Small businesses and their employees could lose health care coverage if ACA subsidies are cut

Farmers and their employees are among those who stand to 
'lose the most' if ACA subsidies are cut. (KFF Health photo)

As the debate over federal Affordable Care Act subsidies stalls efforts to reopen the government, small business owners worry that their employees won't be able to afford health insurance if the subsidies are cut. 

For lawmakers grappling with ACA decisions, any cuts could impact the 2026 Congressional elections.

Small-business owners such as farmers, dentists and barbers are among those "who stand to lose the most should Congress let the additional, generous federal subsidies put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic lapse," reports Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News. 

ACA subsidies cover nearly 24 million Americans -- and almost half of all those enrollees either own a small business or work for one. Collectively, the group "is more likely to vote Republican and overwhelmingly backed President Donald Trump in last year’s election," Seitz writes. But "even Trump’s own pollsters found deep support for the Obamacare subsidies."

According to Seitz, "Nearly 6 in 10 Obamacare enrollees live in a Republican-held congressional district."

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who is up for reelection in 2026, "broke with her party last month, calling on the GOP to extend the subsidies," Seitz adds. "Greene said in an interview that rising health care costs are the 'No. 1 issue' she hears about from people living in her district."

Buc-ees debate tears apart a mountain-town community in Colorado, leading to cursing, 'mudslinging' and legal action

Palmer Lake is one of three communities in the Tri-Lakes region 
between Denver and Colorado Springs.

It may take years for the small mountain community of Palmer Lake, Colorado, to recover from the ongoing, scathing debate over whether a Buc-ees gas station should be built two miles outside of town.

Heated emotions both for and against the development have "led to cursing at packed town meetings, mudslinging on social media and texts, accusations of vandalism. . . and litigation," reports Karin Brulliard of The Washington Post. "Over the past year, the social fabric of this town of 2,500 has been torn apart."

Both sides insist they want what is best for the town, with some residents insisting Buc-ees will ruin the region's sublime views and quaint feel. Buc-ees proponents insist potential tax revenue from the colossal gas station would help the town pay for ailing infrastructure needs.

While the land Buc-ees proposed to develop wouldn't be seen by Palmer Lake residents, the company applied for the property to be annexed into Palmer Lake for access to its water supply. "At a heated board meeting, trustees considered whether the Buc-ee’s parcel was eligible for annexation," Brulliard writes. "Some commenters hailed the plan’s benefits. [Others] argued it wouldn’t bring the promised revenue and instead would attract traffic and crime."

Once Palmer Lake trustees agreed the parcel was eligible for annexation, townspeople who opposed Buc-ees filed suit "alleging First Amendment, due process and open meeting violations and arguing that the annexation was improper," Brulliard explains. "Opponents also initiated the recall of three trustees."

When it looked as though the opposition would prevail and Buc-ees would seek out a different site, the battle stalled, only to resume when Buc-ees "requested a public vote, which it would pay for," Brulliard reports. "The proposal is expected to go to a public vote this winter."

Rural families worry that Head Start will die a 'slow death.' Many parents can't afford to work without it.

Head Start participants are disproportionately rural. 
(Photo by Jackie Mader, The Hechinger Report)

For six decades, the federally funded Head Start program has helped low-income rural parents stay in the workforce by providing free child care and early education programming. But suggested cuts by the Trump administration have some families worried the program is slated for "a slow death," reports Jackie Mader of The Guardian. The program was earmarked for elimination in an "early draft of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal."

Although Head Start programs are found in communities of all sizes, its participants are disproportionately rural. "Nearly 90% of rural counties in the United States have Head Start programs," Mader explains. "Almost half of the 716,000 children Head Start serves live in rural congressional districts, compared with just 22% in urban districts."

Head Start has survived so far, but its services and employees have been reduced through staffing and funding cuts that began this past spring. "In early February, many Head Start programs were caught up in a federal funding freeze. Then the Trump administration fired about 20% of the program’s federal staff," Mader reports. The loss of support forced some programs to close, while others cut staff to stay open.

Head Start reductions have left communities and parents feeling uncertain about the future. Most parents who participate can't afford to work if they have to pay for child care, and the program employs several local people and small businesses.

Even though the Trump administration's 2026 budget proposal doesn't reduce Head Start funding, it did not increase the program's funding to allow for inflation, which "effectively amounts to a cut," Mader adds.

Laurie Todd-Smith, who oversees Head Start at the Administration for Children and Families, has not pushed for an increase in Head Start funding. Instead, she suggested that programs look for ways to be more efficient by eliminating Head Start offerings that other state programs already provide.

Rural Assembly Everywhere 2025 is all about rural people and regions flourishing even when resources are limited

Rural Assembly Everywhere is less than two weeks away. 

It's time to rev your rural engines and sign up for the virtual Rural Assembly Everywhere event happening on Wednesday, Sept. 17, from 1 to 2:30 p.m., E.T.

Rural leaders, community members, advocates and allies are invited to join this free, virtual gathering. Register here.

Virtual participants will have access to all programming, speaker panels and real-time chat with rural leaders across the country. The event is broadcast live via Crowdcast, which allows participants to ask questions and engage in discussions with one another before and during the event. Find more details here.

