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POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
The Conversation
Commentary: How Democrats are making a mistake in rural America – by not showing up
Sept. 9, 2024
“Democrats have been losing rural voters across the U.S. since the 1960s. But the party has hemorrhaged these voters since 2000,” writes Gannon University history professor Jeff Bloodworth.
“The Democratic Party’s collapse in rural America has fueled support for Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement.”
“Though only 1 in 5 Americans live in rural towns, Trump’s apparent monopoly automatically puts nearly two dozen states across the South, Midwest and Great Plains out of reach for Democrats.”
“As the owner of MLB Research Associates, Matt Barron specializes in rural Democratic races and is considered one of the nation’s leading political strategists on the rural vote. Beyond the policy debates, Barron said the blame falls on the Democrats.”
“They don’t even try to compete in rural America,” he told Bloodworth.
Rickey Cole, a farmer and the former two-term chair of Mississippi’s Democratic Party, agrees. “In rural America, he explained, Democrats have stopped grassroots organizing and party-building.”
“As Barron tells the story, in the hotly contested 2023 Mississippi governor’s race, for instance, the Democratic National Committee ignored local organizers and sent national campaign staffers from Michigan and Ohio to canvass rural Mississippi for votes.”
“As outsiders unfamiliar with the local terrain, the staffers needed a GPS to navigate the back roads. Lost geographically, they were even more adrift strategically, Barron said.”
“The Northern urbanites lacked any knowledge of how to push Democratic voters to the polls. The result was lower-than-expected turnout in an election that saw the incumbent, Tate Reeves, a Republican, beat Democrat Brandon Presley by 26,619 votes, or 3.2% of the 820,000 votes cast.”
Cole said Presley’s loss is an example of a much larger issue: “Our politics became nationalized by a cadre of professional operatives … It has become a big industry.”
“Cole explained that media consultants earn a percentage of all campaign advertising spending. It maximizes their profits when they spend money in pricey urban markets and ignore rural media. Predictably, Democrats get shellacked in rural America, and the same strategists then blame rural voters for being unreachable.”
Ohio Capital Journal
Koch-funded veterans group that backed closing Chillicothe VA working to elect Bernie Moreno
Sept. 9, 2024
“The Republican U.S. Senate nominee is running against U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was instrumental in keeping the [rural] facility open.”
The Wall Street Journal
Abortion Rights Are on the Ballot in Arizona. Will It Affect the Presidential Race?
Sept. 8, 2024
“Abortion rights are a hot topic in Arizona. In addition to the presidential contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Arizonans will vote on a proposal to amend the state constitution to broadly guarantee abortion rights.”
“The ballot question is being pushed by the Arizona for Abortion Access (AAA) campaign, which submitted more than 823,000 signatures—twice what was needed.”
“The abortion question is as powerful a reason to vote as the candidates, according to recent interviews The Wall Street Journal conducted for its ‘Chasing the Vote’ podcast series.”
WSJ interviewed people from all walks of life about their views on the ballot measure.
EDUCATION
NC Newsline
North Carolina Senate passes budget deal funding school vouchers, requiring ICE cooperation
Sept, 9, 2024
“Republicans in the North Carolina Senate voted to fully fund private school vouchers on Monday, advancing a budget plan negotiated by top leaders for months over the objections of Democrats.”
“The “mini-budget” fully funds the Opportunity Scholarships program and is set to eliminate a waitlist of around 54,000 students who have sought vouchers to attend private schools.”
“The legislation also includes a measure requiring cooperation between North Carolina sheriffs and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And it provides new money for Medicaid, rural broadband internet, and enrollment growth in public schools and community colleges.”
“The additional funding for vouchers, which was at the core of continued budget negotiations among Republican leaders, totals $5 billion over the next decade.”
Michigan Advance
Michigan House Republicans announce education plan aimed at boosting student skills
Sept. 9, 2024
“Although Michigan is seeing record-high high school graduation rates, House Republicans say students are crossing the graduation stage unequipped for success after graduation and action is necessary.”
“Business owners all summer reviewed job applications from high school graduates around the state only to find that submissions were incoherent and students lacked the education necessary to be good candidates, state Rep. Jaime Greene (R-Richmond) said business owners told her.”
“While students grapple with learning loss from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have been further disenfranchised under the newest state budget which offered no increase to annual per pupil funding and gutted funding for mental health resources, Rep. Nancy DeBoer (D-Holland) said.”
“The next school budget saw a $300 million cut in funding for school safety and mental health spending, going down to $26.5 million, in a move educational leaders say will hurt kids and cause mass layoffs for those who had been hired in recent years to support students.”
“Pandemic-era federal funding is tapering out and the state faces other financial needs, state Superintendent Michael Rice acknowledged after the state budget was finalized this summer, but the stark decrease in mental health funding is ‘disappointing.’”
Rice said he’s concerned that the significant funding reduction would hurt rural students and other underserved demographics.
