These Four Communities are the Strongest Town Semifinalists

Yesterday, we wrapped up Round 2 of the Strongest Town contest. Once again, thousands of votes were cast. All eight communities in Round 2 have so much going for them: walkable neighborhoods, vibrant downtowns, distinctive personality, support for entrepreneurs and small business owners, strong commitments to building real prosperity, and so much more.

Every one of them made a strong case for being this year’s Strongest Town winner. But, alas, only four communities can move forward to the semifinal round. And so here are the results of Round 2:

Beloit, WI (68%) vs. Highland Park (32%)
Winona, MN (71%) vs. Sylvania, OH (29%)
Hamilton, MO (60%) vs. Athens OH, (40%)
Watertown, SD (64%) vs. Pittsburg, KS (36%)

And this is where the bracket stands now:

Once again, a huge thank you goes out to all these great communities (this is not an easy gauntlet to run) and to everyone who voted.

The semifinal round picks up this Tuesday, March 24. In this round, Jacob Moses, Strong Towns Community Builder, is conducting a short podcast interview with representatives from each of the final four communities. Those interviews will be published on Tuesday as part of the Strong Towns podcast. If you haven’t subscribed to the podcast, here are just a few places you can find it:

Make sure to resume voting on Tuesday. Voting for the semifinal round closes on Friday, March 27 at 12pm CDT.

Thanks for helping us find this year’s Strongest Town!