Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Hundreds of rural hospitals are 'vulnerable to closure' and 46% operate in the red, new report finds

Many rural hospitals have dropped some type of
inpatient care to save money. (Adobe Stock photo)
Despite some limited improvements, the newest statistics on rural hospitals from healthcare advisory firm Chartis are startling. "The group’s latest report on the state of rural healthcare providers found that 46% of rural hospitals are operating at a loss while 432 hospitals are deemed 'vulnerable to closure,'" reports Dave Muoio for Fierce Healthcare. The 2024 report from Chartis "outlined 50% of rural hospitals operating in the red and 418 hospitals at risk of closure."

A rural hospital's median operating margin and Medicaid expansion status are among the factors Chartis used to determine financial health. "Nationwide median operating margin for rural hospitals currently sits at 1%, with 16 states having medians below 0%," Muoio writes. "In the 10 non-Medicaid expansion states, which hold 30% of all rural hospitals, 53% of rural hospitals [operate] in the red, with a median operating margin of -1.5%."

Rural hospitals that aren't in the red have often shuttered their obstetric units and shed inpatient care or other services to stay solvent. "Inpatient care access has ended across 182 rural communities since 2010, due to either closures or transitions," Muoio explains. "Between 2011 and 2023, 293 rural hospitals stopped offering obstetrics services. . . . A similar trend was evident regarding chemotherapy. . . from 2014 to 2023, 424 rural hospitals ended the service."

The report highlighted the "key hurdles for rural hospitals, such as a 2% Medicare reimbursement cut that 'will cost rural hospitals more than $509 million this year and result in over 8,000 jobs lost,'" Muoio reports. "Chartis’ dire national snapshot comes shortly after a Wipfli survey found sparks of optimism among rural healthcare organization leaders. . . .[But] some of their views may have already changed in light of recent weeks’ political developments."

A whirlwind of policy changes and funding cuts have left rural America on shaky ground: 'Billions are at stake.'

As USDA funds are frozen, U.S. farmers face uncertainty
and possible big financial losses. (Adobe Stock photo)
A whirlwind of policy changes from the Trump Administration has left many people in rural America unprepared to navigate agricultural spending cuts that target farming income and investments.

"Billions of dollars in funding are at stake," report Linda Qiu and Julie Creswell of The New York Times. "One executive order targets. . . money for farmers to conserve soil and water and to complete energy projects. Other directives touch on grants to states and producers. Another temporarily left hundreds of millions of dollars worth of food and supplies sitting in ports and has stopped future purchases of grains and goods."

The loss of income and promised funds from the Department of Agriculture puts farmers and farming communities in a "potentially precarious position," the Times reports. "Even as courts have halted many of the orders, rural communities are reeling from the effects, setting off confusion and panic among one of President Trump’s core constituencies."

Once inaugurated, Trump "ordered an indefinite pause on funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. . . . Though a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the funds, it is unclear when and whether it will follow suit," Qiu and Creswell explain."Asked if it would release the money, the USDA did not directly respond, saying only that it had ordered 'a comprehensive review' of its contracts, work and personnel.'"

When farmer pocketbooks took a hit from Trump's first-term tariff wars, the administration tapped the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation and sent checks to farmers to cover losses. That isn't happening now. "Trump has also paused payments made by the CCC," Qiu and Creswell add. "It is unclear how much of the funding has been frozen."

When U.S. farmers overwhelmingly voted for Trump, it's unlikely they thought his policy changes could force some farms into bankruptcy -- but that could happen. The Times reports, "If funds remain frozen, that could affect more than 25,000 conservation contracts worth $1.8 billion funded by the climate change law, potentially involving thousands of farmers nationwide."

Thousands of federal agriculture probationary employees terminated. USDA warns, 'This is just the beginning.'

(Photo by Chris Clayton, DTN)

In an effort described as "optimization," thousands of Department of Agriculture employees were fired last week, reports Chris Clayton of Progressive Farmer. "The job cuts were part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce the federal workforce. The administration moved to terminate most of the estimated 200,000 probationary employees."

Federal firefighters escaped termination, but "3,400 Forest Service employees were let go," Clayton writes. In response to questions, the USDA released a statement that "explained the cuts as part of a plan to 'optimize its workforce by eliminating positions that are no longer necessary. . . . Per the President's directives, Secretary Rollins will lead a new era of USDA to ensure that it is the most efficient, nimble, and innovative department . . .'"

In addition to labor cuts, the USDA "terminated 78 contracts, which totaled more than $132 million," Clayton reports. "The USDA's press office added, 'This is just the beginning. Over the next few days and weeks, Secretary Rollins will have the opportunity to review thousands of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and spending across the agency to ensure that every dollar is being spent as effectively as possible to serve the people, not the bureaucracy.'"

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, told Clayton, "This administration has abused the probationary period to conduct a politically driven mass firing spree, targeting employees not because of performance, but because they were hired before Trump took office. . . . There is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants."

Educators work to calm students' and parents' fears about immigration raids by sharing policies and ICE limitations

Children from Africa, Latin America and Asia are
part of the U.S. unauthorized population. (Adobe photo)
U.S. educators, students and parents live with anxiety and fear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will raid their schools or homes since the "Trump administration reversed a longstanding policy that directed immigration agents to avoid sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals," reports Ray Sanchez of CNN News. The change has left teachers "scrambling for guidance on what to do if agents appear and how to reassure worried students and parents."

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman said the policy shift prevents criminals from hiding in sanctuary places; however, the threat of ICE agents coming into schools has "contributed to a recent drop in classroom attendance in some communities," Sanchez writes. While there have been "no confirmed reports of ICE agents at U.S. schools," their looming threat can be traumatizing for any educational community.

To help students and families, educators "have been dispensing information on the type of warrant ICE agents must have to gain access to schools," Sanchez reports. Deb Gesualdo, president of the teachers union in Malden, Massachusetts, told Sanchez, "Agents don’t get unfettered access. . . We refer them to the superintendent’s office. . . It would be so damaging for any of our students not only to be detained at school but to witness that happening.”

