The Rural Blog

A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky. Links may expire, require subscription or go behind pay walls. Please send news and knowledge you think would be useful to benjy.hamm@uky.edu.

The Rural Blog

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New study helps explain why rural Americans die younger: chronic ills, food deserts, health-care access, outmigration

Quick hits: SS Edmund Fitzgerald mystery remains; internet carriers team up; complex beef pricing; what to wear for extreme-weather reporting

After four years and many obstacles, 'Internet for All' is unlikely to reach every American

Tribal lands need broadband to improve health care access, but progress is slow

The Digital Equity Act had its funding axed; programming aimed at rural digital access and literacy is gone

Despite delays and a new round of changes, many state broadband leaders feel they are 'on the right path'

Despite progress toward universal affordable, high-speed broadband, the rules change again

States are already seeing their digital equity grants get canceled, and the divide hurts rural communities more

U.S. Supreme Court looks poised to allow $8 billion for rural and low-income broadband and phone services

Two million rural Americans live in 'dead zones' that lack health care providers and reliable internet service

Rural advocates push for plan to install fiber optic infrastructure as the best way to close the digital divide

Researchers explore bringing medical care to rural Vermonters by adding telehealth hubs to libraries

Federal plan to provide internet access to more rural areas might include satellite service, which has fans and critics

A program to expand broadband services in U.S. faces review; many state and local leaders want it to be 'left alone'

The national broadband buildout is running behind schedule; much of the program is still in the planning stages

Quick hits: Fast food's big-priced burgers; last-mile broadband; mapping the universe; the 'Siberian Express'

A new analysis suggests that when rural areas lack access to civic infrastruture, it contributes to health disparities

Report on rural places with high broadband utilization rates shows dramatic growth for businesses

The deployment of broadband from coast to coast gets mixed reviews at a U.S. House subcommittee hearing

More rural states pose challenges for 'broadband for all' installations. Kentucky and West Virginia offer examples.