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S5:E12 - Making Room for New People with Meredith McMurray


Meredith is easily one of the most interesting and unusual people we’ve ever had on the podcast, and her story is a testament to just how much small-town living appeals to all kinds of people, even people that you may not expect. This episode is all about how Meredith–a Marin County, California native–found herself in rural South Dakota, and what we can do to make our small towns more welcoming for all different kinds of people who want to make their lives here. 

About Meredith:

Meredith McMurray was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. She was home-schooled for all but one of her twelve grade school years.

Then, in 2006, she enlisted into the US Marine Corps at age 18 and served four years active duty, deploying twice during that time. After an Honorable Discharge, Meredith began an exploration into the world of health and healing practices such as yoga, neuromuscular therapy, meditation, self-inquiry, and performing arts!

She began learning Aerial Acrobatics in 2012, at first as a hobby. By 2016, Meredith began making a living off of teaching and performing Aerial Acrobatics.

In May 2019, Meredith was presented with an opportunity to take over ownership of Aerial Arts Fairfax (IG account no longer managed), a local beloved Aerial Academy in Fairfax, CA. The offer was for Meredith to purchase the business and facilitate over 200 actively enrolled students to continue their training—or watch it close and cease to exist due to the original founder opting to retire earlier in 2019.

Out of pure love for the art form (and a lack of awareness of what was to come), Meredith took a risk and invested five figures of borrowed money into purchasing the business. Aerial Arts Fairfax had eight great months under Meredith's leadership, and then March 2020 came along...

Obliterated by the statewide lockdowns and dysfunctional social practices implemented by the majority in the San Francisco Bay Area, Meredith consciously chose to no longer serve that community with her business nor her physical presence.

Meredith had heard former Governor Kristi Noem say, "All South Dakotans are Essential." So, after sixteen total months of fighting to regain any sense of meaning or purpose in California, Meredith packed her Prius and drove to South Dakota with no plan.

Once she arrived, Meredith was able to shake hands with Gov. Kristi Noem and thank her for standing up for the people of South Dakota and their occupations. Then, Meredith was able to work a seasonal job in South Dakota and earn enough to pay herself back from the five-figure financial wound created by the State of California.

After that, Meredith moved across state lines four times before eventually returning back to South Dakota, where she has been living for the last 2.5 years.

By no means is Meredith walking off into the sunset... She continues to wake up every morning wondering how she can best serve the community, make real friends, and express important messages in whatever form.

Please enjoy the speech Meredith recently gave at the Black Hills Aerial Cup: https://youtu.be/Y15XccuXMFw?si=IGgYzsz8jtsfQqpA



In this episode, we cover:

  • How Meredith went from Marin County, CA to small-town South Dakota

  • What she loves about small towns

  • What she’d love for her own small-town experience

Links and Resources Mentioned:

Speech for anyone who's ever felt "non-essential”: https://youtu.be/Y15XccuXMFw?si=IGgYzsz8jtsfQqpA

Meredith’s website: www.DanglingDance.com

Small Town Shout-Out!

Big high fives to Ellendale, our county seat! A major economic development project—Applied Digital—is happening right there, and the revenue it brings is game-changing. But we’re especially cheering for Ellendale because growth like this brings big challenges, too. Just because something big is happening doesn’t mean anything was ever wrong before. We see you, we support you, and we’re in it with you.


New Segment Alert!

We think some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re introducing two new parts to the show: 

  1. “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things. 

  2. “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that. 

If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you! 

Subscribe and Review The Growing Small Towns Show!


Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, please click on the images below for Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!




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