Today’s guest has built trails in the Grand Canyon, lived atop a tower as a forest fire lookout, and served as a traveling nurse. She’s also Strong Towns’ 2022 Neighborhood Storyteller, with weekly columns publishing every Tuesday, sharing about life in her neighborhoods and the small steps she’s taking to make them a little stronger.
Karla Theilen lives in Missoula, Montana, but also spends time in other parts of the state through her nursing work, and visits Minnesota regularly, where she grew up and still has family. In this conversation, Karla talks about the way she finds value, connection, and things to celebrate, wherever she’s visiting, and treats all these places as temporary homes. You’re more likely to find her in a local coffee shop perusing the community bulletin boards than in a chain restaurant because she knows that the local spots are where the best stories can be found.
We’ve been honored to feature some of those stories in Karla’s weekly column on the Strong Towns website, and we’re excited for you to hear from her today about everything from crafting and hobbies, to the things she’s learned while walking her dog, to her attitude of saying “yes” to adventure.
Subscribe to the Life in a Strong Town Substack.
Read all of Karla’s columns.
Learn more about our open Member Advocate position and apply today. (Applications due by 11:59 p.m. CT on May 22, 2022.)
Send your story ideas to rachel@strongtowns.org.
Support this podcast by becoming a Strong Towns member today.
Top of the Bottom-Up: Creating a Coffee Shop for the Whole Neighborhood
Top of the Bottom-Up: Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands to #SlowTheCars
Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Family and Community Resilience
Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Gentle Density and a Grassroots Campaign for City Council
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Getting Stronger
Top of the Bottom-Up: Growing Food, Growing Resilience
Sarah Cipkar: Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit and Helping Others Do the Same
Erin Stewart: A Mayor Working for Safe Streets and a Thriving Downtown
Norm Van Eeden Petersman: Speaking Up to Build Strong Towns
Emma Durand-Wood: Planting Street Trees and Neighborhood Connections
Spencer Gardner: Moving from Planning to Action
Lindsey Meek: An Engineer who ”Saw the Light”
Amy Stelly: Campaigning to Get Rid of an Urban Highway
Steph and Sean Tuff: Starting an Electric Bike Company
Danny Schaible: Creating a Street Design Team
Ari Feinsmith: Helping More People Get Out and Bike!
Montavius Jones: Celebrating Your City and Helping it Grow Better
Jen Stromsten and Alex Beck: Welcoming New Americans and Building up a Rural Economy
Jonathan Curth: Ending Parking Minimums and Seeing the Results
Ann Zadeh: Community Design for Stronger Towns
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL