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BOB REHA: Small cities have always struggled to play in the big leagues. In the world of arts and culture, shopping and sports, bigger is better. In the world of economic development, cities are classified in three groups-- The first tier, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles. The second tier, places like the Twin Cities, Saint Louis, and Kansas City. Then, there's the third tier, smaller cities that are geographically isolated, places like Fargo-Moorhead and Sioux Falls. These cities have worked hard for new businesses, but that appears to be changing.

JOEL KOTKIN: Being isolated or being out of the line of fire, so to speak, not having a big bull's eye on the place is probably a positive right now.

BOB REHA: Joel Kotkin is author of the New Geography. He says, it's not just a technical revolution that's changing how people live and work.

JOEL KOTKIN: And I think also on a very human level, I think there are many people living in large cities who feel more vulnerable and may want to live someplace that they consider safer. And of course, the new telecommunications technologies allow that to happen much easier.

CARRIE WARD: We can even track all of the email addresses, the parts of the country where all of these are coming in from.

BOB REHA: Carrie Ward can best be described as cheerful. She seems to have a permanent smile. Ward is a native of North Dakota. She's pleased to be back home in a city she likes with a job she enjoys. Ward is Marketing Manager for careerlinknorth.com The website's name says it all. There are careers to be had up North. The website was developed by employers in the region to lure homegrown talent back home. Ward markets the website to 85,000 alumni from North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota. People can find job listings or post their resumes here. Since September 11 the website has become very popular.

CARRIE WARD: We did notice, however, the week after September 11 we saw an increased 40,000 hits on our website along with a number of emails. People are able to communicate to us via email through the website. And I have received a number of emails of people saying, just a second, what's going on back home. I'm really considering-- I'd like to come back, if there's an opportunity for me.

BOB REHA: Ward says the majority of inquiries came from the East Coast. She says traffic on the site averages 150,000 hits a week. Traffic is still running about 20,000 hits a week above normal. Ward says emails indicate people are willing to make less money to feel safer.

It's a situation Ward understands very well. She and her husband moved back to Fargo from the Twin Cities seven years ago. The prospect of a good job was the initial reason. The couple thought they'd stay a few years and move on to bigger and better things, but the plan has changed.

CARRIE WARD: We decided at that point in time that Fargo was a place that we wanted to have a family and to continue to live. And we felt we'd put down some pretty solid roots. We knew a lot of people. We're very pleased with the school system and what Fargo had to offer. And we were seeing some real growth.

BOB REHA: Ward says that growth gives her family more to do. The city is home to a successful Northern League Baseball team. Top musical performers come to the Fargodome. There's a healthy arts community. The area is shedding its image as a hip town. Ward says that's important, but since the September 11 attacks her priorities have shifted. Family is what's important now.

ANNETTE MEARS: We were very happy that they decided to move back. The family connection is closer when your children are closer.

BOB REHA: Annette Mears is Carrie's mother. Five of her six children live close to the family home in Rolla, North Dakota. That's up near the Canadian border. Mears says it's comforting to have her children closer to home.

ANNETTE MEARS: You always worry about your children, no matter where they live. But living in areas where there is more violence and more crime, one does worry more. So there is a safety factor in knowing that they are in areas that are more relatively safe and more crime-free than other parts of the country.

BOB REHA: Small towns have always been the place for old people to retire. They're a place twentysomethings can't wait to leave, but Carrie Ward says that might be changing.

CARRIE WARD: It's not about money, and it's not about material things. But now, it's about families, and it's about where I want to grow up, and it's about crime or no crime. And I think that's really what's luring people back here, is that we do have so many good things to offer in those different arenas.

BOB REHA: Ward says sponsors of the CareerLink North website will take their recruiting efforts beyond cyberspace. Twice over the holidays, local businesses will host cocktail receptions. Their hope, to get young career professionals to move back to the Red River Valley.

CARRIE WARD: We're real interested to see the traffic that will attend these. Again, we would have to say that if we see numbers that are a lot higher than we've seen in the past two or three years, that it would have to be a direct result of the events that have happened.

BOB REHA: So far, no businesses have relocated to rural areas because of the terrorist attacks. But Carrie Ward believes what's happening with the CareerLink North website could show the beginnings of that trend, a population shift from urban cities to rural towns.

Don Berg is a business recruiter for the Fargo Cass County Economic Development Corporation. Berg says the safety issue is a hot topic now for economic development. In some big cities, seminars and conferences focus on how not to lose businesses, how to reassure people it's safe to stay put. But Berg is doubtful recent events will trigger a mass exodus to rural America.

DON BERG: I do not think that we'll have a big windfall because of the terrorist attacks, but I do think it will help definitely within-- one gentleman mentioned a three to five-year window. I would agree with that. I think within the next six months, you're going to start seeing some of those businesses move out of the larger cities.

BOB REHA: Berg says smaller cities in rural areas have always marketed safety as a recruiting tool. He says the terrorist attacks have reminded people that a safe environment is a valuable commodity. Bob Reha, Minnesota Public Radio, Moorhead.