Educators in Barren County Schools in Warren County, Kentucky, are working to calm fears by sharing their policies on how ICE agents will be managed should they appear on campus. "BCS stated that in addition to following state and federal guidelines for student’s safety and well-being, it has procedures for if federal immigration officers arrive at a school," reports David Mamaril Horowitz of Bowling Green Daily News. BCS said it would require ICE agents to present a "valid warrant or court order for the district's legal team to review before any action is taken."

Sanchez notes, "About 733,000 school-aged undocumented children live in the U.S., according to the Migration Policy Institute think tank."

Fire departments can't get trucks or truck repair parts because the industry has consolidated to make big profits

Fire departments can wait years for a new fire truck.
(Adobe Stock photo)
Firefighters and fire trucks are the backbone of fire protection in most communities, but over time, keeping fire trucks repaired or buying replacements has become increasingly difficult. "Fire engine manufacturing is now largely controlled by three companies," report Mike Baker, Maureen Farrell and Serge F. Kovaleski of The Wall Street Journal. "Some departments have waited years for replacement vehicles while hunting the internet for parts to keep their older rigs going."

Wall Street executives sought to eliminate competition among fire truck makers "in a plan to boost profits from fire engine sales," the Journal reports. "One company, backed by a private equity firm, cut its own manufacturing lines as part of a streamlining strategy and then saw a backlog of fire engine orders soar into billions of dollars."

Edward Kelly, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said the pandemic caused production delays, but it isn't the main problem. He told the Journal: "In hindsight, it was masking what ends up being a main driver of higher cost and lag time in production: the monopolizing of fire truck and ambulance manufacturing in the United States. . . . Absent competition, monopoly capitalism is a shakedown.”

With no new competitors in sight, U.S. fire departments have no choice but to order from the three big companies that still make trucks. One of those companies, Rev Group "has created a more standardized vehicle that can be made in less than a year," the Journal reports. "If more fire departments choose this standardized model, said Mike Virnig, a Rev Group executive, it is likely that overall wait times will drop."

Friday, February 14, 2025

Republicans in Congress work to save $1.8 billion in U.S.-grown food aid from the USAID graveyard

Closure of some U.S. food-aid programs
could hurt farmers. (Adobe Stock photo)
Republicans are working to rescue the Food for Peace program from the USAID-closing abyss by moving its oversight to the Department of Agriculture.

"Congressional Republicans from farm states are trying to save a $1.8 billion U.S. food-aid program that purchases U.S.-grown food and is administered by USAID, which has been largely closed by the Trump administration," reports Kristina Peterson of The Wall Street Journal.

The GOP group introduced legislation to save the 70-year-old program that works to combat international hunger by "transferring it to the USDA, which currently funds it but doesn’t run it," Peterson explains. "The bill marks a rare effort from Republicans to defend a federal program targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency." 

The White House hasn’t commented on the bill and "is watching to see how much support there is for it," Peterson adds. "Farm groups, which have worried about the impact of pausing federal funding that flows to farmers, backed the legislation."

The USDA already manages some foreign-aid programs, such as the McGovern-Dole program, which "send U.S.-grown food to schoolchildren in low-income countries," Peterson reports. The USDA hasn't confirmed if its programs will remain open.

New bird flu mutation found in dairy cows worries experts. The variant causes more severe human infections.

Dairy cows have contracted a new
variant of bird flu. (Unsplash photo)
Two people contracted severe bird flu infections from a new H5N1 variant known as D1.1. In one case, the man died; the other person is still in recovery. Experts are concerned about this variant emerging in cattle and what its severity might mean for livestock and humans, reports McKenzie Prillaman at ScienceNews.

“Cattle in Nevada tested positive for the H5N1 viral variant D1.1, which has been circulating in poultry and wild birds.” the Department of Agriculture announced Feb. 5. This recent discovery is the first detection of variant in dairy cattle.

Over the past year, about 1,000 cattle herds in 16 states have contracted H5N1 variant B3.13. Most people who were infected with this version of bird flu have been farmers working with livestock, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been 67 cases in humans so far, with no known transmission between people. 

The emergence of the D1.1 variant poses additional health concerns for cows and people. “Another concern I have is that when we are looking at disease related to [B3.13], this has been by and large mild. But we have seen more severe human illness with the D1.1," according to veterinarian and environmental epidemiologist Meghan Davis of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "I do worry that the clinical presentation in [dairy] workers and other people exposed to the dairy cows or their products could be different and potentially more severe,” 

Davis recommended more surveillance and biosecurity for farms to identify outbreaks among the cattle.

Whole milk consumption shakes up U.S. dairy expectations -- only the second increase since the 1970s

Whole milk sales increased 3.2%
in 2024. (Adobe Stock photo)
After two decades of soy, almond and oat milk sipping away at cow milk dominance, U.S. consumers have turned back to an old staple. "In 2024, U.S. consumption of whole milk rose by 3.2 % — only the second increase since the 1970s," reports Julia Moskin of The New York Times. "Consumption of plant milk fell 5.9%."

U.S. consumers' views about where cow milk fits in -- or doesn't -- in the American diet have vacillated from a nutritional staple to one of many "milk" options. Last year's sales increase marks another shift. Marketing dairy expert John Crawford told the Times, "For dairy milk to be growing at all is surprising, much less by these numbers. . . .This reverses trends that have been in place for decades.”

Consumers choosing whole cow milk again is likely a combination of cultural and nutritional changes. Ten years ago, white cow's milk was considered boring and soy milk was a Starbucks darling. Times have changed. In 2025, a movie scene featuring Nicole Kidman gets an electric "jolt" when Kidman downs a glass of white milk in a cocktail bar. Moskin adds, "Other consumers have taken issue with plant-based milk's long ingredient lists. . . which health-conscious and science-skeptical Americans are learning to avoid."

