States struggle to replace benefits stolen from poor's food accounts; must have plan to use federal funds this month

EBT cards lack security against electronic theft.
(Photo by Robert F. Bukaty, The Associated Press)

Theft of federal benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, "skyrocketed in the spring and summer last year," reports Elaine S. Povich of Stateline. "News reports and law enforcement agencies said the benefits most likely were stolen with 'skimming' devices attached by crooked employees or thieves posing as customers to card processing machines at store checkouts. The skimmers take seconds to install, and law enforcement officials say they are often placed late at night when store employees are distracted. Those devices clone the data encoded on the cards and can also steal PINs."

In the past, the situation was a hardship for benefit recipients because only a few states "reimbursed stolen benefits, according to the American Public Human Services Association. . . . Unlike regular credit or debit cards where refunds are often available when thieves poach funds, EBT cards don’t have those protections. That leaves many victims with no recourse." Povich writes. The omnibus spending bill contains "a federal mandate that allows states to use federal money to reimburse SNAP recipients whose benefits were stolen through electronic card fraud. . . . The federal law also calls on states to increase the cards’ security. . .. States have until the end of February to draw up plans to use federal money they get for the SNAP program to reimburse recipients who were ripped off."

"State legislatures are grappling with how to comply, said the association's senior director, Matthew Lyons," Povich reports. "So far, according to an email to Stateline from a Department of Agriculture spokesperson, no state has yet forwarded a plan to the department. And critics say since the law did not spell out parameters on how to make the cards more tamper-proof, there may still be room for misuse."

SNAP recipients in Massachusetts were particularly hard hit with thefts. Povich writes: "In November, just weeks before the federal omnibus bill passed, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, a liberal public interest group, filed a class action lawsuit against the state agency that handles the benefits on behalf of SNAP beneficiaries who had their money stolen from their EBT cards. . . . Betsy Gwin, the attorney for the institute that filed suit, told Povich the federal omnibus bill was a 'really, really positive step' and that her group 'has a duty to the clients to fight for justice for them.'”

Advocacy group asks Interior Department to investigate connection of Kentucky flood deaths to surface coal mining

Screenshot of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth interactive map; streamflow is generally NW

Four inches of rain in a single hour. And the rain just kept on falling. Now, "A Kentucky advocacy group is calling on the federal government to launch an investigation into whether a legacy of surface coal mining in Eastern Kentucky exacerbated the catastrophic, deadly flooding the region faced last July," Liam Niemeyer reports for Kentucky Lantern. "Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, a progressive, grassroots organization known for lobbying on environmental issues, made public Monday a letter it was sending to federal surface-mine regulators. The letter not only requests an investigation into whether a relationship exists between surface coal mining and the severity of floods but also calls on federal officials to investigate a state agency charged with inspecting surface coal mines."

"At least 44 deaths have been attributed to the floods by the governor's office," reports Connor Griffin of the Louisville Courier Journal. The group's letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which includes the Office of Surface Mine Reclamation and Enforcement, "pointed out the proximity of 35 flood-related deaths, and one missing person, to land that has been used for mining. Even after reclamation, strip-mined land often cannot absorb flood runoff as it would naturally." 

KFTC accuses the Kentucky Department of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement "of failing to properly investigate complaints and requests for inspection, even after Eastern Kentuckians filed more than 100 of them with the regional office in Hazard after the floods hit." In response, the state Energy and Environment Cabinet "defended its record of mining-regulation enforcement, and cited its extensive work on the ground in the hours and days following the floods, and said the Division of Abandoned Mine Lands responded to 400 complaints of flooded areas in the months after," but said it "would welcome any DOI analysis of any surface mining contribution to the flooding."

Winner, winner, winner, accidental chicken for dinner: How a minor error started America's large-scale poultry industry

Ike Long, a farmer; Cecile Steele’s children, and Cecile Steele.
(Photo from National Archives and Records Administration)

The Popsicle, chocolate-chip cookies and raising chickens for meat all started with accidents. In the case of chicken, a shipping error launched a 30-billion dollar industry, writes Kenny Torrella for Vox. "The story begins in 1923, with homemaker and farmer Cecile Steele of Ocean View, Delaware. Steele kept a small flock of chickens that she raised for eggs and waited to slaughter them for meat once their productivity waned. . . . But one day by accident the local chick hatchery delivered 500 birds. . . . Returns weren’t really an option, so she kept them anyway in a barn the size of a studio apartment — 256 square feet — that was heated by a coal stove.  . . . She still made a sizable profit off the 2-pound survivors — almost $11 per pound in today’s dollars — and began to ramp up her operations."

Steele's success allowed "her husband to quit his job to help Cecile expand, and within three years, they were raising 10,000 chickens. Word of the Steele family’s success spread, and by 1928 there were hundreds of farmers in the area raising chickens primarily for their meat," Torrella writes. "And the hatchery accident occurred during the Roaring ’20s, a decade of immense economic growth in the United States. . . . The Delmarva Peninsula, where Steele’s farm was located, was also the perfect place for large-scale chicken farming to take off. There was cheap, abundant land a relatively short distance from the hungry consumers of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City."

Torrella continues: "Steele’s accident set off the chicken revolution as we know it. In the first half of the 20th century, chicken accounted for well under 20 percent of meat consumption in the U.S. Today, it’s about 44 percent. . . . Today grocery stores charge $4 to $10 a pound for beef and pork, while chicken can cost as little as $1.80 a pound. Bacon and steak may take center stage for meat lovers, but when it comes to what’s for dinner, the answer is more often poultry."

