Small-Town American Dreams

The New Yorker dives deep into a rural community in Iowa. Orange City is a town of less than six thousand people. And its isolation from any river, railway, or four-lane highway led to quirks in development.

The article’s worth reading for its look at American politics (of whites living in their childhood hometown, 60% voted for Trump) as well as quirks of small towns (the college in Orange City greatly helps the town retain young adults). It closes with a more optimistic picture of the future than you might expect reading through the first half of the piece.