2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest is taking submissions now through Sept. 15

It's time for authors to rev up their imaginations, seize their writing tools, and prepare to transport their readers to a story of rural making.

The Milk House and The Daily Yonder have opened submissions for their 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest and invite authors from anywhere to enter their short stories or essays.

Authors can submit fiction or nonfiction stories limited to 7,000 words for $10 each. 

Deadline is Sept. 15. Read all the details and submit here. 

The overall winner of the Best in Rural Writing Contest will receive $500, and the second-place author will receive $200. 

Some fine print: Contest submissions may be previously published (as long as it was not published before January 2024), and will also be read within 2 to 3 months of submitting with an eye toward publication on the site, as well as the forthcoming "2026 Best in Rural Writing" print anthology. 

Bit of guidance: Submissions should, in some way, be connected to "the rural.” The manner and extent to which this is done is open to the author and not necessarily limited to rural characters or rural topics.

Without federal funding, humanities programs have an uncertain future. Rural places will feel the loss first.

A revitalized high school library funded by Humanities
Montana. (Humanities Montana photo via the Yonder)

Many rural states that depend on money from the National Endowment for the Arts to fund humanities programs have had those dollars cut by the Department of Government Efficiency, reports Nhatt Nichols for The Daily Yonder. The immediate loss of federal money has left communities in some of the most sparely populated parts of the country seeking private donor support, which adds another layer to their challenges.

Humanities Montana is one example of a statewide arts initiative facing the complete loss of NEH support. The program "is one of 56 regional humanities organizations that bring humanities programs to underresourced communities including in rural areas," Nichols writes. "In 2024, over 17,000 people attended a Humanities Montana program, with more than half residing in a rural county."

Montana isn't the only one. "In Alaska, a note on their program’s website states, 'Late on the night of April 2, the Alaska Humanities Forum received a letter from DOGE officials informing them that their NEH operating grant approved by Congress had been illegally terminated effective immediately,'" Nichols reports. "Wisconsin Humanities also has an announcement on its website, noting that 'the loss of NEH funding will likely result in Wisconsin Humanities closing its doors soon.'"

Finding donors within smaller communities will be an ongoing challenge for Humanities Montana. Nichols adds, "The NEH funding provided most of their operating budget; in 2023, the NEH made up 80.9% of their $1,011,229 budget."

Money isn't the only concern. The director of Humanities Montana, Jill Baker, told Nichols, "Our mission is to bring untold stories that can help bring people together and find the humanity in one another. At this moment, that’s a real challenge in and of itself. My worry is that without the public humanities, our divides will grow, we’ll have less opportunities to gather together and have simple civic conversations, to learn from one another.”

Growing up on a junkyard helped this sculpture artist learn how to 'find beauty in the overlooked'

Book cover jacket of Jeffie Brewer's newly released book Joy Machine  (K.Co Press graphic)

Growing up on a junkyard may sound depressing, but for Jeffrey or "Jeffie" Brewer, an East Texas native sculpture artist, his childhood days living among discarded things helped him develop his quirky, playful artistic style. He shares some of his artistic wisdom and childhood experiences with Olivia Weeks of The Daily Yonder. A condensed version of their Q&A is shared below.

Weeks: Tell me about yourself — who are you, what do you do, and where do you live?

Brewer: I’m just an artist specializing in colorful, silly, sometimes thoughtful sculptures that bring a touch of playfulness to public spaces, private homes, galleries, and museums. I live and work in East Texas, where I make things out of metal, often inspired by my childhood, the natural world, and whatever is rattling around in my brain at any given moment.

Weeks: Can you tell me about your town, Nacogdoches, and maybe a little about East Texas in general?

Brewer: Nacogdoches and East Texas in general have a character all their own – there’s something deeply rooted, raw, and nostalgic about the place. It’s home to lush, dense forests, rolling fields that stretch endlessly, and a lot of Texas history. The area has a quiet charm that speaks to a slower way of life, full of folks who are deeply connected to this place. . . . At my core, I am a redneck, with a thin veneer of culture and worldliness.

Weeks: In your book, Joy Machine, you write about growing up on a junkyard, and about how formative it was to your work. What were those early artistic explorations like? Did they all start with other people’s junk?

Jeffie Brewer's art brings a sense of playfulness into spaces.
(Photo by David Kimling via The Daily Yonder)

Brewer: Growing up in the junkyard taught me to find beauty in the overlooked, to take pieces from the past and either repurpose them or simply collect them. It was more a place for learning about industrial tools and working with my hands than a place for making art, per se. . . . The junkyard offered a space to destroy and rebuild, almost like a lens to see the world through. It gave me skills and memories that would later shape my understanding of what art could and would be.

Weeks: You seem to have always been into monsters and animals and creatures of all kinds — I’m thinking of your lovely 'Burds.' Where does that come from? And what’s your relationship like to the characters? Do they have personalities to you?

