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Monday, December 16, 2019

Agriculture-purchase details in trade deal remain murky

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U.S. and Chinese negotiators unveiled an interim trade agreement last week, but some trade issues still remain unresolved, and the details ...

USDA releases 2019 report on family farms

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On Friday the U.S. Department of Agriculture 's Economic Research Service released a new report with updated data on family farms in t...

FCC OKs 3-digit number for suicide and mental-health crisis calls, to start in 18 months; could also help thwart overdoses

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The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to move ahead with a plan to set up a suicide-prevention and mental-healt...

Dec. 19 webinar to discuss 2020 agriculture outlook

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A free webinar on Dec. 19 at 12:30 p.m. ET will discuss the 2020 agricultural economic forecast. Purdue University ag economists Jim M...

Rural Minn. woman sues after two pharmacists refuse to fill morning-after pill prescription because of religious beliefs

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McGregor in Aitkin County  (Wikipedia) A rural Minnesota woman has filed suit after two pharmacists refused to sell her emergency contr...
Friday, December 13, 2019

More farmers believe in climate change, but it may not change their votes; Dems try to appeal to them anyway

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Washington Post map based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data The U.S. is beginning to see extreme effects from c...

Pro-rural bias of the Constitution stands in the way of Trump's Senate removal after likely House impeachment

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Estimated net support for impeachment (The Economist chart; click to enlarge) The pro-rural bias of our Constitution helped elect Pres...

Sinclair axes 'must run' political segments for affiliates

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Sinclair Broadcast Group , which serves much of rural America, has been criticized for requiring affiliate stations to air conservative pol...

U.S. coal employment decline led by Appalachia

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U.S. Energy Information Administration chart; click on the image to enlarge it. Coal mining employment in the U.S. has declined 42 pe...

Quick hits: Podcast talks about HIV in rural America; coal company that hired laid off Blackjewel miners lays off some

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Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at hea...
Thursday, December 12, 2019

Privately funded nonprofit is building huge, controversial wildlife sanctuary in Montana

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American Prairie Reserve's purchased and leased land is shown in green with white borders, adjacent to Upper Missouri Breaks National...

Newspaper's in-depth watchdog piece on worst U.S. prison riot in 25 years explains system flaws that led to it

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A guard was trapped in a prison control room for more than eight hours that night. (Post and Courier photo by Andrew Whitaker) As stat...

Though new SNAP rules target able-bodied people without dependents, those with informal dependents could suffer

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Changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could have a substantial ripple effect in a small town. In Letcher County, Kentuc...

Dec. 17 webinar will discuss challenges rural seniors face with social isolation and getting reliable medical care

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Rural senior citizens routinely face problems with obtaining transportation to reliable medical care, being able to pay for it, and social ...

Report: cutting black lung funding will cost taxpayers billions

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A recent cut to the tax coal companies pay to help miners with black-lung disease will cost taxpayers at least $15 billion by 2050, accordi...
Wednesday, December 11, 2019

North Dakota county votes 3-2 to keep accepting refugees

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Burleigh County citizens, many of them refugees themselves, waited in line to speak at the county commission meeting on Monday about whet...

Study: Surface coal miners more exposed than underground miners to silica dust that causes lung disease

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Appalachian coal miners who work at surface mines are consistently overexposed to the silica dust that causes a form of black-lung disease,...

New York to ban chlorpyrifos, pesticide linked to brain damage in kids, but with regulations instead of legislation

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New York state will ban the use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to pediatric brain damage, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo insists that it be don...

Extending Medicaid pregnancy coverage could save lives; 'We actually abandon women after delivery,' doctor says

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States with extended Medicaid pregnancy coverage, categorized. California's extension only covers women with mental-health needs, an...

Op-ed: should metro America subsidize rural America?

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The editorial board of The Roanoke Times offers a compelling editorial on why metropolitan areas of the United States should invest fundin...