Rural college president fires tenured professor and student newspaper adviser for lack of 'loyalty'

A college president in rural Maryland has fired two faculty members, one who criticized him and the other an adviser for the student newspaper, which published unflattering quotes from the president on his attempts to dismiss 20 to 25 first-year students to improve retention rates. Simon Newman, president of Mount St. Mary's college in Emmitsburg (Best Places map), reportedly told faculty members last month about struggling students: "This is hard for you because you think of the students as cuddly bunnies, but you can’t. You just have to drown the bunnies … put a Glock to their heads," Rebecca Schisler and Ryan Golden reported for The Mountain Echo, the school paper.
 
Thane Naberhaus, a tenured professor who had objected to the president’s policies, and Ed Egan, a law professor and former trustee who worked with journalism students, were fired Monday effective immediately and without severance, Susan Svrluga reports for The Washington Post. "A few days earlier, David Rehm, who had raised several concerns about the president’s retention plan, was removed from his position as provost. He remains on the faculty."

"Professors from universities across the country—from Stanford to North Carolina Central to the University of Nebraska to Harvard—signed a petition Tuesday calling on the Mount St. Mary’s University administration to reinstate professors who had been fired," Svrluga writes. Within hours, the petition had more than 2,400 digital signatures.

A termination letter from Newman to Naberhaus "said that he 'owes a duty of loyalty to [the university]' and he should 'act in a manner consistent with that duty'," Jeremy Bauer-Wolf reports for The Frederick News-Post. Michelle Cooper, president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, said the idea that Naberhaus was fired for a lack of loyalty raises red flags. Cooper told Bauer-Wolf, “What is concerning me is that a lot of what is occurring at the Mount is unprecedented. … A lack of loyalty does not present as a just case for a firing. What does that mean, loyalty? It’s just so subjective.”

Bauer-Wolf reports, "The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, known as FIRE, released a statement Tuesday criticizing the firings of the professors. FIRE connects students and faculty whose rights might have been violated to a network of pro bono attorneys. The organization publicly advocates for students and faculty."

Actress Jennifer Garner lobbies Ky. lawmakers for Save the Children work in Appalachia

Jennifer Garner (Courier-Journal
photo by Matt Herp)

Actress Jennifer Garner told Kentucky legislators Tuesday that once she became a Hollywood star with the ability to be a philanthropist, "I knew exactly what I wanted it to be. I knew it had to be kids in rural America."

Garner, who grew up in West Virginia, asked lawmakers "to preserve $1 million in funding for Save the Children’s early childhood and literacy programs that serve more than 12,000 Kentucky children," Valarie Honeycutt Spears reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "She joined Save the Children Action Network President Mark Shriver at Senate and House committee meetings to discuss the value of high-quality early learning."

Shriver and Garner, who is on the organization's board, had breakfast with new Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. Bevin has proposed a 9 percent budget cut for most agencies, including preschool services, but his plan has $941,400 for the Save the Children program, and Senate President Robert Stivers, "who held a news conference with Shriver later Tuesday, said, 'I think there is a high likelihood that it would survive' through the legislature's budget process," Tom Loftus of The Courier-Journal reports. "Save the Children programs have shown stronger results in Kentucky than in any other state in helping kids from birth through the third grade, Shriver said."

Iowa moves closer to raising rural speed limits; state official says it would lead to more fatalities

Iowa lawmakers have advanced a bill to raise speed limits on rural two-lane paved roads, despite a warning from a state Department of Transportation official that higher speeds would lead to an increase in fatal crashes, Brianne Pfannenstiel reports for The Des Moines Register. "A three-person subcommittee passed two versions of the legislation—one bill that would increase the speed limit from 55 miles per hour to 60 miles per hour and another that would increase it to 65 miles per hour."

Steve Gent, director of the Office of Traffic and Safety, told the committee, “Pretty much every place that has increased their speed limits has seen an increase in fatalities.” Pfannenstiel reports, "Gent said the department estimates that a 5-mile-an-hour increase could lead to an additional five to 15 fatal accidents each year and a 10-mile-an-hour increase could lead to 10 to 25 additional fatalities." (Read more)

Tiny school district in rural Texas becomes first in state to switch to four-day weeks

One of the smallest and most rural school districts in Texas will become the state's first to transition to a four-day week this fall, under a new law allowing schools more flexibility in setting calendars, Madlin Mekelburn reports for The Texas Tribune. The move will allow the 56-student, K-8 Olfen Independent School District in Runnels County (Wikipedia map) to offer more opportunities for tutoring on optional Fridays.

That's especially important for students who live as far as 35 miles from campus. Olfen Superintendent Gabriel Zamora "Zamora said the schedule is compatible with the unique needs of his rural district, where only one student lives within the district boundary," Mekelburn reports. The district would need to create additional bus routes for students who chose after-school tutoring.

While Monday through Thursday will be mandatory and Friday mostly optional, "students who do not receive passing marks on progress reports will be required to attend school on Fridays to receive tutoring, while passing students will have the choice to stay home," Mekelburn writes. "A handful of weeks during the year will have a full five days of instruction."

Zamora told Mekelburn, "We think this is going to be something great for our students and something that can also benefit a lot of parents out there. I just saw the possibility, once the law was passed and everything. I never thought I would be in the district that had the right circumstances." (Read more)

Study: Rural Western counties with most federal land are in better economic shape than rural peers

Rural counties in the West with more federal or protected land are in much better economic shape than rural counties in the region with less federal and protected land, says a report by Montana non-profit Headwaters Economics. The study, which looked at data from 1970 to 2014, found that rural counties with more federal and protected land "on average had faster population, employment, personal income and per capita income growth than their peers with the lowest share" of federal and protected lands.

From 1970 to 2014, rural counties in the top 25 percentile with federal land saw a population growth of 124 percent, compared to a 26 percent growth in the counties in the bottom 25 percent. Employment in the top counties increased 242 percent, compared to 73 percent in the bottom counties and personal income increased 333 percent in the top 25, compared to 122 percent in the bottom 25. Per capital income was much closer, with an 81 percent increase in the top 25, compared to a 78 percent increase in the bottom 25.

Differences were similar for counties with protected land. Population grew 122 percent in the top 25, compared to 47 percent in the bottom 25. Employment increased 263 percent in the top 25, compared to 98 percent in the bottom 25, personal income increased 380 percent in the top 25, compared to 154 percent in the bottom 25 and per capita income increased 97 percent in the top 25, compared to 78 percent in the bottom 25.

"The study looked at all 276 Western counties without a city of 50,000 or more or with population density below 1,000 people per square mile, designated as 'non-metro' by the U.S. Census Bureau," Krista Langlois reports for High Country News. "To be fair, the overall gains are thus skewed by a few very wealthy counties, like Colorado’s Summit County (home to ritzy ski resorts) and Teton County, Wyoming (home to Jackson Hole), which had personal income growth of 2,757 and 2,253 percent, respectively." Study author Megan Lawson "says that when she took the top 5 percent—the Vails and Aspens—out of the equation, the difference in economic growth between counties with the highest and lowest protected federal land decreased by about 16 percent. But the overall gains were still significant."

