Tim Russert: A role model for journalism's fundamental function, making democracy work

“This is a blow to America,” Peggy Noonan said today about the devastating death of Tim Russert. How many journalists, having died suddenly in the prime of life, would prompt a former speechwriter for a Republican president to say something like that? Very few, if any. I am sure many Americans feel they have lost, if not a friend, an ally – someone who served their interests – because they knew Tim was interested in getting the facts they needed to participate effectively in self-government, perhaps most prominently as an interviewer who asked those who seek our votes the right questions, and in the right way. “He always asked the question we hoped he wouldn’t,” Sen. Mitch McConnell said. (Associated Press photo)

The end of anyone’s life should teach lessons. Tim Russert taught men how to be sons and fathers, and he was a father figure to his younger NBC colleagues, as they have testified today. For journalists, he was a role model for the fundamental function of our business: making democracy work. May we all try to remember that example, and follow it.

Ark.-based newspaper chain wants its classified ads taken off Wal-Mart's Web site

The biggest newspaper company in Arkansas, WEHCO Media, owned by the Walter E. Hussman family, has asked Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. not to put classified advertising from the company's 11 daily newspapers on Wal-Mart's Web site. The nation's largest retail chain has complied.

Wal-Mart put a "classifieds" link on the site in the last week of May "in what has been described by the Bentonville-based retailer as a test program," Stacey Roberts of WEHCO's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. "It takes visitors to lists of advertisements that can be searched according to location, product or service offered." The newspaper said its management was surprised. (Read more) For Roberts' latest update, via the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association Bulletin, click here.

"Wal-Mart noted that WEHCO's ads would be exposed to a larger audience, and it was possible to direct a inquiry back to the newspaper's Web site," the Bulletin reported earlier. "WEHCO noted that users could review the content of these ads on the Wal-Mart site without being directed back to the newspaper's Web site. It also noted that, unlike some classified sites which concentrate on bigger cities, or certain categories of classifieds, the ads on the Wal-Mart.com site are listed for virtually all towns in the U.S., regardless of size, and all categories, from employment, real estate and autos to merchandise for sale."

Classified sites such as Craigslist and Career Builder, which is owned by major newspaper companies, have concentrated on larger markets. WEHCO is concerned that the move by Wal-Mart, which has most of its stores in rural areas, "could be a significant threat to smaller market newspapers and their classified ads," the Bulletin reports. "While WEHCO realizes it must compete for classified ads and audience, the company says it does not see the advantage in helping classified competitors, especially since classified content is a major reason for reading a newspaper or its Web site, and classified revenues are a major source of funding news gathering, reporting and journalism." (Read more)

Rural Misses: Not as healthy as Mizzes, they say

Unmarried women living in rural areas rate their health status lower their married counterparts, and also report more instances of depression, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. "They suggest that primary care physicians should take a proactive role in addressing health concerns of single women," says Newswise, a research-reporting service.

“Being single may be associated with a greater degree of separation from usual health care, as many women gain insurance through a spouse or a former spouse. Lack of social support also may contribute to poor health among some single women,” said James Rohrer, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic’s Department of Family Medicine and lead author of the study.

Rohrer said current economic difficulties may cause additional stress that can affect health. “Statistically, rural, unmarried women are more often economically depressed than their married counterparts,” he said. “If the economy worsens, we will see a significant impact on visits to primary care physicians and nurses. Medical providers are trained to focus on the biological and psychological. But economic causes of poor health? I don’t think that receives a lot of air time in medical school.” (Read more)

TV viewers say they can't find digital converter boxes before federal vouchers expire

Here's a story that every rural news outlet in the United States should be covering. To ease the nation's transition to digital television, only 250 days away, Congress authorized $40 vouchers for people without cable or satellite TV to buy converter boxes. But the boxes are in short supply and the vouchers are expiring before people can find the boxes, House members said at a hearing this week.

"If you can't get a box within the 90 days, what good is this?" Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said as he held up one of the vouchers, which "resemble plastic gift cards," The Associated Press reported. Each household is entitled to two coupons; a converter box is needed for each TV set.

