The Rural Blog

The Interior Department worked to bring oil and gas management into the 21st century. Drillers are angry. (Photo by J. Evans, Unsplash)   For decades, companies that  drilled on public l...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/new-rule-increases-royalties-for-oil.html

Photo by M. Vistocco U.S. mortality rates can fall into two very different camps -- rural working-age death rates and everyone else's death rate. "Rural Americans age 25 to 54 — considered...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/working-age-rural-residents-are-dying.html

Some states won't accept aid for summer lunches. (Photo by Matthew Moloney, Unsplash) Some states have refused federal support that would be used to provide summer lunch money to families wit...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/some-states-refuse-bipartisan-aid-for.html

PACE centers offer multiple types of care under one roof. (National PACE Association photo) As people age, most don't want to live in nursing homes. But when faced with extensive medical need...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/these-centers-offer-specialized-care.html

Brookings graph, from Department of Education data Younger generations may be bypassing college due to its eye-popping costs, but research shows that few students pay the "listed" price. "Pu...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/eye-popping-college-costs-vs-what.html

The new rule will dramatically increase firearm purchase background checks. (PBS News Hour photo) To deliver on gun control policy promises, the Biden administration has expanded the number o...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/new-rule-closes-gun-show-loophole-and.html

Photo by Possessed Photography, Unsplash Two separate broadband maps give different pictures of how the service is offered throughout the U.S. "Using the results of 'broadband audits' across...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/comparing-us-broadband-coverage-using.html

Removing PFAS from drinking water is costly. (Photo by Samara Doole, Unsplash) The ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY has issued its first drinking water standards for "forever chemicals," whic...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/epa-issues-drinking-water-standards-for.html

High school students in Kansas participate in the Seatbelts Are  For Everyone program. (Photo via RHIhub) Country roads that are winding, curving and in various states of repair pose a dis...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/rural-communities-try-to-address.html

Male cicadas make the bug's signature buzzing sounds. (Sagar Vasnani, Unsplash) It's almost time for millions of adult cicadas to dig their way out of the soil, shed their exoskeletons and jo...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/its-almost-cicada-time-trillion-bugs.html

Photo by Laurent Jollet, Unsplash More than a year has passed since the NORFOLK SOUTHERN train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, where cars carrying vinyl chloride exploded and a "controll...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/two-person-crews-are-now-required-for.html

EV charging gas stations may not be a win for rural areas. (Photo by Oxana Melis, Unsplash) A developing trend shows that one of the best ways to encourage cleaner energy use is to piggyback ...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/many-charging-stations-for-electric.html

$100 doesn't stretch near as far as it used to. (Photo by G. Tovato, Unsplash) When it comes to minimalist designs, less might be more. But when it comes to American wallets, less is just le...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/grocery-prices-weigh-heavily-on.html

Taking extra vitamin C doesn't prevent the flu. (Photo by P. Gauthier, Unsplash) Eating your fruits and veggies is an excellent way to get the nutrients a body needs, but so are dietary supp...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/opinion-look-out-for-these-three-common.html

Firefly Petunia flowers emit light. (Light Bio photo via Lancaster Farming) With spring and summer come abundant flowers and plants, but in the botanical world, there's a new flower in town...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/flora-fauna-new-flower-in-town.html

KFF Health News tool, from BrownGreer data Beginning in 2022, state and local governments started receiving opioid settlement funds from companies that made, sold or distributed prescription...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/opioid-settlement-payments-to-state-and.html

Big cats can contract H5N1. (Photo by M. Foskett, Unsplash) Amid outbreaks of H5N1 avian flu in birds and other wildlife species, the disease has now infected cows and humans. "Texas health o...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/cows-and-people-are-susceptible-to-h5n1.html

Trade education is less expensive and offers good wages. (Photo by Robert Lambert, Unsplash) For decades, U.S. high school graduates who wanted to make a decent living went to college, but as...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/many-high-school-graduates-are-choosing.html

When interconnected, solar energy can help bigger, more stressed power grids. (APPA photo, Unsplash) A new agreement in California has brought energy stakeholders together to help the state'...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/after-years-of-negotiating-california.html

Willie Nelson singing at the first Farm Aid concert in 1985. (Wayne Walldogs photo via Successful Farming) Murals in Wayne County, Iowa, stand as a testament to the region's dynamic and res...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/quick-hits-wayne-county-murals-showcase.html

In November 2023, The Rural Blog excerpted this question: "Is Chris Stapleton the one thing that America can agree on?" A new review of what people think of their food supply shows another topic...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/survey-shows-many-americans-think.html

Kids need more classroom time to learn. (Photo by Kenny Eliason, Unsplash) Even before the pandemic, getting kids off to school wasn't easy. But in post-Covid period, school attendance has su...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/student-absenteeism-rose-sharply-after.html

Rural Montana is a 'canary in the coal mine' for severe   labor shortages in needed sectors. (N. Fouriezos photo) Across the country, the need for a younger workforce to fill a wide range ...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/in-montana-cost-of-living-and-lack-of.html

Toxic stress can lead to unhealthy conditions. (Photo by Luis Villasmil, Unsplash) Not all stress is bad, but how does a person know when stress has crossed from a normal response to a healt...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/toxic-stress-can-speed-up-aging-and.html

Elizabeth Currid-Halkett Tony Pipa from "Reimagine Rural" and Brent Orrell of the AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE will host a discussion with Elizabeth Currid-Halkett author of The Overlooked A...

https://irjci.blogspot.com/2024/04/new-on-front-porch-conversation.html