May 27 Watch 5:33 How Wyoming manages to keep its rural schools open By Student Reporting Labs The one-room schoolhouse may seem like a distant memory from U.S. history, but about 200 of them still exist today, including Wyoming’s tiny Valley Elementary School. It has only six students, but in Wyoming, education funding is redistributed so that… Continue watching
Apr 15 Questions over coverage plague rural broadband expansion By Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press Across rural America, a bandwidth gap separates communities like Weston from an increasingly digital world where high-speed internet has become a fundamental component of modern life, putting them at a disadvantage. Continue reading
Feb 12 When small colleges close, their hometowns feel the pain By Elizabeth Hewitt, The Hechinger Report The financial problems — and wholesale shutdowns — affecting an escalating number of colleges and universities touch not only students, faculty and staff but also local economies, often in rural places where they are among the most important employers and… Continue reading
Dec 18 Watch 5:44 How these photographers used a camera to tell stories of rural America By Jeffrey Brown, Mike Fritz Photographers Fred Baldwin and Wendy Watriss traveled and worked abroad for years before meeting in the late 1960s. As a couple, they decided to shift their professional focus to the U.S., and specifically to the rural south. Their imagery documents… Continue watching
Dec 13 Watch 11:08 Sens. Heitkamp and McCaskill on Democratic mistakes and a ‘culture of failure’ Although this year’s midterms sent several new women to Congress, two prominent female senators--Heidi Heitkamp and Claire McCaskill--are preparing to leave Washington after losing bruising reelection battles. Judy Woodruff sits down with both to discuss voters who feel forgotten, the… Continue watching
Nov 02 Watch 7:12 This festival aims to bridge the urban-rural political divide ‘in a time of rot’ By Jeffrey Brown A food and arts festival in central Wisconsin has grand ambitions. “Fermentation Fest” celebrates art, farming and all things fermented. But in addition to serving up sauerkraut and kombucha, festival organizers from The Wormfarm Institute also hope it provides… Continue watching
Oct 16 Watch 6:08 War veterans find sustenance–and solace–in farming By Mike Cerre After Congress failed to pass a farm bill ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, a Department of Agriculture program that helps veterans transition into farming faces an uncertain future. For soldiers returning from war, farming can offer a new occupation,… Continue watching
Jun 28 Watch 8:06 How these Alabama architecture students are improving lives with low-cost home designs By John Yang For decades, students and faculty from Auburn University's Rural Studio have been working, studying and living in Hale County, Alabama, and using architecture to serve the greater good. There, more than two dozen different homes that cost only $20,000 have… Continue watching
Apr 17 Watch 7:33 Can this rural town go from a youth exodus to an art epicenter? By Jeffrey Brown What kind of future should a struggling rural town choose? In the town of Green River, population 950, a nonprofit called Epicenter aims to use art and architecture to bring new energy, life and economic development. Jeffrey Brown reports. Continue watching
Apr 06 Millions of U.S. adults live in education deserts, far from colleges and fast internet By Matt Krupnick, The Hechinger Report Distance and technology hinder the college aspirations of a surprising number of rural Americans. Continue reading