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Community Paramedics Don’t Wait for an Emergency to Visit Rural Patients at Home
This story was originally published by KFF Health News. Sandra Lane said she has been to the emergency room about eight times this year. The 62-year-old has had multiple falls, struggled with balance and tremors, and experienced severe swelling in her legs. A paramedic recently arrived at her doorstep again,...
45 Degrees North: Disasters Will Come. Are Our Communities Ready?
There’s nothing inherently rural about school fire and tornado drills. We hope our kids and teachers never need to evacuate the building in an orderly fashion or know where to shelter if the tornado siren sounds during gym class. But stuff happens, and we want those we love to be prepared – just in case.
Q&A: Enlisting Local Voices to Sustain Rural Communities
Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.
‘Grotesque Catch-22’ – Sickest Rural Adults Are the Least Likely to Be Able to Pay for Healthcare
Rural people who need medical care the most are the least likely to be able to pay for it, according to a new report from the University of Southern Maine. Research on cost barriers to health care found that rural adults were more likely than urban adults to report being unable to pay their medical bills or have problems paying their medical bills. Rural adults also were more likely to use medications in ways not prescribed (like taking pills every other day or only filling prescriptions every other month) to save money on medication.
Family and College Collide in a Small Western Kansas High School
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in Mile Markers, a twice monthly newsletter from Open Campus about the role of colleges in rural America. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox. The warning bell...
Teas and Tinctures of the Appalachian Forest
For generations, the Appalachian forests have held a veritable pharmacy for those who know where to look. From sassafras to mountain mint, wild herbs have helped cure headaches, fevers, nerves and other maladies. Modern day foragers and herbalists continue the traditions either passed down to them from others, or picked up through study and experience.
Colorado’s Right to Repair Law Could Save Farmers Time, Money and Spur Local Business
A Colorado law that loosens the grip of manufacturers on farm-equipment repairs could lower costs for farmers and jump-start business for independent mechanics. “We’re gonna return a lot of money to the farmer’s pocket and reduce the burden that they suffer,” said Joe Van Wye, policy and outreach director for Farm Action, in an interview with the Daily Yonder.
Under Half of Rural Hospitals Offer Labor and Delivery Services, Putting Rural Moms at Risk, Report Says
Less than half of the rural hospitals in America offer labor and delivery services, contributing to a range of problems that can endanger the health and lives of rural mothers and newborns. According to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform (CHQPR), 46% of rural hospitals...
Commentary: Policy Summit Lays out Roadmap for ‘Rural Renewal’
In a New York Times column earlier this year, Paul Krugman asked a question, somewhat rhetorically: “Can Anything Be Done to Assuage Rural Rage?” This past week, I had the pleasure of co-hosting the 2023 Rural Policy Action Summit, the second convening of more than 50 diverse rural leaders from across the country who provided an emphatic, affirmative answer.
Rural America Added 738,000 Jobs in Last Two Years but Still Falls Short of Pre-Pandemic Employment
Last week’s monthly job report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was better than expected, but another recent report from the bureau shows rural America still has a way to go to get back to pre-pandemic employment levels. In April the bureau released its annual average employment report for...
Research: Seniors Play Vital Role in Rural Communities
If rural communities aren’t proactive in providing a good quality of life to senior citizens – most of whom are Baby Boomers – they will leave the towns, and communities will be left with a sharp drop in rural populations, according to researchers who are studying how seniors can best age in place.
The 10-Year Battle that Will Shape the Future of Lake Tahoe’s Olympic Valley
This story was originally published by Sierra Nevada Ally. Crystalline lake water, panoramic mountain views, historic hikes and world-renowned skiing: the region of Lake Tahoe remains an unparalleled outdoor destination for visitors and locals alike. In addition to these natural treasures, one company aims to build a water slide, roller coaster, and an indoor skydiving park. Developments such as these are currently some of the biggest threats facing the region.
Review: ‘Pathfinder: Selected Poems, Essays & Tales’
Robert Love is a logger from Montana. Both of those facts, that he is a logger and from Montana, inform Pathfinder and are its saving graces for this is a book of dreams—both literal and metaphorical, some of which are practical dreams and others that are mystical. That a logger would dream in both these ways (or at all) may strike some as improbable, yet it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Loggers, despite harmful stereotypes, are human and often-enough innate humanists as well.
Q&A: The Surprising Truth About Oregon’s Seafood Industry
Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.
‘Building Prison Cells Over Homes’ in Central Appalachia
Just a few months after a thousand-year-flood devastated parts of East Kentucky, the Federal Bureau of Prisons revived a plan to build a new medium-security prison and adjoining prison camp in Letcher County. Expected to cost over half a billion dollars, the proposed project would be the most expensive prison...
Radically Rural: If We Want a Stronger Local Economy, Why Do We Invest in Wall Street?
When you put dollars into your retirement fund or investment accounts, where do they go?. To your local food co-op? Housing projects in your region? Local downtown redevelopment?. Probably not and with good reasons; for decades it’s actually been illegal for the majority of people to invest locally. But...
‘The Big Door Prize’ Is a Poignant Look at Rural Life’s ‘True Potential’
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, a newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, retrospectives, recommendations, and more. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox.
Horse-Industry Job-Training Programs Provide Employment and a Second Change
Tyler Harris has been to rehab six times in the last 10 years. At one point, he had nearly five years of sobriety. But he could never get it to stick. “My normal thing is, I’ll stay sober for 30, 60, 90 days after [treatment],” Harris said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “But then I fall back into my old ways so quickly it’s not even funny.”
Interview: Emily Hilliard
In February, Emily Hilliard came to Whitesburg, Kentucky, for an oral history workshop and celebration of her new book, Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia. During her workshop, people shared stories of what brought them to the space–the crowd was wildly varied in interest. Many wanted to collect family histories, a local forest ranger wanted to explore people’s relationships with a local old-growth forest, and one artist was excited by comic strips as an ethnographic tool. Emily’s writing and teaching demystified folklore–removing it from its assumed context as something from the faraway past, showcasing the ways that we engage in acts of vernacular culture every day.
Commentary: Conserving Public Forests Pairs Well With Sustainable Timber Economy
Years ago I helped families in the Ozarks and Southern Appalachian Mountains make money from their forests by harvesting timber in sustainable ways and increasing the amount of carbon those forests could pull out of the atmosphere. Currently, the Biden administration is looking at ways the federal government can conserve...
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