"About 8.5 million households have requested 16 million coupons since the program started earlier this year, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is overseeing the coupon program. Nearly 3 million coupons have been redeemed so far," AP reports. " Of the roughly 840,000 coupons that recently expired, 42 percent were redeemed, the agency said. Under current government rules, consumers with expired coupons cannot reapply for new ones." NTIA spokesman Todd Sedmak said the agency is considering changing the rules to allow reapplication. The agency's Web site has detailed information.

Flooding threatens economy of the Midwest

"Drenching rain and widespread floods in the Midwest are taking momentum out of a regional economy that has been among the brightest spots in the U.S. economy recently," Ilan Brat and Lauren Etter report in The Wall Street Journal. They say the floods are already being compared to those in the region in 1993, which caused $20 billion in losses. (Wisconsin State Journal photo by Steve Apps shows Viola, a town of 667 on the Kickapoo River.)

"Meat processor Tyson Foods Inc. is temporarily suspending work at two Iowa hog-slaughtering plants, while farm-equipment maker Deere & Co. was forced by rising rivers to evacuate a foundry in that state. A St. Louis-based riverboat casino on the Mississippi River closed, and a lake at a popular resort in Wisconsin emptied after an embankment burst. Towns across the region are confronting collapsed bridges and overflowing sewers. Further heavy rain may burst or overtop already stressed dams and levees in Wisconsin and Iowa." Southwest Indiana is also hard-hit, after 10 inches of rain.

Development of rural areas could be worsening the floods. "Large swaths of farm and forest land that had been soaking up excess water are now covered with concrete and asphalt for neighborhoods, shopping centers and parking lots, increasing water runoff into waterways," the Journal reports. "And local governments hungry for property-tax revenue have continued to allow construction in floodplains, according to a federally sponsored evaluation of the National Flood Insurance Program published in 2006." (Read more; subscription may be required)

Gas prices pinching rural community colleges

Rising gas prices are hurting community colleges in rural America. "Sensitive to their enrollment numbers and the plight of their fuel-cost-fatigued students, administrators at rural community colleges are looking for ways to help students stay on track with their studies even as their monthly transportation bills rise, in some cases approaching the several-hundred-dollar range," Libby Sander writes for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

"In large swaths of rural America, where a journey of 50 to 100 miles to reach a destination is the norm, some community-college officials say students are being forced to make tough decisions about what they can afford, given the added expense of fuel," Sander reports. "Some are dropping out. Others are turning to online classes for relief from the pump."

A growing number of community colleges are helping students by altering schedules and dropping one day of classes, which saves students a trip to campus each week, Mary Beth Marklein writes for USA Today. "The push to drop a day, usually Fridays, is rippling primarily through two-year colleges serving rural areas, where many students drive long distances and public transportation is harder to come by." Such policies have recently been announced at Eastern Kentucky University and LeTourneat University. Also, "Some universities are switching to a four-day work week this summer to allow employees to save gas costs, , insidehighered.com reports.

More and more students are are opting for online classes, which eliminates commutes to and from community colleges while reducing fuel costs. State colleges and universities in Tennessee have experienced a 29 percent increase in online registration this summer compared to last summer and face a 20 percent increase for the fall, Colby Sledge reports for The Tennessean of Nashville. Robbie Melton, associate vice chancellor for the state Board of Regents, identified a consistency among students signing up for online classes. "When they call, they keep saying, 'The gas prices, it's just unbelievable,'" he said. (Read more)

Corn crop forecast down; bad news for economy

An abundance of rain is plaguing American corn farmers, which is increasing concern over lower than predicted corn production. As of Sunday, June 8, 89 percent of the U.S. corn crop had emerged, which is nine percent less than a year ago and six percent less than the five year average, the Department of Agriculture reported. Corn is in 60 percent good to excellent condition, compared to 63 percent a week ago and 77 percent a year ago. (Graph from The New York Times)

"At a moment when the country’s corn should be flourishing, one plant in 10 has not even emerged from the ground, the Agriculture Department said Monday," David Streitfeld and Keith Bradsher write for the Times. "Because corn planted late is more sensitive to heat damage in high summer, every day’s delay practically guarantees a lower yield at harvest. . . American farmers are planing 324 million acres (of corn) this year, up 4 million acres from 2007. Too much of the best land is waterlogged, however. Indiana and Illinois have been the worst hit, although Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota were inundated last weekend."