Brewer: Animals, creatures, and whimsical shapes have always fascinated me – they offer such freedom for imagination. 'Burds,' and other characters, let me play with personality, form, and storytelling. I see each creature as having its own charm and quirks, and in many ways, they become real to me, carrying a personality as I work on them.

Jeffie Brewer's book, Joy Machine, was released this month from K.Co Press.

Quick hits: Wayne County murals showcase 'Walldogs'; a Midwestern state of mind; the eclipse capital is in Illinois

Willie Nelson singing at the first Farm Aid concert in 1985.
(Wayne Walldogs photo via Successful Farming)

Murals in Wayne County, Iowa, stand as a testament to the region's dynamic and resilient history. "Wayne County, a part of the Mormon Trail, where Brigham Young led his followers from Illinois to Utah in 1846, is also known for its excellent hunting opportunities, large Amish community, and well-appointed historical museum," reports Lisa Prater Froust of Successful Farming. "Last year, these historical events and figures were vividly brought to life in 16 murals painted during the five-day Wayne County Walldogs Festival." Not sure what 'walldog' is? Click here.

The Midwestern United States 
(Wikipedia map, from Census Bureau data)

Think you're a Midwesterner? For most residents, the answer depends on geography, but some people have other ideas. "Everyone knows places such as Ohio and Minnesota are solidly in the Midwest. But a recent poll finds that the Midwest is more a state of mind than just a place you can point to on a map," report Ben Kesling and Jennifer Levitz of The Wall Street Journal. "People from Colorado (42%), Oklahoma (66%) and even Wyoming (54%) think they live in the Midwest. . . . Some locals are baffled: 'Who ARE you people?'"

Pluto was demoted to one of dozens of dwarf
planets. (NASA photo via Nat Geo)

In 1930, a farm boy turned astronomer from Streator, Illinois, Clyde William Tombaug, discovered Pluto, which was designated our solar system's ninth planet, but then in 2006, Pluto got demoted. "Mike Brown, CalTech professor of astronomy and author of How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming, crashed the party and took away Pluto's planetary classification," reports Eric Alt of National Geographic. "Ever since the worlds of science and pop culture have debated Pluto's fate. . . . the matter seems far from settled."

Some news sources say the U.S. economy is recovering from the dark days of the pandemic, with most measures reporting a healthy rebound despite inflation's hold on grocery and housing costs. That's one picture. Talk to a local pawnbroker, and you'll hear a different report. "Accumulating pawnshop inventory means fewer buyers than sellers – a sign that for the lowest-income Americans, times remain tough," reports Lauren Villagran of USA Today. "Some Americans – people with retirement plans, savings and stock holdings – may gripe about inflation and the economy, but they're doing all right. Others are surviving pawn to pawn."

Location of Mikanda in Jackson
County, Illinois. (Wikipedia map)

 

The U.S. eclipse capital is the unassuming southern Illinois town of Mikanda, Illinois, pop. 500. It has been "blessed by the cosmos for the second time in under 10 years," reports Hunter Bassler of KSDK in St. Louis, Missouri. "Mikanda is the exact intersection for both the 2017 and 2024 eclipses, an astronomical wonder that rarely ever happens in such a short time span, according to NASA. . . . Village officials are preparing for bigger crowds this year."

Rainbow over Cheesebox Butte. Cheesebox Canyon is a popular Bear Ears hiking trail.
(Photo by Stephen Trimble, Writers on the Range)

Without knowing the region's history, Bear Ears National Monument evokes thoughts of strength, softness, and beauty. Dive deeper into the story of this 1.36 million-acre site in southeast Utah, and a timeline of battles, historical power dynamics and unresolved conflict emerges. "The political tussle over this stunning expanse of red rock canyons exemplifies all the cultural dissonance in the rural West," writes Stephen Trimble in his opinion for Writers on the Range. "White residents never envisioned challenges to their political power. But in 2009, the feds came down hard on generations of casual pothunting by local white families. Then, after a century of oppressing their Indigenous neighbors, lawsuits strengthened Native voting rights."

The world is full of lonely people -- part of the antidote is changing how people react to this universal emotion

Loneliness is a human experience and an internal
message. (Photo by Kristina Tripkovic, Unsplash)

Being lonely has become so widespread that globally, one in four adults report feeling sad and alone. Medically, continued loneliness can take a severe toll on people's health, yet "pangs of loneliness aren't catastrophic. In fact, they're nearly universal. What's critical is how people respond to these feelings when they arise," reports Allison Aubrey of NPR. Commenting on the best way to respond to feeling lonely, Dr. Jeremy Nobel, a primary care physician and author of the new book Project UnLonely, told Aubrey, "Just like thirst is a signal you need hydration, loneliness is a signal that you need human connection."

Nobel's book creates a path to "using creative expression as a means to communicate," Aubrey writes. "When there's not a prescribed way to 'belong,' finding connection can be tough. Many people are hesitant to put themselves out there, or they have a hard time communicating what's on their minds. 'This is where the arts can be very powerful because they act as a catalyst to make it easier,' Nobel says. . . . Drawing a picture may seem like a solitary act, but it can be a bridge to connection, a way to express what's on your mind."