ENERGY
NC Newsline
As the planet warms, activists in North Carolina mobilize to stop a gathering storm
Sept. 9, 2024
“The natural gas that flows into North Carolina originates at fracking operations in the shale formations of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. At every stop of gas production—from the time the drills bore deep into the earth, to the wellhead, compressor station, liquified natural gas processing plant, transmission line and finally to kitchen stoves—methane gas, 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere, escapes into the air.”
“As the planet warms and America makes a fitful transition to renewable energy, the fossil fuel build-out in North Carolina mirrors similar industry endeavors across the country.”
“North Carolina ranks fourth in the nation in planned natural gas plants over the next 11 years, according to a Sierra Club analysis of federal and state data. Big build-outs are also occurring in Texas and Indiana.”
“Concerned residents, environmental groups and clean energy advocates want to stop all of these projects.”
“They are worried not only about the local impacts on water, air and habitats, but also about greenhouse gas emissions and the global problem of climate change.”
FARM BILL
The Daily Yonder
Election 2024: Competing Visions of How USDA Funding Can Help Rural America
Sept. 9, 2024
“Trump launched a trade war; Biden focused on climate-friendly farming. With a new farm bill almost a year overdue, experts discuss the approaches each presidential candidate might take to agricultural policy.”
Food & Energy Reporting Network
Stabenow says she will ‘do everything in my power to pass a farm bill’
Sept. 9, 2024
“With Congress resuming work after its summer recess, Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said she would do ‘everything in my power to pass a farm bill’ this year. Farm-state lawmakers have been deadlocked for weeks over SNAP funding, higher crop subsidy spending, and climate mitigation.”
“House and Senate Republicans have insisted on a 15% increase in so-called reference prices, which would make it easier to trigger subsidy payments for row crops, with the cost offset in part by a $29 billion cut in SNAP funding.”
“They also would allow a windfall of $13 billion for climate mitigation to be spent on conservation practices that do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon.”
“Stabenow’s description of the ideal farm bill coalition was similar to previous statements. She has proposed an increase of at least 5% in reference prices, no cut in SNAP funding, and keeping the guardrails on climate funding.”
“In a statement on Friday, Stabenow said USDA reports showing an increase in food insecurity and a decline in farm income were proof it was time for action.”
“A one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill expires on Sept. 30, but the lapse would not be felt until January, beginning with milk prices.”
“House Republicans did not include a farm-bill extension last week when they proposed to fund the government for six months, until March 28, with spending pro-rated at this fiscal year’s levels.”
FIRST RESPONDERS
WyoFile
EMS agencies, communities work to make Wyoming safer amid serious challenges
Sept. 9, 2024
“Wyoming and other rural places are struggling with how to pay for emergency medical services, which generally don’t enjoy the same funding certainties as fire and police.”
“Yet there are clear long-term costs for those who are permanently injured because they didn’t receive care fast enough.”
“If someone survives a heart attack but suffers heart failure, for example, the median cost is about $24,000 per person annually, according to a 2020 meta analysis. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated the value of most adult lives at over $10 million.”
“Ultimately, many in the EMS community acknowledge that they can do a better job of explaining what they do and what the absence of emergency services would mean for families, neighbors and communities. But they’re having to do that while working harder to prove their worth, often performing tasks that are not in the job description.”
“There’s also a belief that in remote parts of Wyoming, people won’t ever be able to financially support speedy EMS access, which stifles efforts to fix the problem.”
“Going beyond just funding, in this third and final part of WyoFile’s series, we look at the need for fast responses to cardiac emergencies and what some EMS agencies — and communities — are doing to keep residents safe while the cash flow remains low.”
HEALTH CARE
Mountain State Spotlight
Rural West Virginia health departments are struggling to stop the spread of HIV amidst restrictions and underfunding
Aug. 27, 2024
“The deadly infectious disease is spreading in rural counties, and local health departments don’t have enough money and resources to find cases and connect people to treatment. State lawmakers have a big role in creating both problems.”
Ohio Capital Journal
New report explores barriers to health care access in rural Ohio
Sept. 9, 2024
“The Health Policy Institute of Ohio recently published a report titled “Health in rural and Appalachian Ohio … The report shows how people in rural areas experience barriers to health care — from lack of broadband access to transportation.”
“School based health centers that provide health care services to students and their families at school can be a helpful way for people in rural areas to access care, [Hailey Akah, vice president of operations and strategy for Health Policy Institute of Ohio] said.”
“Increased support for federally qualified health centers is another thing that would help people in rural areas, she said. FQHCs provide primary care services in underserved communities in Ohio.”
Virginia Mercury
States, including Va., are making it easier for physician assistants to work across state lines
Sept. 9, 2024
“Physician assistants, commonly known as PAs, are licensed clinicians who have a master’s degree and can practice in a range of specialties … they are an increasingly critical part of the health care workforce, which in many states isn’t keeping pace with a growing and aging population.”