Jon Perkins writes for Brownfield, "The crop in most of the major U.S. growing states continues to develop at a slower than normal pace due to heavier than average rainfall, flooding and other conditions harmful to development." Katie Allen writes for Brownfield that "potential crop flamage on late-planted corn down to an early or even normal fall freeze is now a concern among farmers, especially in the northern Corn belt. Roger Elmore, extension corn agronomist for Iowa State University, says a normal freeze this fall shouldn't affect the already planted corn, but time is running short for corn that still needs to be planted."

USDA released its monthly World Agriculture Supply and Demand report Tuesday, estimating a harvest of 673 million bushels of corn, down 93 million from last month's forecast and 760 million below the 2007 forecast. If these predictions hold, stocks would plummet to their lowest mark since the 1995-1996 season. Read the full report here. "University of Illinois Extension Economist Darrel Good told Meatingplace.com the latest report seems to support the market consensus that there is no chance of having a big corn crop this year," writes Tom Johnston. "The combination of unplanted or unharvested acres and reduced yield potential indicates a reduction of production expectations, (Good) said."

A lackluster corn crop would affect several facets of the economy. Glen Grimes, agricultural economist emeritus with the University of Missouri at Columbia and a consultant to the National Pork Board, told Peter Shinn of Brownfield, "If U.S. corn production comes in far below expectations this year, less than 10 billion bushels, for example, the resulting corn price spike would shutter most U.S. ethanol plants." Shinn writes, "Grimes pointed out livestock producers must feed their animals regardless of price, while ethanol producers have the option of shutting down when margins are poor. And even if this year's corn production weer to somehow close to last year's record level, Grimes suggested the impact of higher feed costs on food price inflation haven't yet actually worked their way through the food production system to the retail level."

Appalachians more honest about race and votes?

Journalists from around the world continue to write about Barack Obama's "Appalachian problem," based on his single-digit percentages in some Central Appalachian counties and exit polls showing that more than a fifth of white Democratic voters in Kentucky and West Virginia said race was important to their vote and more than four-fifths of those voters supported Clinton.

Paul Harris, writing in "The Observer" column in The Guardian, a major British newspaper, reports from Williamson, W. Va., on the Kentucky border, and nearby Pikeville, Ky. He quotes Johnny Telvor of Williamson as saying Obama would make slaves of white people, and Stanley Little of Pikeville as saying he will vote Republican because "'McCain is one of us. Obama ain't."

Such stories imply that race was the main reason Obama lost the two main states of Central Appalachia. They ignore the fact that he made only one campaign stop in each of them, that Hillary Clinton's lunch-bucket speeches spoke more to local needs than Obama's high-flown rhetoric, and that the Clintons had strong followings in both states while Obama was not well known. As I said in my fortnightly column in The Courier-Journal yesterday, if Obama asked one of the black mayors of overwhelmingly white towns in Kentucky, "They might tell him that when folks know you, they're willing to vote for you. When you're a silhouette or a cartoon, they're not even listening."

Still, Harris and Emory University's Andra Gillespie, whom he calls "an expert on racial politics," make an interesting argument, that Appalachians are just being more honest about race than most other Americans. "The difficult truth is that Appalachia is unusual mostly because many people here are willing to openly talk about what some of their fellow citizens are secretly thinking," Harris writes, citing the exit polls of Edison Mitofsky Research. "West Virginia and Kentucky were just more honest than other parts of the country," Gillespie tells him. "A lot of other people know it's not socially acceptable to mention that sort of thing."

Harris calls Appalachia "Another America," and paints with the usual broad brush: "This is the America where outrageous rumours that Obama is a Muslim are readily believed. It is the America where Telvor is able to voice a sentiment that 'Obama might actually be the Antichrist' without apparent irony or fear of contradiction. It is a slice of America trapped in the dreadful history of race relations and the legacy of slavery and segregation. On the streets of towns such as Pikeville and Williamson, and in the minds of people like Little and Telvor, that past lives on. It is kept in the present by poverty, joblessness and a fear of the different. It is also a powerful force that should not be underestimated. It could even decide who will be the next President." (Read more)

UPDATE, June 20: Judy J. Owens, who spent a lot of time in Appalachia interviewing people for newspapers, thinks Telvor took Harris hunting for snipe, or for wampus cats. What's that? Read her piece in the Daily Yonder.