Everywhere 2025 highlights this year's theme: "A Bigger Pie: Cultivating Abundance in a Time of Scarcity." Event conversations and resources will delve into actionable ways to shift scarcity mindsets, enabling more rural communities to continue growing with renewed and resilient spirits.

The Rural Assembly and Everywhere 2025 are part of the Center for Rural Strategies.

A town that stymied winery growth now owes more than $49 million to wine operators

Location of Old Mission Peninsula
in Michigan (Wikipedia map)

Long known for its cherry orchards and scenic bay, Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan, is a winery destination with a contentious history between winery owners and residents. "On one side: wineries seeking alternative revenue streams," reports Jim Barrett of The Wall Street Journal. "On the other: farmers and homeowners who fear rowdy weddings and brides gone wild will shatter their agricultural enclave."

Years of feuding over development restrictions ended in winery operators suing the town, and this summer "a federal judge in Kalamazoo ordered the tiny locale (pop. 6,000) to pay the wineries $49.3 million in lost revenue over zoning ordinances the court found unconstitutional and in violation of Michigan law," Barrett writes. 

While town leaders appealed the massive judgment, Town Supervisor Maura Sanders asked officials to consider selling parts of the town to raise funds. Barrett explains, "She wants to appraise properties like public parks (including two with beaches), a historic 1870 lighthouse and vacant lots for potential sale. She has floated ending maintenance of the local cemetery and closing the township hall."

Joseph Infante, a lawyer for the 11 winery owners, "called the talk of selling off local jewels 'a P.R. stunt to paint the wineries in a bad light,'" Barrett reports. "One frustrated resident summed up his opinion of town leaders on a roadside sign: '$49 MIL. RESIGN.'"

Bowers Harbor Vineyards in located on the Peninsula,
but it does not offer private events. (Bowers Harbor photo)

The ire began with town requirements that curtailed winery development. Residents and town officials worked to prevent winery growth by designing "intricate rules, including tying guest counts to grape purchases and dictating which music genres could grace vineyards," Barrett explains. "Peninsula producers say myriad restrictions kept them from establishing the vibrant tourism they observed in other wine destinations."

Wine owners tired of rules and infighting filed suit in 2020. "As the lawsuit continued, the township repealed certain ordinances, and the wineries now hold more events without seeking government approval each time, though they remain cautious about larger activities," Barrett reports.

Some townspeople don't believe the winery owners will push to collect. "Some local leaders expressed confidence they would win on appeal — or that the wineries won’t actually force the town to pony up," Barrett writes. "The wine operators have said they could be flexible on the payout and are waiting for a sense of what the town’s insurers will pay before proceeding."

Quick hits: More bacon; thriving town-owned grocery store; shocking fertilizer prices; drones for rural duties?

Five-month-old pigs from the latest breeding line Smithfield 
has developed. (Smithfield Foods photo via WSJ)

Just like lots of people, pork companies would like more bacon. For pigs to produce more bacon, they need bigger bellies, a trait pork industry breeders have been developing for years. "Today, slaughtered hogs weigh about 285 pounds on average, a 30-pound increase since the late 1990s," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "The increase in hog weight coincided with the explosion in popularity of bacon as more than just a breakfast item." With bacon in demand and razor-thin profit margins, the pork industry is using breeding programs to "build a better pig." 

St. Paul, Kansas, hadn't had a local grocery store for more than two decades, but in 2005, the town's new mayor challenged his community to use municipal support to plan and build a grocery store. St. Paul residents embraced the challenge and the St. Paul Area Community Development Corporation stepped in to help with planning and financial legwork, reports Kansas State University. In 2008, the St. Paul Supermarket opened, and it continues to thrive as a town-supported grocery store. Its motto is "the friendly store." Read its success blueprint here.

Fertilizer costs are high in the currency of corn. (Krista Swanson, National Corn Growers Association )

With alarmingly high fertilizer costs and falling commodity prices, U.S. farmers are grappling with how to stay afloat in today's market. "Farmers are in the middle of calling input suppliers to get quotes for fall fertilizer, and the prices are shocking," reports Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. "The corn price to fertilizer price ratio on inputs such as phosphate is now the highest on record, and as corn prices continue to slide, it’s creating financial hurt on farmers. . . . An unnamed farmer asked U.S. Farm Report, 'How are we going to survive at these prices?'" 

After severe storms damaged crops and farming equipment across Nebraska, the state used drones to help mitigate the aftermath. "Using drones to help with disaster response shows the role they now play in the state’s economy, after years of investment and research from the state government," reports Chris Teale of Route Fifty. "Officials in the state are looking at ways drones can be used, especially to help those in rural areas. Delivery of food, medical supplies and other resources is one use case receiving a lot of attention."

A Maine roadway.
(C. Banks photo)

Among all the states, Maine remains one of the most rural and wild. "Greater Portland, Lewiston, Auburn, Bangor, and other populous areas make up just a small slice of Maine’s pie," writes Chris Sedenka in his opinion for WBLM radio in Portland, Maine. "It’s fascinating just how much of the state remains truly remote and untouched. . . . We still have territories named T2R9, you’re not going to find that in every state. . . . According to the data, Maine’s rural population makes up 61.5% of the total. That is an absolutely huge number. . . .The majority of the state is basically just pine trees and wildlife."

