Quick hits: Black farmers' debt-relief controversy illustrated; Sinclair boss says political division is good for his business; FCC chair: school buses should get pandemic funds for wi-fi

Daily Yonder illustration by Nhatt Nichols

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.

The Daily Yonder illustrates the controversy around debt relief for Black farmers via a graphic novel-style illustration. Read it here.

Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley remarked recently that, though he laments the "political environment we're in," a politically divided America is "very good for our business," referring to political candidates' outsized expenditures for television ads. Sinclair's audience is disproportionately rural. Read more here.

Rural students often lack the broadband access to complete homework, making it difficult to complete schoolwork during pandemic shutdowns, or homework in general. To help close the "homework gap," Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed that schools should be able to use federal broadband funding to outfit school buses with wi-fi hubs. Such bus rig-ups have helped many rural students access broadband during the pandemic. Read more here.

A recently published study found that rural counties were much less likely than metropolitan counties to have enough—or any—buprenorphine or methadone treatment programs available for opioid use disorder. Counties with large shares of people with disabilities or without insurance were especially likely to lack enough treatment options. Read more here.

Many municipalities, large and small, that have embraced cryptocurrency for payments and other local commerce are now reeling amid the cryptocurrency crash. Read more here.

Between 1995 and 2000, crop insurance payouts have increased between 300% and 400% for American farmers, and are expected to keep rising as disasters become more frequent and extreme. A thoughtful opinion piece from an environmental group posits that the federal crop insurance program encourages irresponsible environmental practices by insulating farmers from the consequences of climate change to their crops. Read more here.