Rural America is where gasoline prices hit hardest

As a percentage of income, high gasoline prices are having the hardest impact in rural areas of the South, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas, reports Clifford Krauss of The New York Times, reporting on a survey by Oil Price Information Service. "People are giving up meat so they can buy fuel," Krauss writes. "Gasoline theft is rising. And drivers are running out of gas more often, leaving their cars by the side of the road until they can scrape together gas money."

Americans spend about 4 percent of their take-home income on motor fuels, but "in some counties in the Mississippi Delta, that figure has surpassed 13 percent," Krauss reports. "The survey showed that of the 13 counties where people spent 13 percent or more of their family income on gasoline, 5 were located in Mississippi, 4 were in Alabama, 3 were in Kentucky and 1 was in West Virginia. (Click on Times map above for county-by-county comparisons of gas prices, median income and their intersection.)

Reporting from Holmes County, Miss., Krauss contrasts the Times' home base with the rest of the country: "With the exception of rural Maine, the Northeast appears least affected by gasoline prices because people there make more money and drive shorter distances, or they take a bus or train to work," Krauss writes. "But across Mississippi and the rural South, little public transit is available and people have no choice but to drive to work. Since jobs are scarce, commutes are frequently 20 miles or more. Many of the vehicles on the roads here are old rundown trucks, some getting 10 or fewer miles to the gallon."

The long-term picture is not good. "Sociologists and economists who study rural poverty say the gasoline crisis in the rural South, if it persists, could accelerate population loss and decrease the tax base in some areas as more people move closer to urban manufacturing jobs," Krauss reports. "They warn that the high cost of driving makes low-wage labor even less attractive to workers, especially those who also have to pay for child care and can live off welfare and food stamps." (Read more)

The data make localizing this story easy. Here's an example from the Lexington Herald-Leader.

In New Hampshire, a death touches and teaches

New Hampshire is a small state, where it's easy to get known -- and admired, if you do good work. It's also a state where the agriculture commissioner is a former journalist who knows how to tell the stories of the people and issues in the state's diverse agricultural community. The latest "From Your Commissioner" column by Lorraine Merrill, left, in her department's Weekly Market Bulletin is titled "A Time to Reap and A Time To Sow." It begins:

Just two weeks ago we wrote of the joy Arthur and Cathy Scruton were experiencing with the birth of healthy triplet heifer calves at Scruton’s Dairy in Farmington. Over Memorial Day weekend Arthur Scruton was killed in a farm equipment accident. He was 58. The response of the state’s agricultural community demonstrated how deeply this quiet man had touched many individuals and whole families. He and his family have operated one of the state’s top dairy farms, known for their fine herd of
Holsteins. Local farmers and ag service providers offered help to the Scruton family at this peak cropping season. An estimated 500-600 people from every corner of New Hampshire, and at least four other states, lined up for hours to pay their respects to the family and exchange stories and remembrances. A similar- sized crowd turned out the next day for services honoring Art’s memory.

Merrill reminds her readers that farming is among the most dangerous occupations, especially once farmers pass the age of 55. That was the average age for an American farmer the last time it was calculated, in 2002, and it's probably higher now. To read the June 4 issue of the Weekly Market Bulletin, click here. It's long had good journalism; Merrill's predecessor was Steve Taylor, another journalist.

Tennessee center will help food entrepreneurs

The name Cumberland Culinary Center "may conjure Iron Chef-esque images," reports The Lebanon Democrat, but the Tennessee center "will be geared more towards farmers and entrepreneurs." (Encarta map)

The center, for which Cumberland University broke ground Thursday, "will house a commercial kitchen and storage facility intended to assist area entrepreneurs in prepping their products for market," CU Public Relations Director Brian Harville told reporter Hilary Trenda. "The culinary center is intended to educate area entrepreneurs on the production, promotion and packaging of products and to provide small businesses with access to commercial kitchen facilities." It will also link farmers with entrepreneurs to promote their products.