Living a long life could partially depend on geography. Some counties just seem to support populations who keep on keeping on. 

The map above shows which U.S. counties have an overall life expectancy above 80 years.
(Map via Brilliant Maps)

It's been a year since Buc-ees opened up in this small town; many residents consider the mega gas station a positive

Smiths Grove is Buc-ees' second location in Kentucky.
(Photo by Grace McDowell, BG Daily News)

A year after Buc-ees opened in the small town of Smiths Grove, Kentucky, many residents, including some who were initially wary of the sprawling development, shared positive views on the changes the mega gas station has brought to the area. Jack Dobbs of the Bowling Green Daily News reports, "Now, though, many are receptive to the store. . . . But some still have reservations."

Traffic dust-ups and crime were among community concerns voiced before Buc-ees opened, but pre-opening warnings turned out to be more dire than reality. Jason Franks, the chief of the Smiths Grove Police Department, told Dobbs, "With any new business, especially retail business, we’ve had more theft complaints, shoplifting calls, parking lot accidents, things of that nature, especially with that volume of vehicles coming in and out." Dobbs adds, "In all, though, Franks views the store as having been a boon for Smiths Grove."

Shelvie Payne, who has a 20-minute daily work commute to Smiths Grove, initially thought Buc-ees traffic would increase her travel time. Dobbs reports, "Payne takes the interstate every day to get to work, and said traffic conditions have improved in the area from what she has seen."

Payne added that she thought Buc-ees visitors helped her workplace attract more customers. She told Dobbs, "It’s brought in a lot more folks here on this exit that normally would have probably bypassed us."

Not everyone in town is sold on Buc-ees. "K.O. and Waz Blankenship run Psycho Granny’s Quilt Shop in Smiths Grove," Dobbs writes. "When asked what they thought the impact of Buc-ee’s had been, K.O. said 'negative, negative.'" She told Dobbs, “Business is dead, nobody’s walking (through town), we can’t talk them into coming in."

Montana small-business owner touts restoration, permanence of 2017 tax laws

Robert Majerus

Tax breaks and job reforms from President Donald Trump's first term helped jump-start and strengthen rural businesses, but many of those provisions already have expired or will end in 2025 unless Congress acts soon, writes Robert Majerus in his opinion for InsideSources. "Many of the 2017 tax law’s most essential cuts and deductions run out at the end of the year, and others already need to be restored."

Provisions that already have been phased out and need restoration include the "20% qualified business income deduction, which many small businesses have benefited from, as well as the immediate expensing of research and development and equipment," Majerus explains. "For farmers, the ability to expense these investments in the same year that they are made and brought online makes a huge difference, supporting innovation in the agricultural economy."

One of the most important changes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made was to reduce the "corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, bringing the tax burden on U.S. businesses more in line with other countries," Majerus points out. "The TCJA provided more incentives for many small businesses to restructure themselves as C-corporations to take advantage of the lower tax rates."

To maintain profits and support continued small business growth, it is "critical for lawmakers to avoid calls to increase the corporate tax rate to help pay for the much-needed extensions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s economy-growing tax cuts," Majerus explains. "Reverting to a high corporate tax rate would be akin to raising taxes on Main Street and rural businesses that struggle to keep their doors open after years of high inflation."

Part of President Trump's presidential campaign included promises to "revitalize middle America," Majerus writes. "Now, these small businesses and communities that were helped in 2017 are the ones that will see the most gains wiped out if these tax cuts are not extended and made permanent."

The House has passed its support for reinstating and extending TCJA provisions. Majerus adds, "It’s time for the Senate to move forward while acknowledging the time limit businesses have before these expiring tax cuts go into effect at the end of the year. Time is short."

Robert Majerus is a member of the Community Business Alliance and a small-business owner in Montana.

E.V. charging stations help fuel mega gas station growth. Not every town wants one.

Sheetz location in Romulus, Mich. 
(Sheetz photo via WXTZ News in Detroit, Mich.)

Despite controversies over their impact, big gas station chains such as Buc-ees and Sheetz are adding locations in small communities and residential spaces across the U.S. The need for more E.V. charging stations, with their longer "fill" times, is part of the reason.

"As battery-powered cars become more common on roadways, more gas stations are installing chargers alongside old-fashioned pumps," reports Kevin Williams of The New York Times. "E.V. charging takes time, so gas station operators are turning their stores into shopping centers where people can spend time — and money — while they wait for cars to charge."

Area residents have a range of reactions when they hear their community is being considered as a mega gas station location. "The sheer size of the businesses has turned off some communities that don’t want the heavy traffic, bright lights and 24/7 activity," Williams explains. "When communities object to Sheetz’s moving in, the company isn’t fazed. . . . It knows there are communities that want its business."

Restaurants in small to mid-sized cities have pushed against mega gas stations because they offer extensive food menus and may even include a drive-thru. Williams reports, "Craig Dunaway, the chief operating officer of Penn Station East Coast Subs, said his restaurant chain was fending off gas station businesses like Sheetz."

The city of Farmington Hills, Mich., which has roughly 86,000 residents, "rejected Sheetz’s proposal this year to take over a space once occupied by Ginopolis, a restaurant that called Elizabeth Taylor and Bob and Delores Hope its customers, after several contentious meetings," Williams writes. But the smaller town of Romulus, Mich., welcomed the development.