Some Gen Zers are trying whole milk for the first time, with some taking to social media to share their discovery. "Peggy Xu used to post wide-ranging food content on TikTok, but it was only once she began drinking whole milk on camera that her following took off. . . . She has had to explain [milk] basics to her viewers," Moskin reports. Xu told her, "People were so curious. They don’t know what milk is anymore.”

Q & A: Carnegie Foundation president shares how changes in education could benefit rural students and places

Tim Knowles wants to shift American education in ways that
could help rural communities. (Courtesy photo via the Yonder)
Every president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is asked to cast themselves into the future and make decisions about what will happen in five or even 10 years. For Tim Knowles, the foundation's 10th president, that means rethinking our educational systems and creating ways to develop rural talent and smaller-community success. An edited version of Knowles Q & A with Nick Fourienzos of The Daily Yonder is shared below.

Fouriezos: How do our current systems often miss rural students?
Knowles: Communities consistently prioritize the same core skills: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, curiosity, civic engagement, creativity, and hard work.

Think about a student in rural Iowa who wakes up at 4 a.m., works on the family farm, gets to school on time every day, does their homework, maintains good grades, and holds a weekend job. Those activities aggregated up, are clear signals of persistence. We need to figure out both how to capture that and then make it legible to employers and the post-secondary sector.

Fouriezos: How is Carnegie rethinking its classifications for post-secondary institutions?
Knowles: We’re introducing a new universal classification focused on economic opportunity. For every institution that receives federal money — about 4,000 of them — we’ll look at two main factors: access and earnings outcomes eight years after graduation.

Fouriezos: How will rural education and students be affected?
Knowles: This could particularly benefit rural institutions that serve disproportionate numbers of low-income families. About 25 states already have laws or regulations connected to the Carnegie classifications, and federal departments like NSF, NIH, and NASA use them to direct resources.

This is about making the post-secondary sector a much more vital engine for social and economic mobility. And in rural areas particularly, we need to better recognize and support the unique ways that schools and colleges contribute to their communities.

Fouriezos: Why do you feel like there is more of an appetite for actually changing higher education now, compared to in the past?
Knowles: The cost of higher education is out of reach for millions of Americans. Confidence in higher education is at an all-time low. And there are fewer college-age students in general. . . . You’re also seeing a massive lean toward Career Technical Education, with many conservative states making it more available to more students.

We need to ensure our systems are valuing and measuring the right things. By focusing on [educational] outcomes that matter, and directing public policy and public capital to the places that create genuine opportunity — even if they’re doing it in ways that don’t fit traditional models — the nation can accelerate economic opportunity for everyone.

New research shows rural Americans -- especially men -- have shorter lifespans than their urban counterparts

Rural living can be hardest on men. They can expect to
live two fewer years than urban men. (Adobe Stock photo)
Life in rural America is often idealized as a healthier, more authentic way to live, but the truth for many rural residents is that rural living can be hard enough to shorten life spans.

"Rural Americans – particularly men – are expected to live significantly shorter, less healthy lives than their urban counterparts," write Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, Bryan Tysinger and Jack Chapel for The Conversation. "According to our research, published in the Journal of Rural Health, a 60-year-old man living in a rural area is expected on average to live two fewer years than an urban man. For women, the rural-urban gap is six months."

Rural lifestyles may be plagued with harmful health habits and limited access to medical care. They write, "Rates of smoking, obesity, and chronic conditions are worse among rural populations. These conditions are condemning millions to disability and shortened lives." The steady decline of rural health care facilities and providers has compounded rural health problems, especially for residents with chronic conditions who require consistent care.

"We describe the conditions that drive our results as 'diseases of despair,' building off the now widely used term 'deaths of despair,'" the researchers explain. "But the conditions we study, such as heart disease, could similarly be influenced by social and economic prospects. And they can profoundly reduce quality of life."

Education level was also a determining factor in predicting life expectancy. They add, "We found that if rural education levels were as high as in urban areas, this would eliminate almost half of the rural-urban life-expectancy gap. Our data shows 65% of urban 60-year-olds were educated beyond high school, compared with 53% of rural residents the same age."

Exoskeletons could help farm work efficiency and safety, but many farmers don't know about the benefits.

Exoskeletons could help farmers with demanding tasks.
(Graphic by Adam Dixon, Ambrook Research)
Despite the protection exoskeletons could offer farmers, the shelled apparatuses aren't widely used in agriculture. Farmer education and reduced costs could increase exoskeleton integration into farm-labor practices, reports Alfred Poor for Ambrook Research.

Simply put, exoskeletons are mechanical "devices worn on the body to augment the natural capabilities of a human worker," Poor explains. Some exoskeletons are powered, which means they help increase the force a worker has to do a task, such as overhead lifting. Others have passive power that can energize opposing movements like repetitive bending.

From chucking hay bales to checking calf underbellies for ticks, farmers have a massive amount of physical tasks, which an exoskeleton might help with. The problem is, many farmers don't know about it. Poor explains, "Education may be the biggest barrier to more widespread adoption of exos in agriculture; many farmers simply aren’t aware of the products and their potential benefits."

Cost can be another obstacle. "Even passive exos can be costly, and unlike heavy farm equipment, the manufacturers are not set up to provide payment plans or other terms to ease the financial strain," Poor adds.

Some farmers have discovered exos and use them for a range of tasks. Sarah Ballini-Ross, co-owner of Rossallini Farm in Oregon, told Poor, "A lot of the farm work really involves that repetitive lifting from ground to waist level, so my exo is the first thing I grab when it comes to doing hay. . . . I use my exo when trimming the hooves of our sheep."

Poor reports, "As farmers become more aware of the benefits, as the costs continue to come down, and as manufacturers respond more to the specific needs of agricultural tasks, we can likely expect to see more exos down on the farm."

Fur-ever love between animals that are just wild about each other. Barn owls, eagles, beavers and more mate for life.

