web02.fireside.fm Tue, 05 May 2026 20:24:30 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Big Towns - Episodes Tagged with “Local Economy” https://bigtowns.fireside.fm/tags/local%20economy Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:30:00 -0500 You’ve heard of middle America. Big Towns is a conversation for mid-sized America: places too big to be small towns and too small to be big cities. A two-day summit in Lafayette, Louisiana, Big Towns brings together leaders from around the country, hosting conversations with big thinkers about mid-sized city stuff like housing, healthcare, work and quality of life. We help mid-sized cities find ideas that fit. en-us episodic Where mid-sized cities find ideas that fit The Current Media Inc. You’ve heard of middle America. Big Towns is a conversation for mid-sized America: places too big to be small towns and too small to be big cities. A two-day summit in Lafayette, Louisiana, Big Towns brings together leaders from around the country, hosting conversations with big thinkers about mid-sized city stuff like housing, healthcare, work and quality of life. We help mid-sized cities find ideas that fit. no mid-sized cities, American cities, economic development, workforce development The Current Media Inc. johannadivine@gmail.com Episode 3: Zoning, Banks and Goat Rodeos: What it takes to lead a Big Town https://bigtowns.fireside.fm/3 accafa2f-b45e-453e-9cbb-64a9207c2bfe Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:30:00 -0500 The Current Media Inc. full 1 The Current Media Inc. The third and final part of our conversation between Dean Baquet and Chattanooga, Tennessee Mayor Tim Kelly (including audience Q&A) was recorded April 24, 2025 at Big Towns in Lafayette, Louisiana. 20:46 no <p>In this third and final part of our Big Towns conversation between Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and journalist Dean Baquet, we take more audience questions about the economic challenges faced by Chattanooga and how they're making progress. Kelly discusses the impact of losing Chattanooga's manufacturing base, which led to diversification efforts starting in the 1990s. He talks about the importance of local control and the differences between council-manager and strong mayor forms of city government. Kelly talks community banks, the need for more localized capital, challenges around affordable housing and how zoning reform is a double-edged sword. This final part of our Big Towns conversation emphasizes the need for creative local leadership to solve the problems that confound most mid-sized cities. Special Guests: Dean Baquet and Mayor Tim Kelly.</p> bigtowns, mid-sized, city, chattanooga, mayor, economy, housing, journalism, leadership, zoning, capital In this third and final part of our Big Towns conversation between Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and journalist Dean Baquet, we take more audience questions about the economic challenges faced by Chattanooga and how they're making progress. Kelly discusses the impact of losing Chattanooga's manufacturing base, which led to diversification efforts starting in the 1990s. He talks about the importance of local control and the differences between council-manager and strong mayor forms of city government. Kelly talks community banks, the need for more localized capital, challenges around affordable housing and how zoning reform is a double-edged sword. This final part of our Big Towns conversation emphasizes the need for creative local leadership to solve the problems that confound most mid-sized cities.

Special Guests: Dean Baquet and Mayor Tim Kelly.

]]> In this third and final part of our Big Towns conversation between Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and journalist Dean Baquet, we take more audience questions about the economic challenges faced by Chattanooga and how they're making progress. Kelly discusses the impact of losing Chattanooga's manufacturing base, which led to diversification efforts starting in the 1990s. He talks about the importance of local control and the differences between council-manager and strong mayor forms of city government. Kelly talks community banks, the need for more localized capital, challenges around affordable housing and how zoning reform is a double-edged sword. This final part of our Big Towns conversation emphasizes the need for creative local leadership to solve the problems that confound most mid-sized cities.

Special Guests: Dean Baquet and Mayor Tim Kelly.

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