Every episode of State of the Re:Union, we ask listeners to write a letter to their city. For our Vermont episode, we featured writer and musician Robin MacArthur’s love letter to her home state. The piece is scored by Red Heart the Ticker, the band Robin plays in with her husband Tyler Gibbons.

Photography and multimedia production by Sara Brooke Curtis, with help from Laura Starecheski.

Visit our Vermont page for more stories from this episode. And be sure to check out State of the Re:Union’s other videos on our YouTube Channel.

The Tri-Cities are Richland, Pasco and Kennewick—3 cities clustered near one another in the vast plains and deserts of Washington state, to the east of the Cascade Mountains. It’s a region that seems like it would have little to attract newcomers—it’s largely remote, prone to dust storms, not close to any major city. But, over the decades, this area has drawn people from the world over, and, in this episode, we’ll explore how and why.

For more information about The Unlikely Perfect Place, visit our episode page for photos, links and music.

And we’d love to hear what you think about this episode. Please comment below to get the conversation started.

SOTRU’s new season of five episodes will be available for download beginning on June first. For the first half of season three, we traveled to Vermont, Maryland, Missouri and Washington State.

And in a series first, we are exploring a community based around a medium, instead of a location, for our much-anticipated Comics Book Episode.

Here is more information about our upcoming Episodes:

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
The Community of Comics – Releases June 5th

Despite the outdated stereotype of a solitary nerd holed up in his bedroom, burying himself in a world of fantasy, comic books serve as the connection point for a diverse community of people, who are drawn to them for all manner of reasons. And sometimes, comics become the vehicle for people to take action within the community itself or inspire individuals to make a difference in the wider world.

.    .    .

Vermont – The Small Town State
Releases June 2nd

Quaint storefronts along Main streets, covered bridges over clear streams, cows from dairy farms dotting green valleys: across the state, these are the iconic images of Vermont. But beyond its pastoral beauty, this is a place that prides itself on its independent spirit. Not only in the ways you might have heard of—first state in the nation to legalize same sex civil unions, say—but in the way Vermonters take on everyday life, and the challenges of it.

Southeastern Washington – The Unlikely Perfect Place
Releases June 1st

The Tri-Cities of Washington are Richland, Pasco and Kennewick—three cities clustered near one another in the vast plains and deserts of Washington state, to the east of the Cascade Mountains. It’s a region that seems like it would have little to attract newcomers—it’s largely remote, prone to dust storms, not close to any major city. But, over the decades, this area has drawn people from the world over for reasons as various as nuclear bombs, wine-making, and harvesting sugar beets.

Ozarks: Full Circle
Releases June 4th

The Ozarks have long been an isolated place—steep mountains break up the landscape into hills and hollows, making each little town its own microcosm.  Outsiders might know little beyond the stereotypical hillbillies, generations of poverty, and an infamous meth problem, one of the worst in the country. But people in the Ozarks are pushing for ways to build community with few resources, to hold on to what is authentic about their identity while bucking stereotypes imposed on them by the outside world.

Baltimore, MD: Outsiders In
Releases June 3rd

Baltimore is a city of many neighborhoods, and of intense racial divides not easily overcome. But this it’s a place with more dimensions than the impression cast by the headlines and the TV series The Wire. Those images often overshadow the passion and dedication many Baltimoreans have for their city, and for taking on what’s wrong with it in ways small and large.

It’s a happy ending for one of the stories from our second season of episodes.

The Sacramento Kings will be staying in Sacramento. The city and the team reached a tentative deal yesterday to build a new arena in downtown Sacramento. You can read the full story in the Sacramento Bee.

Host Al Letson and Producer Laura Starecheski speak with Sacramento radio host Carmichael Dave

If you remember the story from our Sacramento show last fall, we told you about the diehard fans that came together to save their Kings. They rallied together and reacted powerfully when the owners put a plan in motion to move the team to Anaheim. We followed the ups and downs as the dramatic — and at the time, possibly final — season through the voices of local radio host Carmichael Dave, Mayor Kevin Johnson and others. Listen to the drama that led up to yesterday’s big decision.

