Rural News Clips, June 30, 2025
POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
Barn Raiser
Senate Republicans fast track budget bill with grave consequences for rural America
June 30, 2025
The reconciliation package would cut Medicaid by about $1 trillion over the next decade, deeply undermining a program that many rural hospitals depend on for revenue.
Without sufficient reimbursement, rural hospitals face severe financial strain, with analysts warning that hundreds could close or be forced to slash services.
Although the bill includes a $25 billion rural hospital relief fund, experts agree it falls far short of the nearly $70 billion in Medicaid cuts estimated for rural facilities.
AGRICULTURE
The Minnesota Star Tribune
Minnesota agriculture institute joins lawsuit against USDA to save grant funding
June 30, 2025
A Minnesota agriculture group, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, joined a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., alleging that the USDA cancelled diversity, equity and inclusion grants in farm country without individual review, in violation of federal law.
The IATP’s $111,695 grant for the MinneAg Network, which provided tools to connect rural farmers with food and agriculture industry officials, was terminated six months before the project’s end, forcing the nonprofit to spend $30,000 of its own funds to complete the work.
Plaintiffs contend that the abrupt cuts jeopardize programs supporting nontraditional and multiracial farmers, undermine soil health and no-till initiatives, and weaken efforts to build food system and climate resilience in rural communities.
BANKS
Forbes
Fintechs cashing in on rural banking opportunity
June 30, 2025
Rural community banks are increasingly teaming up with fintech companies to modernize their services and stay competitive.
These partnerships are bringing basic digital banking options like mobile apps and online account access to underserved rural customers, improving convenience and access.
By outsourcing technology needs to fintechs, small banks can offer updated financial services without large in-house tech investments, helping sustain local banking in rural areas.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Yahoo Finance
What the $1 trillion rural wallet means for Walmart, Amazon
June 30, 2025
Walmart and Amazon are significantly expanding their online and delivery services in rural communities to tap into a combined $1 trillion in annual consumer spending.
This rivalry is resulting in faster shipping options and improved digital banking and shopping tools in underserved areas, transforming how rural Americans access retail services.
CONSERVATION
KJZZ
Hobbs signs bipartisan ag to urban water law but rural conservation deal remains elusive
June 30, 2025
Governor Katie Hobbs signed SB1611, known as the ag to urban law, which lets housing developers buy groundwater rights from farmers who give up agricultural land for home construction.
The voluntary program is expected to conserve millions of acre-feet of water and boost housing supply, but rural stakeholders remain concerned that their communities received no new protections.
A separate rural groundwater management plan proposed by Hobbs stalled in the GOP-controlled Legislature, leaving small towns and farming regions without dedicated relief for acute water security challenges.
CULTURE WARS
The Washington Post
A town tried to heal racial divides. It energized Confederate supporters instead
June 17, 2025
Edenton, North Carolina, sought to relocate a Confederate statue from its waterfront site, once a slave market, as part of a racial reconciliation effort.
The proposal instead sparked weekly protests and counterprotests, revitalizing the Sons of Confederate Veterans and Confederate Memorial Day commemorations.
North Carolina’s law requiring relocated monuments to maintain similar prominence blocked full removal, leaving the statue in place and exacerbating racial tensions in the community.
EDUCATION
WCYB
Rural school systems in Tennessee face challenges reaching state-mandated teacher salaries
June 30, 2025
Rural districts such as Unicoi County struggle to raise local matching funds to meet the $50,000 base teacher pay requirement by 2026 because more than half of their land is owned by state or federal agencies.
State funding under the Teacher Paycheck Protection Act covers only about 60 percent of the needed amount, prompting districts like Hawkins County to use local dollars and attrition-based staffing reviews to close the gap.
Declines in enrollment and uncertainty over future federal education funding have led to cuts in certified and non-certified personnel, heightening concerns about the sustainability of school programs and services.
Clemson News
Clemson University to lead national rural education center
June 30, 2025
Clemson’s College of Education will host the new UCEA Center for Innovative Rural Collaborative Leadership Education (CIRCLE), partnering with East Carolina University, Kansas State University, and North Carolina State University.
The center will provide professional development, research collaboration, and grant support focused on training educational leaders to address challenges in rural schools, such as high poverty, staff turnover, and geographic isolation.
Building on a predecessor at the University of Colorado–Denver, CIRCLE will follow the National Rural Education Association’s research agenda to improve learning opportunities and outcomes for rural students nationwide.
HEALTH CARE, PHARMACIES AND RURAL HEALTH
9News
Colorado asks millions back from rural hospitals
July 1, 2025
Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy and Financing has demanded repayment of $59.7 million in Medicaid provider fee funds from Denver Health and 28 public rural hospitals following a court ruling that reclassified two UCHealth hospitals.