The industry's beginnings were a serendipitous "mix of coincidence and ambition. Steele set off a race to put chicken at the center of the American plate, changing the face of agriculture forever," Torrella writes. But for all its popularity, not all the results have been positive. Torella adds, "In the process, we bent the chicken to our will, pushing the species to its biological limits, polluting waterways and our lungs along the way, all to supply a growing population with cheap protein."

Unplanned revival at Christian university in Ky. draws from 'far and near' seeking God's healing, forgiveness and hope

UPDATE, Feb. 19: The Lexington Herald-Leader reports, "The final public evening service will be held on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Public worship will continue in the afternoons through Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. each day."

Worshippers at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky., on Monday afternoon, the sixth day of continuous  worship. (Photo by Robin Cornetet, Kentucky Today)

They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine (Hosea 14:7). Hosea means “Yahweh has rescued.”

The chapel at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, has been filled with a fire of revival and the joy of rescue since last Wednesday's regular chapel service morphed into continuous worship and prayer, attracting people form a wide area, report Chip Hutcheson, Hannah Julian and Robin Cornetet of Kentucky Today, a publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. "They came from far and near, from mothers carrying their infant children to senior citizens — all flooding into chapel. . . . A whiteboard just inside the front doors of the chapel speaks to the impact of more than 120 hours of preaching, singing, testimonies and confession of sin. The board was jam-packed with praises and prayer requests, evidencing how God had moved on people during this extended revival time."

Asbury student Carly Cawthon told Kentucky Today, “The revival at Asbury happened unexpectedly, just as the scriptures say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no heart has imagined what the Lord has prepared for those who love him’ (1 Corinthians 2:9). . . . there was nothing special about this week, no one could have imagined Tuesday or even Wednesday morning what was about to transpire."

People have answered a seemingly collective call to attend: "Hannah Dennison, from Akron, Ohio, read about the revival on social media and came alone — 'Everyone thought I was crazy.' . . . Susan Carson with her three children drove Sunday night from Brunswick, Ga., because Susan wanted her children to experience the revival. . . . Emma Sparks from Ashland was with a group of Boyd County High School [near Ashland, Ky.] who received permission from the principal (and their parents) to be there Monday said, 'This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing — we took two cars and drove two and a half hours.'"

A dry-erase board in Hughes Auditorium contains prayers and praises
by revival attendees. (Photo by Robin Cornetet, Kentucky Today)

On Monday at 10 a.m., "the 1,500-seat chapel was filled. Asbury students left to attend classes. Those seats they vacated did not remain empty for long as people continued to stream into Hughes Auditorium. . . . That worship time found young and old lifting hands and bowing heads in praise. . . . On the altar were numerous prayer requests written on sticky notes."

Greg Haseloff, the Asbury campus chaplain, told Kentucky Today that said the events provide “such a beautiful experience of seeking God — it is holy ground. It will continue to be a place of worship and prayer.” Asbury is nondenominational but grounded in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement.

NPR does deep dive at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, finds CEO (governor's ex-flack) making editorial decisions

West Virginia Public Broadcasting's recent dismissal of a part-time reporter who angered state officials was "part of a years-long pattern of mounting pressure on the station from Gov. Jim Justice's administration and some state legislators," reports NPR media reporter David Folkenflik. "Since 2017, politicians have sought to eliminate state funding. The governor appointed partisans hostile to public broadcasting to key oversight positions. And the station's chief executive has intervened repeatedly in journalistic decisions."

CEO Carl "Butch" Antolini

WVPB Chief Executive Carl "Butch" Antolini denied "any hint of political interference in coverage," Folkenflik reports, quoting him: "A lot of the information that has been reported or disseminated is either partially or completely inaccurate." Folkenflik notes, "The statement was the only response Antolini or any West Virginia Public Broadcasting official would give NPR News for this story, despite repeated questioning." Later, Folkenflik notes that when he began inquiring, WVPB removed from its website all references to NPR.

"Allegations of serious political pressure on state-funded stations are rare," Folkenflik reports. "More than a third of West Virginia Public Broadcasting revenue comes directly from the state. Outside West Virginia, there are currently eight NPR member stations licensed to state entities, according to NPR. Many others are licensed to state universities." But WVPB "plays an outsized role in the local media landscape" in a state where "vast natural resources and wealth sit alongside abject poverty," because "the news industry has hit hard times." WVPB's 2021 annual report says it served 684,000 television viewers each month and 91,000 radio listeners each week, and other materials said its website got 1.6 million page views in 2022.

When Gov. Jim Justice took office in 2017, he tried to end all state funding of WVPB, but the legislature only cut 10 percent. The news director at the time said two senior officials "pressed the newsroom to stop covering Justice's business travails," Folkenflik reports. The officials didn't reply to his queries. After two CEOs came and went, the job went to Antolini, a former executive editor of The Register-Herald in Beckley, who had been Justice's spokesman. He was hired by a new governing board named by Justice, including "a top lobbyist for the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce" who had been a director of "a conservative think tank that has characterized state funding on West Virginia Public Broadcasting as 'wasteful' spending," and another lobbyist and "top adviser" to controversial coal operator Don Blankenship, Folkenflik reports.

