Rural News Clips, July 11, 2025
Researchers identify emerging rural suicide ‘belt’; Trump's D.E.I. cuts hurting rural, white Americans, too; The rapid rise of killings by police in rural America
POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
USA Today
Opinion: Republican Medicaid cuts threaten Trump voters’ health care
July 10, 2025
The recent federal reconciliation bill’s Medicaid reductions, totaling over one trillion dollars in cuts over the next decade, threaten to strip coverage from millions of low-income Americans, including rural Trump supporters.
Eliminating enhanced provider reimbursements and imposing new work requirements will disproportionately impact rural counties, where long travel distances and provider shortages already limit access to care.
Critics and some Republican voters argue that these measures betray the administration’s base in remote areas, risking hospital closures and widening rural health deserts.
The Nation
Commentary: If Democrats want to appeal to rural America, they need to talk like a neighbor
July 11, 2025
Erica Etelson, writer and cofounder of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, argues that neighborly communication and down-to-earth candidates are essential to winning rural votes.
Democrats often rely on consultants and polling instead of engaging directly with rural voters, missing everyday concerns about economic security, infrastructure, and affordability.
Plainspoken messaging that emphasizes local issues like farm equipment repair, housing costs, and community needs resonates more with rural Americans than national partisan slogans.
Votebeat
Cochise County asks insurer to cover indicted supervisor’s legal bills in Arizona election case
July 11, 2025
Jen Fifield reports that Cochise County’s board requested that the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool cover $300,000 in legal fees for Supervisor Thomas Crosby, who is fighting charges of delaying certification of the 2022 election in this rural southern Arizona county.
Fellow supervisors Frank Antenori and Kathleen Gomez signaled their support by forwarding Crosby’s claim to the insurer, arguing that his actions fell within the scope of his official duties despite the controversy.
Crosby faces felony conspiracy and interference charges after voting to delay the canvass past the legal deadline, and his trial could begin as soon as September, raising questions about taxpayer responsibility in remote election disputes.
VTDigger
Commentary: Vermont Conversation: Sociologist Arlie Hochschild on the rise of the right in rural America
July 9, 2025
Arlie Hochschild’s seven years of fieldwork in eastern Kentucky show that rural economic decline, the opioid crisis, and shrinking social status have created a narrative of “stolen pride” that underpins strong right-wing loyalty.
She contends that emotional narratives of loss and shame drive rural support for Trump more than policy specifics, with Trump cast as a “good bully” who avenges perceived injustices and restores dignity.
The divide between “stayers” who remain in declining rural communities and “leavers” who depart highlights how population loss leaves behind residents feeling abandoned, underscoring the need for targeted investment in rural economies and mental health services.
AGRICULTURE
Hays Post
Commentary: Washington abandoned rural Kansas and farmers are paying for it
July 11, 2025
Political science professor Alexandra Middlewood argues that recent federal funding cuts under the Trump administration have undermined Kansas’s agricultural economy by removing global market supports and imposing retaliatory tariffs that hit local farmers hard.
The cutting of USAID’s Food for Peace program has dried up key export markets that Kansas producers rely on, contributing to over $800 million in lost exports and threatening multi-generational family farms.
Middlewood warns that slashing development aid and ignoring rural needs not only strains local healthcare systems and safety nets but also abandons the working-class communities that voters expected to benefit.
Barn Raiser
Keeping farmland in farmers’ hands
July 10, 2025
Anna Sekine of American Farmland Trust guides farm families through complex land transfer and succession planning, helping ensure ownership stays within rural households and across generations.
Her Land Transfer Navigators program offers one-on-one coaching on estate planning, communication strategies, and financial tools tailored to the unique legal and emotional challenges of passing on family farms.
By focusing on relationship-building and local context, Sekine’s approach empowers farmers in remote regions to navigate transitions without selling to developers, preserving agricultural heritage and community stability.
CHILD CARE
Wisconsin Examiner
Child care providers say budget provisions fall far short of what they need
July 11, 2025
Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed co-founder Corrine Hendrickson, a provider in the small town of Bloomer, said the budget’s $360 million for child care falls far short of what rural and small-community centers need to operate effectively.
The pilot program offering up to $200 more per child in Wisconsin Shares payments requires higher child-to-teacher ratios, a change that rural providers warn will lower care quality where staffing is already scarce.
Lowering the minimum age for assistant teachers to 16, while keeping education requirements unchanged, poses a challenge for remote child care centers that struggle to recruit qualified staff.