Viewing or creating art can improve mood.
(Photo by Jill Dimond, Unsplash)

Nobel has long believed in creative expression as a natural partner to medicinal treatment. "Some of his earliest work was with active-duty service members and veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress," Aubrey explains. "They gathered in small groups to engage in artistic expression and mindfulness activities." Nobel told her, "People began telling us that not only were they less stressed out, but they felt more connected to each other, something I later realized was addressing a certain kind of loneliness."

From culinary arts to poetry to gardening, there are ways humans can use curiosity and creative discovery as a way to connect. "Project UnLonely now partners with community-based organizations to develop evidence-based creative expression programs, which can include music, painting, drawing and beyond," Aubrey adds. "Research shows making art or even viewing the work of other people reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol. It also increases levels of the feel-good hormones, including dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin."

While it's hard for loneliness to prevail in the face of curiosity and encouragement, people may struggle to get started. Click here for five ideas that will help overcome those fears.

Quick hits: Rural towns wave the flag; fresh charcuterie; farmers and mental health; hauling stuff; eating seeds . . .

Successful Farming photo

Rural towns have beauty, diversity and a lot of national pride. "Rural areas wave the flag proudly all year, but the colors shine extra brightly around Memorial Day, Flag Day, the Fourth of July, and Veterans Day," Jessie Scott of Successful Farming reminds us. "Sixteen percent of the U.S. population is from rural America, yet 40% of the U.S. military is from those same rural communities. . . . They have a deep love of the flag. . . . Rural residents will find any excuse to proudly display the flag. Wrapping up harvest is certainly one of them."

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Summer is a time for snacking on all sorts of garden treats, from crisp carrots to zippy jalapenos; add cheese bites, summer sausage, and ta-da! You have the beginnings of a charcuterie board. Reminiscent of coffee parties and fondue parties, "charcuterie (pronounced 'shar-koo-tree') boards have caught my eye in recent years. This is another example of an old way of serving that has been adapted for modern times," writes Julie Garden-Robinson of AgWeekly. Here are simple steps to build your own.

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Farmers can't control the rain or shine, but can help each other weather the stresses of living off the land. "Today's farmers are dealing with increased stress, risk of suicide, and other mental health concerns," reports Allee Mead of the Rural Health Information Hub. "However, experts who work with farmers and farmworkers are seeing increased interest in mental health programming and decreased stigma around mental health, which may make it easier for healthcare providers to provide the care that farmers need." Alongside this increase in openness is more programming to support the interest.

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Life can feel cluttered. It also can be filled with clutter. Items we intend to give, pack or put away, but never quite find the time. Consider repurposing those cluttering corners. Is there a donation place for those still-wrapped sheets? The Fence Post columnist Peggy Sanders looks at how clutter might have more purpose than we give it credit for. We might want to take it more seriously.

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Kayaks loaded for a 250 mile trip on (mostly) two-lane
roads. (Photo by Donna Kallner, The Daily Yonder)

Summer and early fall are full of packing, hauling and moving. Whether it's hay to a horse farm, pies to the county fair or 4-H fair, or finally getting to take that kayaking trip, rural America is busy with loads, writes Donna Kallner for The Daily Yonder. "Back when my husband and I sold canoes and kayaks, we heard all the standard lines used by people hauling stuff: My favorite is I'm not going far, followed closely by I'll keep it under 100. So we taught lots of impromptu lessons on how to tie down a load. And most people were grateful. We learned some lessons, too – like to back away slowly when you hear I thought YOU checked it. That marriage ended in our parking lot."

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Seeds are crunchy, nutritious and easy-to-pack snacks, but not all seeds are created equal. See how experts rank the top edible seeds.

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Commandy in her new studio
(Photo by Jamie Larson, Rural Intelligence)

Consider the life of ceramicist Ramah Commanday, whose life as a Napa Valley artist underwent an extreme transformation. She was "dramatically reforged by the intensity of California wildfires," reports Jamie Larson for Rural Intelligence., a mostly online publication for rural areas west of the Hudson River. "Now resettled into her new home and studio in Germantown, the 72-year-old climate refugee saw her home, studio, and decades of creative output destroyed by the Glass Fire of September 26, 2020 – named for Glass Mountain, which she used to see out her former bedroom window. After the fire, as she sifted through the wreckage of her home, she says she felt like an archeologist, unearthing the artifacts of her own life."

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Planning to dig? Call 811 first. "The consequences of cutting buried utility lines can be high. That's not just in the cost of repairs and fines. . . . There's also the risk of injury," Kallnet reports Donna Kallner for the Yonder. "We call Diggers Hotline to get lines marked before digging. . . . Every state has an equivalent service you can call to mark the location of buried utility lines. You can find your state's info online or call 811. After you place your request, workers come to mark the approximate location of buried utilities."