Officials warn that reclaiming these funds could divert $25 million to $50 million annually away from rural and other publicly owned facilities, adding financial strain to hospitals already operating on thin margins.
The dispute comes amid federal proposals to restrict states’ use of provider fees, a change analysts say could lead to deeper cuts for rural hospitals and threaten healthcare access in underserved communities.
HEAT
Aspen Public Radio
Rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to extreme heat, researchers say
June 30, 2025
An analysis by Headwaters Economics and the Federation of American Scientists finds that many rural ZIP codes in the Mountain West face heat vulnerability on par with urban areas, driven by climate impacts and local conditions.
Rural residents are more likely to have health conditions such as asthma or heart disease, live in isolated areas, and occupy heat-sensitive housing like mobile homes, all of which increase their risk during extreme heat events.
Conventional urban solutions like cooling centers and tree-planting programs may not work in sparse rural settings, so researchers urge development of community-led, locally designed interventions and stronger investment in rural healthcare.
JAILS, PRISONS AND INCARCERATION
Live 5 News
Former detention center transforms into healthcare facility for rural South Carolina community
June 30, 2025
A decommissioned county detention center has been converted into a primary and dental care clinic to serve a medically underserved rural population.
The project was financed through a combination of state grant funding and local community donations to address critical healthcare access gaps.
Community leaders anticipate the new clinic will shorten travel distances for patients and bolster preventative care, ultimately improving health outcomes.
JOURNALISM AND BROADCASTING
The Kentucky Lantern
Commentary: Beware what sprouts in a news desert
June 30, 2025
In Anderson County, limited internet and spotty phone service make reliable print editions vital, yet weekly newspapers often arrive late or not at all on rural roadsides.
Since Paxton Media Group’s acquisition in May 2021, The Anderson News has shrunk to eight pages, removed opinion and letters sections, and reduced reporting to cursory meeting recaps, diminishing community engagement.
With local reporting starved of resources, residents have turned to the private Facebook group “Lawrenceburg Catch All,” where unverified posts fill the void and misinformation flourishes.
LAYOFFS AND FUNDING CUTS
The Daily Yonder
Report: A pause to land conservation programs funding from USDA could kill their momentum
June 30, 2025
A freeze on the roughly $11 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding for USDA’s EQIP and CSP programs threatens to undo the surge in farmer participation in land stewardship efforts across rural America.
Agriculture experts warn that even a brief pause could erode decades of trust, push farmers out of soil health and water quality initiatives, and reverse hard-won gains in sustainable farming practices.
MANUFACTURING
WDBJ7
“It’s very frustrating.” Neighbors complain about noise from Klöckner Pentaplast facility in rural Virginia
June 30, 2025
Residents living near the Klöckner Pentaplast plastic packaging plant in Rural Retreat report a continuous, piercing hum from the facility’s chillers that disrupts daily life and sleep.
Klöckner Pentaplast says its chillers operate within standard decibel ranges and is working with town officials on potential noise mitigation measures, while Rural Retreat’s town management pledges to pursue a swift resolution.
POLLUTION
Environmental Health News
Soy-based firefighting foam offers PFAS-free option for rural fire departments
June 30, 2025
PFAS in traditional firefighting foams have contaminated groundwater and are linked to cancer and reproductive issues, prompting rural fire departments to seek safer alternatives.
The Kentucky volunteer fire department led by a soybean farmer is the first to fully switch to SoyFoam, a PFAS-free foam developed by Cross Plains Solutions with United Soybean Board funding.
While the Department of Defense has yet to test SoyFoam, it has encouraged further research into bio-based foams that could benefit rural fire districts with limited resources.
RURAL ORGANIZING
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Empowering rural left-behind women through social participation: innovative strategies for building resilience, sustainability, and social capital
June 30, 2025
A study found that, when rural women in China join community groups, they gain a stronger sense of empowerment, especially by seeing their voices influence local politics.
Political engagement, meaning the feeling that local decisions reflect their input, matters more for their empowerment than direct economic gains.
Trust, fairness, and active village committees play a key role in encouraging these women to participate and build local support networks.
SAFETY NET PROGRAMS
The Urban Institute
Rural hospital revenue could drop by $87 billion over 10 years
June 30, 2025
The reconciliation bill combined with the end of enhanced premium tax credits would cut rural hospital revenues by an estimated $87 billion and drive up uncompensated care costs by about $23 billion from 2025 to 2034.
The current proposal’s $25 billion rural hospital relief fund over five years would cover only a fraction of those losses, indicating that closer to $100 billion would be needed to fully offset the impact on rural health providers.
