Rural America
Trap Shooting With Pastors to Bridge the Rural-Urban Divide
An excerpt from Lyz Lenz's God Land.
The Argument for Protecting Wild Foods
"Wild foods," or wild edible species, provide important nutrients for millions of people worldwide, but they were left out of a recent report on creating sustainable food systems.
Educational Fight or Flight
How do you keep rural schools open when enrollment is declining and small towns are emptying out?
Unseen America
An introduction to a four-story package on the misunderstood middle of our nation.
New Research Shows SNAP Recipients Are a Benefit to—Not a Drain on—Rural Economies
The roughly 40 million Americans who use food assistance programs are also helping to create jobs.
The Communities Where Aging Populations Can Never Retire
Areas like Michigan's Alcona County offer a lesson for rural communities across the country that need to find a way to function with an aging population.
Should Teachers Carry Guns? In Many Rural School Districts, They Already Are.
While a national debate about whether or not to arm teachers rages on, hundreds of school districts across the country have been allowing staff to carry weapons on school property for years.
Why Is the FCC Making It Harder for Low-Income Americans to Get Broadband Access?
The government-administered Lifeline is designed to make the Internet more affordable, but Ajit Pai's FCC has kneecapped the program.
Ranchers Seek to Protect Their Herds as the Wolves Move in
As wolves arrive in California for the first time since the 1920s, ranchers are turning to non-lethal methods to deter the gray wolves, once seen as livestock-killing vermin.
How the Farm Bill Could Help Spur a Rural Innovation Renaissance
With the right policy support, sparsely populated areas of the U.S. may be on the brink of becoming the country's next hub for innovation.
A Rural Oklahoma Charter School's Focus on the Workforce Is Dividing Its Community
A savvy businessman outmaneuvered community opponents to bring a charter school to a struggling small town. Now he wants to expand to others like it.
Small-Town Principals Have Some of the Most Complex Jobs, and Highest Turnover Rates, in Education
Rural school leaders have some of the most complex roles in education—and some of the highest levels of attrition.
How One Tiny Town Is Battling 'Rural Brain Drain'
Nearly all high school graduates in Onalaska, Washington, head off to college—but many come back home after earning a degree.
Americans' Attitudes Toward Suicide Are Softening
But as with so many social issues, the liberal-conservative divide has grown wider over time.
It's Time to Rethink How We Fight Forest Fires
Americans learned long ago how to keep cities from burning. And then, it seems, we forgot.
A Proposed Work Requirement Exemption in Michigan Is Mired in Controversy
Critics say the legislation being put forth in Michigan will unfairly benefit rural white communities over the more urban black areas—but is that true?
How Over-Incarceration Is Driving a Push for Criminal Justice Reform
A conversation with Jasmine Heiss from the Vera Institute of Justice about a recent poll that uncovers American's souring sentiment toward incarceration policy.
The Agony of Rural America's Inescapable Broadband Gap
The T-Mobile settlement is a stark reminder that waiting for private industry to make the investment is a losing proposition.
Local Reporting Is Dying. This Training Corps Wants to Bring It Back.
Report for America offers young journalists valuable job training experience—by placing them in talent-starved newsrooms.
Could Portable Treatment Centers Fix Rural America's Water Problems?
Small communities across America don't cope well with water shortages, but one group from UCLA has created something to fix that.
Is Telemedicine a Feasible for Rural America's Opioid Epidemic?
Remote treatment options make addiction care more accessible, but it's no panacea for the opioid epidemic.
Maternal Care Is Disappearing From America's Rural Counties
A new study shows that more than half of the country's rural counties now don't have hospitals with obstetric services. And women of color are being hit the hardest.
Listening to Rural Communities at the Policy-Making Table
What might it look like to have governance structures that fuel understanding with rural communities on a larger scale?