Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “As the ninth annual Mankato River Ramble came to a close Sunday afternoon, it was evident the Greater Mankato Area is on the radar for cyclists not just from Mankato, but also the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota and even neighboring states. Mankato is one of nearly 30 cities in Minnesota classified as “bike friendly” by ...

EXCERPT: “Nancy McCloud did not have any food industry bona fides. She had never worked in a grocery store; not even a restaurant. And yet three years ago, when her local grocery in central New Mexico closed, she wanted to offer the community (population: 863) the fresh foods they otherwise would have to travel 47 ...

EXCERPT: “Members of the Minnesota House will gather in Winona and other southeastern Minnesota communities Wednesday for a three-day mini-session. More than 100 lawmakers from both parties have registered. They’ll participate in tours and informational field hearings on a wide range of topics. No votes will be taken.It’s the first time the House has held ...

EXCERPT: “Many rural hospitals have had to get creative these days because they are struggling to make ends meet. In the past decade, more than 100 rural hospitals have closed nationwide, largely due to financial problems. Others have had to freeze, or even cut salaries. Some have eliminated important services, like obstetrics and gynecology. But change is coming from ...

EXCERPT: “Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, along with Congressman Pete Stauber, announced Wednesday, Sept. 25, over $1.9 million in funding for broadband deployment in Aitkin County. The Community Connect grant of $1,953,464 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is intended to construct a fiber broadband network helping spur economic, business, telehealth, and educational improvements ...

EXCERPT: “A decision earlier this year by Nobles County Commissioners to spend more than $1.8 million to join the county-based purchasing group, PrimeWest Health, to provide managed care, Medicare and Medicaid for individuals on government-funded healthcare appears to have hit a dead end, at least for now. The county was one of 11 hoping to ...

EXCERPT: “It’s National Farm Safety And Health Week, and today is focused on the rural opioid epidemic and mental health. For some farmers and ranchers, the rising cost of prescription drugs only worsens the rural healthcare challenge. Research by AARP found the average older American takes 4.5 prescription drugs, typically on a persistent basis, and 72 ...

EXCERPT: “The Mahube-Otwa Community Action Partnership is a nonprofit organization that operates a small network of family planning clinics serving low-income patients in rural Minnesota. Like so many other clinics across the country right now, it withdrew from the Title X family planning program after the Trump administration’s gag rule went into effect, prohibiting providers like Mahube-Otwa from receiving ...

EXCERPT: “The questions of how to provide recycling services in Lyon County, and how to pay for them, are complex. But county officials aren’t the only ones dealing with those problems. The factors that affect the cost of recycling programs reach as far as regional recycling facilities and overseas markets, say area waste haulers, recyclers and ...