Jeremy Taylor, a long-time Romulus resident, enjoys what Sheetz offers. He told Williams, "It’s been a long time since we’ve had something this good in Romulus. There’s nothing out here.”

DOGE cuts and tariffs impact a small family farm in Kansas

The JET Facebook page photos give a glimpse into the farm's 
community focus. Their Facebook fans named the frog, 'Potter.'

As the new administration shifts agriculture and trade market tactics, small family farmers Jacob and Jennifer Thomas from northwestern Kansas struggle to keep their operation, JET Produce and Meats, afloat.

"The young couple took a 10% hit when the Trump administration abruptly cut $1 billion from two programs that supplied local produce and meat to schools and food banks," report Annie Gowen and Ricky Carioti of The Washington Post. "There have been other blows, too."

Cuts to Department of Agriculture funding have left the Thomases unsure of their farm's future. "They plowed up a spot for a new greenhouse only to learn that another grant for $8,000 would never come," Gowen and Carioti write. "They worry that 2,000 chrysanthemum cuttings ordered from Canada will be ensnared in the countries’ tariff dispute."

Despite the beating Kansas farmers took during Trump's first-term trade war, many voted for Trump in 2024. For some, their loyalty is teetering. The Post reports, "The consequences of his administration’s wide-ranging cuts and uncertainty over tariffs have already had a profound impact on this hilly corner of northeast Kansas."

For the most part, the Thomas family has preferred to focus on farming, not politics, but the recent cuts and confusion have made that stance impossible. "The first big blow of 2025 came right after Trump’s inauguration, when the president issued an executive order pausing billions of dollars in federal grants," Gowen and Carioti write. "The whole episode stung, particularly since they got little response when they asked for help from the Kansans in Congress."

Other USDA funding the Thomases had been relying on has been rearranged or cut, leaving them even more uncertain about their farm's future. Jacob told the Post, "Historically if you got a government contract, we’re golden, because the government always pays. . . .Today I don’t feel that way. For the first time in my life, I don’t trust the government is going to follow through on their word.”

Analysis: Local newspapers survive or close for different reasons

Local news can help residents hold elected officials 
accountable. (Photo by J. Mone, AP via Converation CC)

Beginning around 2005, community newspapers across the U.S. faced unprecedented financial stresses, which over time forced more than a third to close. While their closures have left communities in vulnerable "news deserts," they aren't random. Instead, the reasons smaller newspapers often close fall into a recognizable pattern. In her piece for The Conversation, Abby Youran Qin "identifies key drivers − ranging from racial disparity to market forces − that determine which towns lose their papers and which ones beat the odds."

Although local papers exist to serve their communities, they still need profits to keep the doors open. That is why some neighborhoods still have a paper. Qin explains, "Local newspapers survive where affluent subscribers and deep-pocketed advertisers cluster. That means wealthy white suburbs keep their watchdogs, while low-income and diverse communities lose theirs."

When poorer neighborhoods lose their paper and their investigative reporters, residents become more vulnerable to social power abuse. Qin writes, "Poor and racially diverse communities often face the harshest policing and interact more with street-level bureaucrats than wealthier citizens. That makes them more vulnerable to government corruption and misconduct."

Community newspapers often fail to serve their entire audience in equal ways. For instance, if everyone who worked at a local paper was white, would black events and happenings be equally covered? Over time, a pattern of bias in some news organizations caused racially diverse neighborhoods to distrust, dislike and not subscribe to the local paper.

"Diverse neighborhoods get hit twice. First, their local papers inadequately represent them," Qin explains. "Then, when people understandably turn away, subscriptions drop, advertisers pull back and the outlets shut down, leaving whole communities without a voice."

The structure of "market-dependent journalism," has also caused community newspapers to close, even when an area's population is growing. "The catch lies in who is moving in: Population growth saves papers only when it comes with wealth," Qin writes. "The news gap experienced by fast-growing communities may persist where local journalism depends primarily on traditional advertising and subscription revenues rather than diversified revenue sources such as grants and philanthropic donations."

Smaller newspapers are more likely to survive together. "In an era of decline, my analyses reveal a counterintuitive truth: Your town’s paper actually has better odds when nearby communities keep theirs," Qin adds. "Resilient local journalism clusters together. . . .When regional businesses support multiple outlets, the entire news ecosystem becomes more sustainable."

Letting go of partisan slants can help a community paper survive. "It turns out that there’s no significant link between a county’s partisan makeup and its ability to keep newspapers," Qin writes. Large subscribing bases and corporate advertisers often keep bigger newspapers afloat. Party affiliation isn't what drives their revenue.

Choosing to push politics left or right doesn't serve a local paper's interests. Qin explains, "But local journalism’s survival hinges on practical factors such as money and market size. Saving local news isn’t a left vs. right debate − it’s a community issue that requires nonpartisan solutions."