Barn owls woo their mate with snacks. 
(Unsplash image)
Barn owls find a mate and fly with them for their entire lifespan. When finding their bird of a feather, males will bring a tasty treat to their mate to win them over. These birds spend extra time on this practice, according to an article by the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It might not be a bad idea to take a page out of the Barn owl's book.

Coyotes, along with many other animals, breed in the winter. Once they find their mate, they stick with them for life, never straying far. “[They work] together to hunt, den and raise their pups each year,” writes the BC SPCA.

When it comes to beavers, the whole family is involved.
(Unspash image)
Beavers mate for life and embrace fortified family units. The BC SPCA wrote that a Beaver couple will live in a den together and raise their offspring, known as kits, together. Their kits will stay with them for two years, learning the way of the world and helping to raise their younger siblings before going out on their own. These beavers sure do love their family.

Canadian geese show love through acts of service. Staying together for life, they take turns with their responsibilities. The BC SPCA wrote, “The male and female take turns with all their parenting duties, including protecting their nest, incubating the eggs, finding food, and co-parent the young goslings.” Experts in parenting, these birds will occasionally help out other families and raise their offspring together, even adopting orphans from time to time.

Bald eagles symbolize their love and strength
through their nest. (Unsplash image)
The bald eagle love story might be the most romantic. These birds can live up to 30 years in the wild and will stay with their mate as long as they both shall live. Each year the couple will fly back to the same nest, continuously building together. The BC SPCA said, “The ever-growing nest is truly the symbol of a strong partnership.”

One set of Magellanic penguins were together for 16 years. An Ocean Conservancy article, written by Marja Diaz, said it was "one of the longest recorded love affairs" between two of these penguins. Diaz wrote that penguins will impress each other with song and dance, and of course they are always dressed to impress. Magellanic penguins will also take turns protecting their eggs and hunting to provide for each other and their young.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Rural health care clinics scrape by or close as the federal funding freeze ripples through community health sector

Bermuda Medical Center, Va., closed over access to funds.
(Photo by Adrienne Hoar McGibbon, Va. Public Media)

With federal funding suddenly unavailable, some rural medical clinics have turned to rescue dollars from private donors, cut services or closed their doors, report Shannon Pettypiece and Bracey Harris of NBC News. "Across the country, health clinics and nonprofit organizations largely serving rural and low-income patients have found themselves unable to access previously allocated federal funds, as a short-lived government funding freeze has continued to disrupt daily operations."

Early last week, the Office of Management and Budget instructed all "federal agencies to temporarily 'pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance' that could conflict with President Donald Trump’s agenda," Pettypiece and Harris explain. "A judge blocked the funding freeze, but organizations say they are still unable to access the money they urgently need to pay for salaries, utilities, supplies and other expenses."

The freeze and continued confusion have left health clinics and nonprofits that rely on federal funds in a lurch. The financial ripple directly impacts rural American's access to health care. They write, "Community Health Centers serve as the primary care home for nearly 10 million rural patients (1 in 5 rural residents). . . . Three Virginia health clinics have shut their doors. And a network of health centers in rural Mississippi is facing a deficit of $500,000 and may have to scale back services."

A spokesperson for HHS "acknowledged that some grant recipients have experienced issues accessing their federal funds and attributed the delays to technical issues the agency’s website has been having," NBC News reports. "HHS is working to 'help expedite resolutions as quickly as possible,' the spokesperson said in a statement."

Farmers are 'on the hook' for millions of dollars in repairs and improvements as promised USDA funds are paused

Many U.S. farmers are waiting to be reimbursed for
out-of-pocket investments. (Photo by Richard Bell, Unsplash)
U.S. farmers are concerned about when and if they will get paid the millions of dollars owed to them by the federal Depaartment of Agriculture, report Daniel Wu, Gaya Gupta and Anumita Kaur of The Washington Post. "Despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals. . . . President Donald Trump ordered the USDA to freeze funds for several programs."

The frozen funds are part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act which helps farmers "address natural resource concerns, and the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides financial assistance for farmers to improve their infrastructure," the Post reports. With their funding paused, farmers are "on the hook" for expenses that range from new crops to fencing to renewable energy builds.

The battle over the frozen funds remains in play even after "a federal judge temporarily halted its implementation," Wu, Gupta and Kaur explain. "But over the weekend, farmers reported that their funding remained frozen — another blow to farmers who are also facing threats of tariffs and freezes to foreign-aid spending that involved food purchased from American producers."

Last week, National Farmers Union President Rob Larew "testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee that the Trump administration’s sweeping decisions on federal funding were creating concern for farmers across the country," the Post reports. Larew said the freeze and extreme changes are increasing farmer hardships in "an already tough farm economy.”

In 2024, the USDA made $3.1 billion available "for climate-smart agriculture activities, according to the department, including grants and loans for initiatives such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Rural Energy for America Program," they write. "The funding freezes have also paused large projects across states."

Some coal plants won't retire as planned, but dependence on the fossil fuel continues to decline

The Dave Johnson Mine in Glenrock, Wyo.  (Wyoming DOQ photo)
Coal's reign as king of American energy is over, but the fossil fuel still supplies about 15% of the U.S. energy grid, with some companies reversing plant retirement plans, report Austyn Gaffney and Mira Rojanasakul of The New York Times. "Utilities have extended the life of nearly a third of coal units with planned retirement dates, either through delays or by reversing course and canceling retirements entirely, between 2017 and today."

The need to power energy-hungry AI and government policy changes may explain some coal's extended life. According to Gaffney and Rojanasakul, "Utilities could be taking advantage of growth in energy demand and changes in environmental regulations to keep these plants operating."

Although recent studies show running and repairing old coal plants is more expensive than the price of building renewable stations, some utilities insist keeping them open is a needed temporary solution. The Times reports, "Utilities argue they need to keep coal units on the grid while they build out new sources of energy. . . . They’ve predicted a 20 percent increase in electricity demand by 2035."