Bluegrass-music innovator Bobby Osborne dies at 91, little more than a month after last Grand Ole Opry appearance

Osborne in 2017, the year of his last album
(Photo by Larry McCormack, The Tennessean)

Bobby Osborne, the older but persisting half of a duo that brought innovation to bluegrass music, helping it keep a commercial foothold, died Tuesday. He was 91.

"Osborne may be best known for cutting 'Rocky Top' with his longtime brother-bandmate Sonny Osborne, but his mandolin playing and familiar tenor vocal stretched far beyond the licks of a Tennessee state song," Matthew Leimkuehler reports for the Nashville Tennessean. "The brothers built a legacy that led to a White House performance and Country Music Association Award win. At the height of popularity, they bridged a space between country and bluegrass music, receiving radio play and adopting amplified instruments on concert bills — a rarity among string bands at the time."

The New York Times' Bill Friskics-Warren writes, "Employing a wider repertoire than the Appalachian wellspring from which most of their peers drew, the Osbornes also worked with a more expansive musical palette, embracing country, pop and rock material associated with the likes of Ernest Tubb, Randy Newman and the Everly Brothers. . . . They built a bridge between first-generation bluegrass royalty like Bill Monroe and the duo of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and intrepid latter-day inheritors like New Grass Revival and Alison Krauss. . . . Osborne earned a reputation as one of the first bluegrass mandolin players to expand the instrument’s vocabulary beyond what Monroe, the father of bluegrass, had established early on."

Sonny Osborne retired in 2005, and died in October 2021 at 83, but his brother was still performing and teaching when he told Steve Hensley of WYMT-TV in Hazard, Ky., near their native Leslie County, in May 2022, "I was born to do it, and I ain’t going to quit." He "took his final Opry bow on May 19, 2023, nearly 60 years after being asked to join," Leimhuehler reports.

"The Osborne Brothers premiered in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1953 and became the first bluegrass group to appear on a college campus with their 1960 performance at Antioch College," WYMT reports. Their use of drums and electric instruments rankled bluegrass purists, but their commercial success held sway. They got "Rocky Top" from prolific writers Boudleaux and Felice Bryant and made it the B side of a December 1967 single, but WSM DJ Ralph Emery flipped the disc and made it a hit. Five years later, it was the signature tune of the University of Tennessee marching band. The brothers would open and close shows with it, and after Sonny retired, Bobby's band was named the Rocky Top X-press.

'Radically Rural' event in Keene, N.H., Sept. 27-28 wil be all in-person, with 7 tracks including journalism, with 3 sessions

"Radically Rural," the six-year-old community-development conference co-sponsored by The Keene Sentinel, will be full in person this year, without an online component.

This year's theme is “Reimaging Rural,” which “doesn’t always mean something that’s never been done, because sometimes progress includes reaching back to what’s been done before,” Julianna Dodson, director of Radically Rural, said in the Sentinel. “It’s sort of a prompt to help us rethink in new ways.”

The summit, set for Sept. 27-28, is a series of programs co-sponsored by Keene’s Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship. The opening speaker will be Tony Pipa, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development and leader of the nonprofit’s Reimagining Rural Policy initiative, which launched in 2020. He will discuss rural issues with people who have appeatred on his none-episode podcast. The second day will open with Chris Estes, co-executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group, who will talk about “a more cohesive strategy” in community development, Dodson said.

Radically Rural has seven tracks: arts and culture, clean energy, community journalism, entrepreneurship, All in for Health, land and community, and Main Street. The journalism track will be have three sessions: “Building Sustainability,” “Generating Audience Revenue” and “How Do They Do That?: Groundbreaking Journalism,” The first session will include Taos News Publisher Chris Baker, Joey Young of Kansas Publishing Ventures and Tristan Scott, managing editor of the Flathead Beacon in Kalispell, Mont., which dropped its print edition in April.

Shay Totten, newsroom-success manager for the American Press Institute, will moderate the audience-development session, with Arik Ligeti, director of audience for Canadian environmental magazine The Narwhal, and Christiaan Mader, founder of The Current in Lafayette, La., “These are organizations that have grown their subscriber base and their donor base over time,” said Terry Williams, the Sentinel’s senior advisor for audience and community engagement and its former president and chef operating officer

The third journalism session will be “a deep dive into how … journalists have reported on powerful stories” affecting their rural communities, Williams said. They are North Carolina freelance journalist Victoria Bouloubasis; Adam Ganucheau, editor-in-chief of Mississippi Today; and Samantha Hogan, investigative reporter for The Maine Monitor.

Tickets for the event are on sale, with prices based on a sliding scale using the honor system. A limited number of free tickets are also available for low-income people interested in attending. MOre information is available at www.radicallyrural.org.

