Rural News Clips, Oct. 31, 2024
Rural News Clips, Oct. 31, 2024
The ‘Courage Tour’ is trying to get Christians to vote for Trump − and focused on defeating ‘demons’; what school choice means for rural areas; private equity firms jack up mobile home lot rent
CAMPAIGN FOR RURAL PROGRESS
Kentucky Lantern
Eastern Kentucky housing builder looks to the sun for relief from crushing power bills
Oct. 31, 2024
In rural Whitesburg, Ky., a nonprofit is helping residents dramatically lower their electricity bills by building “net zero” houses, which are “houses with zero monthly electrical costs because of their energy-efficient construction and rooftop solar panels that generate power.”
POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
The Conversation
The ‘Courage Tour’ is attempting to get Christians to vote for Trump − and focused on defeating ‘demons’
Oct. 30, 2024
The “Courage Tour” is a series of religious political rallies in battleground states attempting to drum up votes for Trump.
“The tour is not only focused on defeating Democrats but also on defeating demons. The idea that demons exert a hold over the material world is a key feature of the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR, worldview.”
“The NAR is a loose group of like-minded charismatic Christian churches and religious leaders – sometimes termed ‘prophets’ – who want to see Christians dominate all walks of life.”
The group’s nonprofit organization, Ziklag, has spent at least $12 million “to mobilize Republican-leaning voters and purge more than a million people from the rolls in key swing states, aiming to tilt the 2024 election in favor of former President Donald Trump,” according to a ProPublica investigation.
“The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the New Apostolic Reformation ‘the greatest threat to U.S. democracy that you have never heard of.’”
The Nation
Commentary: Meet 12 of the Rural Candidates Running for Office This Year
Oct. 30, 2024
The codirectors of Dirtroad Organizing, the only national training program for progressive rural organizers and candidates, highlights 12 downballot candidates for office.
Politico
Why North Carolina Stays Stubbornly Red
Oct. 31, 2024
“Rural and exurban places like Davidson County may not be growing as fast as Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County and Raleigh’s Wake County, the two metropolitan engines of the state’s rapid growth, but they’re serving as an important economic and political counterbalance.”
“In Davidson’s case, the economic revitalization around manufacturing is reinforcing local conservative tendencies, rather than diluting them with an influx of Democratic-leaning newcomers.”
“So as Mecklenburg and Wake continue to bolster the state’s Democratic performance, Davidson and counties like it have combined to offset those gains, forming a Republican bulwark that’s kept the state narrowly in Donald Trump’s camp.”
The Conversation
Rust Belt voters aren’t all white, but election coverage of the region often ignores the concerns of people of color there
Oct. 31, 2024
“When reporters descend on the rural Rust Belt to understand voters [think Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania], the people they talk to are almost exclusively white.”
But the Rust Belt “also has long and important Black and Indigenous histories and contains some of the nation’s fastest-growing minority populations – in particular Latino, Arab and Asian communities.”
The author interviewed rural Rust Belt residents who identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color and found that they “have pressing concerns of political importance. Some of these issues are shared by white residents – and, as such, are well documented. But Rust Belt residents of color have additional problems that politicians and the media have long overlooked.”
Missouri Independent
Missouri Democrats hope to reclaim place on the presidential map
Oct. 31, 2024
“Kamala Harris won’t be campaigning in Missouri in the final stages of her too-close-to-call presidential campaign against Donald Trump. But if the Show-Me State is ever going to regain the bellwether status it once had in presidential races, it may be because of candidates like Adrian Plank.”
“Plank, who has spent the better part of the last eight years knocking on local doors, represents a concerted effort by state Democratic Party leaders to rebuild the party by contesting as many local races as possible.”
“To former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean, that’s the model for a Democratic comeback in rural states like Missouri.”
“Plank now represents the most rural population of any Democrat in Missouri.”
AGRICULTURE
Stateline
‘Invisible’ migrant farmworkers cope with hurricane’s aftermath
Oct. 31, 2024
“As climate change worsens natural disasters, experts and advocates say farm and forestry workers, particularly those who are immigrants, are especially vulnerable. Workers say they feel forgotten by county and state officials who are focused on helping farm owners.”
AVIAN FLU
The Progressive Farmer
First US Case Bird Flu Found in Swine
Oct. 31, 2024
“The U.S. has its first confirmed case of bird flu in swine. USDA said Wednesday it was investigating positive cases of H5N1 in a backyard farming operation in Oregon that has a mix of poultry and livestock, including swine.”
Why this is bad: pig stomachs (and cow udders) have a rare ability to help bird viruses mutate to infect humans more easily.
Reuters
Exclusive-US to begin bulk milk testing for bird flu after push from industry
Oct. 30, 2024
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture will soon begin testing bulk raw milk across the country for bird flu, a significant expansion of the agency's efforts to stifle the rapid spread of the virus.”
CHILD CARE
The Daily Yonder
Project 2025’s Elimination of Head Start Would Be Disastrous for Rural Families, Advocates Say
Oct 31, 2024
“Rural parents have fewer choices for childcare and transportation, advocates say, making the program especially important outside big cities.”
DISASTERS
USDA Farm Service Agency press release
USDA to Issue More than $235 Million to Farmers Hit by Natural Disasters, Including Hurricane Milton
Oct. 30, 2024
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing payments this week to agricultural producers impacted by natural disasters, including $143 million in crop insurance indemnities for Florida producers impacted by Hurricane Milton and about $92 million for livestock producers, nationwide, who faced increased supplemental feed costs as a result of forage losses due to 2022 qualifying drought and wildfire.”
