Category Archives: Rural

Citizens group aims to seeks to eliminate the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service

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Broadband Breakfast reports on an effort to eliminate a longstanding source of broadband funding…

A government watchdog group is calling on Congress to eliminate the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service, arguing that its broadband programs are redundant given billions already allocated through other federal initiatives.
Citizens Against Government Waste said existing USDA broadband efforts duplicate funding provided through the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, the federal government’s primary initiative to expand high-speed internet access.
The group pointed to a 2023 Government Accountability Office report that identified more than 133 broadband-related programs across 15 federal agencies, raising concerns about overlap. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has said total federal broadband funding could reach as much as $800 billion.

Fiber cables help understand modern farming in a surprising way

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For folks who like a deep dive, Grist outlines an unexpected benefit of fiber to the farm…

Fiber optic cables, of all things, have now exposed just how badly tilling messes with a farm’s ability to retain moisture. Using a technology known as distributed acoustic sensing, or DAS, scientists analyzed how seismic waves disturbed the cable as they rippled through harrowed fields compared to adjacent undisturbed plots. This created subtly distinct signals, showing that plowing obliterates the “capillaries” that carry water like tiny interconnected reservoirs.

The findings point to a serious problem with modern agriculture, to be sure, but also to solutions. “Regenerative farming practices based on principles of no-till — combined with cover crops and a diversity of crops — can basically lead to less agrochemical reliance, better soil organic matter contents, comparable yields, [and] lower diesel use,” said David Montgomery, a geomorphologist at the University of Washington and coauthor of a new paper describing the research.

Daily Yonder catches the podcast wave – talking about Data Centers

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Something new to listen to on a long drive – Yonder Radio. Here’s a description from their newsletter…

This week’s hour opens with a look at what happens when major corporations like Meta and Amazon bring data centers to rural communities. Also in this episode: hear how rural films performed at this year’s Academy Awards, take a road trip through some of the wonders of roadside America, and step back in time to explore ancient folk pottery traditions still alive in North Carolina.
Plus, enjoy a mix of rock and blues, along with an interview featuring an artist from Blue Mountain Tribe, three-time winners of the Native American Music Awards.

The data center discussion happens in the first 10 minutes. The rest of the podcast is fun too – from scenic byways to the Oscars through a rural lens.

Success of Mobile Health in State Rural Health Transformation Plans, including MN

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Georgetown University reports on Mobile Health in State Rural Health Transformation Plans…

Hundreds of rural hospitals across the country are operating on thin margins, and recent federal policy proposals threaten to exacerbate that strain. Provisions in H.R. 1 are projected to reduce federal funding to hospitals and other providers by more than $1 trillion, putting many rural facilities at risk of service reductions or closure. In an attempt to mitigate some of these challenges, H.R. 1 established the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), allocating $10 billion annually over five years to assist states in modernizing rural health care infrastructure, expanding access to care, and improving patient outcomes.

Minnesota is mentioned…

Our research indicates that mobile health models can expand access to care in rural communities by reaching populations facing geographic and broadband barriers. Mobile health care can increase preventive care, support chronic disease management, and link patients to follow-up care. For instance, a program in rural Minnesota launched a mobile-telehealth hybrid model, allowing patients to avoid 30–60 mile trips for primary care.

Patients frequently report high satisfaction with the convenience and quality of mobile health services in rural areas. Some programs are also associated with reduced emergency department use and potential system-level cost efficiencies. For example, a rural South Carolina community paramedicine program helped patients lower their blood pressure and blood glucose levels while also reducing emergency department visits.

The sustainability of mobile health programs often depends on stable funding, strong community partnerships, and referral networks that allow mobile services to act as a gateway to additional care.

Minnesota’s Minnesota Rural Health Transformation is held up as a standout…

Minnesota stands out for its integration with Tribal health organizations and its focus on dental and primary care. Mobile medical and dental units provide preventive screenings, basic primary care, restorative dental services, and lab work, while telehealth links patients to specialty care. The state also positions mobile units as extensions of FQHCs and community clinics, embedding care within existing referral networks and using community sites such as schools for service delivery and workforce training.

