rural america

Medicare open enrollment started Friday, a critical health insurance program for elder rural residents. AARP’s Sean Voskuhl said it’s important for rural residents to review their Medicare plan each year to find potential costs savings. “One of ...

Oregon senator Jeff Merkley says he has secured much needed funding to help rural communities across the state, make forests more resilient and protect public lands. The bill is the basis for negotiations with the House, as Congress works to fund the government for fiscal year 2022 ...

The new service standards implemented this month by the United States Postal Service have lawmakers from Rural America concerned. The Postal Service increased time-in-transit standards by one or two days for certain mail that is traveling longer distances, saying standards for single-piece First-Class Mail traveling within a local area will continue to be two days ...

Last week, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $464 million in renewable energy grants for producers, rural communities, and businesses in 48 states and Puerto Rico. Vilsack said close to $129 million dollars in grants and loans will go for renewable and energy efficiency projects on the farm through the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP ...

During Thursday’s House Natural Resources Committee markup meeting for a roughly $31.7 billion portion of President Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget resolution, eastern Oregon’s Cliff Bentz offered a trio of amendment he said will benefit rural communities across the Beaver state. Bentz sai ...

The District of Arizona court ruled this week to vacate the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. However, what the decision means for the rule is one of many questions yet to be answered. Three courts have refused to dismantle the NWPR, including last month when a federal court in South Carolina refused a similar request from plaintiff groups ...

The Department of Agriculture is on track to provide record support of rural working capital in the current fiscal year. According to USDA Rural Development undersecretary Justin Maxson, the Department has invested $1.2 billion in loan guarantees to help rural businesses in 41 states, Guam and the Virgin Islands ...

The lack of broadband mapping remains a key hurdle to the successful rural deployment of internet technology, but one industry hand says efforts underway to figure out where the gaps are, are now moving at top speed. Rural Broadband Association CEO Shirley Bloomfield said no one really knows where the unserved and underserved areas are ...

Last week, the American Farm Bureau sent a letter to all 100 U.S. Senators expressing its support for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said modernizing the country’s transportation infrastructure continues to be a priority for their members. ...

For many Americans, especially those living in rural or remote areas, Social Security has been an important source of income for 85 years. And one of the main reasons so many rural Americans depend so much of Social Security is the fact they don’t have access to pension plans and 401ks, and much of a farmer’s assets may be tied up in land and machinery, not cash. However, ...