Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “In rural areas where hospitals have shuttered, like Pickens County, the nearest surviving facilities are long drives away, ambulance coverage is sparse, and residents in the throes of medical emergencies often find their situations even more precarious. In May, the rural health research and policy centers released the results of an effort by the Maine ...

EXCERPT: “On the outskirts of Plainview in southeastern Minnesota, a cornfield that sits next to a golf course could be a crucial part of the small city’s future. In theory, it will become a housing development with single-family homes, commercial property and a 43-unit apartment building on 10 acres. The city has a population of about 3,500, ...

EXCERPT: “A new study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) shows that vaccination rates for some racial and ethnic groups lagged behind rates for the state’s white population. The study calculated ‘time-to-vaccination’ outcomes — estimates of the length of time it took to vaccinate ...

EXCERPT: “More than one third of Americans living in rural areas skipped medical care they needed due to the costs, according to a new study. The Commonwealth Fund’s 2020 International Health Policy Survey found that 36 percent of rural Americans did not get the care they needed due to costs, which is more than double the rate ...

EXCERPT: “Dr. Cindy Firkins Smith doesn’t mince words: ‘Rural health care is on the precipice of a crisis,’ she said. Smith, a vice president and physician at CentraCare, has been practicing dermatology in Willmar for three decades. In all of that time, she’s always recruited other doctors to join her ranks in Greater Minnesota. ‘It’s been ...

EXCERPT: “At the University of Minnesota Morris, psychology faculty have known for some time about the severe shortage of addiction treatment professionals in rural parts of the state. This year, they’ve developed a way to help address that problem by creating a new program designed to train and prepare students to sit for the state’s licensed alcohol and drug ...

EXCERPT: “From his rural court about an hour north of Duluth, Minn., Judge Robert Friday regularly oversees cases in which people face losing their homes, divorce disputes and debts they can’t pay. One or both parties regularly show up without a lawyer. Individuals representing themselves don’t always understand how to present their cases or—sometimes, more important—how to ...

EXCERPT: “Topped by $100 million for rural Internet and a safety net for farmers on grain sales, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday, May 18, signed an agriculture and broadband spending bill into law. ‘Agriculture is central to our state’s identity, and this bipartisan law will empower Minnesota’s farmers, ranchers, and producers to succeed for ...

EXCERPT: “Big things are happening in small towns across our region, flying in the face of expectations that rural communities have nothing to offer in a modern economy. Reporter Tammy Swift has been documenting these success stories through her reporting. In this episode, she joins host Thomas Evanella to discuss how Halstad, Minn., population 579, is ...