America is a dynamic and competitive place. The rise of America, from defeat of a haughty empire, her expansion across an entire continent, to her current prosperity owe to individual liberty, free enterprise, and a hope for peaceful commerce with the world beyond. A people with these values could not be expected to stand still,…

If you’ve read recent studies or articles about small town America, then you have read that many rural towns struggle to maintain residents. They find themselves shriveling and withering, unable to assure a prosperous future for the next generation of residents. It’s a hard problem, and efforts to overcome a decline in population – no…

Walk around Whitewater, and talk to those who are elderly, lifetime residents, and you’re sure to catch their nostalgia for an older Whitewater. About the Whitewater of their youth, and how the town has changed, I will comment later. For now, I’ll describe how the present day residents, often Scandinavian-American and German-Americans, among our town’s…

In 1837, a group of settlers left Milwaukee for the area now Whitewater, and arrived after little under a week’s travel. They were the first settlers to arrive at a place where only tribes had lived before. If you’re reading from the east coast, 1837 may not seem nearly as early or as hazardous as…

America began as a collection of villages and towns, of tribes, settlers, colonists, and later, citizens. We had no indispensable great city, no Rome or London, on which all depended. We still don’t. Yet, we have changed, so very much, and America is no longer a collection of small, rural towns. When we refer to…

It’s the season, across Wisconsin, for municipalities to present and approve their 2010 budgets. The process varies by city – some finish quickly, some extend the discussion from October into November. We are among that latter group – although we are a small town, our municipal budget is a big matter, with considerable discussion. Last…

There’s more than one way to change an organization. I’ve thought, over the years, that there were two principal ways: begin by shaping the attitude of employees, or by shaping their behavior. (I see that it’s possible to begin with both, but my point would be that one typically begins by emphasizing one over the…

It’s a chilly October in Whitewater, Wisconsin, but the political climate has never been milder. That must seem odd, in a time of economic hardship with rising unemployment. There’s a gap, though, between the condition of ordinary residents and their interest in the plans and schemes from our municipal building. The political climate in the…

It’s not true that marquee projects make no difference to life in Whitewater, Wisconsin. They do make a difference, just not enough to alter the high poverty and slow growth that besets our community. Several big projects may have a comforting influence, and offer a cumulative lift, to those who use them. Outside that orbit,…

If one thinks about Whitewater over the last several years, all of its principal offices have changed hands once, or more, with the exception of the city’s police chief (who left briefly, but returned). No one else from 2000 yet retains a leading political or appointed office. Those who were front and center a decade…

Whitewater, Wisconsin has any number of official public bodies and ad hoc committees. We probably have too many, working on too many tasks, at once. They’re often composed of the same people, something more common than even our small size makes necessary. Use of the same people, over and over, serves two advantages. First, no…

Over at The Truth About Cars there’s a post about the leadership of the New GM, with a great line, mixing all sorts of references: I have no idea why Mark LaNeve still works for General Motors. The former Cadillac man was serving Kool-Aid on the bridge when CEO Rick Wagoner was Richard Nixon channeling…