As the country began to prosper in the '90s, the city of Potosi, Mo., languished in Depression-era unemployment. Until recently, that is, when the manufacturing plants that have tended to go elsewhere began to return.

Led by a potato chip factory, Jackson has experienced a manufacturing boom that has city fathers smiling.

As Abraham Lincoln is to Springfield, Ill., as Mark Twain is to Hannibal, Mo., William Faulkner is to Oxford, Miss.

Tupelo, Miss., remains the king of the upholstered furniture industry. But layoffs and shutdowns spur call for diversification.

In cities across the United States, the strong economy has left employers with too few workers for too many vacancies. One small Kentucky town is filling this void with an unlikely labor pool: immigrants.

Kirksville, Mo., has found success in rolling out the red carpet not only for college students but for senior citizens.