Lawson told Langlois, “We’re data-driven, and our reflex to hearing (recent anti-public lands) rhetoric is to look at the data. There are certainly rural places that are struggling, but that’s not the primary story we’re seeing across the West.”

Study identifies virus killing honeybees in tandem with Varroa mites and human transport

A Varroa mite, the size and shape of a pinhead, on a bee

A virus that is decimating bee populations is emanating from Europe and spreading worldwide, says a study published in the journal Science by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Exeter, a public research university in the United Kingdom. "The European honeybee Apis mellifera is overwhelmingly the source of cases of the Deformed Wing Virus infecting hives worldwide," Exeter reports. "The finding suggests that the pandemic is man-made rather than naturally occurring, with human trade and transportation of bees for crop pollination driving the spread." Bees are responsible for more than $15 billion in increased U.S. crop value each year.

"Although separately they are not major threats to bee populations, when the Varroa mite carries the disease, the combination is deadly, and has wiped out millions of honeybees over recent decades," reports Exeter. "Varroa feed on bee larvae while the Deformed Wing Virus kills off bees, a devastating double blow to colonies. The situation is adding to fears over the future of global bee populations, with major implications for biodiversity, agricultural biosecurity, global economies, and human health."

"Researchers analysed sequence data of Deformed Wing Virus samples across the globe from honeybees and Varroa mites, as well as the occurrence of Varroa," reports Exeter. "They used the information to reconstruct the spread of Deformed Wing Virus and found that the epidemic largely spread from Europe to North America, Australia and New Zealand. . . . The team also looked at samples from other species suspected of transmitting the disease, including different species of honeybee, mite and bumblebees, but concluded that the European honeybee was the key transmitter."

Lead author Dr. Lena Wilfert said in a statment: “This is the first study to conclude that Europe is the backbone of the global spread of the bee killing combination of Deformed Wing Virus and Varroa. ... This significantly strengthens the theory that human transportation of bees is responsible for the spread of this devastating disease. We must now maintain strict limits on the movement of bees, whether they are known to carry Varroa or not. It’s also really important that beekeepers at all levels take steps to control Varroa in their hives, as this viral disease can also affect wild pollinators.” (Read more)

As N.H. likely votes for a Vt. senator for president, remember that the states are different

Americans unfamiliar with the Northeast often confuse Vermont and New Hampshire, two adjoining, wedge-shaped states where more than half of residents are rural. Despite their border and similar inverted shapes—each state claims the other one is upside down—the states are decidedly different, Kit Seelye reports for The New York Times. Even though Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is projected to win tonight's Democratic primary in New Hampshire, "natives of New Hampshire and Vermont are quick to note, if Sanders wins New Hampshire, it may be in spite of his coming from Vermont, not because of it."

John Gregg, news editor of The Valley News in West Lebanon, N.H., and across the Connecticut River from White River Junction, Vt., told The Rural Blog that Seeyle "nailed it." The newspaper's logo, right, indicates its coverage area and even reflects the names of the states.

The states "sprang from different geological forces that produced the soft rolling Green Mountains of Vermont and the rugged, angular White Mountains of New Hampshire," Seelye writes. "The differences run through their colonial histories and are evident today in their cultures, politics and certainly in their state mottos: Vermont’s feel-good 'Freedom and Unity' shrinks before New Hampshire’s stark ultimatum to 'Live Free or Die.' While the Vermont electorate is liberal and its ethos collectivist, the New Hampshire ethos is fiercely libertarian. New Hampshire is the only state that does not ticket adults if they are not wearing a seatbelt."

"But theirs is not a classic rivalry," Seeyle writes. "New Hampshire, which has more than twice the population of Vermont, tends to ignore its neighbor to the west, turning its gaze instead toward Massachusetts and Maine; people in Vermont simply feel superior, in a laid-back kind of way."

"Vermont was once the most Republican state in the country and is now among the most liberal, thanks in part to an influx starting in the 1960s that included people like Sanders, although local politics had already started trending Democratic," she writes. "New Hampshire has no sales tax and no general income tax. Money for schools and other services is raised mostly through property taxes, but services are minimal. The University of New Hampshire is the most expensive public four-year college in the country because the state’s rate of support for higher education is the nation’s lowest."

Residents of both states are quick to take jabs at the other one, Seelye writes. David Briggs, a civil engineer, hotel owner and lifelong Vermonter, told her, “Those mottos tell you everything you need to know. Ours is about individualism, but the ‘Unity’ reminds us we’re interdependent. Now, ‘Live Free or Die’—that’s almost jihadist.” Jere R. Daniell, a retired historian at New Hampshire's Dartmouth College, told her, "The essential difference between Vermont and New Hampshire is in their degree of commitment to state authority," which "manifested itself some years ago in the phone book, he said, when listings for the Vermont state government took up 62 inches, while New Hampshire’s took up eight."

Willem Lange, a longtime New England storyteller who lived half of his life in New Hampshire until he decided the property taxes were too high, and then moved to Vermont, told Seelye, “The people reflect the geology. New Hampshire humor is a little grimmer, a little bitter. Its default mode is grumpy. Vermont is boring. There are so damn many liberals. I can never win an argument.”

Rebecca Rule, a New Hampshire humorist and storyteller, told Seelye, "When I cross the river into Vermont, I can see the difference and feel the difference. The fields open up, it’s more rural, there are more farms and more cows. Vermont is a gentler place. New Hampshire is more hard-edged. You don’t see that as much in New Hampshire."

Becker's Hospital Review names its 50 rural hospital CEOs to know

Becker's Hospital Review this week announced its list of 50 rural hospital CEOs to know. "These 50 presidents and CEOs have demonstrated dedication to providing high-quality, accessible care to their communities," Shannon Barnet and Kelly Gooch report for Becker's. "Many of the executives have either received rural healthcare accolades or led their organization to a status worthy of awards and recognition."

"For this list, 'rural' was defined as being located outside a major metropolitan area or healthcare hub," Barnet and Gooch write. "Leaders were selected based on rural healthcare awards received, rural healthcare committee and board involvement, regional and national leadership positions held and organizational performance. Nominations were also considered." To see the list click here.

How two of the nation's poorest rural counties got connected to one of the nation's fastest networks

Two of the nation's poorest rural counties share one of the nation's fastest Internet connections, Tim Marema reports for the Daily Yonder. Jackson and Owsley counties in southeastern Kentucky—Jackson County has a 26.8 percent poverty rate and Owsley County a 45.1 percent poverty rate, according to 2014 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture—"are not the first counties that come to mind when you think of ubiquitous access to fiber-optic cable – the fastest conduit for digital communication. The counties are part of the Kentucky Fifth District, the most rural congressional district in the U.S. But an innovative approach, a can-do spirit, and a financial package that combined local capital with federal loans and grants have made the network possible."

