Rural News Clips, Oct. 28, 2024
Rural News Clips, Oct. 28, 2024
Dems putting in full-court press in Wisconsin statehouse races; USDA drops billions on renewable energy for rural electric co-ops; emerging rural policy priorities for Harris and Trump campaigns
CAMPAIGN FOR RURAL PROGRESS
Power Grid International
USDA awards more than $3B to rural cooperatives to lower electricity costs, increase resiliency
Oct. 25, 2024
On Friday “Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $3 billion in fresh [New Empowering Rural America] financing, including almost $2.5 billion for the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and nearly $1 billion for six selected rural electric cooperatives, the ‘backbone’ of America’s rural power delivery.”
The “investment is meant to create jobs and make energy more affordable for families in Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Minnesota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.”
New ERA funding was made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936.”
Kentucky Lantern
‘Defining moment’: East Kentucky Power expanding solar with up to $1.4 billion from feds
Oct. 28, 2024
“A federal investment of up to $1.4 billion to expand renewable energy will help transform how a Kentucky utility serves future generations of Kentuckians, its CEO said Monday.”
“Officials from East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture joined Gov. Andy Beshear at the state Capitol Monday morning to tout funding that will build solar installations producing 757 megawatts of electricity and improve transmission infrastructure.”
This funding is different from the New ERA money announced Friday; this is part of more than $7.3 billion in green energy financing for rural electric co-ops that was announced early last month.
POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
Politico
Have Democrats found a way to win over rural America? Look at what’s happening in Wisconsin.
Oct. 27, 2024
“Democrats have spent 12 years and hundreds of millions of dollars fighting for a chance to dismantle the dominant conservative majorities that locked them out of power in Wisconsin’s statehouse.”
“But to regain clout in Madison, they’ll need to rebuild trust with voters in a place that’s become increasingly hostile to Democrats nationwide: rural America.”
“Democrats have a shot in Wisconsin thanks to new voting maps passed after the state’s liberal-controlled high court tossed out the ones crafted by Republicans to tilt in their favor.”
“Republican leaders are banking that a deep bench of incumbents and a track record of delivering tax cuts will keep rural voters in their camp.”
“But Democrats are looking to continue a recent string of success in statewide races after winning back the governor’s mansion in 2018 and flipping the state’s Supreme Court from conservative to liberal in 2023. They’re pouring money into more than a dozen battleground seats unlocked by new maps. And in a show of force, the party is contesting 97 of Wisconsin’s 99 Assembly districts, its largest recruitment effort since 2011.”
Brookings
Commentary: Rural policy priorities are starting to emerge from the presidential campaigns—with different outlooks on what matters
Oct. 28, 2024
“The election outcome may significantly shape federal support and opportunities for rural prosperity. Yet, despite the rural backgrounds of the vice-presidential candidates, rural policy was largely absent in their debate.”
“The Harris and Trump campaigns indicate very different priorities and approaches to rural development.”
“The Harris-Walz campaign has released a plan that lays out proposals to enable rural access to health care, support beginning and small farmers, and strengthen local rural capacity to access investments in infrastructure, clean energy, and high-tech manufacturing.”
“The Trump-Vance campaign is pledging support for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s Make America Healthy Again campaign, which hints at reforming agricultural subsidies and prioritizing smaller-scale producers, while signaling policies on tariffs, clean energy, and immigration with uncertain consequences on local rural economies.”
NC Newsline
Presidential campaigns enter the last lap with Democrats looking to make up ground in NC
Oct. 28, 2024
“Former President Donald Trump is a persistent critic of early voting. But his campaign this year told supporters to vote before Election Day. With that push, the GOP is going into the last full week of election season in North Carolina with more of their voters casting ballots than Democrats.”
“With more than 2.7 million ballots accepted through Saturday, about 29,000 more Republicans had cast ballots than registered Democrats.”
“Thomas Mills, editor of PoliticsNC, took a look at the numbers and sounded an alarm last week over low Black voter turnout, which was down 77,000 votes from the same time four years ago.”
“He said in an interview Thursday the gap is closing, but recommended a fine-tuned message and greater focus on rural eastern North Carolina. Efforts there would help both Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Don Davis, the First District Democrat who is in a competitive race.
“He wrote on Friday that Black voter turnout would have to hit 72% to 73% for Harris to win.”
“They need to focus their attention on Black working class voters in more rural communities,” he said.
The 19th
Need child care while you vote? In some states, you can get it paid for.
Oct. 28, 2024
“In North Carolina … a program through the nonprofit Politisit … will reimburse up to two hours of child care for parents heading to the polls.”
“Parents just have to fill out a Google Form with information on what care they will need and how much it will cost. In western North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene caused massive destruction at the end of September, Politisit will reimburse up to a full day of care.”
Barn Raiser
Down but Not Out? In This Rust Belt Town Turnout is Key … and Uncertain
Oct. 28, 2024
Benton Harbor, a community of about 9,000 near Lake Michigan with a mostly Black populace, has fallen on hard times in recent years, with disappearing jobs and high crime.