DISASTERS
NBCDFW
FEMA records show Kerr County didn’t alert all cellphones as flooding began
July 10, 2025
FEMA archives reveal that Kerr County officials did not use the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) to send flood warnings to all mobile phones on July 4, leaving many rural residents unaware as waters rose.
Some families only received a subscriber-based CodeRed alert after 10 a.m., by which time floodwaters had cut off roads and threatened homes in remote Kerr County neighborhoods.
Researchers warn that without standardized training and backup communication methods, rural counties with no siren systems and spotty cell coverage risk delays in critical emergency alerts.
ABC News
FEMA maps underestimated risk in catastrophic Texas flood, data shows
July 11, 2025
An ABC News analysis of FEMA data, satellite imagery, and risk models reveals that flood maps for the Texas Hill Country underestimated flood hazard areas, as July 4 floodwaters exceeded zones with only a 0.2 percent annual risk.
Remote camps, RV parks, and rural properties along the Guadalupe River were inundated hundreds of feet beyond the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, exposing farmers, small business owners, and isolated residents to unexpected danger.
Experts warn that outdated risk models that omit extreme precipitation trends leave rural counties vulnerable and call for climate-corrected mapping and stronger mitigation measures to protect remote homes and essential infrastructure.
The Washington Post
Budget limits at DHS delayed FEMA’s Texas deployment, officials say
July 10, 2025
DHS budget restrictions requiring Secretary Noem’s approval for any purchase over $100,000 slowed deployment of tactical and specialized search and rescue teams during the Guadalupe River floods in rural Kerr County.
Lapses in contracts for call centers, housing inspectors, and emergency services left remote communities with no backup communication or assessment support as floodwaters rose.
Officials warn that unless spending rules are relaxed and field specialists regain autonomous authority, rural areas will continue to face delayed disaster response and higher risks of fatalities in future extreme weather events.
The Associated Press
Warning sirens helped this small Texas community survive flooding
July 10, 2025
The community of Comfort, Texas, population about 2,200, installed flood sirens tied to a US Geological Survey gauge on Cypress Creek that alerted residents who missed cellphone warnings to evacuate before the Guadalupe River overflowed.
On July Fourth, the long, flat siren tone spurred volunteer firefighters to go door-to-door, ensuring every household in this rural river town evacuated safely even as floodwaters killed over 100 people downstream.
In neighboring Kerr County, attempts to fund a wider warning system hit a $1 million price tag, a cost barrier that left camps without sirens and contributed to 27 camper deaths, underscoring the funding gap for rural flood resilience.
The Hill
Noem calls for FEMA elimination amid Texas flooding
July 11, 2025
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem argued that FEMA should be eliminated in its current form so that state and local authorities take primary responsibility for disaster response after the Central Texas floods.
Critics caution that without FEMA’s federal coordination, relief efforts in rural counties still coping with washed-out roads and damaged water systems could be severely hindered.
Despite calls to dismantle FEMA, the president extended the major disaster declaration to eight additional Texas counties, ensuring federal aid for recovery in remote farming communities.
The Washington Post
There’s more flooding risk into next week, after week of deadly deluges
July 11, 2025
Heavy rainfall is expected to continue into next week across rural parts of Central Texas, eastern New Mexico, the Plains, Midwest, and Appalachians, regions still recovering from last week’s flash floods.
Since last Friday, over 550 flood reports have been logged in 35 states, with rural counties lacking levees and modern drainage systems facing the greatest infrastructure damage.
Meteorologists warn that slow-moving rain bands and possible tropical development near the Gulf Coast will prolong flood threats, stretching already limited emergency resources in small towns and farming communities.
High Country News
First came the record-setting fire. Then came the record-setting floods.
July 1, 2025
After the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon prescribed burn escaped control and became New Mexico’s largest wildfire, monsoon rains washed ash, mud, and debris into rivers that supply private wells and small treatment plants in rural northern New Mexico.
Rural towns such as Las Vegas and villages like Rociada face projected costs exceeding $100 million to build new treatment facilities capable of handling post-fire sediment and chemical contamination that existing systems cannot process.
Residents dependent on private and community wells endure intermittent shutdowns, health concerns, and bottled-water reliance as scorched hillsides leave rural households at risk until vegetation regrowth stabilizes soils over the next five to ten years.
NPR
Rural areas face unique challenges when responding to disasters
July 11, 2025
Sparse emergency services and longer response times in rural areas mean that residents often wait hours for professional help after floods, wildfires, or storms.
