The Flyover Coalition was born in concept several years ago when Dale Buss became deeply concerned that Flyover Country continued to be overlooked and caricatured in the national media conversation and that this systematic, powerful bias was making things worse economically in the Heartland as the Great Recession took hold.

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At the same time, the legacy power centers on America's coasts were acquiring ever more power and influence over the whole country and how we all live: New York and Washington and Hollywood for sure, and, increasingly, Silicon Valley as well.

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The situation was making it difficult for Flyover Country to shake off the legacy of the "Rust Belt" from the Eighties. Or to embark on a new growth story for the new century.

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"Flyover Country" really seemed to define what we were all about. And it was an identity that was being handed to us, not one we were seeking.

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So Buss became Founder and Executive Director of The Flyover Coalition.

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At first, he believed that the problem largely was one of media perception. And as one of the most broadly experienced and prolific journalists in Flyover Country and nationwide, he figured he could help do something about how people elsewhere perceive us -- and how we perceive ourselves.

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Then he came to understand that Flyover Country also suffers a disunity problem that is real, not just perceptual. We're so busy competing with one another for economic fruits that we don't understand how the region as a whole suffers greatly at the first point of economic triage: We all get overlooked together.

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And, he concluded, only if we don't get overlooked collectively under the Flyover Country rubric will we prosper as individual states, counties and cities.

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Buss has a deep passion for ensuring a prosperous future for the region where he was born, raised, and has spent nearly all of his life, and where most of his family and many of his friends live.

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He also stands ready to bring in a number of similarly passionate and very qualified people who can make The Flyover Coalition a success and ensure that we reach our goal.

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And now, The Flyover Coalition is attracting support from companies, committed individuals, and others who share that passion.