Losing Harmony

By Julie Little

Harmony, MN

I moved to Harmony from a Twin Cities suburb in 2016. I liked that this small town had everything a person could want – a grocery store, a bank, a hardware store, a pharmacy, a school, a library, a medical clinic, fun places to get food and drink or shop, and even a movie theater that only charges $5 and has awesome popcorn. Harmony kept improving with the garden and floral center and more. This town feels safe and clean and has a unique personality. It’s a place where business owners live in the community and care about it. I specifically looked for a place to call home that protected these rare and precious family-owned businesses and did not welcome big box stores.

Why was this important to me? I saw first-hand what happens when corporations move in. I worked in the Twin Cities but wanted to raise my kids in a small town atmosphere. My small town was Rogers, Minn. It had locally-owned businesses and a friendly feel that made the 45-minute commute each way to work (2 hours in a snowstorm) seem worth it. But within two years, one store, a Super Target moved in across the highway from us. The local grocery store could not compete. It became a vacant building. The pharmacy closed too and sat empty for several years until a CVS bought it out. The local pizza place, family-owned Chinese restaurant, and local diner couldn’t compete with the Dominoes, Subway, Denny’s, and Noodles that moved in. We got a Cub Foods, a Lowes, and a Hom Furniture in short order. It was convenient but, basically, my side of town just died. Money poured in through these big businesses and then quickly left – the profits heading out to CEOs and shareholders someplace else – and Rogers became a bedroom community without a personality of its own. I couldn’t wait to leave.

I believe that we each must decide what’s important to us and act on that. If we value locally-owned and operated businesses, we need to patronize them as individuals. I did that in Rogers – many people did – and it wasn’t enough. Harmony is not the same as Rogers in location but a big business moving in can still have far-reaching effects.

Capitalism says that competition is a useful tool. I agree. But only if that competition is fairly matched. There is no fairness in the fight between locally owned and corporate businesses. And there is no comparison in commitment to the community – investment and support in that community – between a locally-owned business and a national chain.

Some would say that city government shouldn’t get involved in what businesses come to Harmony but I know that saving locally-owned businesses can’t be done by individuals alone. We need the whole town. We need the council members and mayor this town elected, who have the power of the law to work with, to listen to what the people they represent want for our community. I also know that if we want our local businesses to remain and thrive, we need to protect their ability to do that. I hope we get an ordinance that prevents big box stores like Dollar General from moving into our town.

There will be a meeting for public comments on the zoning ordinance being held Tuesday, March 1, 7 p.m. at the Harmony Community Center.