Limited cell coverage and outdated warning systems leave small towns and farming communities unaware of imminent dangers, undermining evacuation and relief efforts.
Volunteer first responders, who form the backbone of rural disaster response, struggle with recruitment and funding, reducing capacity to manage large-scale emergencies.
DRUGS AND ADDICTION
West Virginia Watch
Despite research, W.Va. counties refuse to fund harm reduction with opioid funds
July 10, 2025
Counties are diverting tens of millions of dollars from the 2021 opioid settlement away from Syringe Service Programs (SSP) and other harm reduction efforts, instead using the funds for jails, court costs, and treatment programs that do not reduce disease transmission.
Syringe Service Programs, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say can cut HIV and hepatitis C incidence by about fifty percent, remain nearly impossible to run under West Virginia’s strict regulations, leaving rural areas without this proven intervention.
Public health experts warn that failing to invest in naloxone distribution, wound care, and safe syringe access will heighten overdose deaths and infectious disease outbreaks in remote counties already facing limited medical resources.
ENERGY AND UTILITIES
Inside Climate News
What risks Texas’ grid faces
July 11, 2025
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) faces challenges from the uncoordinated addition of large new power loads such as data centers and oil and gas operations, which can overload transmission lines in remote rural areas.
Extreme weather events like heat waves, storms, and floods increase the likelihood of generator failures and equipment damage in rural counties that lack robust infrastructure.
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities, potential physical attacks on grid equipment, and long lead times for replacement parts threaten the ability of small towns and farms to recover quickly and avoid prolonged outages.
EXTREMISM AND AUTHORITARIANISM
The Guardian
US neo-fascist group claims it is part of Texas floods relief efforts
July 10, 2025
Patriot Front, a US racist neo-fascist group, has moved into central Texas flood zones following devastating flash floods that destroyed rural communities and claimed the lives of 27 campers.
The group claims to be distributing supplies but is prioritizing aid for “their people” and “European peoples,” heightening fears that rural residents may be excluded from relief efforts.
Experts warn that extremist groups like Patriot Front exploit disaster relief in underserved rural areas to whitewash their image and recruit new members.
FARM BILL
NOTUS
With SNAP cuts done, Republicans say they’re ready for a bipartisan farm bill
July 11, 2025
Republicans incorporated controversial cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program into the recent budget law, clearing the way for negotiations on a narrower farm bill focused on agriculture policy.
House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson said he expects a streamlined “Farm Bill 2.0” this fall to tackle issues like foreign farmland ownership and targeted rural support.
Advocates caution that by excluding broader nutrition and rural development measures, small farming communities may lose out on critical resources for food security and local infrastructure.
HEALTH CARE, PHARMACIES AND RURAL HEALTH
Bipartisan Policy Center
Rural hospitals and the rural health transformation program: what comes next
July 10, 2025
The Rural Health Transformation Program will provide fifty billion dollars to states, with ten billion each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030 to support improvements in rural health care.
States can use the funding to expand telehealth services, strengthen the rural health care workforce, upgrade critical infrastructure, and bolster safety net programs that sustain small and remote hospitals.
Policy analysts warn that without clear federal guidance, targeted outcome metrics, and robust community engagement, rural hospitals may struggle to secure their share of funds and risk being overlooked in state transformation plans.
Environmental Health News
Montana asbestos clinic closure leaves rural patients without vital screenings
July 11, 2025
The Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby closed in May after a court allowed BNSF Railway to seize its property for a $2.9 million judgment, cutting off the only free asbestos screening service for rural residents.
A jury found that CARD falsified records for over 300 people to obtain Medicare reimbursements, leading to the loss of its funding and underscoring the vulnerability of specialized clinics in remote areas.
The clinic’s reliance on a federal grant now at risk of elimination under Trump administration reviews threatens to leave thousands of rural Montanans without vital screenings, risking delayed diagnoses and poorer health outcomes.
PBS NewsHour
Experts skeptical about $50 billion rural health funding in Trump’s “big beautiful bill” without more oversight
July 10, 2025
The legislation creates a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program to bolster hospitals and health care providers in rural areas over five years.
From 2026 through 2030, states will receive $10 billion annually to expand telehealth, upgrade infrastructure, and strengthen the rural health workforce.
Policymakers warn that without clear federal guidance, simple eligibility criteria, transparent success metrics, and robust local outreach, many rural hospitals may struggle to apply for or deploy the funding, risking exclusion of the most vulnerable facilities.
