– “Why Millennials Are Avoiding Small-Town America”
“While the number of millennials is ticking slightly upward in small towns and rural areas, its nothing compared with the growth of their numbers in suburbs and cities. ‘At this point, the prognosis does not look good for much of small town America,’ writes William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.”

– “Why You Should Care”
“Because small-town America wont survive without an infusion of fresh blood.”

“Its easy to find people who will sneeringly complain about how trapped they felt as teenagers [in small towns].

“But affordable real estate and waterfront views dont have millennials biting. They ‘continue a multigenerational pattern of young adults preferring more expensive urban areas over lower-cost rural ones because the lifestyles and opportunities in such places make the extra burden of cost worth it,’ says Robert Lang, professor of urban growth and population dynamics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas,” quoting Beau Dure, OZY.
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– Editor’s Note:
Ice Chips Candy co-owner Charlotte Cleary’s statement at the Yelm Business Assn. meeting and in the Nisqually Valley News reverberated around this town like no other in recent memory.
She said Yelm is “non-business friendly.”

Ice Chips Candy signed a Tumwater lease to allow for their planned growth and are leaving Yelm and talking 34 employees with them, according to the Nisqually Valley News:

“The two were even considering constructing their own building, but were told by city of Yelm Building Official Gary Carlson and Yelm Mayor Ron Harding they did not think they could zone the business, according to [Ice Chips co-owner Beverly] Vines-Haines.

‘I feel bad, because I love Yelm, but cities that keep business away never reach the status they think they are,’ she said.

‘When I read about Yelm in the Chamber of Commerce information, its read like theyre pro-growth,’ Clary said. ‘What concerns me is that they might think they are, and they are so not.’

– UPDATE: November 13, 2014
Op-Ed in the Nisqually Valley News: “Bye-Bye Ice Chips; Is Yelm Anti-Business, Anti-Growth?”
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– UPDATE: November 20, 2014
“Yelm Could Be More Pro-Growth; City Is a Gateway To Thurston County”
By Bev Vines-Haines, IceChips Candy co-owner.
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– UPDATE: November 25, 2014
Letter to NVN Editor –
“Ice Chips Employees Grateful for Positive Work Environment”
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