In this study of Benson, Minnesota, Professors Martindale and Hanson examine the sources and manifestations of local-translocal tensions in the institutional life of a typical small town. The authors begin by describing the town's physical and cultural setting, and briefly sketch the community's history. Their examination of the attitudes and life-styles of Benson's population reveals a polarization between those citizens who are struggling to preserve the friendly atmosphere and pace of the small town and those who are trying to update Benson to urban and national standards. The conflict between local and cosmopolitan attitudes is apparent in Benson's economy, in its structures of power and influence, and in its various agencies of socialization. It is concluded that recent increases in state and national legislation affecting local affairs, proliferation of the power of Federal agencies, greater standardization and national organization of economic and financial institutions, and extended power and pervasiveness of electronic and printed mass media are all bringing Benson closer and closer to national norms in terms of life-style, social attitude, and political and economic structure. (Author/LS)