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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Quick hits: E15 'Stop the Stall' campaign; popcorn history; Connecticut's bid to attract first responders; Tolkien for men

Editor in North Carolina had to balance his storm-reporting duties with his other roles as a firefighter and EMT

Rural Nebraskans look to the state for help with ailing emergency services

Another fish fry? Why local emergency medical services have so many fundraisers; here's what you can do to help

Peers can help first responders with mental-health support

Bipartisan bill aims to help struggling rural ambulances services by extending Medicare reimbursement boost

Pandemic roundup: What happened when people gave up on Spanish flu pandemic measures a century ago

Quick hits: small churches arming themselves; firefighters must adapt to climate change

Staffing issues put one-third of rural ambulance services in jeopardy, National Rural Health Association says

Medicaid rejects Wyoming's request to have Medicaid cover air-ambulance service for all in the sparsely populated state

Quick hits: Appalachian Trail mural project; how a Texas town bounced back after losing its Walmart

New Indiana map, viewable by public, shows where first responders have given naloxone for opioid overdoses

Volunteer firefighter says controlling traffic after a wreck can be scarier than fighting fires, gives tips for motorists

Concert Saturday in Annapolis will benefit the Capital Gazette Fund and first repsonders

Harvey aid bill also helps agencies fund wildfire fighting

Rural fire departments struggle to fill aging ranks, deploy new recruiting strategies for volunteers

A woman dies because a rural county skimps on its ambulance service; weekly digs deep, points way

Nebraska gets $5.3 million to update rural ambulances to better serve heart-attack victims

Rural Minnesota struggles to replace retiring volunteer medical responders

Maine has statewide program for emergency workers to train residents about preventive health care