rural issues

The company managing Clinton Regional Hospital pulled out in December, closing the facility and local clinics. Almost 200 staff were left without a job, and the southwest Oklahoma town’s most vulnerable citizens are scrambling for health care.

Climate, food stamps, broadband and research dollars are all on the line as negotiations kick off for the 2023 farm bill.

Despite a spike in deaths from COVID-19 and fewer births, recent research suggests rural counties saw population growth during the first year of the pandemic. Remote work opportunities could have contributed to more people moving to scenic rural destinations.

Hundreds of Oklahoma cities, towns and rural water districts applied for competitive grants to fund water and wastewater projects. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has announced 76 communities across the state that are likely to receive that money and released a list that ranks all the applications by funding priority.

The report paints a grim picture of accelerating consolidation over the last three decades. Yet some communities and local grocery stores are finding ways to thrive.

Coastal and politically progressive states have passed stronger paid sick and family leave policies than many states with larger rural populations.

After decades of irrigation, the aquifer that makes life possible in dry western Kansas is reaching a critical point. Several counties have already lost more than half of their underground water. But a new plan could save more of what’s left.

Many ag industry and farmworker advocacy groups had high hopes that farm labor reform would make it through Congress last year. Now the future is murky.

Legislation and programs in states like Missouri and Nebraska are paving the way to welcome large livestock operations by limiting local control over the facilities. Some rural residents worry about the potential pollution and decreased quality of life that will bring.

States, local governments and internet providers have until Friday, Jan. 13 to challenge the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map. The map shows where service is and isn’t across the country.