The fiber network for Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative, which serves the two counties, was funded through loans from the agriculture department's Rural Utilities Service, grants from the the 2009 economic-stimulus packag, and PRTC’s own funds. Marema reports: "The total project cost was about $50 million. The project will receive indirect support from the Universal Service Fund, which provides telecommunications subsidies for areas that are hard to serve. PRTC received about $5 million in USF support last year. ... USF is financed by a monthly fee on consumers’ telephone bills." (Jackson and Owsley counties are highlighted on the map)

Co-op CEO Keith Gabbard said the company's fiber network "is available to all the co-operative’s 7,000 customers," Marema writes. "About two-thirds of customers subscribe to Internet services now, Gabbard said." Despite decreases in population in the two counties, the number of broadband customers increased by 150 last year. "PRTC has an average of only seven customers per mile of service line. Thirty percent of the service area is national forest. About half of Jackson County residents who work commute outside the county to their jobs."

High-speed Internet has also helped 150 people in Jackson County find jobs through the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, which "teaches trainees how to work remotely from home," Marema writes. "With a high-speed connection now available, trainees are able to find work as call-center or customer-service representatives for companies like U-Haul, Apple, and firms that contract with hotels and retailers for customer service." Jeff Whitehead, executive director of the program, told Marema. “What that means is, estimating conservatively, that $3 million in wages are coming into this county from companies that are away from here." (Read more)

Insurance companies say they want to increase focus on child safety in farming

Three-fourths of insurance companies say they want to increase their company's focus on child safety in agriculture, according to a National Children's Center survey of 97 control specialists, underwriters, managers and supervisors at the 2015 National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies’ Agricultural Risk Inspection School, reports the National Children's Center in its quarterly magazine Nurture. The survey also found that 85 percent of respondents said they communicate safety messages with farmers and 83 percent adjust premiums based on loss-control surveys.

The Childhood Agricultural Safety Network has archived three recent webinars on child safety in agriculture. Two of those webinars, presented by the Grain Handling Safety Coalition, introduced
a curriculum "explained how it can be used to empower young workers" and educate parents, employers and community members. Another webinar, “It’s harvest season: Are the children safe?” describes "actual childhood injury incidents, previewed an injury news clippings website and offered proven safety strategies and resources that farmers, parents and employers are encouraged to use to keep children safe."

Scholarship application deadline Feb. 18 for Appalachian Studies Association annual conference

The Appalachian Studies Association is accepting scholarship applications through Feb. 18 for people who need financial aid to attend its annual conference March 18-20 at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va. While funds are limited, most people who have applied for scholarships in the past have been awarded one, ASA says. Scholarships include admission to the conference and ASA membership for 2016.

This year's conference is titled "Voices from the Misty Mountains: Diversity and Unity, a New Appalachia." Poet Frank X. Walker of the University of Kentucky will deliver the keynote address. The conference includes: individual scholarly research papers and sessions; formed sessions; poster sessions presenting scholarly research or documenting community work; panels and community presentations; performance or sharing of films, documentaries, videos, poetry, music, plays, art, and writing; roundtable conversations on contemporary issues and activism in the region; professional development and a newcomer’s orientation to Appalachian studies. (Read more)

Sanders backers going to rural places no campaign has gone before, to win New Hampshire big

Sanders (Getty Images photo by Andrew Burton)

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is taking rural to the extreme in preparation for Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, where Sanders, a senator from adjoining Vermont, is the clear favorite over Hillary Clinton. "We are knocking doors in places where people have never gotten their door knocked before—and the experience is so unexpected that people are calling the police because a stranger is showing up their door," so the campaign has started calling police in such towns to they can reassure callers, Sanders' state primary director, Julia Barnes, told Sasha Issenberg of Bloomberg News.

"Much of New Hampshire is considered difficult to canvass, given the sparse population in the northern half of the state and the mountainous terrain that mottles it throughout," Issenberg reports. "A surfeit of Sanders volunteers is pushing into parts of the state past campaigns would have considered inefficient to walk—even recruiting so-called driving teams of up to four people to team up on rural roads and snowy driveways."

It's difficult to reach New Hampshire voters by phone, Issenberg writes. "Over the week of Jan. 25, Sanders volunteers completed 11,000 phone conversations out of 250,000 calls placed—and 15,000 face-to-face conversations out of 60,000 attempted doorstep visits. The problem is particularly acute for Sanders, whose young get-out-the-vote targets often lack landlines and have not provided the campaign other methods of reaching them. Within that group, Sanders is making a concerted effort to mobilize those who would register for the first time on Tuesday, in line with New Hampshire’s same-day registration rules, meaning that there is not yet any trace of them on voter rolls."

Fresh off a narrow loss to Clinton at the Iowa caucuses, Sanders is looking to reach as much of the state as possible in an attempt to score a big victory. Polls have Sanders leading Clinton in New Hampshire by anywhere from seven to 23 points, according to RealClear Politics.

Gay-Straight Alliance at rural Tenn. school draws criticism; local newspaper supports it editorially

Critics of a newly-formed Gay-Straight Alliance at a rural Tennessee high school say the club could open the door for other students to create terrorism groups, Brian Wilson reports for The (Nashville) Tennessean. Students at Franklin County High School said the group provides weekly meetings for all students to come together to talk about issues. Student Allie Faxon, who created the group, told Wilson, “We all have common troubles. By having the club, even people who aren’t out can come and have a place to be themselves.”

The club has drawn criticism from residents in the Southern Tennessee community, with a social media page created last month calling "for members of the Franklin County School Board to move the club off campus because of its controversial nature." Critics say clubs that discuss religion or sexuality should not be organized on school campus.

Local resident John Wimley, who organized a Facebook page in protest of the alliance, posted that if "a group like that could be admitted without community knowledge, one like 'Future ISIS Members of America' could be formed as well. His comment used the hashtag '#putgodinschoolsplease.'" Wimley, who said his comment "was misconstrued by others who believe he was comparing the GSA to ISIS," told Wilson, “Maybe it was a mistake. But it was a statement that needed to be made.”

At least two people have filed paperwork to speak at tonight's meeting of the Franklin County School Board, which GSA advocates and critics, including the Middle Tennessee chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, are expected to attend, Wilson writes.

Franklin County, Tenn. (Wikipedia map)

The club, which, is holding a rally before tonight's meeting, "is in compliance with the Equal Access Act of 1984," Brian Justice, editor of the local Winchester Herald Chronicle, writes in an editorial supporting the rally. The law, sought by Christian groups that wanted students to be able to hold Bible study groups during lunch and after school, "passed in 1984 to compel federally funded secondary schools to provide equal access to extracurricular clubs," Justice notes.

