Jasper, IN vs. Norwood, OH: Strong Towns Finals Voting Open Today

By Kris Norton

Jasper – Voting opens at 4:00 p.m. EST today for Jasper in the final round of the annual Strong Towns contest.

What began as an interest in a new podcast for Jasper resident Mark Nowotarski has culminated in a run to the final round of a national contest.

Nowotarski, now a Strong Towns advocate, says that values that both Jasper and Strong Towns covet line up similarly.

“Strong Towns is an organization that really advocates and aligns with a lot of the things that the Jasper community has done in the past and is doing currently and future plans,” Nowotarski said.

Strong Towns is an organization that describes itself as advocating ‘bold and different thinking toward building better cities and towns by focusing on taking small incremental steps, embracing a process of continuous adaptation and to stop valuing efficiency and start valuing resilience.’

While a run to the final round is good to see, it hasn’t come as a surprise to Nowotarski

“I had all the confidence that we could win this contest and really have not been surprised,” Nowotarski said through a smile.

After defeating Yellow Springs, Ohio, in the Final Four round by a final count of 53% of votes to 47%, Jasper will meet Norwood, Ohio in the Finals.

Norwood, a former General Motors manufacturing town, has had to reinvent itself, Nowotarski says. While Norwood, and the other 14 towns competing in the 2022 bracket, have great stories, none compare to Jasper’s.

“Really, all of the communities within the contest have good stories to tell, different stories to tell,” Nowotarski said. “But, I still think that Jasper has the best story to tell.”

Each round that Jasper has advanced the Strong Towns organization has asked for additional information. Later today, the website will feature a podcast with Jasper Mayor Dean Vonderheide and a representative from Norwood.

The podcast and ballot will be available later today at www.StrongTowns.org/stmedia.

One ballot may be cast per E-mail address.

Previously reported by WITZ:

www.witzamfm.com/news/voting-open-for-jasper-in-elite-8-of-strong-towns-contest