Category: Rural Headlines

EXCERPT: “In many areas of the country, there’s simply no nearby place to go to for a serious medical emergency or to give birth. More than 300 hospitals in rural areas have closed in recent decades, leaving tens of millions of Americans an hour or more away from the nearest trauma-care center. Over 2,000 rural ...

EXCERPT: “In many rural towns, a grocery store is a thing of the past, as more of these small businesses fold. Yet entrepreneurs and community initiatives are working to turn that trend around. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 76 counties nationwide are without a single grocery store, and ...

EXCERPT: “The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association, six county jails and other partners have joined together in a pilot project designed to help children and incarcerated parents maintain family ties. Having an incarcerated parent can lead to an increased risk of illness, poor mental health, substance abuse ...

EXCERPT: “The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) launched a $1.9 million test pilot that aims to improve public transportation needs across western and southern rural Minnesota. If the test pilot goes well, it could be expanded state-wide and improved upon. ‘This is a huge step forward for rural transit agencies to provide trip planning and ...

EXCERPT: “There’s great excitement as Alissa Kretsch hides purple hearts around the playroom in her home day care. Kretsch has been a child care provider in New Ulm for more than a decade and runs the business from her home. Her services are in demand, and it’s only getting busier. ‘I get calls like at least ...

EXCERPT: “According to a July 2022 report by Feeding America, rural counties make up 63% of all U.S counties but represent 87% of counties with food-insecurity rates in the top 10%. That means counties with the highest rates of food insecurity are disproportionately rural. ‘In North Dakota, 95% of the land area in the state is ...

EXCERPT: “Hibbing is something of a rarity when it comes to electricity. Since 2021, most of the city’s power has been generated by burning wood chips and mulch — up to 9,000 tons a month — largely from a local pallet manufacturer. The plant allows the small municipal utility to support northeastern Minnesota’s logging industry ...

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 ...