Quick hits: Appalachian brooms; soap science; school lunches on tour; summer train traveling; escaping the heat

Cynthia Main makes handmade brooms, Appalachian style.
(Sunhouse Craft photo via the Yonder)

When a talented crafter with an entrepreneurial bent got busy making handmade brooms, a new sustainable business in Appalachia was born. "Rural arts programs helped Eastern Kentucky maker Cynthia Main develop Sunhouse Craft, a sustainable business with an Appalachian sense of place," reports Kim Kobersmith of The Daily Yonder. "Main is driven by sustainability and community. With larger revenues, she can pay her small staff a living wage and offer her restored historic storefront as a community gathering space, while moving closer to her goal of developing a 100% local supply chain."

Pioneering women of the 1800s spent grueling hours over a fire making soap every spring. Sounds horrible, but soap itself is somewhat of a miracle. "The discovery of soap dates back approximately 5,000 years, to the ancient city of Babylon in what is today the country of Iraq," writes Paul E. Richardson for The Conversation. "Although billions of people use soap every day, most don’t know how it works. As a professor of chemistry, I can explain the science of soap. . . Soap molecules come together and surround the grime on your hands. The water-loving heads of the soap molecules are on the surface, with the water-fearing tails inside the micelle. This structure traps the dirt, and running water washes it all away."

 

Philadelphia children eating a 'three-cent dinner' at school.
(Science History Institute photo via Smithsonian)

Since the late 1800s, Americans have been arguing over kids' school lunches, but beyond the controversies, the topic offers an interesting look at the U.S. diet. "A new exhibition in Philadelphia spotlights the evolution of American nutritional health through a unique lens: the school cafeteria," reports Sonja Anderson for Smithsonian magazine. "Medical inspections revealed that schoolchildren were malnourished. Many had scurvy or rickets, diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies. . . . Philadelphia and Boston became two of the first cities to offer meals to public school students in 1894. According to a statement from the museum, the exhibition features a tiny aluminum token from 1909, which a Philadelphia child would have used to purchase a 'penny lunch' at school."

A California Zephyr trip is chockablock with scenic
views. (Amtrak photo)

Summer is a time for growing gardens, hiking, swimming, dodging mosquitoes, slathering on sunscreen, and, if you're lucky, taking a long vacation. "Here's how one writer used the $500 Amtrak rail pass to criss-cross the U.S. over the course of one month," writes McConnell Quinn for Condé Nast Traveler. "Unlike planes, where everyone stays in their bubble, trains are oddly social — a rotating cast of characters and glimpses into lives I’d never otherwise encounter. With the USA Rail Pass, I crossed the country three times in 30 days. . . I watched the Pacific creep into view on the Coast Starlight, rode the California Zephyr through the Rockies at sunset, and drifted to sleep somewhere in Texas on the Sunset Limited."

July's heat is surely coming, and for those of us with limited air conditioning options, planning where you will go to keep from baking -- beyond grocery store freezer aisles -- is a priority. One of the all-time favorite spots for escaping heat and humidity is movie theaters. AMC theaters must know they are part of some people's melting prevention plans because "beginning July 9, the movie theater chain will offer 50% off adult movie tickets on Wednesdays for those part of the AMC Stubs rewards program," reports Ramishah Maruf of CNN News. 

Summer is also a time for great reads. It could be on a beach, by the pool, in the grass with your horse or any number of amazing places to chill out and read. Not sure which book to kick off your summer escape? Try one from this list of books that will be made or have already been released as 2025 movies. Wilson Wong of The New York Times writes, "Here are some of the thrillers, romances, sci-fi page turners and detective novels coming soon to a screen near you. This is a running list. Check back for more updates as the year goes on."

"The first novella in the Murderbot Diaries series, 'All Systems Red,' follows a security android that secretly hacks its own operating system, allowing it to think and act independently," Wong writes. "But when an expedition goes strangely awry, resulting in several scientists’ deaths, the robot must help the humans in its own unit unravel the mystery before a similar tragedy befalls them." Murderbot premiered on Apple TV+ on May 16.

When a local business that served as a community hub closes, residents may need to create a new meeting space

Dairy Queens served as a gathering spot for many rural
Texas residents. (Photo by Jaime Adame, Daily Yonder)

 

As Dairy Queens shutter in rural communities across Texas, locals see their social spaces disappear. The ice cream franchise shops have long served as places of connection for small-town residents.

"In rural areas, sites where people choose to gather are 'neither work nor home, but they anchor everything in between,' as a former rural school superintendent, Melissa Sadorf put it in a recent essay on the importance of what are sometimes called 'third places,'" reports Jaime Adame of The Daily Yonder.

Dairy Queen closures in Texas surged this year over legal disputes within the company, and smaller communities felt the loss. "Out of some 30 locations to shut down statewide, twelve were in towns with fewer than 3,000 people," Adame writes. "Civic leaders and townspeople must now grapple with literal empty spaces and rips in the fabric of community life."

When the Dairy Queen in Canadian, Texas, closed, the small town of roughly 2,300 people in northern Texas dearly missed the connection spot the restaurant once provided. The community is still working to recover from fierce wildfires that burned down parts of the town last year.

Remelle Farrar, interim director for the local economic development corporation in Canadian, told Adame, "It’s an impact to our culture, absolutely. . . . [It was] a place to go for many members of our population after the event of the day, to go sit and talk… and relax."