DRUGS AND ADDICTION
Brookings
Commentary: From cradle to grave: Responding to Nevada’s fentanyl crisis (podcast)
Oct. 29, 2024
“Nevada’s opioid misuse rates surpass the national average, with drug overdose deaths increasing by 6% from 2021 to 2022.”
“With coroners overloaded, toxicology analyses often take a long time, a delay that hinders timely policy responses and increases trauma for families waiting for bodies to be released for funerals.”
“Nevada still faces a shortage of mental and behavioral health professionals [especially in rural areas], limiting access to care. Programs such as Be Here Nevada are underway to train and retain professionals within the state.”
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Stanford Social Innovation Review
Commentary: CDFIs Transform Rural Economies. We Just Need to Get Them There.
Oct. 30, 2024
“A budding success story in East Texas offers lessons for other underserved rural regions, philanthropies interested in rural revitalization, and CDFIs [community development financial institutions} pursuing pathways to better engage and serve rural communities.”
“Unfortunately, many rural communities do not have access to CDFI services.”
EDUCATION
The Daily Yonder
School Choice Is on the Ballot in Three States. What Does this Mean for Rural Schools?
Oct. 31, 2024
“In rural areas, public schools are often the only education option. If families in Colorado, Kentucky or Nebraska are allowed to divert state funds to private education, rural communities stand to suffer the most.”
HEALTH CARE
New America
Commentary: How Federal Policy Can Better Serve the Rural Health Care Workforce
Oct. 30, 2024
Rural America faces complex challenges in accessing health care, with an older, sicker population and fewer health care providers.
“There are ways federal policy can help education providers and local communities ensure more rural primary and allied health professionals enter the field.”
The author suggests policymakers consider three ideas: Allow a broader spectrum of health care professionals to access loan forgiveness for working in underserved areas; make sure colleges have the capacity to graduate enough health care professionals to meet the nation’s needs; and invest in apprenticeship programs.
HOUSING
Daily Montanan
Montana’s mobile home park residents struggling to stay in their homes as lot rent rise
Oct. 30, 2024
Mobile homes are one of the most affordable housing options, but people who live in them typically don’t own the land their mobile home sits on, and must pay rent to the lot owner.
The problem is, private investment firms are snapping up mobile home lots nationwide and jacking the lot rent way up.
Many mobile homes aren’t structurally sound enough to be moved, and it can cost upwards of $15,000 to move one even if it’s possible. So residents are essentially trapped with these higher lot rents.
IMMIGRATION
Indiana Capital Chronicle
Logansport officials say immigration ‘is nothing new’ as Haitian influx goes national
Oct. 31, 2024
“Thousands of Haitian nationals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) have found a home in the Hoosier city of Logansport — drawing national political ire and motivating new federal legislation.”
“But area officials — and Gov. Eric Holcomb — say the north-central city of 18,000 isn’t in crisis.”
“Are there challenges? Absolutely,” Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport, said. “Is it as bad as some of the national media is portraying it? No.”
POLLUTION
Oregon Capital Chronicle
Groups demand state and federal action on nitrate pollution in letters to Oregon governor, EPA
Oct. 31, 2024
“More than 20 groups across the U.S. said nitrate from farm fertilizers and manure is contaminating drinking water and disproportionately hurting rural communities.”
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Route Fifty
Inside mobile health clinic efforts to reach more residents, address gaps in care
Oct. 30, 2024
Mobile health units can bring preventative health care, including reproductive care, to people who have a hard time accessing it otherwise.
“Across the U.S., an estimated 3,000 mobile health units are in operation and have seen 10 million visits annually. The vehicles can cost at least $400,000 to $500,000 and require ongoing costs to pay staff, to park and charge the vehicle, to replenish supplies and equipment and to cover other tasks.”
SAFETY NET PROGRAMS
Brookings
Commentary: Expanding in-home care coverage is a needed evolution of Medicare
Oct. 28, 2024
“Older Americans are exposed to considerable financial risk from long-term care needs, and family members often bear the costs by providing unpaid care to their loved ones.”
Rural Americans have a greater overall need for in-home care because the population skews older and because there aren’t as many nursing homes or other inpatient options nearby. But they have a harder time accessing it because there’s a bigger home health worker shortage.
“Expanding coverage of paid home care through Medicare would provide access to paid home care to an estimated 15 million Medicare beneficiaries and is estimated to increase the budget of the Medicare program by $40 billion, or 4%.”
“A body of evidence suggests that expanding paid home care could help both care recipients and their family members manage the risks associated with long-term care.”
Kaiser Health News
In Montana, Conservative Groups See Chance To Kill Medicaid Expansion
Oct. 31, 2024
“Conservative groups are working to undermine support for Montana’s Medicaid expansion in hopes the state will abandon the program. The rollback would be the first in the decade since the Affordable Care Act began allowing states to cover more people with low incomes.”
“Montana’s expansion, which insures roughly 78,800 people, is set to expire next year unless the legislature and governor opt to renew it. Opponents see a rare opportunity to eliminate Medicaid expansion in one of the 40 states that have approved it.”
TOURISM
Stateline
How social media is influencing our interactions with public lands
Oct. 30, 2024
“Getting the perfect online photo is drawing more people into nature. Land managers are trying to mitigate risks and damage to wild places.”
WILDFIRES
Capital & Main
Federal Firefighters Say Their Pay Is on the Line in 2024 Election
Oct. 30, 2024
“As fire season winds down, firefighters employed by the federal government are facing what they say is another potential disaster: significant pay cuts that could trigger a mass exodus of workers.”
“A temporary raise implemented by the Biden administration is scheduled to run out at the end of this year, and legislation that would permanently increase wildland firefighter salaries has stalled in Republican-controlled committees in Congress.”
“Some now say the stability of the nation’s federal firefighting force hinges on this year’s election results.”