, it became clear that Chuck wouldn’t be able to make it, but that afternoon, the Jasper and Norwood teams met as planned at the Train Depot. In true Midwestern hospitality, the Jasper team didn’t miss a beat welcoming us, despite the disappointing change of Chuck’s plans. Mayor Vonderheide, his assistant Lisa Bower, Councilwoman and President of the Jasper Chamber of Commerce Nancy Eckerle, Director of Heart of Jasper Kate Schwenk, and Mark Nowotarski met with us as we all eagerly shared what’s going on in our towns, what we’re proud of, excited about, and our challenges. There are many similarities between our two communities and good ideas were shared and celebrated.
Seven Takeaways from Our Trip to Jasper
Collaboration
We were impressed with the collaboration between Jasper’s City administration, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Main Street Office. These three groups support each other and work together to support common goals for the City of Jasper.
Unified Vision
Jasper is clearly focused on being a desirable destination city. They’ve defined the vision for their town square and focus the economic development there on food, art, entertainment, and retail. They financially incentivize businesses to go in those directions with grants awarded to those occupying the central downtown spaces if they fall into one of those four categories. They know that these types of businesses increase foot traffic and have an exponential effect on each other. Creating people-orientated places is clearly a priority they’re working toward together.
Appreciation of Their History
Jasper celebrates its history in many ways, including maintaining their Spirit of Jasper Train and Depot, relocating a historic log barn to the riverfront park, and maintaining a historic schoolhouse visitors can tour. Including their history in the heart of their gathering spaces is a great way to honor where they’ve been and celebrate their future at the same time.
Inclusion of Youth
Through the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council, Jasper intentionally includes high school students in the fabric of the city, building a sense of belonging in the students growing up in their town. Yearly projects chosen and implemented by students are presented to city officials who are listening to what their youth want and working to make the town a place of pride and enjoyment for the next generation.
Public Art
Jasper’s appreciation of public art is evident through their use of colorfully painted crosswalks that guide visitors to the downtown district, murals celebrating the city’s history and its heart today, and their prominent arts center where the works of local artists can be seen and enjoyed.
Adaptive Reuse
Jasper works to reuse their historic buildings and has renovated some special spots, such as their old movie theater, the Astra, and an industrial site which is now a residential apartment building. They continue to embrace their town square and are revitalizing it with updates to make it even more attractive and usable as they encourage more pedestrian traffic.
Financial Resiliency
Jasper is the headquarters of several large companies and those corporations feed back into the wellbeing of the city. It is industrially and agriculturally successful and that is a big strength of the city. They’re mindful of their budget and have a substantial buffer as security. They have diversity in their income and are not relying on one main business—cultivating a garden rather than trying to catch a whale.
Jasper’s Astra theater—with a welcome sign for Chuck Marohn, even though he wasn’t able to be there!
Many of these takeaways are shared values of Norwood as well, and it was exciting to see them being successfully implemented in another town, even considering the inherent differences between the two places. We left that day with full hearts, excited to return home with a renewed appreciation of our own city. Jasper is a strong town, on a great track. We have a lot we can learn from them and are grateful for their hospitality and insight, but at the end of the day, there's no place like home.
A huge thanks to the Jasper, Indiana, team for showing us around their town, letting us pick their brains, sharing their experiences and best practices, and encouraging us on the journey of becoming an even stronger town. They have a lovely community and much to be proud of.
A special thanks to Strong Towns for hosting the contest that has provided us an opportunity to celebrate our hard work, feed our excitement for projects still in the works, and connect with other towns who are on a similar journey.
Alisha Loch and her husband moved to Norwood to start their family soon after graduating from the University of Cincinnati. They now have three young girls and Alisha is passionate about making Norwood the best community it can be. She loves the diversity of residents here and wants all to feel welcome, supported, and connected to their neighbors. She believes everyone has the opportunity to affect change, especially in a city the size and location of Norwood. She leads the resident-led Community Council, volunteers on the Wasson Way Marketing Committee, and serves on the Norwood Together board, as well as being an active church member and eager volunteer in many community projects.
After a career as an educator, Mary C Miller and her husband, Dane, retired and moved to the Cincinnati area to be close to their grandchildren. Volunteering became a way to reach out, get involved, and meet people. Mary C quickly joined forces with other Norwoodians to found Norwood Together, a nonprofit with the mission to grow and build economic and community development in Norwood, Ohio. She has served as the board president of the 501(c)3 since its formation in early 2020.
Everyone has an entry point on their journey to taking action for their place. For Bernice Radle, it was witnessing the steady depopulation of Buffalo, NY, and seeing a landscape of unused, unloved buildings headed for the wrecking ball.