The Future. Some of us are afraid of it. Some of us are hopeful. But we should all be able to agree that no matter what the future brings, things will not be the same as they are today. They may be better, or they may be worse. Or they may just be… different. There's an uncertainty. That's the property of passage of time that has such power to frighten or excite us.

But we're not powerless. Our place in that future is always affected by the things we do in the present.

So it is with the declining numbers of seniors in Miner County. In the last two weeks, we have explored that population drop and its social and economic implications. But before moving on, it's worth taking one further look at the financial aspect of senior population loss. Transfer payments bring money into the community, and last week we saw that transfer payments associated with the elderly, like Medicare and Social Security, are rising more slowly than in our neighboring counties.

What wasn't mentioned is just how important those transfer payments are to the overall economy of Miner County. Many people consider our rural economy to be powered by agriculture, and that's been historically true. But the chart below might provide some surprising information. Today, nearly as much money is brought into the county each year through transfer payments as through agriculture.

Of the almost $60 million in personal income earned in Miner County in 1997, $13.7 million of that was generated through agriculture, and fully $12.4 million came through transfer payments. That means transfer payments account for more than 20 percent of county income each year, and more than 70 percent of those transfer payments are brought in by our senior population.

The income category called "Dividends, interest, and rent," which is also associated with income among seniors, accounts for another $10.7 million in personal income each year. That's almost another 18 percent of the total county income.

With those numbers, we begin to see the scope of the situation. Our senior population is primarily responsible for nearly 40 percent of the money brought into Miner County each year, so any decrease in that demographic has great potential to affect the overall economics of the county.

So the question must not be "what will happen in the future?" but rather, "what can we make happen in the future?" That's perhaps one of the broadest questions there is, but for today, we'll focus on the elderly.

At the most basic level, retaining a population requires the ability to provide for people's needs. Certainly, that means providing income sources, housing, healthcare, and a variety of services. But it also involves meeting needs that aren't quite so tangible.

People of all ages are more likely to stay in a place where they feel valued, where they have a sense of purpose, and where they can enjoy life feeling that they can play a role in the place they live.

MCCR is working to integrate seniors into efforts that focus on all these things. MCCR facilitated the development of the new independent living complex near the Good Samaritan Center in Howard, and other housing options and ways to retain and attract seniors are being explored.

The Canova community recently opened a wellness center for people of all ages. Community-driven improvement like that is at the heart of what can be done to make Miner County a better place to live.

Perhaps the most novel idea is the one that may mean the most to people on a personal level. A Community Learning Center would encourage the elderly and people from all age brackets to interact in an environment that might include a museum, technology center, and gathering places for all types of intergenerational activities.

If we can find ways like that to give everyone the chance to be involved in, and informed about, the place we live, our chances for the future are that much better. When people feel like they belong somewhere, they're more likely to want to stay.

That may sound like it's a little too simple a solution, but it looks to be one of our best hopes. And something doesn't have to be complex to succeed. That extra concern for people in all stages of life will not only improve conditions for the elderly of today, but also for the seniors of tomorrow: all of us.