The Yonder Report

New legislation aims to help rural job numbers, farmers praise Colorado's "Right to Repair" law, and small-town community colleges are seeing an enrollment return.

20% of all rural residents are living without health insurance, advocates for America’s small communities outlined priorities at the 2023 Rural Policy Action Summit, and Ohio puts more money toward helping survivors of domestic violence.

Congress is being asked to reverse well-meant changes to the FAFSA application process that currently limit student aid for farm families, a trio from business, the nonprofit world, and a Kentucky prison offer a creative solution for a short-handed horse industry, and spuds at an Idaho farm get regenerative agriculture treatment.

Librarians fight back against efforts to ban books; there's new federal grants available to meet vehicle collisions with wildlife head on; and a Missouri college partners with other states to engage students in real-world problem-solving.

Voter turnout is lower in rural places –a symptom say researchers of reduced civic infrastructure –  like libraries, "Impact investing" is helping areas historically left behind – including Appalachia, and a proposed BLM rule would put conservation on equal footing with drilling, mining, and grazing.

“It’s undrinkable” - polluted well water in Oregon gets the EPA’s attention after 30 years of complaints, a former police officer inspires family charity to deliver life-saving equipment to first responders, and Florida considers expanding access to mobile dental clinics.

Remote work helped reverse a decade-long population decline in America's rural counties, mayors from around the country gather in Washington, D.C. annually to share stories and face together their most pressing issues, and dollar stores are popular with rural folks – but predatory tactics are worrisome to watchdog groups who say the economic drain bests the economic gain. 

Small towns respond creatively to their sometimes hidden housing and homelessness crisis, a new national weather prediction system expected next year will help close the gap between urban and rural forecasting as severe weather events increase, and more rural communities can apply for a CIRD design project to boost economic development.