IMMIGRATION
NOTUS
Agriculture, hospitality industries to Trump: What’s the plan on deportations?
June 16, 2025
Industry lobbyists and advocates in agriculture and hospitality say they remain in the dark after the White House signaled a pause in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids even as deportations continue in sanctuary cities.
Farmers in rural areas warn that taking away longtime farmworkers could disrupt planting and harvest cycles, creating labor gaps that mechanical substitutes cannot fill.
Hotel and restaurant owners in remote tourist regions fear that sudden policy shifts will leave them scrambling to staff seasonal roles, threatening the viability of small-town hospitality economies.
JOBS
Forbes
Rural America is ready for remote work if employers let them in
July 10, 2025
New survey data show that more than 60 percent of rural workers aged 45 and older are eager to reskill for remote positions, but many lack access to employer-sponsored training programs.
Although broadband availability has improved in rural counties over the past five years, workers report that slow speeds and data caps still hinder their ability to compete for full-time remote roles.
Employers that fail to recruit from rural talent pools risk missing out on a motivated and loyal workforce, while rural communities could see population and economic growth if companies embrace distributed work models.
CoBank Quarterly
Executive summary: lower fertility rates and labor squeeze point to tech solutions
July 2025
Rural America is facing a tightening labor supply as declining fertility rates, falling workforce participation, and reduced immigration converge, making AI and robotics essential to sustaining farm, food, and infrastructure sectors.
The monthly cost of homeownership soared 60 percent between 2021 and 2024, placing severe affordability pressures on renters and first-time buyers in small towns and exacerbating rural housing challenges.
Significant revisions to the $42.5 billion BEAD broadband program will force rural internet providers to reassess strategies for expanding high-speed service in underserved counties or risk leaving households without reliable connectivity.
JOURNALISM AND BROADCASTING
States Newsroom
In West Texas, an independent publisher’s arrest sparks First Amendment questions
July 11, 2025
David Flash, the independent publisher of the Big Bend Times, was handcuffed and removed from a Jeff Davis County meeting in a rural region with fewer than two thousand residents after attempting to photograph a deputy.
The county had previously banned Flash from county premises over unproven harassment claims, raising concerns about transparency and information access in this news desert.
First Amendment experts warn that resisting on-the-ground recording in remote communities chills reporting and undermines accountability where local media outlets are scarce.
Georgia Recorder
Georgia lags far behind other states in the number of journalists, says new report
July 10, 2025
A report from Rebuild Local News and Muck Rack finds that Georgia has just 5.8 local journalist equivalents per 100,000 people, a 75 percent decline since 2002.
Rural counties in Georgia face the deepest news deserts, leaving residents without regular coverage of school boards, county commissions, and local elections.
Experts warn that without investment in nonprofit and community-led journalism, accountability and civic engagement in remote areas will suffer.
CBS News
Senators seek to protect rural broadcasters amid push to claw back public media funds
July 10, 2025
The Senate will vote next week on the White House’s request to rescind $9.4 billion in international aid and public broadcasting funds, including a $1.1 billion cut that threatens the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s support for rural radio and television stations.
Republican senators from states such as South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Alaska are proposing amendments to leave funding for rural stations intact, noting these outlets are often the only source of emergency alerts and local news in remote communities.
Advocates warn that eliminating federal support for public broadcasting could silence essential lifelines in many rural areas, reducing access to weather updates, emergency warnings, and community information.
Anchorage Daily News
Commentary: For rural Alaska, public media isn’t a luxury, it’s a lifeline
July 11, 2025
Kristen Fowler Garland, small-business owner and board chair of Alaska Public Media, warns that proposed cuts to Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding would sever the vital news and emergency alert lifeline for rural communities.
Alaska’s public stations depend on federal support for an average of 36 percent of their revenue, and losing even 20 percent could force 15 local stations in remote areas to shut down.
Rural Alaskans rely on public radio and TV for weather reports, wildfire updates, and local programming that private broadcasters do not provide, and without this funding many villages would face informational isolation.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
The Wall Street Journal
The rapid rise of killings by police in rural America
July 11, 2025
In 2024, law-enforcement killings reached 1,260, the highest number since tracking began, with sheriff’s departments in rural counties accounting for about one third of incidents.
Over the past decade, killings by rural sheriff’s departments have increased by 43 percent while city police killings rose by only 3 percent, highlighting differences in tactics and training in remote areas.
