Rural News
This Republican mayor has an incredibly simple idea to help the homeless. And it seems to be working.
The Washington Post | Posted on August 16, 2016Throughout his administration, as part of a push to connect the homeless population to services, Berry had taken to driving through the city to talk to panhandlers about their lives. His city’s poorest residents told him they didn’t want to be on the streets begging for money, but they didn’t know where else to go. Next month will be the first anniversary of Albuquerque’s There’s a Better Way program, which hires panhandlers for day jobs beautifying the city. In partnership with a local nonprofit that serves the homeless population, a van is dispatched around the city to pick up panhandlers who are interested in working. The job pays $9 an hour, which is above minimum wage, and provides a lunch. At the end of the shift, the participants are offered overnight shelter as needed. In less than a year since its start, the program has given out 932 jobs clearing 69,601 pounds of litter and weeds from 196 city blocks. And more than 100 people have been connected to permanent employment.
Nearly 10K lionfish removed from Gulf so far
Pensacola News Journal | Posted on August 16, 2016Thanks to participants in the Lionfish Challenge and Panhandle Pilot Program — both conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission — nearly 10,000 lionfish have been removed from Florida waters so far. Since the May 14 kickoff, 9,216 lionfish have been eradicated from the Gulf. Sixty-eight divers have entered the statewide Lionfish Challenge, which rewards divers for taking 50 or more lionfish. Twenty-three of those qualified for the Panhandle Pilot Program, which rewards divers for every 100 lionfish removed from Escambia through Franklin counties, where lionfish densities tend to be higher. For every 100 lionfish checked in from this area between May 2016 and May 2017, the harvester will be eligible to receive a tag allowing them to take either a legal-sized red grouper or a legal-sized cobia that is over the bag limit from state waters. In addition, the first 10 people or groups that check in 500 or more lionfish during this period will be given the opportunity to name an artificial reef. Two teams have qualified to name an artificial reef so far.
How to give rural America broadband? Look to the early 1900s
New York Times | Posted on August 15, 2016"The Cooperative is doing it again, but now the light buld is the internet." said Mr. Creason, 82. Mr. Creason's experience with the electric co-op puts him at the leading edge of a trend unfolding in hard-to-reach rural spots natinwide.
Rx Drug Death Rate Grows Fastest in Rural
Daily Yonder | Posted on August 12, 2016Rural counties have seen a disproportionate jump in deaths from prescription-drug overdoses in the past 15 years, increasing at a pace three times that of the nation’s most urban counties. About three-quarters of all U.S. deaths caused by prescription drugs in 2014 were from opioid pain killers, making prescriptions a major part of the nation’s opioid epidemic. Rural – or “noncore” – counties saw an average increase in prescription drug deaths rates of about 9 percent per year from 1999 to 2014. Central counties of large metropolitan areas (1 million residents or more), on the other hand, saw the death rate climb by less than 3 percent per year on average over the same period. Rural counties started with lower prescription-drug death rates than cities, so smaller increases in raw numbers of deaths in rural places can mean a sharper growth in the death rate. But by the end of the study period, rural counties’ prescription-drug death rates equaled or exceeded the rates in metropolitan areas.
Poll: Most voters say US infrastructure getting worse
The Hill | Posted on August 12, 2016Nearly half of Americans believe the nation’s infrastructure has deteriorated over the last five years, according to a new poll from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. The survey of 2,000 registered voters found that 46 percent think the state of U.S. infrastructure has gotten worse and nearly 90 percent believe that roads, bridges and energy grids require extreme repairs. The AEM is hoping that the poll, which was released Monday, will guide lawmakers and candidates as they craft their long-term visions for infrastructure. “Americans across the political spectrum understand the dire state of U.S. infrastructure and believe that the federal government should do more to improve our infrastructure,” said Dennis Slater, president of the AEM. “Voters recognized that increased federal funding for assets such as roads, bridges, and inland waterways will have a positive impact on the economy, and they are looking to the federal government to repair and modernize.” The country is projected to face a $1.4 trillion infrastructure investment gap in the next decade, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The Urban-Rural Divide: Deep Roots In American History
Huffington Post | Posted on August 11, 2016Anyone observing America’s ongoing culture wars, especially as they surface in the current presidential election cycle, is forcefully reminded that we are not a country divided by red and blue states; it’s an urban-rural divide that represents the political and cultural fault lines in the nation. The difference is no longer where people live, it’s about how people live: in widely-dispersed, open rural areas with plenty of privacy or in high population density, diverse urban areas where tolerance becomes almost mandatory among its residents. But how far back does the urban-rural divide go? Before the Civil War, our political and cultural differences fell mostly along state and regional borders. Worldviews and politics followed a mostly north-south direction. But even in the early 19th century, one can spot the primitive origins of the town-country, urban-rural divide that has become so pervasive in modern America.
Agriculture and overuse greater threats to wildlife than climate change – study
The Guardian | Posted on August 11, 2016Agriculture and the overexploitation of plants and animal species are significantly greater threats to biodiversity than climate change, new analysis shows. Joint research published in the journal Nature found nearly three-quarters of the world’s threatened species faced these threats, compared to just 19% affected by climate change.
Tired of Waiting for Corporate High-Speed Internet, Minnesota Farm Towns Build Their Own
Yes Magazine | Posted on August 8, 2016A unique community-owned broadband cooperative will free dozens of tiny towns and farms from reliance on slower corporate providers. Today, in this sparsely populated swath of Minnesota, a grassroots, member-owned cooperative spanning more than 700 square miles and four counties is poised to expand high-speed broadband access—without relying on federal funding. After seven years of development led by local leaders and volunteers, RS Fiber, now in its first phase of construction, is expected to deliver high-speed broadband internet to more than 6,000 rural households by 2021. And unlike companies like Mediacom, the co-op is owned by local customers who have a say in rates and how it’s operated. Attracting investors to build a high-investment network in low-density communities wasn’t easy. To help raise seed funding, ten local governments issued bonds that covered half of the approximately $16 million required for the project’s first phase. This model got local banks interested. As long as local demand meets projections, revenue from the broadband network will more than repay government loans, and taxpayers won’t owe a dime.
Turning Iowa farmland into butterfly, bee habitat
Des Moines Register | Posted on August 8, 2016Over the past four years, Iowa farmers have enrolled 127,005 acres in a federal conservation reserve program designed to sustain butterflies, bees, wasps, birds and bats — with all but 15,000 acres being added in the past year, according to the Iowa Farm Service Agency. In fact, Iowa has about 40 percent of the nation's total acres of pollinator habitat, the agency said. The federal contracts require the land to be set aside for habitat for 10 or 15 years, with penalties for ending them sooner. Part of Iowa's adoption comes from a big state and national habitat push.
State report says immigrants boost Michigan economy
Detroit Free Press | Posted on August 8, 2016A report released by the state says immigration boosts Michigan's economy, helping the state emerge from a lengthy recession, and suggests many of the estimated 126,000 undocumented immigrants in Michigan should be made legal.The report "Contributions of New Americans in Michigan" was released by the Michigan Office for New Americans, which Republican Gov. Rick Snyder created in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The state office said it partnered in the release of the report with the bipartisan Partnership for a New American Economy's "Reason for Reform" campaign, which is pushing for immigration changes and a less-restrictive federal immigration policy. “Immigration has proven to be a driver of job creation and economic growth in Michigan,” Snyder said in a news release.