Roundup: August 4, 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
Lauren Chenarides, Timothy J. Richards (both Business, Arizona State University), and Metin Çakır (Applied Economics, University of Minnesota) explore the proliferation of dollar stores, now the fastest-growing retail format in the US, in Dynamic Model of Entry: Dollar Stores, published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. The authors’ findings have broad implications for consumer welfare especially in rural regions, as dollar stores affect the viability of grocery stores and other small-format stores within a given market.
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a research letter entitled Firearm Death Rates in Rural vs Urban US Counties by Paul Reeping (Epidemiology, Columbia University), Allison Mak (School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania), and Charles Branas (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia). The researchers examine the variability in firearm mortality risk by county type but find that gun violence impacts US communities in comparably negative ways across the rural-urban continuum.
Madeleine Fairbairn (Environmental Studies, University of California) and Zenia Kish (Media Studies, University of Tulsa) explore how open data is applied to food and agriculture in Setting Data Free: The Politics of Open Data for Food and Agriculture in a special issue on “farm media” for New Media & Society. While open data is often promoted as a route to achieve food security and agricultural development, the authors argue that it can reproduce elements of “data colonialism.”
In A Guide to the American Community Survey (ACS) for the Rural Researcher: Unpacking the Conceptual and Technical Aspects of Using Secondary Data for Rural Research, Kristie LeBeau (Development Sociology, Cornell University) addresses the increased likelihood of error in data collection in rural regions. The article, published in Rural Sociology, aims to advance research methods for rural researchers by offering guidelines for use of ACS so that researchers can produce transparent results despite the challenges of small population size.
News & Commentary
The Conversation published an article on how some are hoping that the US farm bill might address the lack of affordable childcare keeping farm families from growing their business. While the childcare crisis is a well-covered issue in the United States, it has been a largely invisible issue in the farm sector.
An NPR story highlighted efforts to build support for rural-based educators by pairing new teachers with retired teaching veterans as part of a mentoring program. In areas where communities can lose roughly one in four teachers every year, high quality mentoring aims to booster student achievement and teacher retention.
The Washington Post reported on the danger long trains can pose to rural communities as the blockages to rural vehicular traffic mean that emergency responders are slower to arrive at the scene. Across the nation, miles-long trains obstruct rural intersections with sometimes tragic results and railroad companies have to been slow to respond.
Nonprofit Quarterly counters the homogenous depiction of rural America common in media and popular culture in this article, highlighting the varied local economies and diverse residents and cultures of rural communities. The writers hope that by presenting rural realities and experiences in all their complexity, policymakers will better understand how to meet rural needs.
An article in the Vail Daily reported on a bill seeking to allow the Forest Service to issue 100-year leases on US Forest Service administrative sites to be used for housing. Supporters hope such a bill would help address the housing shortages in rural and mountain communities where exorbitant housing costs create a barrier to recruiting and retaining a stable workforce.
KFF Health News reported on small, rural communities becoming abortion access battlegrounds, especially towns positioned between the borders of states that have restricted abortion and those who have preserved access.
The Seattle Times noted the challenges of finding new owners for beloved local newspapers when current owners retire. Even newspapers with strong readership and acclaimed reporting can have trouble securing new ownership due to the difficulties of attracting qualified applicants to rural county seats.
Recordings
The town of Osage, Iowa built a community center boasting an indoor pool, fitness center, walking track, basketball courts, theater, and museum through an impressive local fundraising campaign. The podcast, Farming the Countryside, recently released an episode entitled “Is There a Reason to Come Back? Attracting the Next Generation,” highlighting Osage’s success and sharing tips for other rural towns looking for guidance and encouragement for rural and community improvement efforts.
NPR’s All Things Considered recently featured a report on negotiations of the Farm Bill and its implications for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, which is re-authorized and re-negotiated every five years as part of the bill. Proposed expanded work requirements for certain recipients potentially disadvantage rural residents in areas lacking jobs and transportation, compounding challenges rural people face in terms of food security.
Events & Announcements
As a reminder, here are the Rural Reconciliation Project, we are looking forward to hosting — along with Hannah Haksgaard from the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law — our now annual Law & Rurality Workshop. The workshop will be online November 17, 2023, but expressions of interest are due August 21, 2023. More details, including the full call for proposals, here.
Dr. Parton’s Literacy in Place is now accepting submissions for their 2023 Rural Teen Writing Contest. This year’s theme is “Eat, Dance, and Be Rural: Celebrating Diverse Rural Cultures.” The contest welcomes submissions of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry that highlight food, music, and/or dance from any of a diverse array of rural cultures and traditions. Applicants must be in grades 9-12 in the United States and entries must be submitted by midnight PST on December 1, 2023. Find out more here.
A new project celebrating the folkways—art, music, craftsmanship, and more—of the people of Athens County, Ohio, is currently underway. Athens County Living Traditions is a five-part series funded through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation aimed at bringing community members together around folk and traditional arts practice and cultural knowledge. The events run monthly through September on the last Saturday of each month.
