Middlesex County town in the running for 'strongest town' in U.S.

Is New Jersey home to the "strongest town" in the United States?

Dunellen in Middlesex County has made the Sweet Sixteen of a NCAA March Madness-style tournament run by the nonprofit Strong Towns, a nonprofit that promotes a "bottom-up" pattern of development (putting more power in the hands of local governments).

Voting begins on March 20 for the match-up between Dunellen and Brattleboro, Vermont. It's one of eight battles in the round, which runs until March 23.

Strong Towns

If Dunellen prevails, it'll take on the winner of Selma, North Carolina versus Los Altos, California in the next round.

Each round of the Strongest Town Contest takes a week. It's modeled after the NCAA basketball tournaments that are happening right now.

The overall winner will be announced on April 14.

The winner of this year's contest (this is the eighth year of the tournament) will receive accommodations for a representative to attend the Strong Towns National Gathering in North Carolina, where they will receive an award and serve as an honored guest.

The winning town will also be the focus of a video produced by Strong Towns.

Jasper, Indiana was last year's winner.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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Gallery Credit: Meagan Drillinger