Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Paul Bunyan Communications has been awarded a $10 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to expand its fiber optic broadband services to portions of Hubbard, Itasca and St. Louis Counties. The USDA grant will cover about 75% of the expansion costs with the cooperative investing the remainder to expand its all-fiber optic to approximately 3,500 ...

EXCERPT: “Rural childcare is an emerging issue as farm bill discussions pick up. U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee member Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota tells Brownfield she’s hosted several listening sessions across her state recently. ‘And boy did we hear a lot about childcare when we were out there in terms of the Rural Development Title of the ...

EXCERPT: “New research suggests that pregnant women and new moms in rural U.S. areas are at greater risk of adverse outcomes, including death, because they are more likely to be uninsured. Women living in rural communities had lower rates of uninterrupted health insurance before, during and after pregnancy compared to those in urban areas, a ...

EXCERPT: “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced over $1.6 million in grants to help fight homelessness in rural Minnesota. HUD says the grants are part of a nationwide effort to address the issue of homelessness in rural areas. A total of $315 million will be given in grants to 46 communities across the country. In Minnesota, Continuums ...

EXCERPT: “For the next five years, the Minnesota State Office of Rural Health will receive federal funds to continue an initiative that expands suburban health care access to rural providers across the state. This could include telehealth, information sharing, technology assistance, staff training, and more. ‘We do utilize the state office of rural health and we’ve ...

EXCERPT: “A man credited with inspiring and training hundreds, if not thousands, of medical students to become doctors in underserved rural communities all around Minnesota died Saturday. He was 81. Dr. Jim Boulger worked for nearly a half century at the University of Minnesota medical school’s Duluth campus, where he helped develop an innovative curriculum to ...

EXCERPT: “Local governments outside the Twin Cities metro area are hoping the Minnesota Legislature will act this year to increase local government aid and fund major public infrastructure projects. The Minnesota Legislature wrapped up the 2022 last session without passing any significant spending legislation, including the large infrastructure borrowing bill it traditionally advances in even years. ...

EXCERPT: “Leaders from the University of Minnesota Medical School and CentraCare discussed with the University’s Board of Regents today their intention to strengthen the organizations’ partnership to improve health for Greater Minnesota residents. Jakub Tolar, dean of the Medical School and vice president for clinical affairs, along with Ken Holmen, president and CEO of CentraCare Health, ...

EXCERPT: “Although the number of hospitals and health care facilities continue to decline in rural America, more rural residents are able to access mental health services and are more open to talking about opioid addiction, a new poll funded by the American Farm Bureau Federation found. Morning Consult did the national poll in October 2022, ...