"The act provides that if a school receives federal aid and has a 'limited open forum,' or at least one student-led non-curriculum club that meets outside of class time, it must allow additional such clubs to be organized and must give them equal access to meeting spaces and school publications," Justice writes for the Lakeway Publishers twice-weekly. "Exceptions can be made for groups that 'materially and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities within the school,' and a school can technically 'opt out' of the act by prohibiting all non-curriculum clubs."

Dr. Amie Lonas, Franklin County Schools director, told Justice, "We have been advised by legal counsel not to deny the club the right to meet if they followed the board policy for establishment. If we choose not to allow this club to be established, then we would be required to prohibit all non-curriculum clubs or give up federal funding. All clubs meet outside the instructional hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., and attendance is voluntary for students."

Rural N.D. lacks dentists; ADA's chief economist says some rural residents don't see a need for care

While a 2014 report from the Center for Rural Health highlights a serious shortage of dentists in North Dakota's rural, under-served and Native American communities, some health professionals deny there is a problem or blame rural residents for lack of care, John Hageman reports for the Grand Forks Herald. The report found that 67 percent of all North Dakota dentists practiced in the state's four most-populated counties, where about 52 percent of the state's people live. That meant that in 2014, 12 of the 53 counties did not have a dentist, nine had only one and nine had two (data were unavailable for five counties). North Dakota ranks 48th in population but 19th in land area, making it difficult for many rural residents to travel to see a dentist.

Rob Lauf, a dentist in Mayville in rural Traill County, just outside Grand Forks, said he doesn't consider the eastern part of the state to have a dental shortage, Hageman writes. Lauf told him, "Either way, you have to have a full schedule. There are some counties that don't have a dentist, but they also don't have the population to support a dentist." The eastern part of the state includes two rural counties adjacent to Grand Forks and Traill counties—Nelson and Steele—that do not have a dentist, according to the Center for Rural Health report. (Center for Rural Health map: Dentists in North Dakota in 2014)

At the same time, an "American Dental Association survey showed that less than 10 percent of general and specialist dentists in North Dakota reported they are not busy enough and could see more patients in 2013, which was the lowest percentage of the 36 states included on the survey and well below the national average of roughly 35 percent," Hageman writes. Marko Vujicic, chief economist with the American Dental Association, "said the main reasons people don't seek dental care are cost and 'a perceived lack of need' rather than an inability to get a dental appointment scheduled."

North Dakota, which lacks a state dental school, has tried to recruit recent college graduates with loan repayment programs, Hageman writes. Legislation proposed last year allowing certified advanced dental hygienists to perform some procedures now done by dentists, a move designed to increase dental care needs in rural and Native Americans, was opposed by the North Dakota Dental Association and ultimately did not become law.

Migrant workers in China flocking back to rural areas for better quality of life, lower costs of living

A faltering Chinese economy, high costs of living and high rates of air pollution are leading migrant city workers to head back home to rural areas, where the quality of life is better, Frank Sieren reports for Deutsche Welle, Germany's state-owned international broadcaster. In China, where the economy grew by 6.9 percent last year and is expected to grow 6.5 percent this year, slower rates than in recent years, manufacturing jobs "are becoming scarcer" and highly-skilled workers "are less inclined to work in factories or on construction sites." Also, younger rural workers are more reluctant to tackle the physically demanding jobs their parents worked.

"While 40 years ago, not even 20 percent of Chinese citizens lived in the city, today the number has risen to 50 percent. By 2020, it is expected to rise to 60 percent," Sieren writes. "For the first time in 30 years, the number of internal migrants in China sank last year—by about six million. To a certain extent, this is due to the country's demographic development—there are simply fewer migrant workers because of lower birthrates. In addition to this, the Chinese government has also acknowledged that a two-class society has emerged in the huge metropolises of China because of the hukou system which requires each citizen to be registered in a family register and makes moving within China illegal. A sort of caste system has come about in cities, turning internal migrants into second-class citizens who often have no access to social services, healthcare or schools for their children." (Advisor Perspectives graphic)

Another reason for rural migration is that the government has made a conscious effort to support "development of rural infrastructure and rural investment loans," Sieren writes. "This year, per capita income in rural areas is expected to exceed 10,000 yuan ($1,500) for the first time—a faster increase than urban per capita income. Many people are returning to rural regions because of cheaper rents, proximity to relatives, as well as access to unadulterated, unspoiled food."

In Western China, the central government "is supporting the idea of 'rural start-ups' more than ever," Sieren writes. "Some 40,000 people returning to the southwestern province of Sichuan have registered new businesses. This is not a bad means of opening up new growth opportunities for the Chinese economy and strengthen domestic growth."

Bayer refuses to pull insecticide from U.S. market

Bayer CropScience, the agricultural unit of German chemicals company Bayer AG, on Friday rejected a request from the Environmental Protection Agency "to pull one of its insecticides from the marketplace amid concerns that it could harm organisms in streams and ponds," Karl Plume reports for Reuters. "Bayer CropScience will instead ask for an administrative law hearing from the EPA's Office of General Counsel to review the registration of flubendiamide, the active ingredient in Bayer's Belt pesticide." EPA said the registration, granted in 2008, "was a limited-time conditional registration that could be canceled if additional studies found the chemical to be damaging."

"Flubendiamide products are used to control yield-damaging moths and worms in more than 200 crops including almonds, oranges and soybeans," Plume writes. "Bayer's own tests have found that the pesticide is toxic in high doses to invertebrates in river and pond sediment. The organisms can be an important food source for fish. However, the company's field studies showed that doses in waters near agricultural fields never reached high enough levels to be toxic." EPA said it will issue a formal request to cancel the pesticide's registration. The product will remain on shelves until the process pending the outcome of the process. (Read more)

Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association annual conference is this weekend in Granville, Ohio

The 37th Annual Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association Conference will be held Saturday and Sunday in Granville, Ohio. Billed as Ohio's largest sustainable agriculture event, the conference consists of nearly 100 workshops on sustainable farming, gardening, homesteading, cooking and livestock, including conferences specifically designed for kids and teens.

Keynote speakers are John Ikerd, author and agricultural economics expert, and Lindsey Lusher Shute, executive director and co-founder of the National Young Farmers Coalition, which represents, mobilizes and engages young farmers to ensure their success. The conference also features: A trade show with dozens of businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies offering an array of food, information, products and services; In-depth pre-conference sessions on Friday; Meals prepared from locally sourced and organic ingredients; and childcare. For more information or to register click here.

Deadline for Scripps Howard Awards is Wednesday; includes Community Journalism category

The deadline to submit entries to the annual Scripps Howard Awards is Wednesday. For the last several years the awards have included a category called Community Journalism, partly to recognize strong journalistic efforts by smaller media outlets that deserve recognition but might not be competitive with larger ones in national competitions.