High-profile cases such as a deputy firing 22 shots at a teenager during a welfare check on the Mescalero Apache reservation illustrate how understaffed rural agencies struggle with mental health crises and lack advanced support.
LAYOFFS AND FUNDING CUTS
The New York Times
Trump's D.E.I. cuts are hurting rural, white Americans, too
July 10, 2025
The administration’s freeze and cancellation of NIH grants from January through April halted approximately $1.6 billion in funding, marking the largest single-year reduction in over a decade.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-focused awards designed to broaden participation, including support for students and investigators from underrepresented and rural backgrounds, were terminated, narrowing opportunities for researchers in remote areas.
Research institutions in rural states warn that lost grant dollars will force the closure of field stations and derail health-disparities studies essential to addressing rural public health challenges.
MENTAL HEALTH
Tennessee Lookout
Researchers identify emerging rural suicide ‘belt’ that encompasses Tennessee
July 10, 2025
New research from East Tennessee State University reveals a national suicide belt stretching coast to coast through Tennessee, where rural suicide rates of 19 to 20 per 100,000 far exceed urban rates of 13 to 14 per 100,000.
Investigators link higher rural rates to limited access to mental health care, stigma around seeking treatment, transportation and poverty barriers, and elevated risks associated with agricultural work.
In Tennessee, 91 of 95 counties are designated mental health professional shortage areas, leaving rural residents underserved and underscoring the urgent need for expanded prevention and treatment programs.
NATIVE AMERICANS
The Daily Yonder
Q&A: Lakota Stories, Told By Lakota People
July 11, 2025
Lynne Colombe grew up at the intersection of agriculture and Lakota culture on the Sicangu Lakota Reservation and uses documentary filmmaking to highlight rural Indigenous experiences.
She stresses that Lakota people must write and tell their own stories to counter outsider portrayals that focus only on poverty and trauma.
As a member of the Rural Regeneration Fellowship, Colombe emphasizes community involvement and respectful storytelling to ensure films reflect the values and voices of reservation residents.
POPULATION
KDKA NewsRadio
Rural areas in PA offering $5,000 cash to people who relocate there
July 11, 2025
Mercer County towns including Hermitage and Sharon are offering $5,000 cash incentives, plus perks like gym memberships, golf passes, and restaurant gift cards, to remote workers willing to relocate from over 100 miles away.
Applicants through the Make My Move platform must commit to living in one of the participating communities for at least two years and working remotely, with Greenville opting for gift cards and memberships instead of direct cash to integrate newcomers into the local economy.
County officials hope the program will reverse decades of population decline, fill rural job openings, support schools, and sustain small businesses in these Western Pennsylvania communities.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Inside Climate News
In the sweltering Southwest, planting solar panels in farmland can help both photovoltaics and crops
July 10, 2025
Researchers at the University of Arizona and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have found that agrivoltaic systems, which install solar panels above crops, improve both crop yields and panel efficiency on rural Southwestern farms.
By shading vegetables under photovoltaic arrays and using plant transpiration to cool the panels, growers in Colorado and Arizona have cut irrigation needs by more than fifty percent and produced larger, healthier produce.
High upfront installation costs, farmer skepticism, and uncertainty over future grant programs threaten the broader adoption of agrivoltaic technology in remote, drought-prone communities seeking climate resilient agriculture.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH
News From The States
More states try, and fail, to pass Louisiana-style abortion pill restrictions
July 11, 2025
At least eight states introduced bills modeled after Louisiana to reclassify the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances, but those measures died in committee, preserving telemedicine abortion access in rural areas.
The federal reconciliation budget bill signed July 4 strips Medicaid funding from reproductive health providers that also perform legal abortions, threatening to close an estimated 200 of Planned Parenthood’s 600 clinics, many of which serve rural communities.
Planned Parenthood secured a temporary restraining order blocking the Medicaid cut, but ongoing lawsuits and calls for new federal regulations continue to create uncertainty for rural residents seeking abortion-related care.
Stateline
US hospitals see stark decline of obstetric services, study shows
July 11, 2025
A Health Affairs study reveals that at least a quarter of hospitals in seven states closed their obstetric services between 2010 and 2022, and in six states more than 60 percent of all hospitals lacked obstetrics by 2022, with rural states experiencing the steepest losses.
Rural states such as North Dakota (73 percent), Oklahoma (63 percent), West Virginia (62 percent), Louisiana (60 percent), South Dakota (60 percent), and Mississippi (60 percent) now face maternity care deserts that strand expectant mothers in remote farming communities.
