We have the normal small town in the west politics, mostly dominated by LDS folks, because they vote as a block. Hive minded folks.
We are the commercial hub for two counties, so though the town in only at about 2000 people, the service area gets it up to about 4000. The big towns are 2.5 to 3-hours away, so unless you’re desperate, you go with Amazon, or have one of the local stores order things for you.
We have an ACE hardware, which is the highest volume store in the Ace group. They get freight twice a week, If you let them know you need something by noon on Saturday, they will have it in stock Monday’s at about 1300. Or Wednesday by noon, they can get it in on the Thursday truck. Local grocery is the highest volume store in the IGA, has a good selection in stock and they will special order things if you ask, but you may have to buy a whole case of it. When I’m putting together the Christmas dinner boxes for the food bank, they sell it to me for cost. The local lumberyard is part of an association of 8 lumberyards in Montana northern Idaho. So, they can get you small quantities of things, like 8-sheets of pre-finished AA maple ApplePly Plywood, instead of having to get the whole bunk. We have a good independent tractor repair shop, and three auto parts stores, two of which can order parts for agricultural, mining, and construction equipment, and get them here the next day
We have two stoplights, and there is discussion of moving one of them a few blocks up the road, so it lines up with the new ambulance shed and fire department.