Rural challenges show repeated concerns and a glimmer of optimism by residents, a new survey indicates

Chart by The Daily Yonder from Save Your Town 2023 survey results

How do you feel about the future of your rural town? "Since 2015, two women, Becky McCray and Deb Brown, have been surveying rural communities on how they view their area's problems and future," reports Kristi Eaton of The Daily Yonder. The pair created Save Your Town, an Oklahoma-Mississippi-based effort that helps towns find affordable ways to address local problems.

Often survey results do not follow preconceived ideas, and 2023 results followed that pattern. Pollster Celinda Lake told Eaton, "Rural people were twice as likely to say they were optimistic about their community's future as were negative about their community's future. I was very happy to see how optimistic people were." Lake said she was "really pleased and surprised" to see events, education, tourism and arts and culture listed as top community assets.

The survey was taken online from Nov. 11 to Jan. 31 and got 315 responses from subscribers and visitors to SaveYour.Town and SmallBizSurvival.com, from news-media coverage and cooperating groups that publicized the survey. "Survey participation is voluntary and self-selected, not based on scientific polling methods, but the online survey does offer a range of responses from people who identify as rural," Eaton points out. "The self-selected participants were more optimistic about the economy than people who participated in the Daily Yonder’s 2022 scientific, randomized poll of rural voters. . . . nearly three-quarters of rural respondents said the economy was not working well for them. Half said they expected their financial situation would get worse in the next year."

Co-founder Becky Brown said the latest survey shows "big disconnects. . . between what rural people want and what services and assistance are commonly offered to them." She "said business owners and leaders said usable buildings are harder to find than loans, and they showed little interest in needing support with business plans or pitch competitions," Eaton reports. "This year’s survey found that in addition to housing and downtowns, other challenges were not enough volunteers, losing young people, and a lack of child care."

In 2019, Save Your Town survey respondents gave these top five concerns: Losing young people; downtown is dead; not enough good housing; need new residents; no one shops in town. In 2021, the top five were identical with the exception of "no one shops downtown" falling off the list and "not enough [residents] volunteer" being added. The latest survey mirrored much of the earlier results but added lack of child care. Although Americans have many divides, repeated concerns on rural responses highlight several issues such as not enough young people (or laborers), a lack of affordable housing and a severe lack of child care options, which are also problematic for urban and suburban areas.

Quick hits: An ode to 'leather britches'; webinar on covering methane Sept. 7; communities repurpose shuttered 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.

A beloved community theater company in a Colorado mountain town has found a way to survive the pandemic and thrive. Read more here.

Twenty-one states have partly or fully closed prisons and other correctional facilities since 2000; local leaders have found creative ways to repurpose the buildings as apartments, office space, whiskey distilleries, and even movie studios. The moves have served to strengthen the communities and their economies. Read more here.

The presence of Asian longhorned ticks has been confirmed in 17 states across the U.S. That's of particular concern to cattle producers since the ticks carry a highly transmissible disease called Ikeda that is sometimes fatal to cattle. Read more here.

The Rural Health Information Hub has a newly updated resource guide on rural home health services. Read more here.

The Society of Environmental Journalists will host a free Sept. 7 webinar to discuss the latest science, data, and policy initiatives around methane, tips on covering methane, and ways to track methane in your local region or around the world. Read more here.

The Daily Yonder offers up a contemplation of the love-em-or-hate-em Appalachian dish called shuck beans or leather britches. Read more here.

Three weeks after the Federal Communications Commission spiked rural broadband funding for Starlink and LTD Broadband, the agency has authorized an extra $800 million from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund for six providers to build out broadband in over 350,000 locations in 19 states. Read more here.

Rural news outlets need help from colleges and universities and local funders, Center for Community News director says

"Leveraging resources from colleges and universities" is one way that rural communities can sustain local journalism that supports local democracy, says the director of a new center that is trying to track down all available examples of such partnerships and help them be succesful.

Richard Watts

Richard Watts of the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont has been helping local newspapers for three years by training citizens to report for them. “More importantly, they're getting more young people involved in newspapers, and that value is inestimable,” Tim Calabro, editor and publisher of The White River Valley Herald, a weekly in Randolph, Vt., told Buck Ryan, a University of Kentucky journalism professor.

Ryan's report for The Rural Blog includes a Q-and-A with Watts, beginning with the question about sustainability of rural journalism, which was the focus of the National Summit on Journalism in Rural America held by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, which publishes TRB.

In addition to help from academics and their students, Watts said rural news outlets also need to "diversify their revenue streams, train citizen reporters and encourage local ownership." Citing Watts's success at getting a $200,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Ryan asked him what he could share about building "profitable partnerships."

First, "Go where the money is in local foundations. and look for companies that have an interest in seeing local news continue," Watts said. He said an electric utility and the Vermont Humanities Council gave his Community News Service $10,000 each to cover energy and the arts, respectively. "They don’t tell us what to write, just to write more" on those topics, he said.