The story follows rural canvassers who are trying to boost voter turnout in a town where only 37% of voters turned out in 2020.
Democrats only control the state legislature by one seat, so “getting out the vote in Democratic strongholds like Benton Harbor is key in a county that Donald Trump won in 2020 by 6,000 votes.”
The author writes that locals are far more focused on local issues than national ones, and implies that they would be more politically engaged for the Democrats if they saw more local problems solved.
Michigan Advance
Trump campaign deploys Vance to make a big play for rural Michigan voters
Oct. 26, 2024
“With less than two weeks until the presidential election, the Trump and Harris campaigns have been stumping in Michigan — a key swing state — with more than 40 events this year in the Mitten State.”
“As weekly visits from the candidates intensify, smaller communities and venues have been targeted by Republicans in a bid to sway outstate rural voters. In a statistical dead heat for the 15 electoral votes Michigan holds, the question remains: Is it working?”
“As part of the Trump campaign’s strategy, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) has been visiting smaller and more rural areas than presidential campaigns typically do, such as northern Michigan’s Traverse City, Kent County’s Sparta, Mecosta County’s Green Township, Macomb County’s Shelby Township and Ottawa County’s Marne.”
“While Trump also held a rally in Traverse City on Friday night, he’s mostly targeted more metropolitan areas such as Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint and Saginaw.”
NPR
Support from rural Democrats will be crucial for Harris to win swing state North Carolina
Oct. 25, 2024
“North Carolina has more rural voters than any other 2024 presidential swing state, and canvassing groups are working to turn out voters in one purple county as early voting continues in the state.”
The story profiles the work of Down Home North Carolina, a nonprofit organizing in rural parts of the state.
“They say their platform is survival - helping poor and working-class people get basic needs met like housing and education. In an election season like this one, they're mostly focused on local races, but they endorse candidates up and down the ticket, usually Democrats. Most of the time is spent urging residents, especially residents of color, to get out and vote.”
The Daily Yonder
Politics in Rural Alaska Look Different than Anywhere Else in the Country
Oct. 28, 2024
“Five Alaska legislators talk about the way their state exists both within, and entirely apart from, national politics in the run up to next week’s presidential elections.”
AZ Mirror
Grassroots advocates are the heart of Indigenous voter engagement
Oct. 28, 2024
“As early voting heats up across the country, get-out-the-vote events and rallies are popping up all across Arizona to connect with as many voters as possible before Election Day.”
“Often, national-led get-out-the-vote events and rallies are geared toward urban areas or work with Tribal governments, hoping to connect with Native voters in Tribal Nations.”
“But voters who live in rural parts of their Tribal Nation are often forgotten by those efforts. Connecting with those voters is left up to grassroots organizations who are on the ground in Indigenous communities, organizations like Indivisible Tohono.”
Politico
6 months later, many voters unsure what to make of Biden’s billions
Oct. 28, 2024
“Democrats are still struggling to sell voters on their vision of a climate-driven manufacturing and jobs boom, according to a new POLITICO-Morning Consult poll — as time runs out for Kamala Harris to establish herself as a more effective steward of the economy than Donald Trump.”
These programs, the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, all massively benefit rural America.
For instance, in a related Politico story, Harris visited a semiconductor factory in rural Michigan today that will get more than $300 million from the CHIPS Act.
“Fewer than three in 10 voters said President Joe Biden’s big legislative accomplishments had improved their lives and communities.”
“Overall, voters’ attitudes about the Biden-Harris administration’s massive domestic spending initiatives have either barely budged or slightly dimmed since April, despite six more months of campaigning by both parties in the run-up to next week’s election.”
BALLOT INITIATIVES AND LEGISLATION
KUNC
Big stakes for rural Colorado in Denver's ballot measure to ban slaughterhouses
Oct. 27, 2024
“This Election Day, voters in Denver will decide whether animal slaughter belongs in their city. Initiated Ordinance 309 would prohibit the construction, maintenance or use of slaughterhouses within Denver city limits starting in January 2026.”
“Superior Farms, a lamb processing plant, is Denver's only slaughterhouse, making it the sole facility that would be directly impacted by the ballot measure. If it passes, Superior Farms would be forced to shut down.”
It’s the biggest lamb slaughterhouse in the country, and 75% of the lambs it processes come from local farms.
“(Superior Farms is) really a benefit for the whole Intermountain West, because a lot of states ship into here as the only major plant,” said Dawn Thilmany, an agricultural economist with Colorado State University and director of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rocky Mountain and Northwest Food Business Center.
COURTS
South Dakota Searchlight
State Supreme Court overturns conviction based on failures of court-appointed attorney
Oct. 25, 2024
“The South Dakota Supreme Court has overturned an aggravated assault conviction based on the poor performance of the defendant’s court-appointed Sisseton lawyer.”
