Peopling Small Towns Golden Eagle City 1. Carson City, Nev. 2. Bend, Ore. 3. St. George, Utah 4. Bowling Green, Ky. 5. Logan, Utah 6. Concord, N.H. 7. Harrisonburg, Va. 8. Columbus, Ind. 9. Hot Springs, Ark. 10. Cape Girardeau, Mo. Population (Census 2000) 52,457 52,029 49,663 49,296 42,670 40,687 40,468 39,059 35,750 35,349 I n the recently published Boomtown USA: The 7 1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns (see "Top Small Towns" in our March 2004 issue), author Jack Schultz listed his top 100 "agurbs" -- communities that have an agricultural link and a location outside an official metropolitan statistical area.       These areas, which he calls "Golden Eagles," consistently rate higher in such wide-ranging measures as business start-up and attraction, education, culture, taxes, transportation and recreation. They are also the top performers in following Schultz's keys, among them leveraging of resources, encouraging leaders and entrepreneurs and maintaining local control.       But any company looking to locate near such an idyll must have a certain critical mass of people from which to draw. Looked at through the population prism, here are the 10 Golden Eagles with the widest sheer wing span. A few of them are instantly recognizable because of recent corporate project attraction (Bowling Green, St. George). The others may be primed to follow suit.       The state capital of Carson City, Nev., adjacent to both Reno and the state of California, boasts the largest population of Jack Schultz's Top 100 Agurbs and is already home to some 180 manufacturers.       It also boasts a citywide redevelopment plan that encompasses some 2,000 acres (810 hectares) of targeted properties, an ongoing $25-million airport expansion and historic strength in the transportation, electronics and fabricated metals sectors.       Joe McCarthy, the Carson City Economic Development and Redevelopment Manager, says current initiatives are focused on the renewable energy and wireless technology sectors. Recent expansions have come from Harley Davidson Financial and medical equipment maker Greatbatch Sierra.       Logan, Utah, is at the heart of Utah's Cache Valley, and is also home to Utah State University and its 19,000 students. There too, the Cache Chamber is leading the push for regional airport expansion.       Leading employers in the area include a Pepperidge Farm plant, first established 30 years ago, and California-based industrial controls automation firm Scientific Technologies, which in 2003 moved its Tulare, Calif., operations to Logan.

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