Some energy experts point to renewables' ability to meet increased grid needs. Gaffney and Rojanasakul write, "Renewables could exceed the increase in power demand. . . . Since 2019, U.S. generation from wind and solar exceeded the growth in power demand by almost 100 million megawatt-hours. In 2024, renewables out-generated coal for more than 80% of the year."

As the energy sector diversifies, coal's continued decline seems inevitable. The Times reports, "Even the units that are kept open will continue to decline in capacity as more planned gas, nuclear, and renewables enter the grid. Seth Feaster, a data analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told the Times, "They’ll keep those units open to keep their options open, but it doesn’t mean they’re going to be used very much. . . . They’re just not competitive."

Fentanyl imports saturate U.S. illicit drug market. U.S. tariffs aim to curb its transit as fentanyl continues to kill.

The global drug problem has ended countless lives.
(Unsplash image)
More than 70% of drug overdose deaths are due to opioids, with fentanyl as the main assailant. From August 2023 to 2024, 89,740 people died from overdoses in the United States. This number is 22% less than than the year prior, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projections.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times stronger than other opioids like morphine, heroin or oxycodone. Its main use, as approved by the Food and Drug Administration, is as a pain reliever. Often fentanyl is mixed into other drugs as a cheap way to make them stronger. According to José de Córdoba, Vipal Monga, Julie Wernau and Brian Spegele of the Wall Street Journal, “The drug is cheap to make, provides huge profit margins and is easy to smuggle.”

“President Trump has declared that the illegal transit into the U.S. of migrants and drugs, chiefly fentanyl, is a national emergency, and he has targeted Mexico, Canada and China with tariffs to force them to halt the flow,” reports the Journal.

According to the Journal, Canada responded to the fentanyl problem in 2024, saying that it would invest "$900 million over six years to improve security." China cracked down on the production and sale of fentanyl in 2019, however it continues "to produce the chemical ingredients used to make fentanyl and to sell them to drug producers in Mexico, the U.S. and elsewhere.” Mexico also said that it would increase border security to focus on preventing drugs from crossing the border.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, “whose top security concern is a war between two factions of the Sinaloa cartel, said she asked for Trump’s help in stopping the smuggling of weapons to Mexico that end up in the hands of cartels,” reports the Journal.

Opinion: Answers to rural community struggles can be found in rural America, and solutions need to be shared.

If solutions were broadly shared, more rural places
would flourish. (Photo by Aaron Burden, Unsplash)
Stagnant economic growth and overall decline can plague small-town America, but it doesn't have to be that way, writes Donald W. Macke in his opinion for The Daily Yonder. "Somewhere in rural America, there are answers and solutions to the challenges."

After spending five decades working with "remote, smaller, and distressed rural communities," Macke writes. "I believe the greatest asset for rural prosperity can be found in rural America. . . . Unfortunately, we do a horrible job exchanging this knowledge between innovators and solution creators with those in search of answers to their development questions."

Tiny Ord, Nebraska, has some solutions to share. Macke writes, "In 1999, a small group of leaders in Ord began something special. This small and agriculturally dependent community ravaged by the 1980s Agricultural Crisis, came back rooted in empowering leadership, a commitment to invest, and entrepreneur-focused development. During the following quarter of a century, Ord and its Valley County Region diversified from a two to an eight-sector economy and prosperity." The ways and means Ord deployed to build success could help other communities.

A platform should be built where those in need can connect with rural innovators who have answers. To form that base, the USDA's yearly $5 billion budget for rural development could be leveraged. Macke writes, "What if just 0.1% of this annual funding stream or $20 million was dedicated to supporting learning exchange strategies among rural states and territories, and their communities? A very modest amount that could be leveraged with another $20 million from corporate America, and another $20 million from major foundations creating a $60 million fund."

Macke adds, "Employing the Western Australian model, a government-funded networking and exchange program designed to encourage learning and exchange between communities, could capture innovation and solution learning, create regional and national resource libraries, support video-based exchange programs, and provide grants allowing rural community delegations to actually visit solutions communities. "

Quick hits: Skate this ice path for miles; chiming in on U.S. politics; discover full moon names; the Salton Sea's lure

Ice path on the Warroad River, Minnesota. (Jerry Holt, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

To make winter less depressing, try skating. "A river runs through Hockeytown USA, and you can skate on it for miles," reports Walker Orenstein of The Minnesota Star Tribune. "It's not a wilderness trail, but rather a wonderfully accessible ice path that attracts skilled hockey players and new skaters alike. It’s easy to forget you’re on a river at all."

For Americans tired of standing on the sidelines and watching turbulent news unfold, there are ways to make your voice heard. "No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on — contact your federal or local representatives and let them know how you feel, via social media, texts, emails, or phone calls," writes Barbara Krasnoff of The Verge. "There are several online sites and mobile apps that can help, by letting us who to contact, helping us know what the issues are." Some apps offer scripts to make reaching out less intimidating.
Each month’s full moon marks the changing seasons.
(Photo by Kym MacKinnon, Unsplash)
Snow, sleet, ice and more snow -- winter's chill hangs on into February. The month is typically the Northern Hemisphere's coldest month, and its full moon's name -- the "Snow Moon" reflects its wintry days, reports Jane Alexander for Mental Floss. When March hits, the "Worm Moon" will glow above as a sign that spring is coming. Each month has a full moon with a unique name. "Any of the names we use today come from Native American traditions, though some originated in Europe as well. The monikers correspond with the seasons."

Just as rural problems might be best solved by rural communities, challenges across the country might be best met by average citizens. An Oregon county is giving its residents a trial run at solving homelessness. If successful, their "citizen assembly" model could become a new tool for other places, reports Nick Romeo for The New Yorker. "These gatherings do what most democracies only pretend to: trust normal people to make decisions on difficult policy questions. Many citizens’ assemblies follow a basic template. . . "
Adobe Stock photo


Fire has helped humans reforge the earth for almost a million years, and recent tragic burns serve as a reminder of how fire changes human lives. "In recent years, fires have blasted through cities in Colorado, the southern Appalachians and the island of Maui," writes fire historian Stephen Pyne for The Conversation. "The narrative is the unbroken saga of humanity and fire, a companionship that extends through all our existence as a species. . . . We are creating the fire equivalent of an ice age."