"An organization focused on Lake Champlain gave us funding to seed more stories about the lake region," Watts added. "Our biggest success, however, has come from individual donors who care about local news, democracy and involving young people. Together we have raised more than $200,000 in the last few years to support community news from individuals." For Ryan's full report, with details about from Watts about working with student and citizen journalists, go here.

Arts residencies can have an outsized impact on rural economies and culture; some national parks have them too

"Across the country, hotels, resorts, and even national parks, are offering residencies for artists to help draw in inspiration. Along the way, these rural communities are feeling the effects – both culturally and economically – of new life coming into the community and energizing and offering a new perspective from people who may not otherwise have had the chance to meet locals," Kristi Eaton reports for The Daily Yonder. "Call it rural arts tourism, and it’s catching on across the country."

Rural artist residencies can benefit both artists and communities for little cost. In Maupin, Oregon, for example, the owners of a local cabin resort offer artists free lodging and quiet time to work. In exchange, owners Michelle Taylor and Andy McFarlane ask them to contribute a work from their time at the cabins to add to its permanent collection, Eaton reports.

Taylor said they've gotten plenty of applicants since they launched the program this year, and that it had brought a lot of excitement and optimism to the community of about 450. Tourists, too. "You have folks coming in in droves from places like Portland and Tacoma, and places, far and wide, to see artists and be a part of something," McFarlane told Eaton. That boosts the local economy since they're eating at local restaurants and staying in local hotels.

Local governments aren't the only ones who recognize the benefits of bringing in artists; the National Park Service also has artist-in-residence programs at many of its national parks. "Depending on the location, residencies are open to writers, photographers, composers and other arts-based workers," Eaton reports.

Family behind Columbia Sportswear expands philanthropic efforts to help rural and tribal communities in Oregon

Columbia Sportswear, based in Portland, Oregon, is a $5.5 billion outdoor-clothing juggernaut, and the family that owns it is passionate about philanthropy. The extended family's Roundhouse Foundation, launched in 2002, initially focused on supporting arts projects with grants, but in the past few years has become more involved in creative problem-solving in the state's rural and tribal communities, Ade Adeniji reports for Inside Philanthropy.

When Gert Boyle, the daughter and heir of founder Paul Lamfrom, passed away in 2019, she left a large sum to the foundation that her daughter Kathy Deggendorfer says triggered "an explosion of growth," Adeniji reports. Deggendorfer, husband Frank and daughter Erin Borla now run the foundation; they sat down with Adeniji to talk about "how Gert envisioned the family’s philanthropy, how grantmaking has grown to tackle creative placemaking in underfunded rural communities, and now, on the heels of a huge bequest, where the family plans on taking their philanthropy next." 

Wikipedia locator map, adapted

The family began thinking about ways to support rural economies in the early 2000s. It was only natural, since they live in Sisters, a community of about 2,600 near Bend in central Oregon. And it's more important than ever, since 14% of Americans are rural, but only about 7% of all grants go to rural areas. When Deggendorfer received a portion of her inheritance, she decided to formalize her support by creating the Roundhouse Foundation. At first she was distributing about $12,000 in grants each year and working from her home office, but the foundation continued growing. "Just a few years ago, Roundhouse Foundation was giving away six figures annually and held around $22.5 million in assets (fiscal year 2018)," Adeniji reports. "Two years later, the foundation held nearly $142 million in assets and gave away more than $1 million. And in 2021, the foundation granted around $11 million." These days the foundation has 17 staffers and trustees.

One of them is Deggendorfer's daughter. Borla worked for local non-profits and events after college and joined the foundation's board of trustees in 2014. "I came back from school and knew I wanted to live in this rural space and work in economic development and creative space," Borla told Adeniji. She advocated for using public-school libraries as mental-health spaces for students.

The foundation now "focuses its work on four areas that it believes are fundamental to thriving rural communities — arts and culture, environmental stewardship, social services, and education," Adeniji reports. "Creative placemaking, a popular concept in the philanthrosphere these days, is central to the foundation’s work. Its flagship program, Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture, is an artist residency on a 260-acre working ranch, which also engages in agricultural and ecological projects. Roundhouse purchased and retooled the property in 2017, driven by [Deggendorfer's] vision." Some of those projects include regenerative agriculture and the development and conservation of watersheds.

Until 2019, the foundation focused mainly on communities in the Deschutes River Basin in Central Oregon, but the recent flood of new funds allowed its focus to expand to rural areas across the state. "This led to a deluge of calls. But it also forced Roundhouse to get out on the road and grow relationships in every corner of the state," Adeniji reports. "While 'trust-based philanthropy' is a buzzword these days, [Borla] describes part of that trust as simply showing up, meeting people in their own communities and trying to foster an authentic connection. Sometimes these conversations don’t even result in Roundhouse Foundation giving a grant. But rather, the foundation serves as a catalyst, where a vital connection allows an organization to move forward with a project without direct funds from Roundhouse."