When state Senate President Craig Blair questioned the dismissal of the part-timer who reported abuse of residents in state nursing homes, Antolini told his news director to get Blair on the air immediately, "saying Blair misspoke or was uninformed," and said he would review the news director's questions before the interview. Blair wouldn't cooperate. Folkenflik's story ends, "According to two people with direct knowledge of its activities, the legislature's commission on special investigations — a joint committee of the House and Senate — has launched hearings behind closed doors about the political pressures besetting the station."

Foraging for mushrooms, Appalachian original is rocking TikTok with her fungi-scouting tips and authentic persona

Whitney Johnson, aka @appalachian_forager,
poses with some of her fungi. (Photo via CJ)

Remember lock-down loneliness, when it seemed the only safe place to go was outside, preferably alone? Eastern Kentucky native Whitney Johnson took the "get outdoors" advice literally, "Mushroom hunting gave Johnson an outlet to get outside during the Covid-19 pandemic, as many people began feeling heavy isolation. She'd visit state parks and before long, she built an interest in the mushrooms she'd see in the woods," reports Rae Johnson of the Louisville Courier Journal. On TikTok, "Johnson is known as the @appalachian_forager . . . . The Lawrence County creator has more than 700,000 people following."

Whitney Johnson told the CJ, "I have had a strong sense of like, community, since I was a kid; you know, like family coming together for dinners and making that like a normal thing. So, you know, I do really feel like that's just instilled in me because that's where I'm from and that's what we do." Rae Johnson reports: "Megan Bullock, Johnson's best friend, said the Appalachian culture her videos exhibit draws people in, from how people in the region dress for the snow to Johnson's self-taught foraging tricks, like using a pole to finesse some high-up pheasant back mushrooms."

Sleuthing mushrooms is only part of Johnson's Appalachian charm. "She'll often show her followers how to make tinctures and other herbal products from plants in the region and engages with viewers in the comments by answering questions and showing a 'dash of humor' with a strong regional accent," Johnson adds. "When she's not filming in the woods, she can be found working as a full-time therapist, which plays into her online persona. . . . the key is authenticity in a digital age where so much online content is curated for perfection."

Lawrence County (Wikipedia map)

It's clear that Johnson enjoys building her TikTok family. She told Johnson: “I also love the comments that mention their memories with their mamaws and papaws and that my video unlocked a core, wholesome memory of their Appalachian family. . . . I get a lot of people who tell me they were intimidated by the thought of foraging and creating their own goodies, but now they’ve gained the confidence and are doing the dang thing."

From the food to the turf and maybe even the pizza guy's tip, this year's Super Bowl was brought to you by farmers

Photo by Successful Farming

Super Sunday can be likened to the American version of the Garden of Eden: All the good things agriculture has to offer. Before the game, Heather Barnes and Lisa Foust Prater of Successful Farming
reported that from the chicken wings to veggie trays to all the meats, cheeses and chips, "A whopping 79% will be spent on food and beverages, all of which come from farms. Americans eat more food on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year except for Thanksgiving."

Don't forget the barley for the beer. "The National Restaurant Association says 51.7 million cases of beer are sold every year during Super Bowl weekend. One bushel of barley, grown mostly by farmers across the Northern Plains and Pacific Northwest, will make 565 12-ounce beers," Barnes and Prater write. "Whether it’s the stadium, the field, the ball, or the food, one thing is clear: no farms, no Super Bowl."

And it goes beyond food. "Leather is also used to make the ball. Even though it's often called a pigskin, footballs are actually made of cowhide," Barnes and Prater write. "Wilson [Sporting Goods] is the official supplier of footballs for the NFL: 120 of its footballs will be used in Sunday's game. One cowhide will make 10 footballs. Not just any cowhide is used; it comes from cattle grown in Iowa, Kansas, or Nebraska."

Bet you didn't think of this: Barnes and Prater ask, "Did you know 75% of that dollar bill you just used to tip the pizza delivery guy is made of cotton?" Thank you, American farmers. We like money. What about all that turf? "The turf in State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, is a hybrid drought-tolerant Bermuda grass, grown on a turf farm and trucked the 25 miles to the stadium," they report. "The grass is housed in a single tray, which is 40 inches deep, 234 feet wide, and 403 feet long. The entire tray is rolled outside when the grass needs sunlight or the stadium is being used for other events."

Keeping farm-family relationships healthy takes shared values and 'expect that we’re going to be having problems'

Andy Junkin addresses the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit.
(Photo by Philip Gruber, Lancaster Farming)

Everybody's got problems, but not everyone has problems that include the trials of farming with family members. "The first step to overcoming conflict over the direction of the family farm is finding the points where everyone agrees," writes Philip Gruber of Lancaster Farming. Andy Junkin, who become a farm-succession mediator in 2010 after quitting his family's dairy farm, told Gruber, "We’ve got to stop being stubborn with each other, and we’ve got to start being stubborn with the habits that make a farm and a farm family successful."

Gruber reports, "Junkin’s approach to reconciliation is based on finding shared principles. A few of these values should be what made the farm successful and need to be maintained. . . . Junkin realized that many families were not really asking him to fix their problems. They were looking for permission to split up. Junkin told Gruber, “I don’t accept that because I know what it’s like not to get together with your family for Christmas."