Aerial view of Salton Sea coastline. The sea is both 'fascinating and fetid.' (Adobe Stock photo)

As a curiosity and a place for communal contemplation, the Salton Sea in southern California was "created by the collision of geology and bad luck," writes Dennis Hinkamp for Writers on the Range. "Its salt-encrusted shores circle about 340 square miles of sea. A silo-full of conspiracy theories features the Salton Sea. . . It will likely remain a hiding place for the weird until some real monster beneath the sea emerges, which could be a rush to start mining lithium made by the sea. . . . It’s my refuge, my winter solace away from anxious headlines, and just strange enough to be hospitable."

Friday, February 07, 2025

Fund used to buffer U.S. farmers from tariff wars is dwindling; rural America could face an 'immense fallout'

Rural America could bear the brunt of possible trade wars
with China, Mexico and Canada. (Adobe Stock photo)
As U.S. farmers prepare for spring planting season, federal tariffs and trade wars are among their top income worries. Their concerns are shared by lawmakers who "fear they’ll have to enact billions of dollars in new aid to rescue farmers harmed by President Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars with China, Canada, and Mexico, reports Meredith Lee Hill of Politico. "The fund Trump tapped to send farmers $28 billion in 2018 is now dwindling."

During Trump's first-term tariff duel with China, his administration used the Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation to send relief checks to farmers; however, the CCC's available funds are low. Hill writes, "After upcoming payments are made, there will only be an estimated $4 billion left for the Trump administration to spend on any fallout from his newest trade battle."

The newest round of tariffs include a 10% tariff on Chinese imports imposed this week, which will ultimately make purchasing farm equipment more expensive. Canada and Mexico garnered a pause on a 25% import tariff Trump threatened, but that levy is still possible. Hill explains, "Farmers are warning that their products will be harder to sell if the three countries retaliate with their own tariffs."

When the CCC was flush with funding, giving farmer bailout checks was a simpler process. This year is different. "Replenishing [the CCC] could become another sticking point in the bipartisan spending talks happening ahead of a potential mid-March government shutdown," Hill explains. "With farm-state Republicans expecting federal help from the fund to offset any trade-war impacts on their constituents, Democrats could make their own steep demands in exchange."

With the Trump administration targeting the country's three largest agricultural trading partners, farmers could face the harshest consequences. "Among those raising alarms is the American Farm Bureau Federation, which this weekend detailed the immense fallout for rural America should the trade wars proceed," Hill reports. "New levies 'may inadvertently create financial hardships for U.S. farmers and ranchers who are already operating on very thin or negative margins,' the group’s president and long-time Trump ally Zippy Duvall wrote to the president."

The battle for egg farmers is stressful and riddled with uncertainty. They are 'begging for a new approach.'

Egg farmers and their employees suffer when flocks
of their hens have to be culled. (Adobe Stock photo)

When bird flu sweeps through a chicken farm, its aftermath is sadness, stress and death. The extreme losses have some U.S. egg farmers wondering if they will ever recover.

"Greg Herbruck knew 6.5 million of his birds needed to die, and fast," reports Kate Wells of NPR. "The CEO of Herbruck's Poultry Ranch wasn't sure how the third-generation family egg producer (one of the largest in the U.S.) was going to get through this round of avian flu, financially or emotionally."

As a preventative measure to protect their flocks from avian flu infections, U.S. egg farms have invested "millions of dollars into biosecurity. Employees shower in and shower out, before they start working and after their shifts ends," Wells explains. "But none of that has been enough to contain the outbreak that started three years ago."

Unlike the U.S. bird flu outbreak in 2014-2015, this version of bird flu has proven impossible to contain. "It's so entrenched in the global environment, spilling into mammals such as dairy cows, and affecting 147 million birds in commercial and backyard flocks in the U.S.," Wells reports. "Egg producers and the American Egg Board are begging for a new approach."

Herbruck described the "virus as a terrorist," Wells adds. "Ten months after Herbruck's Poultry Ranch was hit, the company is still rebuilding its flocks. . . . Still, he and his counterparts in the industry live in fear, watching other farms get hit two, even three times in the last few years." Herbruck told Wells, "We are in a battle and losing, at the moment."

Vaccinating birds is a solution being used in China, Egypt and France. Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, told Wells, "All the measures we're doing are still getting beat by this virus." Wells reports, "At this point, Metz argued, the industry can't afford not to try vaccination, which has helped eradicate diseases in poultry before."

U.S. has about 60 venison donation programs in 42 states that help to feed hungry Americans

Kip Padgelek loads 828 pounds of packaged venison for a
local food bank. (Photo by Randy Ferguson/HSH via the Yonder)

Ending hunger for many rural Americans can begin with connecting hunters with those in need. "Deer venison donation programs provide food-insecure Americans with tens of millions of pounds of meat every year," reports Katie Hill of The Daily Yonder. "And it’s their relationship with hunters, butchers, and food banks that make it possible."

For smaller communities with residents who often struggle with food insecurity, deer meat is a solution that provides sustenance and connection. Hill explains, "In states like Pennsylvania, Texas, and Illinois, where the urban-rural divide seems to deepen with every passing election cycle, venison becomes something of a bridge — a show of communal care passed from hunters to their neighbors in need, near and far."

Getting a harvested deer onto the table of those needs requires the donating hunter to find a butcher to process the meat. That's when businesses such as Kip's Deer Processing in Pennsylvania lend their expertise and hard work. Hill adds, "Kip's is one of roughly 100 independent processors from across the state who do the messy, tiresome work of turning donated deer into ground meat."