Minnesota’s RHTP application and press release.

They are also hosting a virtual discussion on how state policymakers can better support mobile health clinics and improve access to care at 1pm ET on February 13. Register here.

Cold weather points out inadequacies of rural broadband

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MinneapoliMedia reports…

There are moments in Minnesota when the cold does more than freeze lakes and stiffen breath. It interrupts the machinery of daily life. It closes schools, empties buses, quiets playgrounds, and turns the ordinary act of leaving home into a calculation of risk. Friday, January 23, 2026 is one of those days.

Added in the difference in broadband based on location…

For many families, school is not just a place of learning. It is childcare. It is reliable meals. It is heat. It is structure. When buildings close, those supports scatter into private homes that are not equally equipped to absorb the shock.

Hourly workers lose income. Parents working essential jobs face impossible choices. Families without reliable internet struggle to make e-learning function as intended. Rural households with long driveways and limited broadband face isolation compounded by cold. For elders who depend on school transportation staff, school nurses, or community routines connected to schools, the day becomes longer and lonelier.

The cold does not distribute its burden evenly. It presses hardest on those with the fewest buffers.

Zimmerman celebrates “bandwidth revolution is a form of civic power”

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Futurism reports on Zimmerman…

Zimmerman, Minnesota, doesn’t get many headlines. It’s one of those seemingly ordinary American towns—quiet, wooded, comfortably suburban in some directions and unmistakably rural in others. Yet, as someone who’s been watching the shifting tides of regional economics and digital transformation, I see Zimmerman as a signal of something bigger—a subtle but profound reordering of where innovation happens in America.

The geography of opportunity has been flattening since the early 2020s. Remote work erased rigid commuting boundaries, high-speed internet reached towns once considered too far for corporate footprints, and the cost-of-living differential between the Twin Cities and communities like Zimmerman became impossible to ignore. What used to be a bedroom community for Minneapolis is now morphing into something else entirely: a test case for the rise of the rural tech corridor.

Zimmerman sits in Sherburne County, part of a ring of towns that benefited from the pandemic-era “rural renaissance.” But the local story has evolved beyond affordability. Startups specializing in green tech, agri-data analytics, and logistics automation are experimenting in these lighter-regulated, data-rich landscapes. It’s not that Silicon Valley moved north—it’s that digital infrastructure made geography optional. Rural Minnesota towns are now discovering that the bandwidth revolution is a form of civic power.

Underlying this trend is a cultural recalibration. Younger entrepreneurs—many coming from the Twin Cities or returning home after time in tech hubs—are building companies that aren’t chasing valuation headlines. They’re focused on sustainability, circular economy models, and hyperlocal efficiency. Zimmerman’s local co-op initiatives and small-scale AI farming experiments indicate the post-capitalist microeconomy taking shape: distributed, data-aware, and proudly independent of the coastal gravity wells.

What’s interesting isn’t just what’s happening but how attitudes are changing. Residents who once saw the future as something urban are beginning to see digitization as an ally to rural identity. High-speed connectivity is allowing craft manufacturers, solar startups, and freelance technologists to operate globally while living locally. In Zimmerman, independent contractors for national tech firms coexist with agritech developers who use drones to monitor soil health. The lines between manual and digital, local and global, are dissolving.

Policymakers introduce bipartisan rural broadband access bill

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Ag Daily reports…

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to extend federal support for broadband infrastructure aimed at improving internet access in rural America.

U.S. Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., introduced the Middle Mile for Rural America Act, legislation that would reauthorize a U.S. Department of Agriculture program supporting middle-mile broadband projects for another five years.

The bill proposes a reauthorization covering fiscal years 2026 through 2031, extending authority under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to fund middle-mile broadband infrastructure that connects rural communities to high-speed internet networks.