WBIR
Kentucky hospital CEO fears for future of rural healthcare amid Medicaid cuts
June 30, 2025
Michael Slusher, CEO of Middlesboro Appalachian Regional Healthcare, warns that proposed federal Medicaid cuts could be devastating to his hospital and undermine healthcare viability in rural Kentucky.
Analysts estimate that Senate Medicaid reductions could jeopardize 300 rural hospitals nationwide, including 35 in Kentucky, threatening local access to care and endangering thousands of healthcare jobs.
WCTI 12
Congressman Davis introduces bill to boost Medicaid support for rural emergency hospitals
June 30, 2025
Congressman Don Davis, a Democrat, unveiled the Rural Emergency Hospital Financial Stability Act during a press conference outside Martin General Hospital to support reopening and sustaining rural emergency hospitals.
The legislation would raise Medicaid reimbursement rates for Rural Emergency Hospitals to the outpatient hospital level instead of the rural health clinic rate, providing crucial revenue stability for facilities in places like Martin County.
Advocates say the bill will reduce the need for rural patients to travel to distant inpatient hospitals, preserve local healthcare jobs, and strengthen access to timely care in underserved communities.
The Nebraska Public Media
Commentary: Rural health clinics like mine will bear the burden of Congress’s Medicaid cuts
June 27, 2025
Free primary care facilities in low-population states like Wyoming will face overwhelming demand as an estimated 10.9 million people lose Medicaid coverage and turn to clinics already funded primarily by private donations.
The Congressional Budget Office projects over $50 billion in lost Medicaid reimbursements over the next decade, while the proposed $15 billion rural healthcare fund falls far short of covering those losses and risks shutting down vital rural hospitals.
The Colorado Springs Gazette
What federal Medicaid cuts could mean for rural Colorado’s mental health care
June 30, 2025
Medicaid reimbursements account for roughly one-third of operating budgets at rural health systems in regions like the San Luis Valley, so deep federal cuts would force clinics and hospitals to slash mental health programs and essential services.
Health leaders warn that reduced funding will trigger staff layoffs, closure of specialized outpatient and long-term care facilities, and broader economic strain on rural towns where healthcare is a primary employer.
NPR
How medicaid cuts could impact rural hospitals
June 30, 2025
Roughly 20 percent of Americans live in rural areas where Medicaid covers one in four adults, and proposed cuts to the program would reduce federal reimbursements to rural hospitals, threatening their financial viability.
Experts warn that lost Medicaid funding could increase uncompensated care and force rural hospitals to downsize services or close, deepening medical deserts in underserved communities.
The Nebraska Public Media
Rural health leaders are concerned about proposed federal cuts to Medicaid
June 30, 2025
Rural health leaders warn that proposed federal Medicaid cuts would cause 110,000 Nebraskans to lose coverage and lead to 5,000 job losses.
With half of Nebraska’s rural hospitals already operating at a negative margin and three facing imminent closure, these cuts could force multiple rural hospital closures within two years.
WILDFIRES AND FIREFIGHTERS
News Channel 3
Rural fire departments struggle to recruit volunteer firefighters
June 30, 2025
Volunteer fire departments in rural West Michigan, including Yankee Springs in Barry County, face recruitment challenges due to the extensive training and certification requirements.
Demographic shifts and family commitments have shrunk the pool of younger residents willing to volunteer, turning departments that once oversaw too many recruits into ones now scrambling to fill positions.
Legislation introduced by Representative Steve Frisbie would provide financial incentives and formal recognition to improve recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel.
The New York Times
Firefighters killed in sniper ambush in rural Idaho
June 29, 2025
Two firefighters were responding to a brush fire in a remote rural mountain area near Coeur d’Alene when they were ambushed by a gunman who had intentionally set the fire and opened fire with a shotgun.
The attack killed two firefighters, one from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and one from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue, and wounded a third, who underwent emergency surgery and is in stable condition.
A large-scale manhunt involving more than 300 local, state, and federal officers used cellphone data and aerial support to locate the 20-year-old suspect, who was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Phys.org
Wildfire smoke app highlights risks for populations living near urban-rural borders
June 30, 2025
A new online tool called SMRT-Flames helps fire managers assess where wildfire smoke will affect people, especially those living at the wildland-urban interface between forests and rural towns.
Modeling shows that targeted prescribed burns in the highest-risk zones of Northern California could cut regional smoke exposure by up to 18 percent, offering greater protection to vulnerable groups like the elderly and those with respiratory conditions.
The app’s user-friendly interface lets policymakers and land managers test hypothetical fire management scenarios across entire regions, making it easier to plan controlled burns that reduce smoke hazards for rural and suburban communities.