In one case, "Junkin was called in to work with a son who expanded and took over his father’s hatchery. But while the father had worked tirelessly alongside his employees, the Ivy League-educated son stayed in the office, wrote out protocols, and berated employees who didn’t follow them," Gruber writes. "Junkin talked with the son and got him to understand why the workers respected his father but not him. The son signaled his change by getting a tattoo saying 'Earn respect daily,' and the farm has succeeded and grown in the years since."

Gruber cites a key principle: "Whatever tenets the family chooses, they need to be specific enough that everyone agrees on what they mean. Instead of a one-word goal like 'communication,' Junkin suggested 'the right hand knows what the left hand’s doing'. . . . When someone’s about to throw a punch, other family members won’t defuse the situation by saying the person needs to work on communication."

"Rooting decisions in shared values will help families work through tough financial times and enjoy working together," Gruber writes. Junkin told Gruber, "What we’ve got to be is realistic and expect that we’re going to be having problems. We’ve got to get really good at problem solving."

Opinion: Vilsack finally acknowledges UDSA's failings, but seems not to recognize that there are two rural Americas

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, left, at a beef processing plant
in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Josh Funk, The Associated Press)

While this year's Farm Bill debate takes shape, commentators Bryce Oates and Jake Davis take Deparment of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's "sales pitch" to task in their opinion for The Daily Yonder.

"Vilsack says he will help make the case for additional local food, climate change, and conservation investments," Oates and Davis write. "His advice is to frame the debate around a basic question: 'Do we want a system that benefits the few, or do we want a system that benefits the many and most? . . . There’s got to be a system in which the many and most have a fair shot.' . . . While there are certainly strong points to Vilsack’s public-relations strategy — particularly the acknowledgment that USDA has done a poor job of supporting anyone but the largest and most wealthy row-crop and livestock operations — the rhetoric fails to resonate with the realities of life in the trenches for many of us doing farm-and-food-system reform work."

The lack of policy depth is a problem, they write: "Vilsack’s 'We support farmers of all sizes' balancing act fails to address the very real and interrelated issues of corporate control over markets, manure pollution from industrial livestock factories, continued increases in climate emissions from agriculture, and massive economic inequities between government support of farming operations. Vilsack is talking a big game but failing to deliver the actual policies that will get to the root of key farm and food system challenges."

In the meat of it, they opine: "After a decade of experience on the job, Vilsack finally gets the problem right. But once again, he is getting the politics for the solutions all wrong. Whether he wants to admit it or not, there are two rural Americas. There are the chosen few in every community currently thriving in the corporate-dominated system — primarily those same commodity producers that continue to be propped up by federal farm policy —and then there is everyone else."

What are some solutions? "Without serious reforms, Wall Street investors will continue to press for more giant farms dependent on low-wage workers increasingly difficult to hire," Oates and Davis write. "The rural places we love in farm country will continue to hollow out until little is left of community identity, local institutions, or public services.  . . . Like the thousands of advocates and organizers we regularly work with on farm and rural policy and analysis, it’s time we admit that the Vilsack approach is a political loser."

Oates and Davis offer some final thoughts: "There are, of course, many provisions in the Farm Bill we support that could help the majority of rural America, but that would mean reshaping who has the power in our food system. That would mean funding the right tools and opportunities so that rural people have a better life and some kind of vision of a potential economic future. That would mean taking on the Farm Bureau and their allies in the Agribusiness C Suites, the exact kind of place where Secretary Vilsack spends his time between presidential appointments."

How rural is your state, according to the last census?

News-media roundup: Chart gauges outlets' bias, reliability; a fake paper in minutes; Paxton Media buys Camden Media

Screenshot of AdFontes news-media bias graph; to enlarge, click on it; for the interactive version, click here.

The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations) and Ad Fontes Media, which calls itself "a leader in media-bias intelligence," have created an interactive graph with political-bias and reliability ratings for newspapers and magazines audited by AAM. "Ad Fontes selects a sample of a news source’s content over various news cycles," it says. "Each piece is rated individually by a panel of analysts representing right, left and center political viewpoints. The ratings are discussed by the panel and averaged to generate scores for both reliability and political bias. Learn more about the chart’s methodology here.

Trusting News offers six ways to answer anticipated questions about your journalism in order to make it more transparent. 

The artifical-intelligence program ChatGPT can create a fake newspaper in minutes, The Poynter Institute's Alex Mahadevam reports.

How to help your newspaper grow: Give readers what they want, and to attract younger yeaders, have a younger staff, consultant Kevin Slimp writes in his latest column after meeting with a focus group for the Standard Banner in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

Paxton Media Group is acquiring the Chronicle-Independent, the Lee County Observer, the Blythewood Country Chronicle, the Winnsboro/Fairfield County Country Chronicle, the Fort Jackson Leader, The Shaw News and "assorted glossy magazines and websites" from Camden Media Co., a long-time partnership of Mike Mischner of Camden, S.C., and Charles H. Morris of Savannah, reports Cribb, Cope & Potts, which brokered the sale. Terms were undisclosed. 

El Rito Media, a startup that raised eyebrows when it bought the Rio Grande Sun in northern New Mexico last year, buys a second paper: bought the Artesia Daily Press in southeast New Mexico from the Green family, which founded it in 1954 and had sold its other newspapers, reports newspaper broker Dirks, Van Essen and April, which handled the sale. Terms were undisclosed.

