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stories:  YES  Houston   student  narratives

Select from the story icons below to experience each student's multimedia project!
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Next  gen   RUral retail

in Houston, Minn.
Retail and Main Streets have rapidly changed in small town America over the last several decades as populations shift, long-time owners retire, and chain stores gain traction in local economies. Lillian takes an intimate look at what's happening to her hometown's businesses, including the one owned by her family.

Young  lady  democrat

of Spring Grove, Minn.
They say that all politics is local and Mayor Sarah Schroeder of Spring Grove explains why she feels that local politics matter most. In this candid two-part interview, she discusses political life in her small town and her experiences as a female elected official both pre- and post-2016 presidential election.

workers & commuters

in Houston County, Minn.
Tiffany approached over twenty residents of the Spring Grove area  that she calls home to ask them about how they get to work. In her on-the-spot interviews, she explores issues around long commutes for rural workers and their everyday  transportation needs in the 21st century.
Looking for more 100% certifiable, amazing, youth-made, local history documentaries? Do not miss the projects that started it all in neighboring Fillmore County, Minn.  >>>

Stories  from  lanesboro,  minn.   (2016)

The following three films were born from the first Museum on Main Street investment in Southeast Minnesota as part of the Water/Ways traveling exhibition in 2016. Local partners Lanesboro Arts and the Lanesboro Historical Museum collaborated to administer the companion youth media and local history program, then named, Youth Access Technology Project. The impressive films introduce concepts of rural sustainability, featuring strategies and resources through storytelling. “These aren’t stories about Lanesboro,” says local program creator, Erin Dorbin. “These are stories about contemporary rural America. These are stories about issues facing every rural community we know.”

FARMING, THEN & NOW by Nora Sampson
Nora Sampson's film, “Farming, Then and Now” explores agriculture and century farms, from highlighting Future Farmers of America in the schools to talking with 3rd and 4th generation family farmers to visiting the Lanesboro Sales Commission auction house.





REBIRTH OF A TOWN by Olivia Obritsch
Olivia’s film, “The Rebirth of a Town” is elegantly summed up in the question asked at the beginning: “What caused the transformation of Lanesboro from its semi-neglected state to the vibrant town it is today?” Residents’ recollections of Lanesboro in the 1970s and 80s are interspersed with the transformation of the Root River State Trail, from railroad line to outdoor recreation attraction. Lanesboro and its thriving arts community are highlighted as a model for economic regeneration in other small towns, especially those in Southeastern Minnesota.

SMALL TOWN, BIG CHANGES by Mai Gjere
Mai Gjere's film “Small Town, Big Changes” explores why people settled in Lanesboro originally in the 19th century, contrasted with a deeply personal and local perspective on what it takes to sustain a small town in the 21st century. An intimate portrait of community, economics, Main Street and the future of rural America emerges through the lens of the filmmaker, her peers, local business owners, and the town’s decision makers.