“Community” and “communication” are related. First cousins, at least. And you really can’t have the first without the second.
Phil and Heidi Dybing live in and love the community of Lanesboro, Minnesota. They also understand the communication it takes to keep it all happening.
“We both grew up here,” says Phil. He and Heidi met as teens, building a friendship (at the former Harmony, Minnesota roller rink), a romance, and a 50-year marriage. After living in a number of different communities, they returned to their starting place in 1992, three kids in tow. “Now we want to do what we can to make it an even better place to live and raise families,” Phil continues. “We want to see new people move here and enjoy all this community has to offer.”
They bought a farm, built a new home, and re-connected with their hometown – a special place with lots going on. “I call it a college town without a college,” says Heidi.
But like many small, rural towns in the Midwest, there was a communication problem.
“We lost our local newspapers, and it was harder for people to be aware of what was going on around town,” Heidi says. “There were lots of fun things happening here that I didn’t want my friends to miss. We wanted to do something to help fix that.”
Heidi, with Phil’s support, started sending out a weekly group email in 2018 containing information about concerts and theater performances, important meetings, special events – the kinds of activities people want to know about and may want to participate in. She called it “Happenings.” Most people in town simply call it “Heidi’s List.”
“I keep it brief,” she says. “I find out what’s going on each week and pass it along. People send me items, too, or ask if they can ‘use’ the list to communicate something to the wider community. That works, too.”
Above, a sample “Happenings” email from this past spring.
Is it working? Here’s one indication: Lanesboro’s current population is 724. The number of people on Heidi’s List is currently 355. And growing.
“The list is mainly locals, of course, but includes others, too, even a few people from Texas, who want to keep in touch. People like to know what’s going on where they live or in a place they care about. They want to stay connected.”
Staying connected in communities, especially in smaller, rural towns, has become increasingly difficult in recent times, while people’s desire to know what’s happening in their world has remained strong.
“I was at a meeting in town the other day,” says Heidi, “where 90 percent of the people there had come because they read about it in Happenings.”
And a lot of times, Phil and Heidi are involved in the actual happenings happening. They were both regulars in “Over the Back Fence,” a long-running, locally produced radio show. Phil’s sound-work and announcing skills have supported scores of performances at the St. Mane Theater and local festivals, and he’s been the long-time tech guy for the Rutabaga Brothers band.
Heidi, a gifted pianist, has been a substitute church musician in the area. She’s also a skilled seamstress, creating costumes for the Commonweal Theater, Lanesboro Community Theater, and History Alive Lanesboro. She organizes daily volunteers to serve and deliver senior meals, and is a cheerleader for big potlucks, including an everyone-is-welcome Thanksgiving feast.
Phil got involved in city economic development and housing initiatives and recently organized “T.O.T.E.M. (Two or Three Elderly Men) Construction” to tackle home renovations hands-on.
Phil and Heidi together also provide leadership to “Discovery,” a Sunday morning fellowship group.
There was also another group email produced by the Dybings that had a lasting impact.
“So many people felt isolated and disconnected during the covid pandemic,” remembers Heidi. “We wondered what might help and came up with an idea to share music. We created piano instrumentals – me playing, Phil recording – and emailed them out to people each Saturday afternoon. We did that for 57 weeks in a row. People told us later that it became kind of a weekly ritual around their dinner table or wherever to listen to that music. It helped people connect.”
Phil agrees. “We still have people coming up to us saying how much that music meant to them during that time.”
The two help others build community as well. In 2014, Phil and Heidi started and operated a corner grocery story in Lanesboro called “Beste Byen” (Norwegian for “good town”) that successfully served residents and visitors for several years. While the business later changed hands and eventually sold, Phil and Heidi were excited to offer behind-the-scenes consulting support, and more than a little hands-on labor, to help a new grocery store called the “Lanesboro Market” open in spring 2025.
“Grocery stores in rural towns across the Midwest, like newspapers, are also disappearing,” says Phil. “But we need them. A family-run store provides convenient, healthy food for people, an outlet for locally-sourced goods, income for its owners, and a gathering place to talk with your neighbors and meet new people. All good things.”
Heidi happily enjoys the good things in her hometown and loves to promote all it has to offer. “Lanesboro has a wonderful blend of people, with a livability and walkability that makes it easy to connect with others. That can be a problem on days you’re in a hurry, though. A quick walk to the bank takes an hour-and-a-half because of all the visiting,” she says with a laugh. “We also have absolutely amazing artists and arts here, the Commonweal Theater and so much more. We love living here and being a part of it.”
Steve Harris
Steve Harris, a faithful reader of “Happenings,” lives in Lanesboro where he’s a freelance writer (steveharrisauthor.com) who can be reached at sharris1962@msn.com.
If you’d like to be added to “Heidi’s List,” she welcomes you to contact her at heididybing55@gmail.com.