Bird flu impact may go beyond eggs; shows signs of spreading among mammals; vaccine for poultry to be tested

The U.S. is experiencing a record outbreak of bird flu, a virus that is currently deemed a low risk to humans, but has hiked prices of eggs and poultry. The Biden administration is weighing whether to vaccinate poultry against the disease and it appears that the virus can spread among mammals. 

Bird flu spread among minks at a farm in Spain. (Nature photo) 

"The virus is primarily a threat to birds," Emily Anthes reports for The New York Times, "but infections in mammals increase the odds that the virus could mutate in ways that make it more of a risk to humans, experts say," 

Anthes reports that a new variant of the H5N1 virus has "taken an unusually heavy toll on wild birds and repeatedly spilled over into mammals, such as foxes, raccoons and bears, that might feed on infected birds." 

More recently, it has infected farmed minks, which scientists describe as a "new and troubling development," pointing to an outbreak in Spain where the virus appeared to spread from mink to mink and had an unusual mutation that might be a sign of adaptation to mammals, Anthes reports, adding that experts say the mink outbreak is no cause for panic, but highlights the need for more proactive surveillance.  

Your Local Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina reports that the risk of bird flu in humans is "currently very low," citing research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracked the health of more than 5,190 people who have been exposed to infected birds in 2022 and only one human case was reported. The Times reports "fewer than 10 known cases in people since December 2021, and there have been no documented instances of human-to-human transmission, according to the CDC."

Federal scientists are gearing up to test the first vaccines in poultry against the bird flu as a way to counter the growing oubreak, Alexander Tin reports for CBS News. The Biden administration has not yet greenlighted the use of these vaccines. Officials told Tin that one of the concerns about issuing these vaccines is that it could make it harder to export American poultry products.

The virus is spread from an infected bird's nasal secretions, saliva and fecal droppings. 

USDA says properly prepared and cooked poultry and eggs should pose no risk to consumers. 

"Right now you don’t need to do anything, unless you’re in close contact with birds. A person’s level of risk is dependent on duration and intensity of exposure. In other words, a person with one chicken in their backyard is at much lower risk than someone at a poultry farm," Jetelina writes. "Those around wild birds, such as at parks, lakes, rivers, or other waterways, need to exercise caution, including wearing PPE, washing hands, and changing clothes. If you have backyard poultry, wear a mask and wash your hands. Also, monitor the health of your flock, especially if they come in contact with other wild birds."

In 2006, Congress ordered HHS to integrate health-data systems; it still hasn't been done, and that causes problems

Photo by Irwan, Unsplash

America's got some sharp tech teeth: Apple, Microsoft, Google, and so on, which makes the nation's seemingly clumsy foray into sharing medical data so puzzling. "The pandemic highlighted ineffective data infrastructure across the U.S. health system," reports Sam Whitehead of Kaiser Health News. "Coronavirus case reports sent by fax machine. Clunky tech for monitoring vaccine distribution. . . . Supply chain breakdowns that left health-care providers without needed protective equipment. . . . And Congress knew about the potential for these problems long before Covid. Lawmakers mandated the Department of Health and Human Services to better integrate U.S. data management systems to allow stakeholders to better share information years ago, in 2006."

Whitehead starts with a real-life example: "In early 2020, as they tried to fight covid-19 across two rural counties in North Carolina, the staff of Granville Vance Public Health was stymied, relying on outdated technology to track a fast-moving pandemic." They had to use "five data systems. One was decades old and complicated. Another was made of Excel spreadsheets. None worked well together or with systems at other levels of government."

Whitehead gives several reasons the data system wasn't improved: the complexity of the task and inadequate funding; a federal-first approach to health that deprives state and local agencies of resources; unclear ownership of the project in HHS; insufficient enforcement mechanisms to hold federal officials accountable; and little agreement on what data is even needed in an emergency."

Soumi Saha, senior vice president of government affairs at Premier, a health-technology company, told Whitehead, “What keeps me up at night is that we forget about the past two and a half years, and we just move on — that we don’t take the opportunity and time to truly reflect and make needed changes.”

Whitehead reports: "Different hospitals often use different electronic health-record systems, so are frequently unable to share patient data with one another, much less with the federal government. . . . Much of the 2019 bill mandating the data-sharing network’s creation is set to expire in September, and reauthorizing the law could be a challenge in a split Congress where House Republicans have announced their intention to examine the U.S. response to the pandemic."

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told Whitehead, “Congress has an opportunity now to build the public health system. What are they doing? Undermining public health legal authorities, demonizing public health officials. It’s almost like we didn’t learn anything.”

National Farm Medicine Center seeks farmers, ranchers for study about how they balance child-raising and work

U.S. Department of Agriculture photo

National Farm Medicine Center 

Farm and ranch parents know how challenging it can be to balance children and work, especially when child care options (paid or unpaid) are limited. These challenges can have consequences for the farm business, the safety of children, and the well-being of the family as a whole. To better understand farm and ranch families’ realities balancing children and work, researchers at the National Farm Medicine Center and The Ohio State University are asking farmers to share their experiences through a new national survey.

“We recognize that farmers often feel over-surveyed and have limited time and energy this time of year,” said Florence Becot, an associate research scientist at the center and an affiliate of its National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety. “However, we also know that decisions are being made by local, state and national policymakers without a good grounding in the realities faced by actual farm families.”

