Friday, February 28, 2020

Quick hits: Rural military enrollment factoid debunked; lack of data makes it hard to improve prisons

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

For years, a false factoid has been making the rounds that rural Americans make up 44 percent of the military. The latest person to repeat it was the CEO of a major agricultural cooperative. But the real figure is more like 20%, writes Tim Marema of The Daily Yonder.

A Report for America journalist, who was assigned to cover poverty in her hometown of Charleston, W.Va., says poverty and its causes are more nuanced than the data often suggest — and says she sees signs of hope. Read more here.

A University of Kentucky nutrition professor discusses in a podcast how she is working to eliminate food deserts in rural Kentucky. Read more here.

The nation's prisons and jails face major challenges, but a lack of reliable data makes it harder to know how to improve things. Read more here.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against seven small Texas towns that declared themselves abortion sanctuary cities. Read more here.

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