RUS has been working on middle mile since 2018…

The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service gained authority to support stand-alone middle-mile broadband projects under the 2018 Farm Bill. Prior to that change, middle-mile infrastructure could only be funded indirectly through last-mile broadband projects.

A slight change would extend support…

If enacted, the Middle Mile for Rural America Act would amend Section 602(g) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 by replacing “2018 through 2023” with “2026 through 2031,” extending USDA’s authority to support middle-mile broadband infrastructure in rural communities.

North Star and Pequaywan Townships are excited for BEAD funding for broadband (St Louis County)

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The folks in St Louis County are clearly excited about the promise of broadband. They are getting a lot of local press. WDIO reports…

An early Christmas present for North Star and Pequaywan Townships. Leaders found out they are getting federal funding to pay for broadband for about 550 locations.

Minnesota’s broadband funding proposal has been approved, and that means Mediacom will get money to bring a fiber optic network to the rural townships.

This has been in the works since 2009. Janet Keough was a township supervisor then. “I teared up when I heard the news,” she shared. “I was jumping up and down. I can’t believe it’s actually happening.”

Rod Saline is a current supervisor, and told us everyone is very excited. “We got a lot of help from other townships that have gotten broadband.”

Mediacom will be putting in about 38 miles of cable. Saline told us they have already been doing some site prep work. So the hope is that they’ll break ground this spring.

Rural St Louis County is getting better broadband through BEAD and Mediacom

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News from North Star Township and Pequaywan Township in St Louis County..

Minnesota broadband grants, funded by the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), will include funding to Mediacom to bring a fiber optic network to rural North Star and Pequaywan Townships and adjacent areas. On December 22, 2025, Senator Klobuchar announced that the Minnesota grant program had been approved by NTIA. “I’m thrilled to announce that Minnesota’s broadband funding
proposal has been approved, which will bring fast, affordable, reliable internet to families in every
corner of our state, especially in North Star, Pequaywan, and other rural townships,” said Senator
Klobuchar. “This funding is available thanks to my bipartisan legislation that I fought to pass so that
Minnesota families—regardless of their ZIP code—have access to high-speed internet.”
“For more than a decade, the residents and leaders of North Star and Pequaywan Townships have done everything right—planning, organizing, and advocating for better connectivity—and this investment finally delivers on that work,” said Bree Maki, Executive Director of The Office of
Broadband Development “BEAD funding is designed to reach exactly these kinds of rural communities
that the market alone has not served, and this project will help to ensure families, businesses, and first responders in St. Louis County have access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet that meets today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities.”
North Star and Pequaywan Townships along with a handful of other rural townships in St Louis County,
have been working to bring reliable, affordable and fast internet access to their communities since 2009. Townships have lobbied providers, conducted feasibility studies, satisfaction surveys, and outreach. More populous townships have attracted broadband providers, but the more rural and less populous townships including North Star and Pequaywan have had no success until now.
In St. Louis County, Mediacom, in recent years, began building a fiber optic network in Lakewood Township and later, into Normanna Township, bringing their network to the North Star Township border. This gave township officials new incentive to convince Mediacom to extend north. Mediacom successfully applied for BEAD funding for North Star and Pequaywan Townships and adjacent areas.
“We are thrilled to have recently been awarded grants through the state’s BEAD program,” said Christopher Lord, Mediacom’s Senior Director of Government Partnership Opportunities. “We have long enjoyed a highly collaborative relationship with the amazing team at Minnesota DEED, and NorthStar Township, Pequaywan Township, Ault Township, and Unorganized Township 54-13, have been great local partners throughout this process. We look forward to delivering fiber-to-the-home broadband services to these communities and seeing the great impact these services will have on the residents and businesses in these townships.”

