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Center on Rural Innovation

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Center on Rural Innovation

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Through a comprehensive approach to tech-based economic development, we help these leaders prove what’s possible in rural America.

The Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) believes in the potential of rural communities, and that rural people should have the same access to opportunities in the tech economy. This involves building a nationwide network of local economic change agents; using mapping, data, and storytelling to highlight rural opportunities and success stories; making direct investments in underserved rural entrepreneurs; and closing the digital divide so all Americans can participate in the 21st-century tech economy.

10/16/2026

We’re excited to welcome Lisa Groeneveld as the keynote speaker for our upcoming Small Towns, Big Ideas Pitch Event, hosted in partnership with the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth.

Lisa co-founded OnLogic in Vermont and helped grow it into a global technology company that designs and manufactures advanced industrial hardware for AI, IoT, and other demanding applications.

Her perspective is a fitting way to cap an evening centered on the ambition, ingenuity, and potential of rural founders building companies designed to make an impact far beyond the communities they call home.

📍 Hanover Inn Dartmouth at Dartmouth | Hanover, NH
📅 Thursday, October 29
🕠 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET, networking reception to follow
💻 Attend in person or watch via virtual livestream

Come see what’s possible when ambitious founders build from rural America.

Register now: https://ow.ly/6RvI50ZYtGx

10/15/2026

What makes a rural community a great place to start and grow a business?

Our new report with the Capital One Insights Center, "Roots of Prosperity," explores how a community’s landscapes, people, local culture, infrastructure, and relationships can help entrepreneurs thrive.

One big takeaway? Rural communities don’t have to become something they’re not to build a stronger local economy. They can build on what already makes them special.

See what the research reveals: https://ruralinnovation.us/resources/reports/how-community-assets-create-the-conditions-for-rural-entrepreneurship/

10/14/2026

Could AI unlock a new wave of entrepreneurship and investment in rural America?

As artificial intelligence reshapes industries and creates new opportunities, rural communities have a chance to play a powerful role in what comes next. But what will it take to turn that potential into thriving businesses, new investment, and lasting economic opportunity?

Join us and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth's Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital for "Rural Opportunity in the Age of AI: A New Frontier for Innovation and Investment", a panel at Dartmouth's AI at 70 Conference.

The conversation will bring together leaders across venture capital, entrepreneurship, economics, and philanthropy:

Meet the Panelists:
Dusty Birge, Founder & CEO, Fast Forward
Donna Harris, CEO, Builders and Backers
Paul Novosad, Professor of Economics, Dartmouth
Daniel Smith, President & CEO, The Vermont Community Foundation

Moderator: Jay Bockhaus, our Chief Investment Officer

Together, they'll explore how AI could expand what's possible for rural founders, attract new capital, and help build the next generation of rural tech economies.

Register for Dartmouth's AI at 70 Conference and select this session to join the conversation! https://ow.ly/W6sz50ZXlcI

This event will also be livestreamed, so mark your calendar and stay tuned for information on how to tune in!

And don't head home after the panel! Stick around for our 6th Annual Small Towns, Big Ideas Pitch Event, where five rural entrepreneurs will take the stage to showcase the companies they're building. Details and registration in the comments. 👇

10/13/2026

What does it really take to build and grow a successful company in rural America? Find out tomorrow during Episode 2 of Against The Grain: Founders Redefining Rural Innovation!

Join us for a candid conversation with Robert Squire and Michael Howe, co-founders of Aprexis, a healthcare technology company rethinking post-prescription pharmacy care.

They'll sit down with our Chief Investment Officer, Jay Bockhaus, to share the challenges, lessons, and experiences behind their entrepreneurial journey, and what's next.

Hear firsthand from these two rural entrepreneurs, ask questions, and gain a new perspective on what it takes to build a scalable startup outside traditional tech hubs.

🎙️ Tomorrow, October 14 | 1:00-1:30 pm ET | Live virtual recording

Don't miss the conversation. Save your spot now!

👉 Register: https://ow.ly/C3OS50ZVQs1

10/08/2026

Join us for a real conversation about what it takes to build a company in rural America.

Our new monthly entrepreneur spotlight series, Against The Grain, is back next week for Episode 2!

This month, we're spotlighting Robert Squire and Michael Howe, co-founders of Aprexis Health Solutions, a healthcare technology company rethinking post-prescription pharmacy care.

What does it take to turn an idea into a company? How do you navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship, build for growth, and pursue big ambitions from a rural community?

We're going beyond the elevator pitch to find out.

Join Robert and Michael for a candid conversation with Jay Bockhaus, CORI's Chief Investment Officer, as they share the experiences, lessons, and decisions that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.

And this isn't just a conversation to watch. You'll have the opportunity to submit your own questions and hear directly from the founders during the live recording.

Whether you're building a company, supporting entrepreneurs, investing in innovation, or curious about what's next for rural America, you won't want to miss this conversation.

🎙️ Against The Grain: Founders Redefining Rural Innovation
Episode 2 | Featuring the Co-Founders of Aprexis

We're recording live next week. Save your spot and join us!

