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Student-run market made from straw bales still serving Cody amid grocery store crisis in rural Nebraska (2024)

Heidi BeguinFlatwater Free Press

The group of teachers had a straightforward but daunting assignment before them: How could Cody-Kilgore, a small district nestled in the Nebraska Sandhills, buck the trend of rural decline and revitalize the school?

Teachers Stacey Adamson and Tracee Ford latched onto an unusual idea that started as a joke — one that grew more unusual as it progressed.

What about a grocery store run by students?

Now nearly two decades after the idea first surfaced, the Circle C Market — a student-run grocery store made from straw bales — continues to serve Cody and the nearby areas.