To hear more of the Sacramento show, visit our episode page.

Podcast Series Debuts Today!

The State of the Re:Union (SOTRU) team is proud to announce our new podcast series, making its debut today! Our faithful listeners have told us that they love our episodes, but they want more cowbell SOTRU in between the times the shows are released. So twice a month, Al or one of our talented producers will be releasing a short podcast. From ancillary stories that we didn’t have time to include in the radio show to Al’s random conversations with strangers, these short podcasts are sure to entertain, education and enlighten your day.

We kick off the new podcast series with host Al Letson, who asks filmmaker Steve Bognar a fairly simple question… but wasn’t prepared for his answer.

Subscribe to SOTRU’s podcasts on iTunes and look for a new podcast every other Monday from Al and our producers, Tina Antolini and Laura Starecheski.

If you enjoyed this story, please consider making a donation today to State of the Re:Union. Your tax-deductible contribution helps keep our show on the air.

In 2003, Gladstone, Missouri, faced some difficult challenges—an aging population, strict boundaries that prevented physical growth, declining revenues, a declining business environment and inadequate city services. There was only one ambulance and two paramedics to provide emergency services and no place to house the city’s recreational programs for youth.

Gladstone on the Move: Photos are from the 2008 All-America City Awards

With technical assistance from Derek Okubo, a former National Civic League vice president who now works as Director of Human Rights and Community Relations for the city of Denver, more than 150 citizens participated in the community effort known as “Gladstone on the Move…Citizens Making a Difference.”

The group identified six key performance areas or KPAs: Business/Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Community Center, City Services, Education, Identity/Regionalism. The group researched and discussed the issue and came up with a list of priorities.

Gladstone on the Move came up with a plan that could be used to guide the city over the next 20 years. Next step: create an implementation committee to figure out a timeline and an action plan for achieving the desired results.

Gladstone on the Move: Photos are from the 2008 All-America City Awards

The citizens themselves recommended Gladstone’s first ever property tax increase to the city council, also to extend a sales tax that was about to expire to pay for parks and recreation needs. The council put the tax increases on the ballot and Gladstone on the Move campaigned to get them passed.

The community now has a complete ambulance service that is fully staffed, not only basic life support for getting people to a hospital but advanced life support for people suffering heart attacks, strokes and other medical emergencies.

It also has a marketing program. It is building more sidewalks than ever before. It has a comprehensive street lighting program, three major economic development initiatives, several hundred square feet in retail and several thousand in housing units with an affordable housing philosophy.

With the parks and recreation sales tax, they invested $1.3 million in an existing outdoor pool to make it a family event center, the city constructed a $25 million community center in partnership with the nearby school districts, complete with indoor recreation pools and the fitness area and the conference rooms and all that. It also has a competitive swim arena used to host the high school swim competition.

The point here is not that taxes are good and every community should raise them. The point is, if you have these needs and desires: a recreation center, a better ambulance service, an economic development plan, more street lighting, you need to figure out how to pay for it, and it helps to have that conversation out in the open with members of the public taking the leading role.

There can be little doubt that these tax proposals could easily have failed without the Gladstone on the Move process.  As one local official put it, “When you involve people and you listen and you take action, positive outcomes result.”

Gladstone was an All-America City Award winner in 2008. The Gladstone on the Move process won a Program Excellence Award from the International City/County Management Association in the strategic planning category.

Use the box below to tell about people in your community who are rallying together to make improvements for your town possible.

Mike McGrath is senior editor and chief information officer for the National Civic League. A former newspaper reporter and magazine writer, he is editor of the quarterly National Civic Review, which will be beginning its centennial year of publishing this spring.

Mike’s posts will appear every Thursday on the State of the Re:Union website.