Writers and loved ones share stories about bell hooks, 'little country girl from the hills,' at hometown memorial service

UPDATE, April 13: Berea College is hosting a livestream of its memorial service for bell hooks from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 14. Guest speakers include Gloria Steinem, Imani Perry and others.

Wendell Berry speaks at a memorial service for
Gloria Jean Watkins, who wrote under the name
bell hooks. (Hoptown Chronicle photos by Tony Kirves)

"People came from across town, from other parts of Kentucky and from as far away as New York to pay their respects Saturday to the feminist author and activist bell hooks, who was born Gloria Jean Watkins to a working-class Hopkinsville family on Sept. 25, 1952," Jennifer P. Brown reports for the Hoptown Chronicle. "They sat shoulder to shoulder in the Alhambra Theatre, a crowd of about 400 — childhood friends, literary luminaries, relatives, historians, high school classmates, civil rights activists, hometown admirers, clergy and scholars. Each one was a testament to the profound impact of hooks, the author of more than 30 books, who died Dec. 15 of renal failure at her home in Berea. She was 69."

A host of Kentucky writers paid tribute. Crystal Wilkinson, a state poet laureate and like hooks a Black woman, said hooks "had this way of turning the concepts and ideology of feminism into brilliant common sense," Brown reports. When Wilkinson first met her at a writing conference in 1993, she and the others "were listening to bell that day the way that my family used to listen to country preachers back down home."

Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch presided
at the memorial for his childhood friend.

Wendell Berry, the state's most famous author, said he felt a connection to hooks since they were both raised in rural Kentucky. "As a member of the disappearing class of agrarians," Brown writes, "Berry said he reads bell hooks with a sense of not only being spoken to, but also of being spoken for."

Novelist Silas House, who was also hooks' friend, told of when "he went to a country café with hooks. He had to wait while she went to every table and spoke to each diner. She shook hands. She patted their shoulders. She talked to them about cars and how much she liked to shop at Goodwill stores," Brown reports. When House and hooks sat down, he remarked that she must know everyone there. "She said, 'I don’t know a single one of them," said House. "'I wanted every one of them to have to speak to a Black woman today.'"

Home counties: bell hooks' Christian; Crystal Wilkinson's Casey;
Silas House's Laurel; and Wendell Berry's Henry. (Wikipedia, adapted)

House noted that hooks often called herself "a little country girl from the hills" and said she was proud of that, even though it sometimes caused her pain. "She talked about both the joy and the pain," said House. "She was troubled by Kentucky, but she also loved it fiercely. Most of all I keep thinking of that little girl — about the burst of all of that intelligence and fierceness and bravery, as she played in the hills of Christian County, Kentucky, or sat against the tree and read, or wrote in her notebooks. I keep seeing that little girl and think about the way she changed the world."

Rural arts scenes can boost economies and more; annually published index shows how your local area ranks

SMU DataArts' Arts Vibrancy Index, published in Sept. 2020; click the image to enlarge it.

The pandemic has hurt the arts in most communities, but many rural towns have vibrant arts and culture scenes. Done right, they can deliver a wealth of benefits to their communities, says the director of a New Hampshire nonprofit who led the arts and culture track at the Radically Rural summit in September.

Jessica Gelter, executive director of Arts Alive!, spoke with Caroline Tremblay of The Daily Yonder about how rural arts and culture scenes can best serve their communities. It's important to make sure artists are leading the way, and that even the poor can access the arts, she said. And she believes right now is a good time to reassess as public events get back on track.

How is your community's arts scene? One way to measure is Southern Methodist University's annual Arts Vibrancy Index, which weighs a number of factors to assign a score to counties. Below are the 10 small communities with the best arts and culture scenes; the report has detailed information about what makes each successful. All are micropolitan statistical areas whose principle city has a population of 10,000 to 50,000:

1. Jackson, Wyoming
2. Steamboat Springs, Colorado
3. Heber, Utah
4. Hailey, Idaho
5. Glenwood Springs, Colorado
6. Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
7. Oneonta, New York
8. Hudson, New York
9. Bennington, Vermont
10. Hood River, Oregon

'American Idol' and 4-H partner for virtual auditions Sept. 24

Willie Spence sings "A Change Is Gonna Come" during
American Idol's 2021 finale. Watch the performance here.

The singing-competition show "American Idol" is again partnering with the 4-H Council to host a dedicated virtual audition day for the show's 20th season. On Friday, Sept. 24, 4-H singers nationwide can audition over Zoom for a chance to earn a spot on the show. Registration closes at 3 p.m. ET Sept. 24. Click here to register, or here for more information.

It's no wonder the show is happy to partner with 4-H again: Last year, 4-H alumnus Willie Spence, from rural Douglas, Ga., blew away crowds and judges with powerhouse performances like Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," finishing second in the competition.

4-H, a program of the federal-state-local Cooperative Extension Service, is the nation's largest youth development organization, with nearly 6 million members nationwide and serving every county.

Quick hits: register for Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit March 22-24; programs help young rural entrepreneurs

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.