👉 Register now: https://ow.ly/kL2U50ZVQs3

10/07/2026

Five founders. Five very different tech startups. One stage.

This year’s Small Towns, Big Ideas pitch event finalists are building in rural communities across the country and taking on challenges with implications far beyond the places they call home.

They’re reimagining how we support athletes. Building better tools for local journalism. Making industrial systems smarter. Rethinking how power moves through the grid. Using AI to prepare people for high-stakes negotiations.

On October 29, they’ll pitch those ideas live at Dartmouth College.

Meet the 2026 finalists:

• Elijah Jensen, Ph.D. | MotorVision Inc.
• Jenn Munsie, Ph.D., M.S.W | AUSPEX Intelligence
• Jeff Nyquist, Ph.D. | Journai
• Sho Rust | PubGen.AI
• Pourya Shamsi, Ph.D. | Infinity Miles Inc.

They’ll compete for a $10,000 cash prize, $5,000 in legal services, and, for the first time, an Audience Choice Award, giving everyone watching a chance to help select an additional winner.

📍 Grand Ballroom, Hanover Inn Dartmouth
📅 Thursday, October 29
🕠 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. ET, with reception to follow
💻 Register to attend in person or join the virtual livestream (link in comments)

Come see what rural founders are building and why the future of tech entrepreneurship isn't bound to certain zip codes.

Meet the founders and their startups: https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/five-rural-founders-at-small-towns-big-ideas-pitch-event-2026/

Small Town, Big Ideas is held in partnership with the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth.

10/05/2026

Rural economic resilience isn’t built with one big win. It’s built by creating more ways for people, businesses, and ideas to grow — Emporia, Kansas, is showing what that can look like.

For generations, manufacturing has been one of Emporia’s greatest economic strengths. And rather than walking away from that foundation, local leaders have been working to build alongside it, investing in entrepreneurship, technology, workforce development, higher education, connectivity, and downtown revitalization to create new pathways for local opportunity.

At our annual Rural Innovation Network Summit held last week in Emporia, we released a new study examining that economic trajectory: where the community has been, how it responded to major disruption, and the early signs that a more diverse economy is beginning to take shape.

The story is bigger than Emporia. It offers a compelling look at how rural communities can build resilience from the strengths, institutions, and people already rooted in place.

The Emporia Gazette covered the findings and the local work behind them:
https://ow.ly/Xbq350ZUFm7

And you can explore the full interactive story, From Recovery to Resilience: How Emporia Is Rethinking Economic Development, here:
https://ow.ly/6vNy50ZUFm9

Emporia Main Street, Emporia State University, Emporia Area Chamber & Visit Emporia, Emporia, Kansas - City Government

09/29/2026

Rural innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. It's built when people, ideas, and experiences move across communities.

This week, leaders from across rural America are gathering with us in Emporia, Kansas, for a few days of learning, sharing, problem-solving, and connection. That’s the idea at the heart of the Rural Innovation Network—communities don’t have to build the future alone.

Every place brings something different to the table: hard-earned lessons, promising ideas, local strengths, and unique challenges. When those perspectives come together, one community’s breakthrough can become another community’s starting point.

The goal isn’t for rural places to follow the same playbook. It’s to make sure local leaders have a national network of peers, partners, and possibilities to draw from as they build what comes next.

09/28/2026

Rural economic renewal doesn’t happen overnight. It happens when communities keep building.

Springfield, Vermont, a founding member of our Rural Innovation Network, is showing what that can look like.

For years, local leaders have been working to create the conditions for a stronger, more resilient economy, connecting technology, entrepreneurship, workforce development, community assets, and a deep culture of innovation.

Now, that work is gaining momentum. A recent Keene Sentinel story highlights Springfield’s continued revitalization and the role that the community’s growing rural tech economy is playing in what comes next.

It’s a powerful reminder of what’s possible when rural communities have the tools and support to build from their own strengths. Not a one-size-fits-all solution. Not a single project. A connected ecosystem, shaped by local changemakers and built for the long term.

We’re proud to see leaders across Springfield continuing to turn possibility into progress and to see their work getting the recognition it deserves.

Read the story: https://ow.ly/9xfc50ZShyz

09/24/2026

🚀 Rural innovation is gaining momentum.

Today, 11 communities across Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma are joining the Rural Innovation Network — our largest incoming cohort ever.

Across rural America, communities are connecting entrepreneurs to resources, creating pathways into tech careers, putting emerging technologies to work, strengthening local industries, and building new opportunities from the assets already rooted in their communities.

From autonomous aviation and advanced manufacturing to research commercialization and renewable energy, these places are building distinctly local paths toward a more prosperous future.

There's no single blueprint for rural innovation. But there is a growing movement of communities proving what’s possible when local strengths, bold ideas, and shared ambition come together across rural America.

Welcome to the Rural Innovation Network: Southern Colorado; Allen County, Cloud County, Coffey County, Hays / Ellis County, and Pittsburg / Crawford County, Kansas; Fulton, Nodaway County, and Vernon County, Missouri; and Ardmore and Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Address

2 Quechee Road
Hartland, VT
05048

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18024364100

Website

http://www.ruralinnovation.us/

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