While Dairy Queen is still considered a "Texas icon. . . . The view of Dairy Queen as a community’s social hub doesn’t ring true as much as it did decades ago, even in rural Texas," Adame reports. "Rural areas are more likely to struggle at providing such third places, according to Danielle Rhubart, a researcher at Penn State University who studies rural health and well-being."

To fill holes the closure of a Dairy Queen or similar spot can leave behind, residents of smaller communities need to look around their town and see what alternatives are available. Adame explains, "Creating a third place can involve adapting unused buildings, even a former church. Rhubart said it’s important for small communities to support local businesses and make use of what’s already in place, such as libraries or outdoor spaces like parks, to ensure that welcoming places exist for people to gather."

Amazon aims to reach more customers with a $4 billion investment in rural services

Amazon expansion is expected to create over 100,000 jobs.
(Photo by Adobe Stock)

Amazon is investing $4 billion to expand their rural delivery services, according to the company's senior vice president of worldwide operations, Udit Madan.

The investment is meant to focus on small towns across the U.S. and bring faster delivery to “many millions of customers in less densely populated areas.” Madan wrote, “At a time where many logistics providers are backing away from serving rural customers because of cost to serve, we are stepping up our investment . . . .”

The online e-commerce website PYMNT reported that in 2024 Amazon had “leased, bought or announced plans for over 16 million square feet of new warehouse space in the U.S … adding to its existing footprint of about 413 million square feet of industrial real estate across the country.”

Madan said the expansion would mean more than 200 added delivery stations in rural areas.

Amazon said they want to support local businesses
while reaching customers in more rural areas.
(Photo by ANIRUDH, Unsplash)

“Local businesses like coffee shops and florists can deliver Amazon packages through the Hub Delivery program. Partners can make up to $27,000 in incremental income a year, and help deliver to our customers in smaller towns,” Madan wrote.

The rural investment will help the company reach new customers in 13,000 ZIP codes over a 1.2 million square mile area. The expansion will also create an estimated 100,000 or more new jobs in the company.

Opinion: Bringing women's leadership back onto the farm could benefit the country

Malia Reisinger runs her family's farm and her house-
hold like generations of rural women before her.

For hundreds of years, American women ran or helped run family farms. The fact that they were female meant little to families who had to rely on every working hand to manage farm animals and crops. As the United States began urbanizing, women were removed from farming leadership, so much so that their decades of farming experience have been largely forgotten.

Book author and public relations consultant Brian Reisinger shares his sister's experience and why he believes revitalizing female leadership on U.S. farms could help bridge rural-urban divides while providing a more secure future for American family farms.

"My sister, Malia, was a skilled welder. . .one of the many trades a farmer picks up, to get [machinery] going again when break­downs halted work on the farm. So, when she needed a part that required going to town, she went in herself," Reisinger explains. "But when she asked a guy for help, she got a response my dad or I never would have: 'Shouldn’t a man be getting it?'"

Quips like that were "one of the countless moments Malia faced being a woman in the 'man’s world' of farming," Reisinger writes. "It was far from the only time she confronted this challenge, despite the independent women she’d grown up working alongside. Rarely, did she encounter openly hostile sexism; more often it was small indignities that piled up over time."

Rural women led social changes for
decades. (Boston Public Library photo)

For some readers, rural life and women's rights may seem at odds, but "American farming once boasted nearly 6.8 million farms, nearly all of them small operations often ran by women as much as their husbands in many ways," Reisinger writes. "For much of our history, rural women led the charge on social progress through many of our country’s biggest crises." 

The place of women as farm workers and as social leaders is marked throughout U.S. history:

• 6.8 million: Farms at America’s height in 1935, mostly small family operations where women did the work of men
• 11.8 million: Men who went off to WWII, leaving behind urban jobs rural women were ready to fill. 
• By the time of World War II, as more than 12.2 million Americans went to war, there was a legion of rural women moving to the city and handling the industrial jobs of the men.
  

Watching and learning from female farm leadership "can challenge us to change. But if we can force ourselves to stop getting rural voters — and each other — so wrong, we can craft new policies to help solve these problems," Reisinger adds. "There’s reason to believe we can do this. We still have nearly 2 million farms in this country, 96% of which are family operations. That’s nearly 2 million families, searching for a way to survive, led by people like my sister who our policymakers could do so much more to understand. . . "

 

Read Reisinger's full opinion here.

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

A new bill would allow satellite internet in rural
areas. (Adobe Stock photo)

Despite bipartisan congressional support for all Americans to have access to speedy internet, discussions on how to get the job done have fallen along party lines, with many Republicans bemoaning the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program as too slow and overly attached to using fiber technology. "New legislation looks to address those complaints," reports Chris Teale of Route Fifty. "The legislation would amend the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and loosen several requirements."

Rep. Richard Hudson, a North Carolina Republican, "introduced the Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment for BEAD Act, known as the SPEED for BEAD Act," Teale explains. The bill "would clarify that any technology, including satellite internet, can be used to help close the digital divide, and would eliminate what Hudson called 'burdensome' regulations."

While several trade groups "expressed their support for the bill. . . . not [everyone is] convinced that changing BEAD at this stage is the right course of action," Teale reports. "With every state and territory having had their deployment plans approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and several states ready to distribute grant funding and deploy infrastructure, some warned that a change now could delay the program further."