“The issue of ineffective public defenders has been top of mind for the state court system over the past two years. The state convened a study group on the issue at the behest of Chief Justice Steven Jensen, who told lawmakers that the state lacks enough well-trained attorneys, especially in rural areas, to protect the rights of defendants.”
DISASTERS
Tennessee Lookout
Governor taps funding intended for TennCare patients for Helene disaster loans
Oct. 28, 2024
After Hurricane Helene killed 17 in Tennessee and inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, Gov. Bill Lee urged hs cabinet members to “think outside the box” to get badly-needed money to disaster-struck rural counties.
“TennCare Director Stephen Smith offered up a novel idea: tap into a special savings pool within Tennessee’s Medicaid program, which draws on a combination of state and federal funds to pay the health care bills for 1.5 million Tennesseans living in or near poverty.”
So that’s what they’re doing. “The Helene Emergency Assistance Loans (HEAL) program will direct $100 million in no-interest loans from TennCare to 13 disaster-struck Tennessee counties, tapping so-called “shared savings” funds that are unique to the state’s Medicaid program.”
“The decision has garnered pushback from some Democratic lawmakers who have questioned why Lee is pulling health care dollars from TennCare for disaster loans rather than other state funding, such as the record $2.1 billion available in the rainy day fund.”
“One national Medicaid expert questioned whether using the funds for disaster relief is allowed by the terms of Tennessee’s agreement with the federal government.”
The New York Times
In Western North Carolina, Helene’s Devastation Is Threatening Health Care Access
Oct. 28, 2024
“Dozens of volunteer doctors, nurses and psychologists traveled to the region to treat people whose routines, including medical appointments, were disrupted by the storm.”
FUNDING
Appalachian News-Express
Beshear touts economic growth, awards grants at SOAR
Oct. 22, 2024
“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear attended the annual SOAR Summit on Oct. 18. As part of his presentation, the governor and other dignitaries announced numerous grant awards to organizations, cities and counties throughout Eastern Kentucky.”
He touted a the East Kentucky Runway Recompete Project, a $40 million federal award for job resources and training for Eastern Kentuckians through the national Recompete Pilot Program.
Rep. Hal Rogers announced and presented $12 million in grants for power and more through the Department of Abandoned Mine Lands.
And state and federal funding combined will put $266 million to widening and extending the Mountain Parkway, which will make it easier for imports, exports, commuters and tourists.
Beshear “said over the past year, Kentucky received a record amount of ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission) funding for any state to improve water services and educational projects among others.”
HEAT
Kaiser Health News
How a Proposed Federal Heat Rule Might Have Saved These Workers’ Lives
Oct. 28, 2024
“Laborers have suffered as summers have grown progressively hotter with climate change. But health policy and occupational health researchers say that worker deaths are not inevitable. Employers can save lives by providing ample water and breaks and building in time for new workers to adjust to extreme heat.”
“Without national regulations on preventing heat-related illness and death, OSHA has difficulty, in general, protecting workers before it’s too late.”
“This is the logic behind proposed national rules that President Joe Biden set in motion in 2021, aiming to protect an estimated 36 million workers exposed to extreme heat.”
There are between 480 and 2,000 worker deaths from heat exposure in the U.S. each year.
“The proposed rules — a heat standard from OSHA — reaches a milestone Dec. 30, when the public comment period closes. But it’s unlikely to be finalized before Biden leaves office.”
MENTAL HEALTH
The Daily Yonder
Free Suicide Prevention Course Available for Rural Veterinarians, Farm Workers
Oct. 28, 2024
“An online course aims to equip vets and farmers with ‘the knowledge and resources necessary to recognize and help people who are experiencing mental health challenges or that may be at risk for suicide.’”
SAFETY NET PROGRAMS
The Texas Tribune
Texas is slashing $607 million in Medicaid funding from program for students with disabilities
Oct. 28, 2024
“Texas is clawing back more than $607 million per year in federal funding for special education services, a move local school district officials say will likely worsen already strained budgets for students with disabilities.”
“The School Health and Related Services (SHARS) program provides hundreds of school districts critical funding for special education services, reimbursing them for counseling, nursing, therapy and transportation services provided to Medicaid-eligible children.”
“Many school districts are formally appealing the funding cuts with the state, while other rural districts have decided to exit the SHARS program altogether because of the administrative burden recent changes have created.”
“Those that remain are holding out hope that lawmakers will decide in next year’s legislative session to help fill the financial gaps left in special education services — a lofty expectation for a state with a poor track record in both administering Medicaid and serving students with disabilities.”
WATER RIGHTS
Inside Climate News
A Rural Arizona Community May Soon Have a State Government Fix For Its Drying Wells
Oct. 26, 2024
“The state announced it was beginning the process to regulate groundwater in Willcox, where industrial farming has drained the aquifer, a big step to reign in the overconsumption of underground water supplies in rural Arizona.”