Fourth Annual Tri-City Area Economic Forum held in Kearney

The Tri-City Area Economic Forum was held on Friday, October 11th at the Great Platte River Road Archway in Kearney, NE. The event kicked off with national speaker and author, Ron Drake, sharing his message about creating spaces in communities to attract and retain citizens. Dr. Bree Dority of UNK and Dr. Mitch Herian of UNL then presented the recently released Nebraska Thriving Index and demonstrated how the eight regions in the state can use this interactive live tool to gather data and statistics for community development and sound business decisions. The event concluded with a live podcast of "Flip this Town," hosted by Ron Drake and featuring area change-makers, Patrick Moore of Kearney, Megan Arrington-Williams of Hastings and Amos Anson of Grand Island.

In addition to speaking at the forum, Ron Drake was hosted for downtown tours in each of the three cities and met with community leaders and economic developers.