The 2,400-square-foot center is to be completed in time for the fall semester. Its $300,000 cost is being covered by the university, a state grant and a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. It will be available to entrepreneurs from Middle Tennessee, Southern Kentucky and Northern Alabama. It will not handle meat and dairy products because of federal inspection requirements. (Read more; registration required)

Obama sets stake in Va.; outside media mess up

Seeking rural votes in a swing state, Sen. Barack Obama went to Bristol, Va., yesterday and drew a crowd of 2,500. He made no news, other than making clear he will contest a state that has become a lots less rural since 1964, the last time it voted Democratic for president. But some of the out-of-town news organizations covering Obama made some gaffes worth noting.

"While Virginia was among the states that Mr. Obama won in the primary season, he had trouble here in the southwest," Jeff Zeleny and Adam Nagourney write in The New York Times. "Clinton carried the city of Bristol, as well as the surrounding county, by 67 percent to 32 percent. Four years ago, President Bush won 64 percent of the vote. So the visit by Mr. Obama, which he declared his first official campaign stop of the general-election campaign, was intended to be as rich with symbolism as political strategy." (Read more)

In The Roanoke Times, this was the lead quote in Mason Adams' story: ""Southwest Virginia is an example of so much that is good about this country, but so many people have been forgotten," Obama said. "There are good hardworking decent generous people in beautiful towns all throughout this region, but Washington hasn't been listening to you. It hasn't been paying attention to you. I'm here to let you know I'm going to be paying attention and I'm going to be listening."

Lauren Linn concludes in the Daily Yonder, which has a good map of Virginia's primary results: "As I left I pondered if Obama could win over white, rural, blue-collar Americans. He clearly is not the same as these men and women, even if he attempted to look like them: that was evident throughout the Democratic primary. The response yesterday at Virginia High School was strong and positive, and must have been encouraging to the Obama camp. Maybe, just maybe, there were enough college-educated wealthier voters in that gym to make it work out that way." (Read more)

In the Bristol Herald Courier, David McGee followed Obama's focus: health care. "In his first public appearance since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama promised here Thursday that every American would receive affordable health care by the end of his first term," McGree writes. "Battling self-admitted sleep deprivation since claiming the nomination Tuesday night, Obama spent more than an hour detailing much of his health care plan." (Read more) The paper's coverage was extensive. Nicki Mayo, the content coordinator for TriCities.com, the Herald Courier's Web site, talked with Virginia Tech Professor Robert E. Denton Jr. about Obama’s chances of carrying Virginia and posted this video.

The Herald Courier's editorial board lit into NBC News' Andrea Mitchell for her characterization of the region. As reported by the paper, she said, "This is real [chuckle] redneck ... sort of ... uhm ... bordering on Appalachia ... country." The editorial said, "Bristol doesn’t border 'Appalachia ... country.' It is part of the Appalachian Mountain region. While the region faces challenges, it doesn’t deserve to be the butt of jokes. ... Mocking Appalachia is no different than making racial jokes or ethnic slurs. It isn’t acceptable or professional. Mitchell should be reprimanded by her bosses. A sincere, public apology also is in order." (Read more) UPDATE, June 10: Mitchell apologized for her remarks, Christine Riser of WJHL-TV reports. The Herald Courier's editorial board said the apology "seemed reasonably sincere and gracious. We note that it came relatively quickly, too. However, it’s up to Southwest Virginians to decide whether to accept it or not. We lean toward accepting it, and again extend an invitation to Mitchell to come visit the region. She might be surprised by what she discovers." (Read more) UPDATE, June 23: Foster shares with readers some of the 100-plus comments he received on his "smackdown."

The Washington Post needs a geography and geology lesson on one of the states it covers most. Kristen Mack of the Post reports that Obama "spent the morning courting voters in coal country at a town hall meeting in southwest Virginia," and Tim Craig writes that Obama was "in Bristol in southwestern Virginia's coal country." Wrong. The Appalachian coalfield is north and west of Bristol. It's not far, but they're still not right. Here's a map.

Obama's schedule has him in Raleigh and St. Louis on Monday and one or more unspecified locations in Missouri on Tuesday.

