rural area

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In Rural America, a 'Vaccine Void'
In Rural America,
a 'Vaccine Void'
Mar 6, 2021 8:30 AM CST

In Rural America, a 'Vaccine Void'

In America's 'pharmacy deserts,' it's a challenge for residents to get their shots

(Newser) - When Charlome Pierce searched where her 96-year-old father could get a COVID vaccine in January, she found zero options anywhere near their home in Virginia. The lone medical clinic in Surry County had none, and the last pharmacy in an area with roughly 6,500 residents closed years ago. To...

Introducing the World's Loneliest Kindergartener

Wyoming is opening a 1-kid school in the fall; actually its second

(Newser) - A Wyoming school district plans to re-open an isolated school to serve a single student entering kindergarten this fall, reports the AP. The Cozy Hollow School, about 60 miles north of Laramie, already has a modular classroom but it hasn't been used for about a decade. It will be...

In Rural Areas, One Thing Is 'Worse Than Murder'

Hospital closings can be devastating

(Newser) - When Barry Gibbs' wife had a heart attack two years ago, the North Carolina man couldn't take her to the hospital in nearby Belhaven—because it had closed. Should he drive her 60 miles east to one town or 70 miles west to another? Neither seemed close enough. But...

Health Exchanges Pretty Lousy for Rural Customers

Competition is low, and prices are high

(Newser) - ObamaCare's technical difficulties are well-documented—the House is dragging four contractors in to talk about them today—but it has one problem no web developer can solve: It's pretty lousy in rural areas. The theory behind the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplace is that forcing insurers...

51st State Takes a Step Forward
 51st State Takes 
 a Step Forward 
in case you missed it
Aug 24, 2013 1:26 PM CDT

51st State Takes a Step Forward

4 rural Colorado counties will include ballot measure, 7 others considering it

(Newser) - At least four rural Colorado counties will vote Nov. 5 on whether to make "Northern Colorado" the 51st state . Fed up with what they see as a lack of representation in Denver, Weld County this week became the largest county to get on board, after its commissioners voted to...

City vs. Country: Guess Which Is Safer?

If you said country, we have bad news for you

(Newser) - Contrary to what Law & Order has taught you, when it comes to safety you're better off in the city than the country. Time flags a new study out today that compares large US cities to rural areas, and finds that the risk of injury death (this includes everything...

Needed: Rural Lawyers; Subsidies Available

South Dakota offers pilot program for attorneys

(Newser) - Lawyers are having a hard time finding jobs these days, but all they really need to do to get hired is move out of the city. Rural America is increasingly short on lawyers, and as a result, one state is offering subsidies to law school grads who practice there. Other...

City Residents Slimmer Than Rural Ones
 City Residents 
 Slimmer Than 
 Rural Ones 
study says
Sep 14, 2012 11:10 AM CDT

City Residents Slimmer Than Rural Ones

Manual labor is down, but diets haven't changed, says study

(Newser) - In the US, there's plenty of obesity to go around, but the problem is significantly worse in rural areas compared to urban ones, a new study finds. Some 39% of rural Americans are obese, versus 33% of urbanites, a researcher tells ABC News . Rather than depending on self-reporting, researchers...

Unhealthiest Places in US Often Rural, Not Urban

Mostly thanks to poverty

(Newser) - It turns out being a country mouse may be bad for your health. People who live in rural parts of the US may be significantly less healthy than those living in cities and suburbs, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The study found...

Time Warner Tries to Charge $12K Installation Fee

Town says it's violating agreement

(Newser) - Time Warner is more than happy to install Mark Williams' cable: For the low-low price of $12,000. The cable company justifies the cost using the “long driveway” clause in its contract with the town of Lee, Mass., Failure Magazine reports, because Williams' house is a half-mile from its...

Kyrgyzstan Sheep Will Get Passports

Nation of 5 million humans will track 4.25 million animals

(Newser) - Kyrgyzstan is about to launch a program that will issue passports to millions of residents of the largely rural country—its 4.25 million sheep. "From their birth to their slaughter, it will be possible to recognize a sheep's pedigree by using laser scanning," the first deputy PM...

Now Driving Innovation in India: the Poor

As developed economies slump, it markets directly to the lower class

(Newser) - Indian engineers once did little but cater to Western companies, while consumers at home made do with hand-me-down products from the developed world. That is changing in a big way as foreign economies crater and the 1.1 billion consumers of the subcontinent reveal a taste for, well, consuming. And...

Rural Alaskans Fight to Survive
 Rural Alaskans Fight to Survive 
Feb 9, 2009 12:50 PM CST

Rural Alaskans Fight to Survive

Harsh winter cut off supplies, forcing soaring prices

(Newser) - With some villagers paying $400 for a week's groceries and $1,500 for a month’s heat, rural Alaskans are literally fighting to survive, CNN reports. Milk can cost $10 a gallon and eggs $22 a dozen, and the long trip by snowmobile to the store means running through $50...

'Womyn's Lands' Dwindle as Gays Go Mainstream

(Newser) - So-called "womyn's lands" are quietly persisting across North America but face a cultural shift as modern gays embrace mainstream society, the New York Times reports. Founded in the 1970s to give lesbians man-free, safe, non-judgmental communities, the roughly 100 groups have seen membership dwindle and populations age. “In...

New Wi-Fi Will Make Web Service Rural

Intel platform can link to villages for less than $500

(Newser) - A new device will link rural areas to the Internet at low cost and without cables, Technology Review reports. Intel has tested the Wi-Fi platform in Africa, Asia and South America, and will sell it this year for less than $500. What makes it work? The router and antenna are...

FCC to Re-Test Wireless Internet Devices

Companies seek to broadcast web over unused TV airwaves

(Newser) - After a series of unsuccessful tests, the Federal Communications Commission is heading back to the lab to assess a new round of devices for broadcasting high-speed Internet in the white space available in between TV airwaves. The prototypes come from a coalition of top-tier bidders, including Microsoft, Philips, and Intel,...

Country Life Often Opposite of Healthy

Poverty, limited grocery options have rural America in diet 'deserts'

(Newser) - Rural America isn’t all hearty farmland, Newsweek writes: Many country areas are “food deserts,” supplied mainly by convenience stores. With supermarkets distant and healthy food more expensive than junk, impoverished residents often become unhealthy—hungry and fat. “A nutritionist will just say, 'Buy more fruits and...

Rural America Gets Wired
Rural America
Gets Wired
Sep 19, 2007 7:39 AM CDT

Rural America Gets Wired

US has paid providers $1B to bring broadband to remote areas; progress is uneven

(Newser) - Measured by President Bush's goal—to give every America access to broadband this year—it's not a success. But the effort to wire rural America has made impressive progress, the Economist reports. The US government has given more than $1 billion to internet providers in distant markets in an effort...

18 Stories