Funding from the BEAD program will also greatly expand broadband availability across in St Louis County. Commissioner Paul McDonald noted “This is fantastic news for these townships who have been working diligently for over 15 years to get quality broadband”.
Officials from North Star and Pequaywan Townships have been working to prepare their property owners to get the Mediacom fiber optic service through hosting town hall meetings and newsletters.
Rod Saline, North Star Supervisor, noted “Our citizens, small businesses, and especially our Fire/EMS Department, are looking forward to having access to reliable, affordable, and really fast broadband!”
Doug Nelson, Pequaywan Supervisor, added “This announcement from Sen Klobuchar is welcome news for all the residents in our area as this broadband service is greatly needed.”
Information on the Minnesota BEAD broadband program can be found at:
https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/bead/

Rural broadband is getting better but there are still gaps say’s NTCA’s Shirley Bloomfield

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Brownfield Ag News reports…

Shirley Bloomfield is the CEO of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association…

“I’ve got 850 community-based local companies and cooperatives across the country that are providing broadband to their communities,” she said. “They are now up to about 90% fiber to the home for their customer base. That covers 35% of the land mass of the United States.”

She tells Brownfield there’s been some good progress in recent years.

However, “The job is not done,” Bloomfield added. “There are still a percentage of Americans that are tough to serve. They live in remote areas.”

Bloomfield says many farmers and ranchers remain in need of broadband improvements.

“When you’ve got a farm that is three miles down the road, you’ve got to have a government program – like we’ve seen with the infrastructure act – that actually gives companies a business model and a business reason to go connect those most remote Americans.”

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From the Center on Rural Innovation…

Join CORI for a deep dive into the future of rural tech talent. This webinar will spotlight how six rural communities have strengthened their tech workforce pipelines through cross-sector collaboration, informed strategy, and learner-centered supports.

CORI staff will share key findings from our Advancing Digital Skilling in Rural America project—a three-year national initiative funded by Ascendium that aimed to expand equitable access to technology careers for rural learners, particularly women, people of color, and low-income individuals.

What You’ll Learn

Drawing from CORI’s work with communities in Ada, Oklahoma; Chambers County, Alabama; Cochise County, Arizona; Selma, Alabama; Taos, New Mexico; and Wilson, North Carolina; we’ll explore:

  • Trends in rural tech job demand and what employers say they need most
  • How rural partners engaged over 90 employers and educators to align training with real-world demand
  • What’s working, what’s challenging, and what’s next for sustainable tech talent ecosystems

Participants will also hear directly from local leaders in Wilson and Cochise County as they reflect on their on-the-ground experience building pathways that connect rural learners to economic opportunity.

Fewer headaches thanks to telehealth resources for Deer River students

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KAXE reports…

For some Deer River students, seeing the doctor means a full day out of school.

“Most of it is transportation and getting up to Cass Lake for an appointment, if they have one,” explained district employee Susan Nelson. “And that can be an all-day affair. You’re 60 miles up and 60 miles down.”

The Deer River Public Schools district overlaps with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation, including the communities of Ball Club and Inger, and Nelson said almost of half of Deer River students are Native American. Many are covered by the Indian Health Service, meaning getting care can present a significant travel burden.

There’s an Essentia Health clinic and hospital just a mile from Deer River High School, which can make appointments easy for some families. But even then, parents and guardians still have to take time away from work to get their kids to appointments — another barrier to health care.

A new program is trying to address those challenges with just an iPad and a quiet room.

Deer River launched its telehealth program with help from Essentia in October. Nelson is the project manager.

The process itself is pretty straightforward. On the iPad, Nelson has set up video conferencing apps like Microsoft Teams and Zoom and health care programs like MyChart.

If a student has an appointment, they log in on the iPad, which they can connect to a TV if they’d like. Then Nelson steps out of the room — which is also her office — until they’re done.

Mental health care is scarce for BIPOC residents in rural MN. Telehealth can help

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KAXE reports…

Finding a mental health provider in rural areas is hard but Minnesota researchers said it is much harder for communities of color in small towns and a new report laid out specific obstacles to care and solutions showing hope.

