Community Connection May 27, 2022

Stuff to do…

Irrigation Days is NEXT WEEK and we encourage you to check out the full events flyer. There are so many amazing events going on and one of the things we want to highlight is the Travel the World with Wine and Music event on Friday night. This event showcases the music of A Touch of Class, which features Oakes’ very own Deb Schmit-Lobois and her two talented friends. The violinist in the group is also a wine sommelier, so she’ll teach us about wines from different countries as we listen to music from each culture. This is a ticketed event with a maximum of 50 attendees, so get your tickets today at www.growingsmalltowns.org and click on Events. 

Things to celebrate…

Let’s celebrate how absolutely beautiful the city of Oakes looks now! With the new banners and flowers, it feels so welcoming! Once Irrigation Days is over, we’ll be deploying a survey that was created with the help of Kathy Marquette’s marketing class at NDSCS to determine how we can better manage city beautification going forward. The aesthetics of a place matter; we want Oakes to look and feel its best! 

News to know…

We are thrilled to see the housing options getting added to our new website. We want this site to be as active, up-to-date, and accurate as possible. Giving the control to add/edit/remove listings, whether housing, businesses for sale, commercial properties for sale, or jobs is the best way to do that! Check out the site and if you’re the person responsible for any of those items and need help, just reach out to Kausha at the Chamber or Rebecca at Growing Small Towns. We’re happy to help! People are noticing these changes and our site is becoming quite the marketing billboard for Oakes! 

Ideas to spread…

Research suggests that children under the age of 5 laugh about 300 times per day. Adults aged 40 laugh only 15. There’s debate on the exact numbers but the fact remains: we are NOT laughing enough. Most of us laugh during social interactions, so it seems there are a couple of options here. 

  1. Hang out with more kids. If they laugh even close to as much as studies suggest, we’ll be in good shape. 
  2. Hang out with more people, in general. Isolation isn’t good for the soul and we know you’re rolling on the floor laughing at TikTok videos, but you do still need other people. Get out of the basement and talk to someone. 
  3. Vet the people you hang out with. If the people you do spend time with make you feel anxious, worried, or anything other than willing to laugh, consider how to get more people into your circle that bring you joy. Laughter is the best medicine, after all! 
  4. Consult a professional if your lack of laughing isn’t circumstantial or your sadness feels darker than what’s been described above. You do not need to suffer in silence and help is available. Reach out to our local medical professionals or the team at Dickey County Public Health to get access to resources. You matter to us and we need you here.

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