208: What Rural Economic Development in Nebraska Really Looks Like in 2026 with Lisa Hurley

About this episode

Dane Carlson interviews Lisa Hurley about modern rural economic development in Nebraska, focusing on challenges and innovative strategies.

In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, Dane Carlson sits down with Lisa Hurley, Executive Director of the York County Development Corporation in Nebraska, to talk about what modern rural economic development actually looks like on the ground. Lisa shares how York County leverages its logistics position, diversified employers, and growing civic pride while navigating workforce shortages, childcare capacity, housing pressure, and community resistance to change. They discuss talent attraction campaigns, podcasting as an economic development tool, and why rural EDOs must now think far beyond traditional business recruitment. The conversation also explores leadership, burnout, mentoring the next generation of economic developers, and how Lisa is using AI to save time while staying human where it matters most. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Ten Actionable Takeaways for Economic Developers Treat childcare capacity as core economic infrastructure, not a side issue Invest in talent marketing even when results are hard to attribute directly Use layered messaging across state, local, and employer campaigns Build trust by proactively sharing progress…

People in this episode

Host: Dane Carlson

Guest: Lisa Hurley

Topics covered

• rural economic development
• workforce shortages
• talent attraction
• community engagement
• AI in economic development

Keywords

• economic development
• childcare capacity
• community resistance
• logistics
• AI
• talent marketing
• storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: York County Development Corporation

Places: Nebraska, York County

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