Get off my grid. One of the knocks against data centers is the increase in utility bills and pollution caused by data center energy consumption. The issue of who should pay utility rate increases caused by data center consumption is so clear that it wouldn’t warrant discussion—if everyday Americans weren’t being saddled with the bill. […]

Rural Development Loan Primer for Investors When people are starting a business or a construction project, one of the biggest problems they face is how hard it is to get financing. USDA Rural Development loans make it easier to get financing for projects in areas with a population of less than 50,000 people. In that […]

Why Historic Preservation Matters Historic preservation tells the story of American life through architecture. Historic preservation is so important that, as we discussed back in episode 3, the federal government provides historic tax credits (or dollar for dollar tax reductions) that effectively shift the cost of rehabbing our historic buildings from the developer to the […]

What If Data Centers Leave? Hi, welcome back to Bring Back the Bustle, the podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. The Rural Revitalization Fund is a rural opportunity zone fund that invests in rural communities where AI data centers are locating. (Our website is ruralqrof.com)  The Fund uses money from many […]

Hi, welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. Today’s topic is right sizing your rural business to achieve profitability in rural markets. We’ve entitled the episode: “Don’t Super Size It” so maybe some listeners are looking for a Big Mac. I don’t have any, but […]

Good help is hard to find, especially in rural America. Hi, welcome to another episode of Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. This episode is about staffing issues in rural America. We’re going to delve into the root causes of skilled labor shortages in small towns […]

The technocrats are coming to your rural town to operate the AI data center that is under construction. We, at The Rural Fund, aim to make that a good thing.  Hi, welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. Today, the topic is class, socio-economic class. […]

How to Use Historic Tax Credits as a Financing Tool in Rural Downtown Communities Greetings and welcome to another episode of Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. Today we’re discussing historic tax credits as a financing tool in rural downtown communities. When you visit rural communities, […]

Hello and welcome to the second episode of Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. This episode is about a special tax incentive known as opportunity zones. OZs are all about tax-free appreciation.  So, throughout this episode, listen for those words: “tax-free appreciation” because with tax-free appreciation, […]

Welcome to the debut episode of Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about Rural Revitalization.  More specifically, it’s a podcast about how to make money revitalizing and serving rural communities. On this podcast, we will explore small town revival from the vantage points of all stakeholders including private investors, rural residents, AI companies, commercial property […]