Others insist that spending federal dollars on satellite internet will enrich satellite owners while providing only sub-standard internet access. When Evan Feinman, who had directed BEAD for the past three years, quit, he sent "a blistering email to his former colleagues on his way out the door warning that the Trump administration is poised to unduly enrich Elon Musk’s satellite internet company with money for rural broadband," reports John Hendel of Politico.

Feinman’s "lengthy email, totaling more than 1,100 words is a sign of deep discomfort about the changes underway that will likely transform BEAD," Hendel writes. Feinman warned, "'Stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world’s richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals by Washington.'"

Opinion: The strongest argument for openness in government: Facts quell rumors

Jim Pumarlo

As youths we all likely tried to hide bad behavior from our parents. The truth inevitably surfaced, and we bore the brunt of punishment. Lesson: Be up front with circumstances and repercussions typically are minimized.

Newspapers should communicate the same lesson to public officials who try to keep secret what they deem sensitive or unwelcome news: Be forthright. Make it standard procedure to volunteer the news and minimize rumors.

Newsrooms work tirelessly to deliver on the “public’s right to know,” and for good reason. In the words of David Bordewyk, executive director of the South Dakota NewsMedia Association: Open government is essential to good government.

The public’s right to know was the thrust behind the SDNA’s support for a bill that passed this year’s Legislature to require all public boards to review the open meetings laws once a year, Bordewyk writes. “Keeping an eye on government and informing readers about public meetings are among the most important jobs for community news media organizations.”

Government transparency often centers on open records and open meetings laws, Bordewyk notes, acknowledging that laws can be confusing and lead to misunderstandings. So why not require an annual refresher course? It’s a great idea, one that should be pursued by other state press associations if it’s not already on the books.

At the same time, newspapers should not wait for the often lengthy and zigzag path of a worthy idea to reach the finish line. Why not initiate meetings with local officials to review and explore the intricacies of open meeting and data practices laws.

Newspapers certainly should stand on the letter of the law when seeking access to public information and meetings. Two other points should be stressed.

First, advance requests based on the spirit of openness – no matter what the law dictates. Challenge public officials to place themselves in the position of friends and neighbors seeking answers from City Hall. Would they be satisfied with “no comment”?

Second, underscore the value of setting benchmarks for community conversation. Meeting in secret or withholding information only fuels rumors. If gossip has reached the newspaper, those affected can rest assured it has circulated broadly, especially fueled by social media. At a minimum, hearsay exaggerates the facts. At worst, the whispers promote blatant falsehoods.

The opportunity to deliver facts straight from the source is one of the strongest arguments editors can present to those otherwise hesitant to share information. Citizens still may dismiss statements as a “company line,” but parameters have been set for community discussion.

The premise of openness should be delivered to the private sector as well. Companies and individuals are not subject to the same laws as public bodies, but they ought to be aware that their news is equally important to the community and often travels more quickly than a city council vote.

Conflicts over the public’s right to know often focus on a specific meeting or particular document. Officials also should be reminded of the value of everyday openness.

I vividly recall the “news” passed along by my photographer when I sat behind the editor’s desk. Word had reached his son’s elementary school that a teacher at the middle school had lost all his fingers in a lab experiment. We promptly tracked a story for that day’s edition. The superintendent set the record straight. The teacher lost a fingertip and all was handled very calmly and professionally.

Our first inquiry, however, went to the school principal. She refused comment, charging us with sensationalism. A few minutes later she called and canceled her subscription without even seeing our report. I’ll stand by our decision to pursue and publish the story. I’m certain we prevented a lot of misinformed table talk at dinners that evening.

I applaud Bordewyk and his association for securing legislation to require all public boards to review the open meetings laws once a year. In tandem, I encourage newspapers to pursue meetings to orient public officials on the laws. Nothing is more important in newspaper missions than to preserve and advance the public’s right to know.

Editors too often find themselves demanding information in confrontation. Seize the opportunity to structure these meetings as an effort to reach a common understanding.

Jim Pumarlo is former editor of the Red Wing Republican Eagle (Minn.). He writes, speaks and provides training on community newsroom success strategies. He is author of “Journalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Coverage,” “Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Coverage” and “Bad News and Good Judgment: A Guide to Reporting on Sensitive Issues in Small-Town Newspapers.” He can be reached at jim@pumarlo.

A made in the USA bicycle is in the works; maker hopes tariffs on Chinese imports will spur American production.

Guardian's USA-made children's bike is
still evolving. (Guardian graphic via WSJ)

Children’s bike maker Guardian Bikes moved its production from China to the U.S. intending to build its bikes with as many American-made parts as possible, reports Natasha Khan of The Wall Street Journal. The company's founder, Brian Riley, hopes "steep tariffs" on Chinese imports pledged by President-elect Donald Trump will make American-made bikes and parts more competitive.

Moving bicycle component production to the United States will still be tough partially because China has dominated the sector for decades. Riley knows the challenges and is still moving in that direction. Khan explains, "For now, components from China represent about 90% of the total cost of Guardian’s parts. By the end of next year, Riley hopes that figure will be about 20%. Guardian is starting production of its own bike frames. . . . As a result of Guardian’s new manufacturing, American-made parts could represent about 60% of the cost."

