Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Minnesota communities, schools and their partners are invited to apply for funding on local projects that enhance transportation goals, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The $12.5 million in federal funding is available through the Transportation Alternatives program in Greater Minnesota (each region has a sub-targeted fund). This program offers a competitive grant for ...

EXCERPT: “New funding is available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for low-income people seeking to buy or repair rural homes. The Direct Home Loan Program helps those who are unable to qualify for traditional financing. It’s available in rural communities of generally 35,000 people or less. No down payment is required, and the interest ...

EXCERPT: “Gunshots on the Midway. Though the public remained largely safe, it was an unwelcome end to the ‘Great Minnesota Get Together,’ and another shot of trauma in a year seemingly riddled with bullets. The violence has left many of us feeling vulnerable. But a new report on gun deaths in 2021 suggests its not ...

EXCERPT: “Between 2010 and 2021, 136 rural hospitals closed, according to the UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center. Nineteen of these closures occurred in 2020, the most of any year in the past decade. That finding, one of several in a new report from the American Hospital Association, highlights the hardships under which rural hospitals have been ...

EXCERPT: “U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is now accepting applications for ReConnect Program loans and grants to expand access to high-speed internet for millions of people in rural America nationwide. The Department is making more than $1 billion available, thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program ...

EXCERPT: “A new mentorship program for women interested in pursuing public service positions is being offered through the Minnesota-based 100 Rural Women nonprofit. The program, titled the Elected Mentorship Network, will involve women in public office sharing their experiences. Their goal is to ‘create connections between women who were previously or are currently in office ...

EXCERPT: “Rural America could be on the verge of seeing the largest, single investment in its electrical infrastructure since the Rural Electrification Act of 1935 first brought power lines to farms. Rural electrical cooperatives have the opportunity to make that investment thanks to the $9.7 billion in clean energy funding signed into law by President ...

EXCERPT: “Five months into her pregnancy, Christine Daniels felt her blood pressure surge. Her head ached, and the skin on her feet stretched and cracked open. Her legs felt so heavy, she could hardly walk to her mom’s apartment around the corner. Help was far away. In her rural north Florida town, there is no ...

EXCERPT: “Americans suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s are less likely to receive specialized care if they live in rural parts of the country, a new study found. Ohio State University researchers found rural patients with the disease, which occurs between the ages of 30 and 65, were typically seen exclusively by a primary care physician and were less likely ...