What is rural? The federal government's different definitions serve many different purposes

The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues is often asked how we define "rural." The easy answer, and the easy way, is "non-metropolitan." But that is a very blunt instrument, because standard metropolitan statistical areas are defined by commuting patterns. So many rural people commute to cities, many counties that are essentially rural are included in metropolitan areas. In fact, those counties have many rural residents -- so many that about half the rural population of the U.S. is in metro areas. There are many other ways to define "rural," ranging so widely that "The share of the U.S. population considered rural ranges from 17 to 49 percent depending on the definition used," the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture explains in the latest edition of its electronic magazine, Amber Waves.

"The use of multiple definitions reflects the reality that rural and urban are multidimensional concepts, making clear-cut distinctions between the two difficult," John Cromartie and Shawn Bucholtz write. "Is population density the defining concern, or is it geographic isolation? Is it small population size that makes it necessary to distinguish rural from urban? If so, how small is rural? Because the U.S. is a nation in which so many people live in areas that are not clearly rural or urban, seemingly small changes in the way rural areas are defined can have large impacts on who and what are considered rural." (Read more)

R.W. Johnson Foundation commits $300 million to improve heath in 14 areas, many with rural folks

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation committed $300 million this week to help improve the quality of health care in 14 states and regions across the U.S., many of which have large rural populations. The commitment, which RWJF said in a news release is the largest effort of its kind undertaken by a U.S. philanthropy, aims to improve health care in communities that cover 11 percent of the U.S. population. The community-focused program, known as Aligning Forces for Quality, "will list the overall quality of health care, reduce racial and ethnic disparities and provide models for national reform."

The program will work in Maine (the nation's most rural state except Vermont), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Humboldt County, Calif., the Willamette Valley of Oregon, south-central Pennsylvania, western Michigan, western New York state, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Mo., Memphis and Seattle. "They were selected as part of a highly competitive process to find communities that were positioned to make fundamental and cutting-edge changes to rebuild their health care systems," the release explained.

RWJF President Risa Lavizzo-Mourey said, “Despite having the most expensive health care system in the world, patients are subject to too many mistakes, too much miscommunication and too much inequity. As a result, too many Americans aren’t receiving the care they need and deserve. This unprecedented commitment of resources, expertise and training will turn proven practices for improving quality into real results in communities across America.”

RWJF examined Medicare claims to illustrate vast variations in health care quality across the country. Five different measures of care were examined by researchers in the 14 area. According the the RWJF news release, "Most strikingly, researchers found significant differences by race and by region in whether patients lost a leg to amputation, a complication of peripheral vascular disease and diabetes. ... The report also demonstrates significant differences in whether people get basic recommended care, such as women getting regular mammography tests or patients with diabetes getting essential blood tests." You may examine the study here.

Alaska conference on dealing with climate change focuses on rural solutions

Residents in rural Alaska are familiar with virtually all aspects of climate change. The Alaska Municipal League Communities Conference on Climate Change met in Anchorage May 28-30. According to the AML's Web site, the conference allowed participants to "learn more about anticipated challenges and policy options to address climate change" and "obtain tools and resources to help (them) develop a response to climate change that is most effective for (their) community and region."

Scrammon Bay City Manager James Akerelrea "was searching for solutions from among the pack of climate-change experts and fellow officials. In addition, he wanted to share Scammon Bay's efforts to thrive in changing environmental and economic conditions," Mary Lochner writes for The Arctic Sounder.

Energy conservation is being promoted, with advice to pick projects that are most efficient. “A lot of people want to have their renewable energy project that’s visible and exciting, but that’s not always the best thing to do with your money,” said Kathy Prentki, Denali Commission energy project manager. Wind farms, tides, river dams and methane from garbage waste were all discussed as alternative energy sources that could counter threats posed by increasing fuel costs. In addition to cost related issues, each alternative presents a variety of obstacles or disadvantages.

"Margit Hentschel, director of climate protection services for Walsh Environmental in Denver, said investing in climate change preparation makes sense even if current models turn out to be less than spot on in predicting the future," Lochner writes. “It’s really just good planning and business,” Hentschel said. “A lot of the emergency preparedness — and that’s a big element — reinforces the things (local governments) should be doing anyway.”

