Valley County advances in contest for $3 million

Valley County and Meadows Valley have made it to the next round in the America’s Best Communities contest, where the top prize is $3 million for economic development.

Fifteen communities nationwide will advance to the semifinals in April in Durham, N.C. About 350 small communities entered the competition, and 50 were selected as quarterfinalists last April. They received $50,000 each to develop a plan to stimulate economic revitalization.

The semifinals will pare the list to eight, each of whom will receive a $100,000 prize. The eight will have a year to implement their strategies, and the three communities that show the greatest potential for sustainable revitalization will win grand prizes. The top community will receive $3 million, with second place earning $2 million and third place $1 million.

The competition is sponsored by Frontier Communications, Dish Network, CoBank and the Weather Channel.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Valley County advances in contest for $3 million."