The survey is especially timely, Becot said, because this is a Farm Bill year, and some farm organizations and policy makers are debating if affordable child care in rural areas should become a priority. “This is the first nationwide comprehensive survey focused on the realities of farmers and ranchers raising children,” said Shoshanah Inwood, an associate professor at Ohio State. The survey asks farmers not only about their child care and schooling arrangements but also about how their decisions are connected to farm safety, the economic viability of their farm business, and their household finances.

“Over the years the U.S. Department of Agriculture has invested significant resources to recruit and retain the next generation of farmers,” Inwood said. “Yet these programs and resources rarely consider or take into account the child-care needs of farm and ranch families, despite evidence of child-care challenges dating back to the 1980s.” As one Ohio farm parent told Becot and Inwood during a focus group last year: “If America wants farmers, we need help with child care.”

The results of the survey will be available later in the year and will be shared with farmers, farm organizations, state agencies, and policy makers. Families can respond to the survey online through this link: https://redcap.link/Survey2_FarmersRaisingChildren. They can also request a paper survey by contacting Becot (becot.florence@marshfieldresearch.org; 715-389-9379). For more information contact Dr. Florence Becot at becot.florence@marshfieldresearch.org or 715-389-9379.

Hi, there! Without phone books, getting to know your rural neighbors can take planning; maybe even a yard sale

Yonder image by Xandr Brown (Photos by Unsplash and Canva)

Yesterday the Rural Blog endorsed calling people up on the phone as a refreshing way to build rural connections. But to call someone, you at least need to know their phone number. "How do we get to be good neighbors to those whose paths never cross our own?" asks Donna Kallner of The Daily Yonder, "Once upon a time, if you knew someone’s last name, you could look them up in the phone book to call when their dog was in your yard or a package was delivered to your porch by mistake. . . . But now, how do you even know when is a good time to introduce yourself?"

Perhaps starting with the basics is best, and note that it's the effort that counts. Kallner has these suggestions:

Smile and wave. Whether you’re in your yard, on your deck, walking to the mailbox, shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, in your vehicle, or on your bicycle – smile and wave at everyone. A cheerful greeting is never wasted, even on people just passing through. . . . Once you can recognize each other, it’s easier for one of you to pull up and introduce yourself. Keep it brief and casual: I’m so-and-so and I live at the place with the ______. I can see you’re busy but I wanted to say hello and introduce myself.

Offer your number. Anyone used to living where people draw curtains for privacy might need a little space to acclimate to a rural neighborhood. So unless you want them to start running background checks on you, don’t lead off with offers to watch their kids or pick up their mail. However, you can offer your cell phone number and a “feel free to call or text if you have any questions." They may not seem ready to be all-in as neighbors – yet – and let them set the pace for building this new relationship.

Need to know. There’s a fine line, sometimes, between helpful information and thinly veiled criticism or the kind of gossip that makes a neighbor wonder what you’re telling others about them. . . . But if you’re planning a big party, stop by to invite the neighbors to join you and to assure them the music will end at 10 p.m. . . . And if you’ve given someone permission to hunt on your land, let the neighbors know there may be a strange vehicle parked at a strange place at odd hours.

Join a neighborhood group. Whether you have questions to ask or advice to offer, meetings in real life and online groups or message boards are surprisingly good ways to connect with your community. Review and adhere to the rules of engagement for online groups, and the Golden Rule in all situations.

When neighbors aren’t people. Non-resident owners aren’t all cottage people. Farmland changes hands. Tracking down a phone number for forest cropland, family trusts, limited liability corporations, and other ownership entities isn’t easy. One way to do that is by using an app that integrates public records and maps. For example, OnX Hunt is a GPS mapping app that shows property boundaries. Snail mail isn’t the fastest way for a neighbor to report a concern to a non-resident owner, but at least it’s something.

If all else fails, hold a yard sale. Nothing draws curious neighbors like putting artifacts from your life up for sale. . . . what better way could there be to get to know folks than to hold up a find and say, “There must be a story that goes with this”?

Some final thoughts: "In some rural neighborhoods, showing up with baked goods to introduce yourself is still exactly the right thing. . . . Watching out for others is in the DNA of rural people. If it takes a little more effort to get acquainted with your neighbors, it’s worth it."

Quick hits: Health benefits of outdoors; dealing with yard pests and winter blahs; can a state have an official aroma?

   "Yellowstone" cast (Paramount Network photo via IMDb)

Get rural-centric with "Yellowstone." Part Western, part soap opera, it's one of the most-watched shows on TV. It’s also the centerpiece of the growing rural entertainment empire.

The smell of roasting chile peppers is what draws people to parking lots across New Mexico. That sweet, spicy aroma that brings watering mouths and nostalgia for home; so it makes sense that lawmakers are weighing whether to make green chile the state’s official aroma. . . . It all began with a classroom of fifth graders. 

Speaking of veggies, the Rural Mom has some tips for supporting your local farmers' markets. They will be coming soon.

Spending time in nature can be relaxing and rejuvenating. It might even lower a person's rate of hospitalization for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and related dementias, a large study showed.

Rendering from Encyclopedia Britannica

The University of Texas hosts an immersive summer Shakespeare program for rural Fayette County, Texas students to experience the Bard's work first hand. Professor Emeritus “Doc” Ayres at UT and his students are the subject of documentary called “Take Pains, Be Perfect,” which celebrates the half-century of performance and connection fostered in this theater barn in the country.