Butchers are paid for their work through the state's Hunters Sharing Harvest program, which "compensates participating butchers with money that comes partially from corporate sponsors and non-profit partners of HSH and partially through the Department of Agriculture's Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture."

A carve-out within the TEFAP law is foundational for many venison donation programs across the U.S. The allowance provides "funding to be spent on 'intrastate and interstate transport, storing, handling, repackaging, processing, and distribution of foods (including donated wild game)' and other commodity proteins." Currently, there are almost 60 venison donation programs in 42 states. 

Beachcombers find their treasure in washed-up items from the sea. Items include rubber ducks and diamond rings.

Man looks out over the shoreline. (Unsplash photo)
One man's trash is another's treasure and John Anderson’s trove is filled with items he has found along the Washington coastline.

Beachcombing for the majority of his life, “[Anderson] has curated 46 years’ of pickings in John’s Beachcombing Museum, a two-level warehouse on his Forks property (open summers only) that memorializes a family pastime he has taken to the extreme,” reports Elliott Almond at The Seattle Times.

Every time a ship goes down or a container goes overboard, its contents have to end up somewhere. Many things lost at sea eventually make their way to the Pacific coastline, carried by currents and in this case the North Pacific subtropical gyre, which according to Almond, is a vast circular system of ocean currents.

“The sandy, rocky outposts are a beachcomber’s paradise because the marine mosaic creates a natural seine to trap whatever happens to float past,” Almond said.

Some of the items spilled at sea include 28,800 bath toys and rubber ducks, 34,000 ice hockey gloves and 61,000 pairs of Nikes. Beachcombers found some of these items, as well as six diamond rings found by kids on a school trip, an 1896 silver dollar, the center spinner cone from a Boeing 747 jet engine, and remnants from tsunamis that hit Japan.

Deacon Ritterbush, who authored a book about beachcombing, told Almond, “It [beachcombing] is a portal to everything wonderful in life… It costs nothing, and you wear junk clothes. You’re just slopping it in nature.”

Beachcombing Washington’s 2,337 mile coastline isn’t always fun and games. Almond reports that Anderson has sustained multiple injuries trekking to and from the coast with his pack of treasures.

Anderson told Almond, “People always ask, ‘How many miles do you walk?’... I don’t count miles. I count two rebuilt ankles, two new hips and a back surgery.” 

Southern states spend millions on new clinics to serve rural residents. It's one way to avoid federal Medicaid expansion.

Clemson Rural Health serves rural Walhalla, S.C.
(Clemson University photo via KFF Health News)

Southern states made rural health a focus, but the sector's trendiness hasn't translated into Medicaid expansion plans. "State lawmakers nationwide are spending millions of dollars to address a rural health care crisis long in the making," reports Lauren Sausser of KFF Health News. For more than a decade most Southern states have refused billions in federal funds that would provide public health insurance coverage to more low-income adults."

Among the 10 states that refused Medicaid expansion, some have developed their own approaches to addressing rural health disparities with state dollars. Clemson Rural Health in South Carolina is a small primary care clinic run by Clemson University that "attempts to fill [rural health care] gaps by providing primary care. . .for uninsured patients free of charge or at reduced rates," Sausser explains. Clemson's clinic receives the largest part of its funding from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Jonathan Oberlander, a professor and health policy scholar at the University of North Carolina, said "he doesn’t expect to see any of the remaining states rushing to fully expand Medicaid," Sausser writes. "Oberlander said conservative lawmakers often consider projects such as building new rural clinics more politically palatable than expanding Medicaid coverage."

Other southern states have followed suit. "The University of Georgia established a new medical school, partly to send more physicians into underserved and rural areas," Sausser adds. "The Georgia General Assembly kicked in half the cost of a new $100 million building for medical education and research in Athens. . . .The Tennessee General Assembly passed a budget last year that included $81 million for a variety of rural health initiatives." 

Making money off of money can be done at many banks, but they don't have to disclose better deals

Banks don't owe consumers their best
deals. (Adobe Stock photo)
Americans who choose banks with higher savings interest rates can make more money with little work; however, some U.S. banks hope consumers are too confused or hassled to bother making a switch.

"For the last few years, anyone keeping $10,000 in a high-yield savings account has earned close to 4% annual interest, or about $400 a year," reports Ben Blatt of The New York Times. "The nation’s three largest banks — Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo — offer 0.01% on their standard savings accounts. That works out to $1 in interest a year for a $10,000 deposit."

Sometimes banks offer additional perks to make up for their abysmal rates, but most believe "their customers won’t hunt for better deals out of inertia," Blatt explains. "Banks know their customers are generally not attentive to account details. A study commissioned by Capital One found that many people check their savings account less than once a month, and about half don’t know what interest they are earning."

While it may sound unethical, banks "have no fiduciary duty in many cases and can profit from customers’ confusion," Blatt reports. "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said one bank, Capital One, went too far by intentionally creating confusion so that customers wouldn’t know to switch to a higher-paying account at the same bank."

While sowing confusion may be wrong, part of a bank's purpose is to make money. Scott Pearson, a lawyer who represents banks in regulatory matters, told Blatt, “I don’t know why anyone would think that it’s the bank’s job to tell you that you can get a better deal somewhere else or that they’ll give you a better deal. That is just kind of a shocking and unprecedented theory in my view.”

Coyotes can be friends, foe and sometimes just pests. They kill smaller vermin, but they can kill pets or livestock, too.

Coyotes aren't very aggressive, but they are still predators.
(Unsplash photo)
Coyotes have “increased their range more than 40% since the 1950s” and made their way North, East, South, West, onto farms and into your backyard, Whitney McKnight reported for The Edge.

Due to the extinction of wolves and mountain lions, and the near extinction of black bears in Kentucky, smaller predators have taken their place at the top of the food chain, including coyotes, foxes and bobcats.

