Rural Communities

The National Young Farmers Coalition makes headway on a loan forgiveness bill in Congress.

"Rural America" is a deceptively simple term for a remarkably diverse collection of places.

Smarter people than me have made the observation that the divide we are witnessing in America today is less liberal versus conservative than it is urban versus rural.

Keota, Iowa, once rated the country’s "most extroverted town," has recently made some big improvements with a few grants, a little luck, and a volunteer bulldozer. We interviewed Keota native, local business operator, and volunteer extraordinaire Melinda Eakins, about going above and beyond to get it done and keep her town of 1,000 something special.

New trends that apply in rural places, small towns and any community under about 20,000 in population.

New trends that apply in rural places, small towns and any community under about 20,000 in population.

An Oregon resident who helps maintain and protect backcountry trails in the National Forest says urban conservation groups aren’t doing enough to find common ground with rural residents. It’s there, he says, if you know how to look for it.

An overwhelming percentage of the United States — about 97 percent– is considered rural, but is home to only a small percentage of the population — about 19 percent. The remaining 80 percent live in urban areas, according to the Census Bureau.

"The notion that these investments in rural communities could be killed and replaced with logging alone is disconnected from reality," Wyden said. "I will continue to pursue a comprehensive, reality-based approach to get these counties the funding they have long relied on.

The retirement of the baby boom generation of business proprietors is predicted to result in a major turnover in ownership.