Data on stream flow, water quality available online

Wondering if last night's rain was a gully-wusher upstream? "The U.S. Geological Survey now offers real-time maps and data on surface water quality across the U.S.," Mark Schaver, computer-assisted reporting director for The Courier-Journal of Louisville writes on his blog, DepthReporting.com.

Schaver cites ResourceShelf, which says, "WaterQualityWatch is a new USGS Web site that provides access to real-time water-quality monitor data collected in surface waters throughout the United States as part of the USGS mission to describe water sources. Measurements include stream flow, water temperature, specific conductance, acidity and alkalinity, dissolves oxygen and turbidity. These measurements are available at more than 1,300 sites in streams with watersheds as small as a few square miles to more than 1 million square miles in the Mississippi River as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. Continuous real-time water-quality data are used for decisions regarding drinking water, water treatment, regulatory programs, recreation, and public safety."

This map shows the array of stream gauges, showing flow; the redder the dot, the lower the flow. To view data from a particular monitoring site, click here.

Food and gas price hikes hit rural, poor hardest

Paralegal Peggy Trump fills up her tank in Charleston, W.Va., before heading home to Beckley, the beginning and end of her five-day-a-week round trip. She says Charleston law firms offer better pay and benefits, but increases in fuel and food prices are squeezing her pocketbook and those of all Americans, especially those who commute from rural areas. The topic is getting more coverage, and it should. (Charleston Gazette photo by Chris Dorst)

"When the economy takes a tumble, the poor are often the first to feel the pain," Karla Ward writes for the Herald-Leader in Lexington, Ky. "Representatives of several local social service agencies said they're seeing more clients seeking help in an environment in which gas and grocery prices are soaring." Problems resulting from increases in food and gas prices are compounded in rural areas. "The rural areas are going to suffer more in the current environment," said James Siliak, director of the University of Kentucky's Center for Poverty Research. "He said people in rural areas have to commute farther to work, which means they have higher fuel costs, and there is some evidence suggesting that groceries cost more in rural areas as well," Ward writes.

West Virginia may be the state where rural commuters burn up the most time, relatively speaking. It ranked 11th in average commuting time in 2006, led entirely by states with large metropolitan areas, and 13th in "the percentage of workers who work outside their county of residence, according to the 2006 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau," Allison Knezevich writes for the Gazette. In "a largely rural state, mass transit isn't available to most people." (Read more)

Increasing fuel costs also affect health care, especially those who are homebound or disabled. "Rural residents are often hit the hardest," writes Clare Ansberry for The Wall Street Journal. "Doctors, dentists and grocery stores may be miles away and there is often little, if any, public transportation. Agencies such as Easter Seals provide rides for those with disabilities, but with high gasoline costs, such serviced are often limited largely to medical appointments." Dozens homebound individuals in rural Minnesota were sent letters informing them their local Meals on Wheels program is closing at the end of the month.

Higher food and fuel costs are effecting food distribution to the nation's less fortunate too. The Mississippi Food Network and similar organizations "are finding it increasingly difficult to provide food to the poor," Becky Gillette reports for The Mississippi Business Journal.

"While food banks across the country are facing a strain of increased demand at a time of inflation for purchasing and distributing food, the need can be particular acute in areas where there is a low per capita income." According to information recently released by the USDA, a family of four paid $197 on average per week for groceries, compared to $211 per week in February 2008. The USDA considers it the worst food inflation in 20 years.

The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma provides food for nearly 64,000 hungry Oklahomans every week and since their beginning in 1980 has distributed over 283 million pounds of food to nearly 500 charitable programs in central and western Oklahoma. Growing needs in rural communities has led to an increase in distributions in additional areas increasing food and transportation costs," Amy Klinge writes for The Oklahoman. The agency recently received a grant from the Communities Foundation of Oklahoma to help offset costs associated with servicing these outlying areas.

Diesel-dependent utility in Alaska seeks state aid

"The largest utility in rural Alaska can’t afford to buy next year’s fuel and is asking the state for millions of dollars in help," reports Alex DeMarban of Alaska Newspapers in the chain's Bristol Bay Times. "Board members with Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, which provides power in 53 Interior and Western Alaska villages, declared a “financial emergency” on May 23 because of runaway diesel fuel prices."