Experts warn that forthcoming Medicaid funding cuts could force additional labor and delivery unit closures and further jeopardize maternal health outcomes in underserved rural areas.
RURAL IMAGE AND HISTORY
The Daily Yonder
Ozarks notebook: an 1840s hymnal finds a new voice in northwest Arkansas
July 11, 2025
A recently rediscovered 1840s hymn book from a defunct rural church in the Arkansas Ozarks is being restored by local historians and musicians to celebrate the region’s musical heritage.
Members of the Carroll County community choir are learning the hymns for public performances, strengthening cultural ties and attracting visitors to this often-overlooked rural area.
Organizers hope the project will inspire other small towns to preserve and share their own historical treasures, boosting tourism and community pride in remote parts of northwest Arkansas.
SAFETY NET PROGRAMS
Marketplace
What Medicaid cuts mean for state programs
July 11, 2025
Federal rollbacks of the enhanced Medicaid match will force states to shoulder a larger share of costs, risking cuts to eligibility and services in rural areas where poverty rates are higher.
New work requirements set to take effect in December 2026 and tighter eligibility verifications will disproportionately impact rural residents who face transportation challenges and fewer job opportunities.
Limits on provider taxes and reductions in funding for home and community-based services threaten the financial stability of clinics and long-term care providers in remote counties.
Utah News Dispatch
Utah hospitals ‘deeply concerned’ about Medicaid cuts
July 11, 2025
Utah Hospital Association officials warn that Medicaid reductions under the “big, beautiful bill” could lead to service cuts and financial shortfalls totaling an estimated $870 million, putting rural hospitals at risk of closing units such as maternity services.
Kane County Hospital in Kanab and other remote critical access facilities may face reductions in emergency and inpatient care, forcing residents to travel more than an hour to the nearest major hospital as cuts phase in over the next three to five years.
lohud
How many NY rural hospitals are at risk of closing? See the list.
July 10, 2025
More than half of New York’s 50 rural hospitals, 29 in total, are now at risk of closure due to severe financial strain, with 18 facing an immediate threat to their operations.
Hospital leaders warn that recent federal Medicaid funding cuts will exacerbate rural care deserts, and they say the $50 billion stabilization fund may be insufficient to keep remote community hospitals open.
Battle Creek Enquirer
Cuts to Medicaid could lead to four Michigan hospitals closing
July 9, 2025
Four rural hospitals in Michigan are at high risk of closure due to steep Medicaid funding cuts in the recent federal reconciliation bill.
Local officials warn that residents in remote counties may face drives of more than 50 miles for emergency and inpatient care if these hospitals shut their doors.
Arizona Mirror
‘We’re real people’: Arizona Medicaid recipients brace for devastating cuts
July 11, 2025
Proposed work requirements, reduced eligibility thresholds, premiums, and lock-out periods threaten to cut Medicaid benefits for low-income Arizonans, with rural residents facing long journeys to reach clinics and heightened risk of coverage loss.
Community health centers in remote counties warn that patient volumes could decline by up to twenty percent, endangering the financial viability of the only safety-net providers for many rural families.
WATER
Kentucky Lantern
Ag fertilizer runoff likely will force more drinking water restrictions
July 11, 2025
Persistent rainfall has flushed high levels of nitrates from commercial fertilizer and livestock manure into rivers that supply drinking water for hundreds of thousands of Iowans, prompting temporary bans on watering lawns, washing cars, and filling pools even without drought conditions.
Rural communities served by regional water authorities are grappling with the prospect of funding multimillion-dollar upgrades to treatment facilities to remove nitrates, a cost burden described by local officials as an unfunded mandate.
Experts warn that without increased federal investment in conservation practices such as cover cropping and buffer strips, and support for advanced treatment technologies, small rural water systems will face more frequent nitrate contamination events that threaten drinking water security.
WEATHER
NOTUS
The Trump administration wants to close down key weather labs across the country
July 7, 2025
The administration’s plan would shutter over two dozen NOAA-funded labs, including the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, threatening the storm forecasting services that rural communities rely on for timely alerts.
Closing these regional labs would eliminate hundreds of jobs in small towns and disrupt research vital for agricultural planning and emergency preparedness in farming counties.
Experts and some Republican lawmakers warn that dismantling NOAA’s meteorological research network will degrade forecasting accuracy and leave underserved rural areas more exposed to extreme weather events.