Rural Economy Could Suffer As Pessimism Looms
The current run of down times for farmers are only going to get worse, according to many farmers. Nearly 80 percent of the 400 farmers and agricultural producers surveyed in October by Purdue...
View ArticleThese Colorado Veterans Are Finding Peace On The Farm
Ben and Leticia Ward’s farm in Fountain, Colorado, just outside Colorado Springs, doesn’t look like an army base. But it’s not hard to uncover whiffs of military influence at Little Roman Farm. A stack...
View ArticleWith Attorney Shortage, Rural Areas In Search Of Lawyers
Fewer young attorneys are choosing to set up shop in small towns and take over for retiring professionals. Just like the shortages of doctors , nurses , dentists , even farmers , many rural areas are...
View ArticleA Forgotten Piece Of African-American History On The Great Plains
Blink while driving on Highway 34 east of Greeley, Colorado, and you might miss the former Great Plains town of Dearfield.
View ArticleSex Trafficking In Small Towns: ‘It Happens Virtually Anywhere’
“For most of our trafficking victims this is kind of where we're going to start,” says Jamie Manzer, as she gives a tour of the SASA (Spouse Abuse Sexual Assault) Crisis Center, where she worked until...
View ArticleGOP Health Care Bill Could Hit Some Farmers Hard
Darvin Bentlage says his health insurance plan used to be the same as all the other cattle farmers in Barton County, Missouri: stay healthy until he turned 65, then get on Medicare. But when he turned...
View ArticleHope And Fear: Why Some Rural Immigrants Are Taking Steps Toward Citizenship
This story is part of the special series United And Divided , which explores the links and rifts between rural and urban America. At the public library in the rural Morgan County town of Brush,...
View ArticleFormer Ag Secretary Vilsack Worried About Lack Of Rural Focus In Trump Cabinet
Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the long delays in seating his replacement leaves rural America without a voice in the Trump administration. Vilsack, a Democrat who served as USDA chief...
View ArticleRural Areas Still Lag Behind In Digital Technology Adoption
People that live in rural areas are more connected to the internet than they’ve ever been, but they still lag well-behind their urban and suburban counterparts in access to high-speed Internet,...
View ArticleAs Big, High-Tech Farms Take Hold, How Do Nearby Towns Stay Afloat?
Brandon Biesemeier climbs up a small ladder into a John Deere sprayer, takes a seat in the enclosed cab, closes the door, and blocks out most of the machine’s loud engine hum. It is a familiar perch to...
View ArticleUnited And Divided: A Sunday At Church In A Rural Iowa Town
This story is part of the special series United And Divided , which explores the links and rifts between rural and urban America. As Highway 30 enters Denison, Iowa, a city of 8,000, the national fast...
View ArticleOsteopathic Medical Schools Seek To Fill Rural Healthcare Gap
Twenty-four-year-old Kalee Woody says that when she was growing up in Bronaugh, Missouri, she saw the small town slowly fading. Businesses closed, growth stagnated and residents had to drive to other...
View ArticleWhat Happens When Their School Doesn't Offer Physics? Rural Students Head Online
This story is part of the special series United And Divided , which explores the links and rifts between rural and urban America. Schools in rural school districts often don’t have the budget or the...
View ArticleDrop-In Centers In Rural Kansas Aim To Address Dangers Of Isolation
The social and health effects of isolation on some rural Kansas residents spurred three Catholic nuns to convert a storefront in Concordia, Kansas, into a drop-in center where women can find support...
View ArticleWhat A Rural Nebraska City Can Teach Us About The 21st Century Economy
Sidney, Nebraska, has prospered while many rural cities have struggled. For decades, the city has been home to Cabela’s, a major outdoor retail chain. As Cabela’s completes a deal in which it will be...
View ArticleKansas Town Tries New Blueprint To Replace Rural Grocery Store
A brick building that was the only grocery store in St. John, Kansas, sits vacant, its glass doors covered with paper since it closed early last year. St. John is the county seat of Stafford County in...
View ArticleMissouri Death Linked To Tick-Borne Virus Raises Questions About Midwest Ticks
Tammy Wilson loved the outdoors and was happy to spend her days working at Meramec State Park in the central part of Missouri. Her family often stopped by to see her, most recently at the end of May....
View ArticleTo Survive, Rural Hospitals Need To Grow. But The Demographics Don't Add Up
$1.25 million. That’s the size of the bill that could have shuttered the only public hospital in rural Pemiscot County, Missouri in August 2013. $750,000 for payroll. $500,000 for a bond payment. $1.25...
View ArticleFighting Fires For Free, Volunteer Firefighting Units Struggle To Recruit A...
If you pull a fire alarm in any large U.S. city, it's likely that paid firefighters waiting at a nearby station will quickly respond. But seven out of 10 American firefighters are volunteers. They...
View ArticlePregnant Women In Rural Areas Increasingly Travel To Give Birth
When Sarah Scantling went into labor this summer, she had to drive 30 miles and across state lines. Three years earlier, the only maternity ward where she lives in Pemiscot County, Missouri closed...
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