One of the reasons Riley moved his company to the United States was to build a "safer bike that could prevent the kind of head-over-heels braking accident that had injured his grandfather years earlier," Khan reports. "Many bikes sold at retailers such as Walmart or Target aren’t fully assembled when they are shipped to the retailers from overseas, so manufacturers don’t have oversight on the final assembly. Riley told Khan, "By controlling every aspect of production, we can guarantee the quality of every bike that rolls off our assembly line."

Riley admits that opening a U.S. factory was expensive and time-consuming. "At first, workers were slow to build the bikes, putting together 100 a day. It took time and constant tweaking of the assembly line to improve their speed and efficiency," Khan writes. Riley told her, "We had to bite the bullet. We had to be willing to lose money for a while to get to the other side of the strategy.”

The creation of Guardian's USA-made bike is evolving. "Guardian plans to begin making bike frames at the factory this year, using American steel. . . . Guardian is also considering making rims itself," Khan reports. "The bike maker has approached U.S. suppliers that could provide grips and reflectors."

Riley told Khan, "Everyone says making bikes here is impossible." Kahn adds, "His factory shows it isn’t."

Goal-setting can be an important part of improving your news organization

Benjy Hamm

By Benjy Hamm
Director, Institute for Rural Journalism

January is a time when many people set new goals for themselves. There’s something about a new year or a milestone birthday that makes people think more about planning, goals and self-improvement.

Even if you’re not one to make personal New Year’s resolutions, you still should think about what goals you would like for your department or newspaper to accomplish in the coming year.

People who operate day to day -- or week to week as the case may be with weekly newspapers – often don’t take enough time to think about the larger, more important goals for themselves and their news organization.

In many years of working with newspapers and online news sites, I watched as the advertising, circulation and business departments set specific goals for each year and measured their performance against those goals. Newsrooms at larger news organizations sometimes did the same thing, but I found that journalists at smaller newspapers often were reluctant to set goals for various reasons.

The No. 1 reason they cited: News is unpredictable and priorities are determined by the news. Other times, journalists said they were uncomfortable with trying to measure goals for news coverage and other content, with fears of clunky story quotas or forced adherence to pre-determined plans.

Those concerns are understandable, but they should not lead to the alternative – no goal-setting or planning.

One of the primary differences between a good news organization and a great news organization is planning. Another key difference is the ability to set important goals and reach them.

When I worked at Landmark’s community newspaper division, we realized that many of the annual strategic plans from our newspapers left out the newsroom. So, we asked each newsroom to establish department goals that would lead to improvements for readers, the newspaper and online site, and the community.

The newsroom’s goals need to be tied to the overall goals of the organization. That seems obvious, but sometimes the newsroom’s goals conflicted with the goals of other departments. For example, one newsroom developed a plan to increase coverage of an adjoining community at the same time the advertising and circulation departments were reducing their efforts in that community because of poor sales.

That exposed a problem with internal communication, among other issues, but at least the fact that the newsroom wrote down its goals led to a fuller discussion about newspaper-wide strategies. And if you think that lack of communication only happens at larger news organizations, then you might be surprised to learn that it occurred at a smaller weekly newspaper.

Goals also need to be specific and, as much as possible, measurable. Everyone needs to understand how you will achieve your goals. A lot of businesses set goals based on the SMART concept – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific. Using the SMART approach forces you to focus on the most effective ways to achieve your goals, such as clearly identifying the goal (specific), determining how you will know if you reach the goal (measurable) and establishing deadlines (time-specific).

We found that people who are new to goal-setting tend to use vague words such as “more” instead of specific measures. For example, if your goal is to increase coverage of high school sports in your region because that’s important for your audience and helps to differentiate you from a competitor, then you might be tempted to write a goal to do more coverage beyond football and basketball. But what does “more” mean? How many stories are you doing now on those other sports? What types of additional stories would benefit your audience? How specifically do you plan to increase coverage?

One way to judge a goal is to ask how you will know if you reach or exceed it.

Goal-setting should begin with discussions about what your audience and potential audience need and want from you as a news organization. What are you already doing well? How can you improve?

Maybe you think the newspaper is not doing enough editorials on local issues. Set a goal that will focus your efforts to improve for 2025.

Let’s say you want to set a goal to have “more” names of community members in the newspaper next year, which is an annual goal for some community newspapers. To determine what more means, you’ll need to know how many were published in the past year. But maybe you don’t have enough time now to go back through the past 12 months of newspapers to determine your baseline. Instead, you can review recent newspapers and establish a goal above those numbers. Another possibility is to establish a minimum goal for each issue and increase that number over time.

The point, of course, is not simply to establish numerical goals – but to tie those goals into improving readership, engagement and circulation while establishing the news organization as the leading source for news and information in your community.

Our time is limited, so it’s essential to focus on the most important goals. In my experience, managers and journalists who don’t take time up front to establish goals often waste more time through the year unnecessarily as they get sidetracked by the all-too-many everyday distractions.

Benjy Hamm is director of the Institute for Rural Journalism, which is based at the University of Kentucky. He previously served as editorial director for Landmark Community Newspapers, as an editor for The New York Times Regional Newspaper Group and as a reporter and editor for The Associated Press.