Klobuchar, Thune, Hickenlooper, Moran Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Access to Rural Broadband

Mar 28, 2023 - Senators Amy Klobuchar, John Thune, John Hickenlooper, and Jerry Moran reintroduced the Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act, which would promote universal access to broadband and other telecommunications services. Companion legislation was introduced by a bipartisan group in the House of Representatives.

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Rural Grocery Stores Are Dying Off. Here's What Some Communities Are Doing to Save Them

Mar 23, 2023 - According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 76 counties nationwide have no grocery store, and 34 of those counties are in the Midwest and Great Plains. Initiatives in Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa have been created to establish and sustain grocery stores in rural communities.

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HHS Awards CCBHC Planning Grants to 15 States to Help Address Ongoing Mental Health Crisis

Mar 16, 2023 - Announces that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded 15 states each with $1 million, one-year Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) planning grants. CCBHCs were created to transform mental health and substance use treatment and provide sustainable funding for robust community outpatient mental health treatment.

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The Pandemic Pushed Rural Philanthropy to Change

Mar 16, 2023 - Examines ways in which some philanthropic organizations changed direction during the COVID-19 pandemic and focused more on relationship-building and on-the-ground support for their rural partners. Highlights efforts at Con Alma Health Foundation in New Mexico, the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation in Freeport, Maine, and United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, based in Hutchinson, Kansas.

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Expanding Veterans' Access to Assisted Living Services is Aim of Bipartisan Sens. Moran, Tester, Murray, Rounds Bill

Feb 27, 2023 - Senators Jerry Moran, Jon Tester, Patty Murray, and Mike Rounds have introduced legislation to expand veterans' access to assisted living services. The Expanding Veterans' Options for Long Term Care Act would create a pilot program for veterans to receive assisted living care paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs, allowing aging veterans to live more independently while saving taxpayer dollars.

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Rural Towns Leave Parents Without Child Care Options: 'Talk about Panic'

Feb 6, 2023 - Discusses daycare shortages in rural communities across the country that prevent many people from returning to the workforce once they start a family and highlights a program in Stilwell, OK that is trying to address the issue.

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