Fie, fie! Unknit those rows of mounded dirt that once were manicured lawn,
And dart not away from my hose and trap, oh, stealthy moles and voles,
To wound my yard so keenly, untamed shrews!
(Our adaptation of lines from Katherina in Act 5, Scene 1 of The Taming of the Shrew; for actual shrews and other yardly pests, read here on how to deal with them)

Head to the conjunction of folk-and-jazz-for-rock-but-pop that meets up at Western Animation Junction. And there you go. Schoolhouse Rock is 50 years old.

Snort. Whinny. Nicker. Neigh. Bray. Squeal. A visit to a horse barn, usually includes some comments from the four-legged creatures who are known to be curious and opinionated. These native and visiting horses weigh in on Lexington, Kentucky, which calls itself "Horse Capital of the World."

Salt. Sand. Pebbles. Cat litter. Yes, it's still snowing in some regions. "In these parts, driveways can break you or make you into a minor god worshiped by UPS and FedEx drivers, beloved of propane delivery personnel, and heavily recruited by rural volunteer fire departments. Here's how to keep on, keeping on as winter continues.

Science explains seasonal affective disorder, which can occur in both winter and summer. Here's why it happens, and how you might treat it.

Newspaper publisher 'knew it was wrong,' used the law to be her own attorney and won her case

Darla Downs of the Northern Plains Independent in Wolf
Point, Montana. (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick, Daily Montanan)

Follow the law. Seems pretty straightforward, but in many cases, systems need astute citizens to get that job done. Darla Downs, owner and publisher of Montana's Northern Plains Independent, is a determined journalist who "took on the election of now-former Roosevelt County Attorney Frank Piocos. She couldn’t afford an attorney, so she filed a lawsuit pro se," reports Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan. "After both parties presented their cases, Judge Katherine Bidegaray ruled that Piocos was not a resident of the county when he ran for election in 2022, and therefore, he was ineligible for the office. She also ordered a new special election."

“This was outside my normal wheelhouse," Downs told Ehrlick. "I knew the law was on my side, and I had the help of plenty of county residents who were on my side. I believe in watchdog journalism, and people knew it was wrong and wanted me to do something.”

Ehrlick explains the conflict: "Piocos had previously been an assistant county attorney, which is not elected. Bidegaray’s decision said under the law, a qualified elector meant a person who has residence in a particular county. Residency is determined largely by where the person lives. . . . . Piocos had even rented office space in the county, but the judge said renting space is not the same as establishing residency, and therefore Piocos was not qualified to run for office in 2022. . . . . Piocos defended his win by claiming that Downs had not challenged his election properly. . . . the judge did not find that point persuasive."

Roosevelt County will now plan its special election, but meanwhile, "Roosevelt County Commission Chairman Gordon Oelkers said he’s been surprised at the number of people coming forward to either help in the interim, or consider running." Oelkers told Ehrlick, "There are not a lot of lawyers up here in this corner of the state. But I’m pleasantly surprised by the number who are willing to help provide guidance and move us in a positive direction."

Ehrlick noted that Downs presented and won her case as her own attorney. Downs told Ehrlick, "I wasn’t not surprised. I was relieved."

The Northern Plains Independent's main office is in Wolf Point, Montana, pop., 2,500. The paper reaches Roosevelt, Daniels, Mc-Cone, Valley, Sheridan or Richland counties.

A photographer searches for democracy in rural America and tries to tell us 'what's lost when newspapers close'

Former home of the newspaper in Dodge City, Kansas (Photos by Jonathan Ariaz,, Fourth Estate project)

Ink knives at the Russell County News, Russell, Kan.

In the United States, credible news sources, such as newspapers, function to safeguard democracy by: promoting inclusion and participation, informing the electorate, supporting basic rights and helping citizens manage the agenda. Within that framework, it makes sense that "Leading up to the 2020 presidential election, photographer Jeremiah Ariaz, who wanted to make images that showed what democracy looked like in rural America traveled across the country . . . . visiting campaign offices, main streets, protest sites and sometimes, newspapers," reports Kristen Hare of The Poynter Institute, a nonprofit that supports media literacy and journalism ethics.

Ariaz's first stop was "Main Street in Sublette, Kansas. He was standing with his camera and tripod when a man approached him, asked what he was doing, and invited the photographer to stop by his office," Hare writes. "The man thought he had something Ariaz might be interested in." Ariaz told Hare, “It ended up being the local newspaper office.”

Hare writes: "Kenneth Bell showed Ariaz the newspaper’s archives and the newsroom’s abandoned darkroom. Immediately, Ariaz realized how what he was seeing in the Haskell County Monitor-Chief tied in with the bigger questions he had about democracy and rural America. . . . In 2022, Ariaz took a sabbatical from his full-time job as a professor of art and headed back to his native Kansas. He visited 115 newspapers – closed, moved and still publishing."

Paper rolls at The Morning Sun, Pittsburg, Kansas

Ariaz's tour helped him track and illustrate the history of local newspapers. Noting that the U.S. is losing about two newspapers a week, Hare writes, "While we’ve seen growth in some of the local for-and nonprofit online newsrooms working to fill the gaps left when newspapers close, Ariaz’s project, titled Fourth Estate, offers a different frame for what’s lost when newspapers close."

“I have to feel that something is missing when that ability for a citizen to engage is lost,” Ariaz told Hare. Newspapers that were still alive "were very much a part of the community in both the physical way in their presence but also their ability to engage with the public."