The awards are open to journalists and news organizations whose work was distributed by U.S.-based media outlets. There is a $50 entry fee (with the exception of First Amendment and Administrator/Teacher of the Year). Winners will be announced in March, share $180,000 in cash prizes and be recognized at an April 28 dinner in Phoenix.

Besides Community Journalism, categories include: Top Story of the Year; Opinion; Breaking News; Business/Economics Reporting; Digital Innovation; Environmental Reporting; First Amendment; Human Interest Storytelling; Investigative Reporting; Photojournalism; Public Service Reporting; Radio/Audio In-Depth Reporting; TV/Cable Local Coverage; TV/Cable National/International Coverage; Journalism School Administrator of the Year; and Journalism Teacher of the Year.

The first winner of the Community Journalism prize was Daniel Gilbert, then of the Bristol Herald Courier and now of The Seattle Times, whose same work went on to win the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. He donated his $10,000 cash prize from the Scripps contest to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues (publisher of the Rural Blog) to create a fellowship program for rural journalists to gain the same sort of computer-assisted reporting skills that enabled him to expose mismanagement of coalfield energy royalties in southwest Virginia. The fellowships send rural journalists to the computer-assisted reporting boot camp of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Study: Mountaintop-removal coal mining has made parts of Central Appalachia 60 percent flatter

Mountaintop removal over the past 40 years has made parts of Central Appalachia 60 percent flatter than before the process began, says a study by Duke University published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. Researchers, who say this is the first study "to examine the regional impact of mountaintop mines on landscape topography and how the changes might influence water quality," compared pre- and post-mining topographic data in southern West Virginia.

 Headwaters of Twentymile Creek before and after mining;
the greener an area is, the flatter it is (Duke Univ. maps)

"By comparing digitized topographic maps from West Virginia before mountaintop mining became extensive with elevation data collected by aircraft in 2010, the researchers found that the mines and valley fills could range anywhere from 10 to 200 meters deep," Kara Manke reports for Duke Today. "Across the region, the average slope of the land dropped by more than 10 degrees post-mining."

Emily Bernhardt, a professor of biology at Duke and co-author of the study, told Manke, “We tend to measure the impact of human activity based on the area it affects on a map, but mountaintop mining is penetrating much more deeply into the earth than other land use in the region like forestry, agriculture or urbanization. The depth of these impacts is changing the way the geology, water, and vegetation interact in fundamental ways that are likely to persist far longer than other forms of land use.” (Read more)

Many Walmart closings are in poor, rural areas; reporter examines impact on one Appalachian town

Walmart's announcement last month that it will close 154 stores will have the greatest impact on poor rural areas, Tim Meko and Lydia DePillis report for The Washington Post. Of the 154 stores closing 96 are in low-income, low-density and predominately rural areas, mostly in the Southeast. Of those 96 stores, 88 are Walmart Express stores, which were created as "part of a pilot program intended to compete with dollar stores." (Post map: Stores closing in mainly low-income, low-density rural areas)

Losing a Walmart could be lethal for some towns that are barely holding on, DePillis writes in another story for the Post. Residents of Kimball, W.Va., which is already reeling from the loss of mining jobs, fear that losing its Walmart could be the end of the town. "In Raymondville, Texas, the disappearance of tax income from Walmart could force city layoffs. In Oriental, N.C. the arrival of a Walmart Express had been the final straw for a local grocery store, leaving the community with few options for food—also the case in Juneau, Alaska; Fairfield, Ala.; and Winnsboro, S.C."

While Walmart officials cite financial performance as the primary factor in closing stores, an analysis by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance found that 89 percent of stores to be closed are "in states with higher-than-average square footage per capita. According to Walmart itself, 95 percent of the closures are within 10 miles of another Walmart." That suggests the company overbuilt, perhaps in areas that have stagnant or declining population.

Walmart, the largest private employer in West Virginia, in 2005 transformed a former K-mart in Kimball (Best Places map) into a Walmart "to fill a gap between two other towns both about an hour’s drive away," DePillis writes. "It did so — but in January the massive retailer announced its 'sharpened focus on portfolio management' and the revenue in Kimball wasn’t quite enough to sustain the location, according to McDowell County Commission chairman Harold McBride."

"The company didn’t get what it wanted in profits," DePillis reports. "But the store certainly met many needs of the community. Some are obvious: A second option for shoppers who wanted fresh, affordable food in a place with only one other full-service grocer. And jobs—140 of them that will be difficult to replace. But Walmart’s disappearance will have more subtle ripple effects, like a drop in traffic to the small neighboring hotel and gas station, and the loss of a place to buy phone cards and hire tax preparation help. It was the main donor to the local food bank, and contributed $65,000 annually in taxes to the county, most of which goes to the school district."

Great Backyard Bird Count scheduled Feb. 12-15

The annual Great Backyard Bird Count is scheduled from Feb. 12-15. Created in 1998 by the ornthology lab at Cornell University in upstate New York and the National Audubon Society, the event asks people to take 15 minutes on one or more days to count birds from any location and create a checklist of the birds they spot. Last year more than 147,000 checklists were created from more than 100 countries, consisting of 5,090 species of birds. Participants are also encouraged to download photos of birds to the GBBC website. There is also a photo contest. (2015 GBBC photo of a red-tailed hawk, taken by Peter Ferguson)

The event can also serve scientific purposes, says its website. It "will help scientists track changes in bird distribution, some of which may be traced to El Niño storms and unusual weather patterns." Marshall Iliff, of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said: "The most recent big El Niño took place during the winter of 1997-98. The GBBC was launched in February 1998 and was pretty small at first. This will be the first time we’ll have tens of thousands of people doing the count during a whopper El Niño.”

Most states saw economic growth at end of 2015; historically low oil prices hurt other states

While most states enjoyed a strong economic finish to 2015, a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that seven states—North Dakota, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alaska—are doing a little worse than everyone else, Ana Swanson reports for The Washington Post. The state coincident index, "which measures things like employment, hours worked in manufacturing and the unemployment rate to create an estimate of how economic growth has changed for each state over the past three months," found that in those seven states the economy is shrinking.

Historically low oil prices have affected the economies of North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Mississippi and Louisiana, Swanson writes. "The price of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen from over $100 in mid-2015 to less than $35 today." Fiscal issues and sluggish performance of some manufacturing industries has hurt Wisconsin and Illinois.

While those seven states have struggled, 41 states have seen their economies grow, Swanson writes. "The states with the strongest growth—over 1 percent in the three-month period, according to the estimates—include Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Georgia, West Virginia, New Jersey and Maine. Michigan and Oklahoma weren't faring too well either at the end of 2015—the Philadelphia Fed's data shows that their economic growth was unchanged from three months before." (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia map)

Rural remote Alaskan towns struggling with federal laws that make transporting legalized pot illegal

Regulations that "create a new licensing process for businesses that could grow, test and sell pot" in Alaska that go into effect Feb. 21 could pose problems in rural remote areas, where federal regulations make it illegal to transport marijuana by commercial airlines, state ferry or some other transport, Joe Viechnicki reports for KFSK 100.9 radio in Petersburg (Best Places map). That has some worried that "hurdles for new pot businesses will be too difficult and local marijuana sales will remain underground and off the books."

