Can you imagine being able to say you’re from Funkytown? Well, that almost happened to one of our 25th Hour reporters when people petitioned to rename Russell, Ontario after one of the catchiest songs ever made.

As a Russell local, Cody Gaudreault explores how his hometown is changing. What’s driving its fast growth, and does it hold any lessons for the rest of the province?

Credits

Produced by Ryan Clark and Cody Gaudreault

Special thanks to Mike Tarnowski and Connie Johnston 

Images

The Places We’ll Go: Rural Migration in Canada by Lindsay Finlay, courtesy of The University of Western Ontario 

Russell Wilson (cropped) courtesy of Larry Maurer via Wikimedia Commons

Russell Crowe (34450751620) courtesy of Eva Rinaldi via Wikimedia Commons

Russell Westbrook (cropped) courtesy of Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons

Kurt Russell by Gage Skidmore 2 courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons

Traffic Light Graph, created with Datawrapper

Additional video courtesy of

Map showing Russell via Google Earth 

Lipps Inc. – Funkytown (1980) by Musikladen via YouTube

Music

The Scent of Home by View Points via Epidemic Sound  

Who’s the Boss Now by Stationary Sign via Epidemic Sound