Ariaz's traveled to "publications that were still open and explained what he was trying to capture. Most invited him in. Many worried about what would happen to their archives and the community’s history if they closed," Hare writes. "Ariaz tried to visit bigger newspapers in bigger Kansas towns, but he couldn’t get ahold of anyone inside the newsrooms or inside the buildings themselves. Ariaz said that it felt like the people who own and run them were far away and unconcerned with the communities they were supposed to be serving." In many cases his photos reflect the fact that the newspapers no longer have pressrooms but hang on to their relics.

Loss of 411 kills another way to connect, but emphasizes the need for it; maybe we should start calling up people

(Photo by Rebecca Nelson, Getty Images)

Don't recall someone's phone number? Call 411, and get it. Not anymore. "AT&T announced late last year that 411, the operator and directory assistance service, would end around January 1, 2023," reports Keith Roysdone of The Daily Yonder. "It would no longer be possible to call an operator to place a call and no longer possible to reach directory assistance for information about names and numbers. . . . CNN reported that in 2019, about 71 million calls to 411 were placed each year."

That's 71 million phone numbers people couldn't remember, and possibly 71 connections people didn't make. But as Roysdone points out, "The need to know is timeless; within a single lifetime, some rural communities have gone from switchboards to fiber-optic internet." Roysdone notes that rural Americans needs to "keep up" because now, more than ever rural communities need to strive for the connections that were once made through party lines.

Dennis Hall, a telephone switchboard operator in California wine country in the 1970s, told Roysdone, "Being a rural area, we had a lot of farmers.” Hall added that a single line might connect three farms. “That was called a 'farmer’s line.' Someone would dial the operator and tell them they wanted Farmer Jones. All three lines could ring, but the operator would make the (ring) different. Farmer Jones would be two shorts and a long, but inevitably all three would pick it up."

Roysdone asked Hall, "How has the telephone experience changed for rural customers?" Hall responded, "The sense of community is severely diminished. There’s not really any sense of community.”
 
The lack of community can be hard to replace. "In the past year, I’ve been on a mission to pester as many people in my life as possible. The first victim was my editor, whom I abruptly asked one morning to stop messaging me about story ideas. Instead, I said, let’s talk the ideas out over the phone," reports Amanda Mull of The Atlantic. "I soon did the same thing to a friend who’d texted to discuss a job offer he’d just received. A few weeks later, when another friend texted me for New York City apartment-hunting tips, I asked her my new favorite question in return: Do you want to give me a call?"

Ah-ha. Now, here we go. "The phone call has lost its primacy in American communication. By 2014, texting had become more common for Americans under 50," Mull explains. "People currently in their 20s and 30s, in particular, have developed a reputation for being allergic to phone calls. . . . True to this generational stereotype, I sent my own mother to voicemail and texted her to ask what she wanted. . . . I ask forgiveness from all those whose voicemails I have not listened to. To fully repent, I must make clear what I now know to be the truth: Phone calls are good, actually."

Whatever would make you think that? "I wanted to hear my editor’s reactions to my story ideas and work them out in real time, not watch a 'Paul is typing …' graphic linger ominously for 30 seconds before I knew the verdict," Mull writes. "With friends, too, I wanted to rekindle the energy of live conversation. I wanted to crack a joke and hear someone laugh."

Mull points out: "Chatting on the phone provides the bliss of unreviewable, unforwardable, unsearchable speech. If you misunderstand something, there’s no day-long email chain correcting your error. . . Snapchat sent photos between users that disappeared 10 seconds after being viewed; talking to someone on the phone has provided the same freedom in verbal form since the days of Alexander Graham Bell." 

Roysdone writes: "Telephone users are happy to not share 'farmer lines' or 'party lines,' Hall agreed. And he noted that it’s possible to mourn the loss of the one-time telephone community and appreciate the improvements." 

Maybe it's possible to have the best of both worlds. Pick up the phone and see.

Everyone is invited to the bird-counting party! The annual Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up Feb. 17-20

A Steller's sea eagle was spotted in Maine
during the 2022 Great Backyard Bird Count.

The 26th annual Great Backyard Bird Count will be held Friday, Feb. 17, through Monday, Feb. 20.

How? For as little as 15 minutes, perch yourself and participate in this free, fun and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.

Participants are asked to count birds on one or more days of the four-day event and report their sightings online at birdcount.org. Anyone can take part in the count, from beginning bird watchers to experts, and you can participate from your backyard, or anywhere in the world. Count birds for 15 minutes or as long as you want.

Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the  National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share. Recently, more than 300,000 participants submitted their bird observations online, creating the largest instantaneous snapshot of global bird populations ever recorded.

Visit the official website at birdcount.org for more information and be sure to check out the latest educational and promotional resources. On the program website participants can explore real-time maps that show what others are reporting during and after the count.

Birds can surprise us! During the 2022 GBBC more than 300,000 snow geese turned up in Missouri. A surprise sighting of a Steller’s sea eagle was a rare treat in 2022 for Maine residents. This large, distinctly marked raptor is a regular resident of coastal regions in Japan, North and South Korea, Mongolia and parts of Russia during breeding season. For more on the results of the latest GBBC, take a look at the GBBC results.

"This count is so fun because anyone can take part — whether you are an expert, novice, or feeder watcher. I enjoy discovering the birds that occur in my own back yard and on my block and then comparing with others. Get involved and see how your favorite spot stacks up."  —Chad Wilsey, vice president and chief scientist of Audubon