Last Thursday evening, the three of us who write this blog were lucky enough to be a part of the audience for the live television town-hall style event on WNIT. This episode of "Ask An Expert" focused on the question "South Bend: Thriving or Dying?" and featured a panel of experts on our city and economic development in addition to an audience full of community leaders and active citizens. The idea for this television event was sparked by the Newsweek article that recently ranked South Bend as the 8th most dying city in the country, and the discussion that took place dynamically highlighted the multi-faceted nature of our response as a city, as a community, and as neighbors.
We were honored to be a part of this audience and more importantly a part of the discussion, especially since we believe our blog makes a pretty compelling case for the striving-side of the debate. No consensus was reached that night as to whether our city is thriving, dying, striving, or fighting, but rather we all learned a little bit more about what our city has been through and what issues must be confronted next. You can find more information about this program here on WNIT's website.