Rural communities

06/16/2008 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced more than $6 million in grants aimed at promoting health information technology, medical education and coordinated care programs-all focused on improving California's health care delivery system for underserved populations.

This grant funding comes from a total of $50 million in charitable investments required by the state from PacificCare Health Systems when it merged with UnitedHealth Group in 2005.    » read more »

Affordable housing important to attracting workers to Kansas

May 13, 2008 -- Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has signed a bill to help more rural communities meet their housing needs.

“Right now there are more than 35,000 open jobs in Kansas,” Sebelius said. “In order to attract workers to fill these jobs, we need to make sure there is affordable housing for them and their families. It is common sense solutions like this that have kept the Kansas economy strong despite troubling national trends.”

HB 2123 raises the population limits with the Kansas Rural Housing Incentive District Act. This Act encourages housing development in rural cities and counties, where housing shortages exist, by providing grants and loans for public improvements.    » read more »

Increased Health Risk Associated with Lack of In-home Running Water

April 1, 2008 -- Rural Alaska Natives living without in-home access to running water have disproportionately higher rates of respiratory and skin infections, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study is the first to show an association in the United States between lack of in-home running water and prevalence of these diseases.    » read more »

March 19, 2008 -- Carson City, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto will embark on her second “Rural Road Trip” to visit the rural communities in southern Nevada. The trip begins Monday March 24, 2007. The theme of the trip is “Putting Nevada’s Families First”. The Attorney General will be accompanied on the trip by staff members with professional expertise to discuss the challenges faced by Nevada’s rural communities and how the Attorney General’s Office plans to help address those challenges.    » read more »

March 12, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold announced today that assistance is available for rural small businesses and farmers to help with energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems. The Rural Business-Cooperative Service, an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, is accepting applications for the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Grants and Guaranteed Loans program.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- AUGUSTA – Maine Governor John E. Baldacci today joined officials from the Maine Community College System (MCCS), TD Banknorth and Cary Medical Center at the unveiling of a new set of initiatives by the community colleges to expand programs to rural Maine.    » read more »

December 17, 2007 -- Spencer, IA - At a meet the candidate event in Spencer today, U.S. Senator Barack Obama discussed the ways in which he would provide real leadership for rural America by standing up to the special interests. Senator Obama said that Tom Harkin's recent efforts to pass a strong farm bill were undermined by lobbyists for big agribusiness. He pledged that as President, he would stand up to the special interests and make the rural agenda America's agenda.    » read more »

December 14, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Late Friday, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and her Senate colleagues passed the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007, also known as the “Farm Bill”, legislation vital to sustaining and growing Missouri’s agricultural economy by supporting programs important to America’s farmers and all Missourians.    » read more »

Local Democratic Leaders Choose Obama and His Commitment to Clean Campaigning

December 06, 2007 -- Des Moines, IA -- The Obama Campaign today announced that 4 rural Democratic County Chairs in Southwest Iowa decided to back Senator Obama's campaign to bring about change we can believe in - and praised his commitment to attacking America's challenges, not fellow Democrats. These local Democratic leaders across the state will reach out to Democrats in their county and discuss Barack Obama's ability to bring America together and truly transform our country.    » read more »

New Delhi, India, 3 December 2007 – Today’s plenary session, during the World Economic Forum’s 23rd India Economic Summit, held in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), focused on one of India’s biggest challenges – the massive migration from rural communities to increasingly overburdened cities. Over 100,000 people a month migrate to Delhi alone. "As long as all opportunities are concentrated in metropolises, you will not be able to stem this tide.    » read more »

November 06, 2007 -- Las Vegas, NV -- Senator Barack Obama unveiled his "Real Leadership for Rural Nevada" plan today on a conference call with reporters. The plan was crafted with the input of Nevadans from across the state who Obama and his campaign have spoken with over the course of the last several months.

"For far too long, politicians entrenched in Washington have listened to special interests while shutting out rural Americans. The result is policies that work for corporate interests, but against rural communities," said Obama.    » read more »

Feingold Seeks Reforms to Keep Wisconsin Family Farms Competitive as Senate Prepares to Take Up Farm Bill

November 2, 2007 -- Washington DC – As the full Senate prepares to debate the Farm Bill, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is outlining his priorities for the bill. Feingold is focused on protecting Wisconsin’s dairy farmers, pushing for much-needed reforms, creating opportunities for rural America, and ensuring that small farms remain competitive. The Senate is expected to take up the bill next week.    » read more »

Bill will ensure market keeps pace with ethanol boom; Builds bridge to next generation of biofuels

October 19, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) yesterday introduced a bill to immediately update the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to require the production of 18 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2016 including 3 billion gallons of advanced biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol.    » read more »

October 16, 2007 -- Fairfax, IA -- After hosting a rural issues forum in Adel and a rural policy summit in Tama and directing his staff to conduct more than 30 hearings across Iowa this summer, Senator Barack Obama today unveiled a rural policy agenda that incorporated the insight and ideas from Iowans who live, work and raise a family in a rural community. Sen. Obama's plan is focused on meeting the challenges facing rural communities and capitalizing on the economic opportunity that exists in rural America - particularly in the renewable energy sector.    » read more »

Discusses Specific Plans To Ensure Fairness For Family Farmers, Strengthen Rural Education, And Revitalize the Rural Economy

Oct 16, 2007 -- Dunlap, Iowa – Today, Senator John Edwards kicks off a two-day, nine-county "Barnstorm for Rural America" across Western Iowa to highlight the families and communities that are too often forgotten in Washington and to discuss his specific solutions to revitalize and restore hope to rural America.    » read more »