Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “Matt Varilek is fortunate as the new commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development to have internet that is fast enough for him to have remote meetings at home in rural Benton County. But not everyone in Greater Minnesota has that ability, which is why delivering broadband across the state is a passion ...

EXCERPT: “Gov. Tim Walz has announced that 36 cities, townships and counties across Greater Minnesota will receive nearly $24 million in Small Cities Development Program grants, with Bagley, Fosston and Kelliher on the list of recipients. The grants will be used for residential and commercial property rehabilitation, upgrading public facilities and other economic development projects. Bagley will ...

EXCERPT: “As this summer has shown, the massive smoke plumes generated by wildfires can dirty the air of regions many miles away. Now a new study is raising the question of whether that pollution is contributing to suicides in rural America. Researchers found a correlation between air pollution from “drifting” wildfire smoke and a rise in ...

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 ...