Kevin Clark, chair of a subcommittee of Petersburg’s marijuana regulation advisory committee, told  Viechnicki, “The one thing that is really going to make it more difficult for locally is the testing, having to ship it out to be tested when you can’t ship it out. And then building a testing facility here that would be prohibitively expensive, considering the kind of volume you’d have to generate in order to justify it.”

Cynthia Franklin, director of the state’s marijuana control board, told Viechnicki: "I believe that people will be able to transport marijuana around this state, licensee to licensee, with a transportation manifest from the seed to sell software system and all of the requirements that are required in the regulations. But what everyone seems to be forgetting is the entire operation is prohibited by federal law. In other words, growing marijuana is prohibited by federal law, testing marijuana is prohibited by federal law, everything about this activity is prohibited by federal law. Marijuana is a schedule one controlled substance on the federal controlled substances act.” She said it all comes down to what laws the federal government will enforce. (Read more)

Okla. schools post signs: staff are armed and will use 'whatever force is necessary' to save students

A rural school district in Oklahoma this week posted four signs with the warning “Please be aware that certain staff members at Okay Public Schools can be legally armed and may use whatever force is necessary to protect our students,” Rhett Morgan reports for the Tulsa World. Superintendent Charles McMahan told Morgan, "Having a sign in your front yard saying ‘this is a gun-free zone’ just tells the idiots, 'come on in,' because we can’t defend ourselves. (Okay’s) sign might be enough to send somebody down the road looking for some other soft target. If that’s what it does, it’s helping our school district out.” The school district, which has about 500 students in K-12, is located about 50 miles east of Tulsa. (Muskogee Phoenix photo by Harrison Grimwood)

An Oklahoma bill was signed into law in May that "created the Special Reserve School Resource Officer Act, allowing certain people to carry handguns on public school property," Morgan writes. In August, Okay's school board approved a policy that "states that administrators who meet criteria set out by the state and school board may bring to campus a gun concealed on their person or kept in a locked box."

Okay is located about seven miles from Fort Gibson, where a 1999 middle-school shooting resulted in five students being wounded, Harrison Grimwood notes for the Muskogee Phoenix. "According to Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, a gun violence research group, there were about 65 school shootings—some with injuries, some without, some intentional, some unintentional—in 2015."

Teacher, students turn to technology to save rural Alaska schools from proposed state budget cuts

A teacher in the small town of Twin Hills, Alaska (Wikipedia map) has turned to technology to try to save the state's rural isolated schools from proposed budget cuts that could force some schools to close, Austin Baird reports for KTUU-TV in Anchorage. Republican state Rep. Lynn Gattis of Wasilla, 40 minutes north of Anchorage, "set off a firestorm last fall when she suggested that cutting funds for small, rural schools could be part of the solution to the state's nearly $4 billion budget deficit." Gattis oversees the education budget for the House Finance Committee.

"Lawmakers from both parties, school advocates, and many rural residents are part of the chorus of critics that have spoken out against raising the minimum enrollment for a school to receive state funds from 10, to 20 or 25," reports Baird. "Many have questioned whether a projected savings of $7 million is worth the impact to villages."

Meghan Redmond, a teacher at the K-8 school in Twin Hills, a Bristol Bay community of fewer than 100 residents, started a Facebook page as part of an online movement "to show policy makers who exactly would be impacted if Gattis' proposal gains traction and eventually becomes law," Baird reports. Remond told him, "We didn't want a bill to come about or to pass without a lot of conversation, without a lot of input from as many sources as possible."

As part of a state program—Alaska Close Up—that gives students a chance to see how government works, Redmond and five students have been at the state Capitol in Juneau this week to bend Gattis' ear about the importance of rural schools to local communities, Baird reports. Redmond met with Gattis, giving her letters from students expressing concern that their school could be closed, forcing them to move.

Gattis "said it remains important to keep talking about the possibility of closing small schools in broader talks of cutting the budget in general and school spending in particular," Baird reports. She told Baird, "We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't look at it. Many of our villages are losing students. So what do we do as a state as we continue down that trail?" 

Supporters of bill to expand rural broadband in Tennessee tell lawmakers to stop listening to AT&T

Advocates for a rural broadband bill in Tennessee that would allow "municipal electric power services to expand their lightning-fast Internet offerings to underserved areas" are demanding that state lawmakers stop being influenced by for-profit telephone and cable giants, Andy Sher reports for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The bill is opposed by AT&T, Comcast and other providers, "who say it's unfair for them to have to compete with government entities like" the Chattanooga Electric Power Board.

Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) told supporters at the state Capitol, "We're talking about AT&T. They're the most powerful lobbying organization in this state by far. Don't fall for the argument that this is a free-market-versus-government battle. It is not. AT&T is the villain here, and so are the other people and cable." Supporters of the bill say "AT&T in Tennessee received $156 million from an Obama administration program aimed at expanding access to broadband," while opposing governmental entities like EPB expanding beyond their normal service areas to offer broadband.

House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) told National Federation of Independent Business-Tennessee members this week that "she doesn't expect the General Assembly will take up the issue this year after Gov. Bill Haslam's economic development officials announced they were initiating a study," Sher writes. "But the bill's House sponsor, Rep. Kevin Brooks (R-Cleveland) said he is 'absolutely' pressing forward with the bill. It has been put on notice to be heard in March in House subcommittee." Brooks told Sher, "There was a misconception that the broadband bill was dead. The bill is not dead." (Read more)

Writer attends first presidential caucus, details Iowa Democrats' complicated process

Julianne Couch, an author who has written about the rural Midwest, decided to attend her first presidential caucus to find out exactly how a caucus works. Couch, a Hillary Clinton supporter, participated in the Democratic caucus in rural Jackson County, Iowa, writing about her experience for the Daily Yonder.

"Caucusing always sounded like a strange way to spend a Monday night in February," Couch writes. "Especially the way the Democrats do it in Iowa. You mean you want me to go and literally stand under a sign with my candidate’s name on it and be counted? You mean if the person whose name I stand under isn’t viable enough to earn a delegate, I’ll be worked over until I go stand under the sign of a more popular candidate? I was nervous."