“Coyotes are partially filling the niche wolves did in the state about 150 years ago,” John Cox, a University of Kentucky associate professor and wildlife management and conservation expert, told McKnight.

Even though they are considered pests, Cox said, “coyotes are good farm inhabitants, given that because of their flexible diet, they can clear a farm of voles, mice, and rats, even if they might also occasionally help themselves to the chickens.”

According to an Oregon State University study, due to coyotes' territorialism and their diet, they can also be beneficial for keeping away other predators. They can make unintentional guards for flocks of sheep, and farmers should consider letting them settle in that area.

While they aren’t often aggressive or bold predators, winter is coyote breeding season and sightings might become more frequent this time of year. McKnight said she has been seeing increased warnings on social media about keeping an eye on small pets and children.

Oftentimes if you see a coyote it is just because they are curious about you. If you do happen to have an encounter, it is important to remember that coyotes are predatory creatures and not to run from them or approach them, as advised by Kentucky wildlife management officials.

Tuesday, February 04, 2025

Mexico and Canada have a 30-day pause on import tariffs. Delayed levies may hit farmers and rural communities first.

The outcome from U.S. tariffs is uncertain.
(Adobe Stock photo)

With last-minute maneuvering, Canada and Mexico avoided stiff import tariffs threatened by the Trump administration, report David Alire Garcia, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Ljunggren of Reuters. In return for a 30-day tariff suspension, "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to bolster border enforcement efforts in response to (President) Trump's demand to crack down on immigration and drug smuggling."

Even with the one-month pause, American consumers may still face higher prices and U.S. farmers remain concerned, reports Joshua Baethge of Farm Progress. Trump says the tariffs are "necessary to combat illegal drugs coming into the country and related criminal activity."

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall expressed alarm over the "potential harm to farmers resulting from tariffs," Baethge reports. "While careful to say that Farm Bureau members support the goals of security and free trade, he says experience shows farmers and rural communities will bear the brunt of the expected economic consequences."

Some lawmakers voiced concern that slapping tariffs on two of America's biggest agricultural trading partners will make everything, especially groceries, more expensive. However, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., says Trump’s "tariff policy has 'been an effective tool' in leveling the global playing field and ensuring fair trade for American producers," Baethge explains. "Still, not all Republicans were on board with the president’s plan."

House Agriculture Committee ranking member Angie Craig, D-Minn., noted that "tariffs imposed during the first Trump administration increased costs for farmers and consumers," Baethge reports. Craig pointed to high input costs U.S. farmers already face and the number of Americans struggling to afford groceries as reasons she opposed the tariffs.

Postal Service watchdog finds 'little convincing evidence' reforms will help; instead, plans will hurt rural communities

Despite its struggles, 72% of Americans see
the USPS favorably. (Adobe Stock photo)

The United States Postal Service is hemorrhaging money while struggling to complete its basic mission of delivering mail to American citizens.

An advisory review by the Postal Regulatory Commission found that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 'Delivering for America' plan "offers ‘little convincing evidence’ its reform plans will succeed," reports Eric Katz of Government Executive. PRC said planned USPS reforms could negatively impact rural service areas.

In its review, PRC "examined two parts of DeJoy’s plan: its Regional Transportation Optimization initiative, which requires mail to sit overnight at post offices instead of being collected each evening for transportation to a processing center, and its processing plant consolidations that will result in the 60 regional processing distribution centers," Katz explains. PRC regulators said the initiatives lacked planning and were unlikely to streamline work, increase efficiency and produce impactful savings.

Regulators noted how the USPS was "glossing over how much more significantly rural communities would feel the impacts of the changes," Katz reports. "Some populations will not receive First-Class mail pieces for six or more days, it said. Those impacts may render the reforms in violation of the law, the commission added."

USPS has not responded to PRC's recommendations; however, DeJoy "previously promised to lawmakers he would take the PRC’s opinion seriously and tweak his plan as he saw fit," Katz writes. "PRC made more than three dozen recommendations for updating DeJoy’s reforms. . . . Postal management also recently announced lower on-time delivery targets for 2025."

Three ways the new administration could help rural America meet its challenges

Helping younger farmers helps local land stay
locally owned. (Abobe Stock photo)
Seeking a voice and change small-town America needs, many rural voters rallied for President Donald Trump to return to the White House. Now that he's back in the Oval Office, there are three ways his administration could work with Congress to help rural America face its challenges, write Randolph Hubach and Cody Mullen for The Conversation.

Health care is a good place to start.
Rural Americans are more likely to receive Medicaid or Medicare health care coverage and more vulnerable to negative impacts from policy or funding changes. "Funding from those federal programs affects rural hospitals, and rural hospitals are struggling," Hubach and Mullen explain. "Nearly half of rural hospitals operate in the red today, and over 170 rural hospitals have closed since 2010."

They recommend government funding continue for the Low-volume Hospital Adjustment Act and the rural emergency hospital model because both programs address rural health care providers' financial needs. Additional support and expansion of rural telehealth services is also needed.

Help small towns address affordable housing.
Like much of the country, rural communities lack affordable housing. To help small towns create housing solutions, the new administration should support the "bipartisan Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which calls for creating a new federal tax credit to spur the development and renovation of family housing in distressed urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods," Hubach and Mullen add. "The Section 502 Direct Loan Program through the Department of Agriculture could be expanded with additional funding to enable more people to receive subsidized mortgages."

Keep local lands locally owned.
Rural businesses and landowners tend to care about the communities they call home. Congress could support rural land ownership through the "proposed Farm Transitions Act [that] would establish a commission on farm transitions to study issues that affect locally owned farms and provide recommendations to help transition agricultural operations to the next generation of farmers and ranchers," Hubach and Mullen add.

The Trump administration also could continue assistance for young farmers. "About 30% of farmers have been in business for less than 10 years, and many of them rent the land they farm," they write. "Programs such as USDA’s farm loan programs and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program help support local land purchases and could be improved to identify and eliminate barriers that communities face."