The co-op spent $14 million on fuel last year and is expecting to spend $26 million this year, DeMarban reports. According to its top executive, "The cooperative has some money on hand but needs help to prevent a crippling rate increase for customers who can barely pay current bills." It offered an alternative to the plan proposed by Republican Gov. Sarah Palin for the state's utilities, all of which are cooperatives. (Read more)

Big investors broadening stakes in agribusiness

On the heels of increased speculation in grain markets, "A few big private investors are starting to make bolder and longer-term bets that the world’s need for food will greatly increase — by buying farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators and shipping equipment," The New York Times reports.

Brad Cole, president of Cole Partners Asset Management in Chicago, which manages hedge funds focused on natural resources, told Diana Henriques, “There is considerable interest in what we call ‘owning structure’ — like United States farmland, Argentine farmland, English farmland — wherever the profit picture is improving.”

The new investment could raise food production at a time when many countries need it. "But the long-term implications are less clear," Henriques writes. "Some traditional players in the farm economy, and others who study and shape agriculture policy, say they are concerned these newcomers will focus on profits above all else, and not share the industry’s commitment to farming through good times and bad." (Read more) For more stories in the Times' series on the food system, click here.

Rural tourism shows off agriculture, natural beauty

Summer is nearly upon us, making the air ripe for tourism, but what will drive tourists to your rural community? Tourism has the potential to stimulate rural economies, create additional jobs, and showcase the wonders, diversity and beauty of rural communities. (Tourists walk in a rural landscape in a photo by Turismo Rural)

"One travel trend in tourism these days is outdoor activities and going to rural areas," Keystone Heights, Fla., Mayor Mary Lou Hildreth told the Bradford County Telegraph. "People want to ride in the country and find quaint, out-of-the-way places." Hildreth recently attended the Enterprise Florida conference where she participated in several segments on rural tourism. "Along with a miniature canoe paddle, some plastic alligator beads and mounds of printed materials, the mayor also brought back ideas for making Keystone Heights more attractive to a potential tourist dollar," James Williams writes for the Telegraph. "Areas designated as 'rural areas of critical economic concern' qualify for more funds such as grants and other public investments through the Rural Economic Development Initiative. That would include funds for rural and eco-tourism."

A busload of diverse individuals toured northeast Solano County, Calif., allowing participants to enjoy the sights, smells and tastes of local agriculture. The Solano County Agriculture Advisory Committee sponsored the Savor Solano field trip, which "took riders on a tour of rural Vacaville, Dixon and Winters, and showed off some of the region's most relied-upon ag industrial processing plants," writes Danny Bernardini for The Reporter. "After meandering through the back roads, the tour stopped at two of the area's processing plants. Superior Farms, the sole lamb processing plant on the west coast, and Campbell's Soup Co. both had short presentations for the group."

Solano County is not the only community taking steps toward enhancing rural tourism opportunities. "Chambers County [Texas] has the potential to grow into a nature- and agri-tourism powerhouse if it takes steps to protect its natural resources today, according to a national nonprofit conservation organization," Amy Condon writes for The Progress. "Organized by The Trust for Public Land (TPL), experts - in farmers markets, wildlife and nature tourism, corporate habitat conservation, and conservation funding - spent last week meeting with Chambers residents, businesses, and farmers and ranchers in workshops to explore strategies to address a series of questions raised through TPL's Chambers County Greenprint for Growth process."

Chambers is the first Rural County Demonstration Project in Texas undertaken by TPL. The Chambers County Greenprint goals include: maintaining rural character and creating more public access for nature-based recreation. "Part of the Greenprint process involved last week's Strategy Exchange to answer questions that cannot be addressed through mapping but help achieve the Greenprint's overall goals." The Strategy Exchange generated a series of recommended actions, including "diversifying agricultural and tourism activities for sustainable economic development, constructing an inventory of existing nature-based tourism opportunities" and "providing resources to landowners interests in creating nature-based experiences." A grant from the Coastal Coordination Council primarily funded the Chambers County Greenprint for Growth and Conservation Project. To learn more about it, contact Linda Shead. For more information on promoting tourism in rural America visit the National Agricultural Library Rural Information Center.