"The first order of the voting portion of the evening was for each group to count itself," Couch writes. "Our Hillary for Iowa coordinator was a young man from Connecticut who’d deployed to Jackson County last spring. He had us all raise our hands and as he counted aloud, and once we were counted, we lowered our hands. Team Bernie did something similar though they did not have an official campaign organizer present. After the first count, Hillary had 72 supporters and Bernie had 66. As I recall, there were two undecided and four for (Martin) O’Malley, not close to the 21 he needed to be viable." (CNN map; To view an interactive version click here)

"That meant it was time for the realignment process," she writes. "This is something that does not happen in the Iowa Republican caucus format in which secret ballots are cast. To start the process, three individuals approached the mic in turn, and spoke briefly for their candidate. The man who spoke for Bernie knew both the candidate and his wife, and judged them to be excellent and worthy, smart and caring. The second man spoke for Hillary and explained that when his wife had cancer, they were grateful for affordable health care and they didn’t want 'Obamacare' to be dismantled. The third man said he supported O’Malley because O’Malley understood that we are a nation of immigrants and was not 'angry.' When that speaker said that as a Democrat he’d support any of the three, that was the applause line of the night."

"After those public affirmations it was time for the O’Malley supporters and undecideds to realign," she writes. "As Preferences Captain, it was my job to be sure none of the Hillary supporters drifted away to Bernie’s end of the bleachers. I thought of myself as the border collie, keeping everyone rounded up. On the other hand, it was the Persuasion Captain’s job to be the bulldog, I’d assumed, although it was not bullying that took place. Folks just moseyed over to the undecided/unviable area and visited. The woman member of the undecided couple soon strode past the Hillary area straight to the Bernie section, where she was greeted with cheers. Then a few O’Malley supporters drifted to the Hillary area, and we cheered. This took as long as it took, until everyone picked themselves a team."

"After realignment, another round of `counting revealed that Hillary had 76 supporters, and Bernie 68," she writes. "But it was then time for 'caucus math' which precludes delegates being split in half but has no problem rounding them up or down. In the end, after a caucus process that took a little more than an hour, the top two candidates were declared to have tied. Each will have four of our precinct’s eight delegates at the county convention in March."

Senate panel hears state of Plains Indians health care is 'unacceptable' and 'malpractice'

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs heard Wednesday that Indian Health Service hospitals that serve the Plains Indians in the Dakotas Nebraska and Iowa have more than "250 vacancies for healthcare professionals and a physician vacancy rate of 37 percent," David Rogers reports for Politico. "Despite promised reforms, three Indian Health Service hospitals in the four-state region are listed as seriously deficient by inspectors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—leading to the sudden pre-Christmas closing of a critical emergency room facility in South Dakota."

The hearing "followed on a Republican-led staff investigation begun last summer amid new complaints from tribal members," Rogers writes. Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a surgeon, said, “What we found is simply horrifying and unacceptable. In my view the information provided to this committee and witnessed first-hand can be summed up in one word: malpractice.” (U.S. Health and Human Services Department map)

One problem is that "the same Senate panel had hit hard on the very same issue in 2010, when Democrats controlled the chamber," Rogers writes. "Barrasso invited back former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who led the 2010 investigation, as his lead witness. Dorgan said the agency is seriously underfunded by about half but also suffers from a 'split personality' that undercuts its ability to be effective." He said, “There are some really great people, people who care, who signed up and commit their lives to the Indian Health Service to deliver good health care. And then I see something else. I see the weaving of friendships and favors, relatives, incompetence, corruption and yes, even criminal behavior. And it has all too often—and continues to be in my judgment—been overlooked, excused and denied. And that cannot continue.”

Another problem is that the tribes in the rural, isolated Great Plains "are among the poorest in the nation and so more vulnerable to health problems," making it hard to attract medical professionals to the area, Rogers writes.

Journalists should avoid false balance; fact vs. opinion skews Flint water crisis coverage

Tara Haelle

Journalists have a responsibility to report balanced stories, writes Tara Haelle, medical studies core topic leader for the Association of Health Care Journalists. "It is a journalist’s job to objectively and fairly represent the various perspectives on an issue, and it’s a journalist’s responsibility to report facts to represent an issue as accurately as possible."

A recent example of facts versus opinions affecting a story has been the ongoing crisis of high lead levels in water in Flint, Mich., she writes. While Gov. Rick Snyder has declared a state of emergency and Environmental Protection Agency studies have documented high levels of lead in water, Bill Ballenger, a well-known Republican political analyst, former state lawmaker and Flint resident, suggested on his radio show "that the crisis is an overreaction or even a hoax because his own blood levels don’t test high for lead. Subsequently, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said, 'Let’s wait and see what the facts show,' according to the Detroit Free Press."

"Ballenger and Patterson are entitled to think Flint’s water is just fine," Haelle writes. "They’re even entitled to say it, just as anyone can claim the Earth is flat, the moon landing didn’t happen, the sun circles the Earth and cavemen rode dinosaurs. But the facts reveal a real crisis that every other politician inside and outside Michigan is taking seriously. Writing about them with any bit of credibility is a case of classic false balance: using outliers’ voices to state opinions that contradict the facts simply to provide 'balance' to a story. Ballenger and Patterson aren’t the underdogs being ignored by the powers that be. They ARE the powers that be. The underdogs are the thousands of children who will suffer lifelong consequences of lead exposure."

"A balanced story would include an explanation of the lead levels and people affected by them," she writes. "It would include a full version of what facts the rest of the media is getting wrong, as this outstanding Vox piece by Flint resident Connor Coyne explains. Politicians claiming there isn’t a problem would, in a factually balanced story, be appropriately cast as ignoring (or covering up) repeated lead levels tests, as was the case in this excellent three-part series from Michigan Public Radio."

"Unfortunately, this phenomenon happens in health reporting, especially in stories about vaccines," she writes. "We see it mostly in smaller markets or in stories by general assignment reporters who are less familiar with the health or science beat. The way the media’s falsely balanced vaccine reporting damaged public health reporting (and consequently public health) is such a well-worn case study that the Columbia Journalism Review featured outstanding coverage of it in Curtis Brainard’s 'Sticking with the Truth.'”

"Avoiding false balance doesn’t mean journalists take off their skeptical hat in covering these issues—it’s worth exploring whether the Flint crisis is overblown or what a new study might suggest regarding a risk to a vaccine we haven’t seen before," she writes. "But they should only report scientifically outlier positions if solid evidence supports it, not just because someone is shouting it from their own tiny molehill." (Read more)

Campaigns move to politically diverse and more rural N.H., where parties differ on state of U.S.

After the Iowa caucuses, the presidential race has shifted to Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire, one of the nation's most rural, least populated and most politically diverse states, Kit Seelye reports for The New York Times. New Hampshire's population in the 2010 census was 40 percent rural (Iowa was 35 percent and the national figure was 16 percent) also has the third oldest population, with a median age of 41.8. Between 2000 and 2010, more than 10 percent of Granite State residents 20-29 left the state.

New Hampshire Democrats and Republicans agree on very little, Seelye writes. "Polls show that 66 percent of New Hampshire Democrats believe the country is on the right track, but only 5 percent of Republicans agree. Much of the Republican dissatisfaction stems from disapproval of President Obama, his overhaul of the health care system and his support for gun control."