The Center for Rural Policy and Development said rural communities across the state are becoming more diverse but the center’s latest report showed there is still little awareness about the mental health needs of people of color in these areas. Lack of insurance, stigma, and trust issues are factors complicating the issue.

Marnie Werner, vice president of research and operations at the center, said refugee and immigrant populations also tend to be isolated from their small-town neighbors.

The article offers some solutions…

Recommendations in the report include identifying mentors who can work with students of color, in hopes they will eventually take on mental health care roles in their communities or become school social workers. The report also cited a move by the state Legislature last year to adopt licensure reforms. Backers said it could open more career pathways in the mental health field.

The report talks more about telehealth…

Telehealth can especially help rural people of color access appropriate, effective mental healthcare, says Terica Toliver, Senior Director of Clinical Therapy at Louisiana-based Iris Telehealth, which provides therapy via telehealth through her contract with ElevaCare in Southwest Minnesota. Telehealth gives people of color a broader range of providers to choose from, including providers who share the same racial and cultural backgrounds.

It’s not a perfect solution, however. Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans don’t have access to the broadband internet service required for telehealth to work reliably,[26] and telehealth isn’t for everyone. Some patients simply don’t feel comfortable talking to a stranger about their mental health on a digital screen.

Take time for an important story: When big cyberattacks hit small towns

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Big thanks to Ben Winchester for the heads up on this one. Click Here is a podcast that “tells stories about the people making and breaking our digital world.” Last week, they focused on When big cyberattacks hit small towns. It’s a quick 30-minute broadcast. It tells a sobering story of cyber security challenges in rural areas. I won’t retell the story, but I will share the messages that resonated with me:

  • While big cities often have cyber security teams or people or at least an IT department, smaller cities, towns and counties don’t. That means that cyber security in smaller governments is left to no one or everyone, the results can be the same.
  • Back in the day, everyone had a different security solution. It’s more homogenous now; even between small and large local governments. So, a cyber criminal can learn a lot about “how things are done” even in hacking a small town.
  • Unlike having your car or wallet stolen, a cyber crime is hard to recognize. You don’t always know what a thief got, how they got in or if they have been locked out. You don’t always know who did it or why.

Minnesota applies for $1B in rural health care funds to offset Medicaid cuts especially in rural MN

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I wrote about the $1 billion application earlier; MPR News takes a deeper look…

Minnesota has applied for a share of $50 billion in federal funding for rural health care that was approved by Congress as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The Minnesota Department of Health applied for $1 billion over five years. Its 62-page application lays out detailed plans for the funds, including fellowships aimed at getting more medical students training and working in rural areas, adding more telehealth opportunities and providing more preventative care screenings in local venues, such as schools, pharmacies and tribal clinics.

It is in reaction to losing funds in other places…

The Minnesota Hospital Association estimates that the state could lose $2.4 billion in federal health care funding in the first year alone, fiscal year 2028. The MHA also finds that 140,000 Minnesotans on Medicaid could lose their healthcare coverage while another 60,000 Minnesotans will likely drop their ACA health insurance because of the rising costs.

It sounds like the impact could be harder felt in rural Minnesota…

About 30 percent of Minnesotans live in rural areas of the state, where the health care system has been severely strained in recent years.

There’s a shortage of physicians, nurses and other medical professionals, and the number of rural medical clinics and hospitals closing is on the rise. The MDH wrote in its application for the Rural Health Transformation Program funding that 34 out of Minnesota’s 95 rural hospitals are financially distressed, which means they’ve had four or more years of negative operating margins in the past eight years. Just this year, Mayo Clinic Health System announced it was closing six rural clinics in southeast Minnesota.

According to the application, Minnesota’s rural residents on average must travel 64 minutes for medical-surgical care, whereas people in the state’s urban areas travel just 19 minutes on average for care.