Roundup: May 1, 2026

Roundup

May 1

A regular feature of the Rural Review, these roundup posts collect notable recent research, analysis, and related rural news and commentary. Feel free to email us your suggestions for future roundups and visit the Rural Review contributor guidelines for other ways to get involved.

Recent Publications

Hikaru Hanawa Peterson (Applied Economics, University of Minnesota), Jill Fitzsimmons, and Nathalie Lavoie (both Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst) published Farmers’ Pro-Social Motivations and Willingness-to-Accept in Markets with Public Goods in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. The article considers the role that social motivation rather than profit-maximization can play in farmers’ decision-making.
In Community as Story: Identity, Place, and Narrative in San Juan County, Utah, USA, published in Rural Sociology, Greta L. Asay and Michael R. Cope (both Sociology, Brigham Young University) explore how residents around the Bears Ears National Monument use storytelling to resist perceived threats to their community (in this case, the designation of the national monument), highlighting the importance of local voices in discussions on land use and policy. ‍ ‍
A team from Mercer University School of Medicine published Rural Perspectives on For-Profit Health Care in Rural Georgia in The Journal of Rural Health. Caroline E. Anglim, Jace DeGarmo, Donald E. Carter (all Bioethics and Medical Humanities), and Edson Jean-Jacques (Community Medicine) found that fears of losing services altogether prompted a “better than nothing” attitude among rural residents regarding the commodification of health care.

The Washington Post reported on state-level changes restricting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program purchases of “junk food” and the confusion over eligible items. The new rules may disproportionately impact rural residents, who are more likely to participate in SNAP than their urban counterparts.
An article in Mother Jones highlighted organizer and activist efforts to block a proposed data center on the Muscogee Reservation. The proposed site would rezone land currently used for the tribe’s food sovereignty initiative for industrial purposes. The article notes that the threat of losing land and displacement is familiar to the Indigenous community.
CNBC reported on the shifting economics of package delivery and the potential widening of the rural delivery divide. If approved, Amazon’s proposed 20% reduction in USPS volume could mean that residents in rural parts of the country may face higher shipping costs and less reliable delivery service.
An article in The Texas Tribune found that one in three children placed in foster care was sent to a different region, sometimes hundreds of miles away, despite assurances that private contractors would keep children closer to home. Those managing foster care caseloads point to the lack of specialized care available to high-needs youth in rural regions.

Investigate Midwest is hosting a live, virtual panel discussion on the link between agricultural sprays and cancer cases in farming communities on May 7, 2026. The conversation will bring together journalists, researchers, a physician, and a cancer survivor to cover research findings, clinical insights, and lived experience. Register for this free event on the Investigate Midwest registration page on Eventbrite.
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management is hosting the second of two free webinars in its “Rural Communities Prepared for Disasters” series on May 13, 2026. The session will cover how disaster recovery is funded, the recovery process, and the role of long-term recovery groups and community involvement. To register, visit the Department’s Zoom registration page.