"Andrew E. Smith, a political scientist and pollster at the University of New Hampshire, said that voters’ mixed feelings reflected in part their generally positive views of their own lives and their more negative views of the country as a whole; 61 percent of New Hampshire voters say the state is headed in the right direction, but only 35 percent say the same about the country," Seelye reports.

The two parties also disagree on the most important issues facing the state, Seelye writes. "Since the terrorist attacks last fall in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., Republicans have rated national security at the top, with 34 percent citing it as their priority; next are the economy at 26 percent and immigration at 11 percent. Among Democrats, 26 percent rate the economy as the top issue, while 13 percent say national security is. Some of the angst over the economy stems from a recognition that the state’s boom times are over."

"Even as major corporations like FedEx, UPS and Pratt & Whitney expand here, job growth over all has slowed and in some regions has yet to return to pre-recession levels," Seelye writes. "The cost of living can be relatively high, especially in the suburbs near the Massachusetts border. New Hampshire’s minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour, the lowest in New England; attempts to raise it have gone nowhere."

Another problem is a rising heroin epidemic, Seelye writes. New Hampshire "had an estimated 399 opioid overdose deaths in 2015, a 22 percent increase over the year before. In a survey last fall, 25 percent of voters said the heroin epidemic was the most important issue confronting the state, ahead of the economy."

While Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won in Iowa, all the New Hampshire primary presidential polls have businessman Donald Trump leading by at least 15 percent, according to RealClearPolitics. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who narrowly lost in Iowa to Democrat Hillary Clinton, leads all the polls by anywhere from 6 to 29 percent.

Michigan lawmakers propose raising rural highway speed limits to 75 mph; critics cite safety concerns

Speed limits on Michigan's 600 miles of rural highways could soon be raised to 75 or 80 mph, Emily Lawler reports for MLive Media Group. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday approved a package that includes raising speed limits to 75 mph on most rural highways and eventually raising limits to 80 mph on ones where it's deemed feasible and safe. (MLive photo: Current speed limits in Michigan)

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Bradford Jacobsen (R-Oxford), who sponsored a similar package in 2014, told Lawler, "Most expressways are designed for 5 over, if you would, so they're designed at 75 miles per hour. ... While this legislation specifically calls for raising speed limits on certain freeways to 75 mph, we included provisions that also allows for the studying of raising the speed limit to 80 mph in the future."

Critics say raising speed limits on rural roads is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists, Lawler writes. Nancy Krupiarz, executive director of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, "said many of these rural roads in context are carrying pedestrians and bicyclists and sometimes connecting them to trails." Krupiarz told Lawler, "People can come flying over these hills and around these curves and it could be a very perilous journey." (Read more)

Texas Tech program pairs law students with poor rural clients who are unable to afford an attorney

A program at Texas Tech University sends law students to poor rural areas to help students gain valuable court experience while helping rural residents get the representation they sorely need but can't afford, Josie Musico reports for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. "Texas Tech School of Law’s Caprock Regional Public Defender Office sends third-year students to try or plea-bargain criminal cases in a dozen or so rural counties. Clients have been ruled indigent, or lacking funds to pay for a private attorney." (Musico photo: Texas Tech law faculty member Donnie Yandell reviews a case with third-year student Sydne Collier)

"The program is funded through a grant from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission," Musico writes. "It bills participating counties significantly less than what those counties would have to pay practicing attorneys to work as public defenders."

The student lawyers, who have permission do everything a lawyer does except talk to the judge without a supervising attorney, typically represent clients "charged with misdemeanors and low-level felonies," Musico writes. Steven Chapa, a student participant, told Musico, “I like the fact that I get to help people, and at the same time it’s gonna help me when I open up my law firm." (Read more)

Summer seminar for teachers will focus on Appalachian culture, literature, art and music

Public school teachers from across the country can have the opportunity to travel to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to learn about Appalachian culture, literature, art and music during the NEH Summer Seminar for Teachers hosted by Shepherd University’s Appalachian Studies Program. The July 10-30 seminar will be held on the campus in Shepherdstown and will feature road trips to area attractions.

Guest artists include novelist and playwright Silas House, poet and activist Frank X Walker, storyteller and award-winning “liar” Adam Booth and Contemporary American Theater director Ed Herendeen. Rachael Meads, performing arts director at Shepherd, will conduct musical and cultural events and 2006 West Virginia Professor of the Year Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt will serve as principal discussion leader and seminar director. Participants will study the literary art of Lee Smith, Denise Giardina, Fred Chappell, Ron Rash, and Nikki Giovanni, as well as the work of House and Walker. The deadline to apply is March 1. For more information click here.

Rural voters helped Cruz take Iowa, despite his opposition to law that supports ethanol

Washington Post graphic (Click on image for larger version)

An aggressive campaign by supporters of ethanol to sway Iowa Republicans from voting for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wasn't enough to keep rural residents from supporting him in the first presidential caucuses Monday night, reports Chris Clayton of DTN The Progressive Farmer. Unofficial results had Cruz winning with 27.7 percent of the votes, beating out businessman Donald Trump (24.3 percent) and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (23.1 percent).

Cruz did even better at rural caucus sites, earned 33 percent of their votes, compared to 27 percent for Trump and 17 percent for Rubio, reports The Washington Post. "It was a solid blue-ribbon farm-country showing, given the crowded Republican slate. It also helped Cruz that increased turnout across the state brought even more voters to the rural caucuses," said the stiry by Ted Mellnik, Dan Keating, Kevin Schaul, Denise Lu and Samuel Granados.

A record number of voters went to the caucuses, with Cruz garnering 51,649 votes, 6,233 more than Trump. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton led Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 49.9 percent to 49.6 percent of delegates. "Her 3-point lead over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in rural was just enough to give the former secretary of state a slim statewide advantage," Tim Marema and Bill Bishop report for the Daily Yonder.

Cruz, the only Republican candidate who has opposed the Renewable Fuels Standard that supports ethanol production, drew opposition from Republican Gov. Terry Branstad and a super PAC headed by Branstad's son, but it wasn't enough to keep rural voters from supporting the candidate who opposes many federal spending programs and subsidies. Cruz visited all 99 Iowa counties, Clayton notes.

Hospital Strength Index's identifies vulnerable rural hospitals by state; 210 'most vulnerable'

RURAL HOSPITAL CLOSINGS
(iVantage Health Analytics chart)

The Hospital Strength Index released this week by iVantage Health Analytics includes state-level data on the number of vulnerable rural hospitals in each state, as well as the number of critical-access rural hospitals and data on how many health-care and community jobs the hospitals provide and the number of patient encounters.

From 2010 to Jan. 25 of this year, 66 rural hospitals have closed, and 673 are vulnerable to closing, with 210 considered most vulnerable, according to the index. The 673 hospitals are responsible for 99,000 direct jobs, 137,000 community jobs and 11.7 million patient encounters. (An screenshot of the interactive map appears below, showing that 42 rural hospitals in Mississippi are vulnerable. To view the interactive map click here.)