The community of Monowi, Nebraska has one resident. She fulfills multiple roles:

Elsie is not simply Monowi’s last resident. She is also its mayor, clerk and treasurer, effectively running a local government in which every official position leads back to the same person.

Each year, she hangs up a notice in Monowi’s only business (her bar) advertising mayoral elections, and then votes for herself.

With no political rivals to threaten her reign, Elsie casts the only ballot at election time, securing a staggering 100 per cent of the vote without so much as knocking on a door.

Elsie is responsible for keeping Monowi’s finances afloat and its official status intact, while navigating the peculiar business of approving the paperwork needed to run her own tavern…

She has also previously explained that she raises around £380 ($500) annually in local taxes to help cover essential services, including the maintenance of three flickering lampposts and water maintenance.

Someone has to keep the lights on. There are taxes to be paid and then used for local infrastructure. Elections need to be held. The one local business needs operating.

Americans tend to like local government so I imagine at least a few other Americans would enjoy being all of the local government in one person. Some might imagine this would be exciting for a larger community. A single mayor or city manager could make all the decisions and make things happen. Other might like having just a one person community.

But, as the article notes, this came about because of the steady decline of Monowi. It was never large but it once had roughly 150 residents. There were multiple businesses and a post office. How many people would want to run the show in a declining town of one where there are abandoned buildings and a loss of residents over time?

It could almost be cast in video game terms: could you grow a community from a population of 1? Trying to attract other residents would take work as would adjusting to change within the community. Would it be possible to try to buy up all of the nearby land and sell a whole town (as has been tried before elsewhere)?