Roundup: June 8, 2023
A regular feature of our growing online journal, The Rural Review, these roundup posts collect notable recent research, analysis, and related rural news and commentary. Feel free to send suggestions for future collections to us here. And, more details on other opportunities to contribute to The Rural Review can be found here.
Recent Publications
Rural Sociology published Police Encounters for Behavioral Health-Related Reasons in Rural and Remote Communities: A Canadian Study by Jean-Denis David (Sociology, McGill University). The study finds an increasing probability of police involvement for behavioral health needs as communities become more geographically isolated.
Public Water System Governance in Rural Montana, USA: A ‘Slow drip’ on Community Resilience published in Society & Natural Resources by Grete Gansauer, Julia Haggerty (both Earth Sciences, Montana State University), and Jennifer Dunn (History and Philosophy, Montana State University) explores the extent to which federal investments in waterworks infrastructure are successful in creating more resilient rural communities.
The Shifting Nature of Subsistence on the Hopi Indian Reservation, published in Agricultural History, follows the evolution of the Hopi people’s diets from one of spiritual and physical subsistence directed by Hopi agriculturalists to one dependent on food purchased in grocery stores or through food aid programs. Tai Elizabeth Johnson (History, Longwood University) finds return to traditional foods as evidence of both cultural resilience and restoration of health for Hopi communities.
Danielle Rhubart, Jennifer Kowalkowski (both Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University), and Logan Wincott (Sociology and Criminology, Pennsylvania State University) published The Built Environment and Social and Emotional Support among Rural Older Adults: The Case for Social Infrastructure and Attention to Ethnoracial Differences Summary in Rural Sociology, providing an alternative perspective to studies of social infrastructure often conducted through an urban lens.
News & Commentary
The New York Times published an article exploring how declining student enrollment affects rural areas that have relied on institutions of higher education for maintaining local economies and how these college towns are trying to adapt in order to survive.
A West Michigan news outlet reported on a five-year, $5 billion infrastructure investment pilot program to bury rural powerlines to protect them from inclement weather, which causes frequent outages in the region. In areas where tree trimming and other maintenance is a challenge, the initial investment may be worth it.
For more on utility poles causing strife in rural areas, see this Wall Street Journal report on how a dispute over who pays for the new poles required for broadband services left elementary schools in New Mexico without high-speed internet access—a fight that has hindered rural broadband rollout efforts across the country.
The Daily Yonder and Grist published a story about how imprecise weather forecasting and spotty emergency alerts due to limited cellular and internet access in rural regions reveal an urban bias in weather forecasting, leaving many unprepared in potentially severe and dangerous weather events.
The Guardian reported on bereaved families’ attempts to prompt a federal investigation into the deaths of 14 inmates of a West Virigina jail reputed to have deplorable conditions due to overcrowding, crumbling infrastructure, and years of underinvestment in the state’s regional jails.
As rural hospitals close, “maternity care deserts” leave patients with limited options to give birth safely, reports this story from the New York Times. Relatedly, this article from KFF Health News notes that while 140 rural hospitals have closed nationwide since 2010, many are hoping that a new federal payment program allowing eligible hospitals to convert to emergency services only will provide a lifeline for communities.
The Omaha Daily Record reported on the ongoing “right to repair” battle in rural America and highlighted an agreement between John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation that is increasing the possibility that U.S. farmers will regain the right to repair more of their equipment without having to rely on company-authorized dealers.
Events & Recordings
In this 3-minute listen from NPR and Harvest Public Media, Elizabeth Rembert covers the importance of public transportation in rural America for those without a car, especially older residents for whom access to transit options can mean the difference between staying in their own homes and communities and having to relocate.
The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues (publisher of The Rural Blog) will hold its third National Summit on Journalism in Rural America on Friday, July 7, 2023, in Lexington, Kentucky. This will be a free, hybrid event, with substantial online participation and presentations.
The South Dakota Law Review seeks article proposals, speakers, and panel participants for a symposium on issues related to rural lawyers. The Rural Lawyer symposium will be held in Vermillion, South Dakota, on September 21 and 22, 2023. Find the call for papers here.
The Placemaking in Small & Rural Communities Conference, held in May and sponsored by USDA Rural Development and the University of Kentucky, discussed paths to developing civic pride in local communities. Check out their Rural America Placemaking Toolkit which provides education, resources, activities, and tools on rural placemaking.
The International Society for the Study of Rural Crime (ISSRC), an organization dedicated to fostering collaboration and sharing knowledge among students, researchers and practitioners working together to address rural crime and improve rural life, has two initiatives that may be of interest: a mentoring program for postgraduate students and early career researchers and the annual ISSRC awards program which includes five awards categories.
Finally, remember that the Project has an open Call for Papers for our annual Law & Rurality Workshop, co-hosted with Hannah Haksgaard of the University of South Dakota. This Fall 2023 workshop will be hosted fully online. All the details here. Submission deadline is August 21, 2023.