“By 2028, the nation as a whole will be short some 100,000 critical health care workers — doctors, nurses and home health aides”
“The looming shortage is one reason why 13 states have joined the PA Licensure Compact, a multistate agreement that allows PAs to practice in any participating state, without having to get an additional license.”
“Delaware, Utah, and Wisconsin enacted the legislation in 2023. Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia followed suit this year. Ohio became the latest state to enact it in July.”
“The PA compact is one of several that have emerged over the past several years, especially since the expansion of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are similar compacts for doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and social workers.”
The need is acute in rural areas without much local access to health care providers.
“It will take 18 to 24 months for the compact to become fully operational and for PAs to apply for the privilege to practice in other areas. The compact commission also needs to create a data system to keep track of licenses.”
The Columbus Dispatch
Communities with no pharmacy have worse health, OSU study finds. Where are they in Ohio?
Sept. 9, 2024
“Amid staffing shortages, rising costs and other issues plaguing the nation's health care landscape, an Ohio State University study found that thousands of communities in the United States are in a ‘pharmacy desert.’”
“Approximately 46% of U.S. counties have at least one or more pharmacy deserts, defined as 10-mile radius without a retail pharmacy. This means many Americans lack reasonable access to prescribed medications and other health services — something that afflicts at least 15 communities in Ohio, according to the study.”
“Retail pharmacy chains like Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid have been closing locations in Ohio and other states over the past year, likely worsening a problem for vulnerable populations that isn't going away anytime soon.”
“Counties with pharmacy deserts were also more likely to have a shortage of primary care providers like physicians and nurse practitioners, a problem that the National Center of Health Workforce Analysis projects will last well into the next decade for the entire nation.”
“This is especially true in rural areas. The Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that rural counties have a lower rate of primary care, dental and mental health providers, even after taking population into consideration.”
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Pa. environmental, education and labor advocates celebrate ‘solar for schools’ program
Sept. 9, 2024
“Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia) took a victory lap Monday under the Capitol rotunda following a ceremonial signing of a bill she championed that will fund solar projects in Pennsylvania schools.”
“The Solar for Schools legislation provides $25 million in state funding that can cover up to half approved school solar projects. But the real hope is that that money will serve as a bridge allowing approved school districts to access even more funding provided by the federal government through the Inflation Reduction Act. “
“In an ideal situation, between state and federal funding, the majority of the initial costs of installing solar panels would be covered.”
“Moreover, the installation of solar panels could greatly reduce electric costs, freeing up money for other educational programs.”
“But the cost and scope of projects can vary, as well as access to initial funding that some school districts may require.”
For example, “it may cost $300,000 to put one or two solar panels on a narrow Philadelphia school, but it could cost millions to cover a large rural school building. However, he expects an average project may cost around $1 million, up to half of which would be funded by the state.”
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Stateline
Doctors fear Louisiana is putting lifesaving drug for postpartum bleeding out of emergency reach
Sept. 9, 2024
“Louisiana doctors say they still have plenty of questions about how they will be able to access a lifesaving drug once it’s placed under restricted access starting next month — even after state health officials provided them with new guidance on the law.”
“On Friday afternoon, the Louisiana Department of Health released a memo with instructions to doctors about how they can use misoprostol in hospitals. Misoprostol has long been one of the go-to options for women who experience excessive bleeding after delivery.”
“The new law was intended to curtail the use of misoprostol and mifepristone for medical abortions, although they are also used to treat other conditions such as ulcers or some pituitary disorders, respectively.”
“Misoprostol, in particular, is used quite frequently by OB-GYNs to soften the cervix for endometrial biopsies, to induce labor or to insert an intrauterine device.”
“Doctors’ main concern with the new law is delays in having access to misoprostol because it would have to be stored as a controlled substance. Any holdup in administering the medicine when a patient is bleeding profusely could significantly worsen outcomes.”
One rural doctor said the memo was incredibly confusing and that her hospital can’ afford to have the numeber of auto-dispensing systems (called Pyxis machines) required for misoprostol.
“The rural doctor added that her department’s Pyxis is down the hall from the delivery unit in a locked room. The machine won’t open without an order verified by a pharmacy. On nights and weekends, her hospital has to call out to a remote pharmacy.”
The Washington Post
Missouri abortion rights measure is invalid, judge says days before deadline
Sept. 7, 2024
“A Missouri judge ruled that an abortion ballot measure is invalid because it did not properly note which laws it would repeal, potentially restricting it from reaching a November vote.”
“Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh said the measure’s proponents did not sufficiently inform voters who signed petitions for the proposed amendment of its ramifications, echoing arguments made in a legal challenge by antiabortion advocates.”
“If passed, Amendment 3 would permit the procedure until fetal viability, or about 24 weeks, the point in a pregnancy when a fetus can survive outside the womb.”