Two programs from Kansas and Mississippi are noteworthy examples of how to help young rural entrepreneurs thrive with training and tools. Read more here.

Fires, deteriorating infrastructure, and unusually cold weather strain rural Alaska's already-fragile water systems. Read more here.

Congress is launching an investigation into the "clean-coal" tax credit after evidence emerged that coal plants using the chemically treated fuel produce more smog than others. Read more here.

There's still time to register for the 2021 Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit, coming up on March 22-24. Guests include Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall. Read more here.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's companies owe millions more in environmental fines. Read more here.

The Rural Health Information Hub has updated its information guide on rural long-term care facilities, including a new FAQ on how the pandemic has affected such facilities. Read more here.

A recent book discusses the reasons estrangement commonly happens in farming and ranching families and how to find a way to reconcile. Read more here.

The Brookings Institution has an in-depth analysis of how an Office of Management and Budget proposal to redefine metropolitan statistical areas would affect rural America. Read more here.

An artist explores the intersection of Black culture and Appalachia. Read more here.

The Women of Appalachia Project dispels stereotypes with poetry, visual art and song. Read more here.

A new report from the Anti-Defamation League found that efforts to spread white supremacist propaganda almost doubled last year in the U.S. Read more here.

Seed and fertilizer make up more than half of the operating costs for corn and soybean producers, according newly released Agriculture Department data. Read more here.

Arts industry can boost rural economies, but industry advocates say artists need more stimulus funding

As Congress mulls a new economic stimulus package, arts industry leaders say creative professionals need more funding. During the pandemic, "nearly 3 million jobs in creative industries are projected to have been lost, representing more than a third of all creative-industry jobs in the United States, according to a Brookings Institution analysis this summer of the coronavirus impact on the creative economy," Andrea Noble reports for Route Fifty. "About $150 billion in sales of goods and services from creative industries is estimated to have been lost as well."

That matters in rural America because arts and cultural organizations can boost local economies, make towns more attractive to tourists and prospective businesses and residents, and increase civic pride among residents. "Artists turn around economies and rural and distressed communities. They stimulate jobs in other sectors that depend on a vibrant arts economy," Kelly Barsdate, chief program and planning officer for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, told Noble.

Some state and local governments have earmarked direct financial aid for artists, but "going forward there may be less public grant funding available for artists as state and local governments coping with tax revenue declines end up slashing their budgets," Noble reports.

Arts leaders say federal support for the creative economy has been lacking. "It’s not just about the arts wanting special treatment," Barsdate told Noble. "Across the board, the arts have lost four times more jobs and revenue than other industries."

Rural Assembly Everywhere virtual festival Oct. 26-30

Rural Assembly Everywhere, a virtual festival for rural leaders, advocates and allies, is coming up Oct. 26-30. It's organized by the Rural Assembly, a Center for Rural Strategies program that connects more than 400 organizations and individuals nationwide focused on improving rural policies and communities. 

Rural Assembly director Whitney Kimball Coe said it was critical for such people to be able to gather, even if it couldn't be in person. "Family meeting feels like an appropriate metaphor for what we’re trying to accomplish with Everywhere," she told Tracy Staley of The Daily Yonder. "We’re calling everyone together, from all places, all regions, all sectors, and backgrounds because it’s going to take all us committing to the future together, and we don’t leave family behind."

The festival will feature a diverse line-up of speakers, panelists, artists, and happy hour discussions. "The keynotes, panels, and breakouts will address both current and longstanding issues, such as the 2020 election, the pandemic, gender and race, climate change and resilience, and rural and Native youth leadership," Staley reports. "The event will also include artists from across the country who will weave songs, poetry, film, and humor into the program throughout the week."

Registration is free. Click here for more information or to register.

Can the arts help save rural America from the recession?

"Far from major population centers or cutting-edge cultural trends, galleries, museums and craft breweries have collectively brought life — and cash — back to rural communities devastated in the aftermath of the 2008 Great Recession and by longer-term decline," Stephen Starr writes for Ozy. "Now, these communities are counting on art to keep their economies going amid the crisis spawned by the coronavirus pandemic."

The arts can help improve the local economy, according to a 2019 National Governors Association study. About half of rural counties have seen population declines since 2000, but experts are predicting that more people will move from cities to smaller towns because of the increasing cost of living in urban areas and the possibility of working from home. Active arts and culture scenes could help attract former city dwellers, Starr reports.

Many rural arts programs have received pandemic funds. The National Endowment for the Arts, an independent federal agency, "has announced $75 million in relief funds to arts organizations. State governments, commissions and universities are also pumping millions of dollars into small-scale rural arts ventures," Starr reports. "Such initiatives are paying dividends. In 2015, arts and cultural initiatives contributed $67.5 billion to states where at least 30 percent of the population live in rural areas. According to the Rural Establishment Innovation Survey, residents in rural counties that are home to performing arts organizations earn up to $6,000 more than people who live in rural counties without such platforms."