Full-page version of the map. Covid-19 continued its record-breaking spread in rural counties last week, climbing by more than 16% over the previous week and placing six out of every 10 rural counties on the red-zone list. Just over 71,000 rural Americans tested positive for the novel coronavirus last week, October 4-10, according to a […]
Posted inHealth
Tech for Telehealth Is Only Part of the Equation, Broadband Access Is the Other
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare providers have turned to telehealth as a solution to any number of healthcare problems, especially for those in rural areas. While telehealth was gaining ground in some areas before the pandemic, it exploded in the months following the start of the pandemic. Since then, all eyes have turned to telehealth […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Despite Less Funding, Rural Arts Groups Push On. These 4 Groups Show How It Can Be Done.
In Kyle, South Dakota, a new structure is under construction that will be a focal point for indigenous arts and culture on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The 8,500 square foot Oglala Lakota Arts Center will provide critically needed room for individual and group studio space, technology for electronic marketplace access, classroom and gallery space, and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Sharpshooters Could Target Grand Canyon Bison by 2021 Under Herd Plan
This story was originally published by Cronkite News. State and federal officials have agreed on a plan that includes bringing in volunteer sharpshooters to cut the number of bison on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Lethal removal has long been discussed as a way to reduce the herd, along with hazing and relocation, […]
Posted inRural Voters
Front Line Against Fraud: County Election Workers Log Long Hours Processing Absentee Ballots
This story was originally published by Carolina Public Press. Worried about voting by mail? Or that North Carolina’s by-mail voting system is ripe for fraud? Don’t be. All over the state, election workers are doing what Lori Huskins did Monday in the Mitchell County elections office: methodically scanning the unique bar code on each ballot envelope delivered […]
Posted inElection 2020
Electoral Patchwork: Both Parties Look for Success in a South That Is Less Monolithic
Part of a series Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 by flipping Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but he may not have been able to do so had Hillary Clinton not lost sight of the Upper Midwest because she was focused on flipping the South. Long considered a bastion of cultural conservatism, changing demographics are […]
Posted inBroadband and Technology
Bullish on Broadband: Time to Get Your Grant Proposals Ready
Before Covid-19, pursuing Federal broadband grant funds was orderly and straightforward. Some grants paid for broadband infrastructure that was restricted to school premises. Federal grants funded healthcare-related broadband in public hospitals and clinics. Other agency programs funded broadband in city and county offices, libraries, and public facilities. A couple of smaller agencies funded residential and […]
Posted inElection 2020
Electoral Patchwork: The Midwestern Path to the White House
Part of a series On election night 2016, Democrats across the country watched in horror as Donald Trump won Michigan and Wisconsin. These Midwestern states had long been considered part of the Democrats’ blue firewall in presidential elections, but in flipping them, Trump ensured his Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton. Four years later, the […]
Posted inRural Voters
Video Conversation: Pipeline Opponents Discuss Lessons Learned – ‘You Can’t Give Up’
This article and video were produced in collaboration with Southerly and the Rural Assembly. The Rural Assembly is a project of the Center for Rural Strategies, which also publishes the Daily Yonder. At the height of the summer as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to spread throughout the U.S. — particularly in rural areas —and as […]
Posted inCoronavirus
Upper Midwest Leads the Nation with Worst Rural Infection Rates
Full screen map Covid-19 is spreading rapidly in the Upper Midwest, where high rates of new infections are the norm in most rural counties. More than 90% of rural counties in Wisconsin, South Dakota, and North Dakota have troublesome levels of new infections, according to a Daily Yonder analysis. Iowa has 66 of its 78 […]