Blog Posts & Stories

Water is a necessity for all living things. We have a responsibility to act as good stewards of our water, now and for future generations.

It started out as a complex question. With more than 6 million beef cattle raised in Nebraska, and agriculture’s hold as the state’s top industry, why are Nebraska’s students not served local beef on their lunch trays?

Nitrates in drinking water can be hazardous to the health of pregnant women, nursing mothers, infant children, and the elderly. Methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby” disease, is a significant concern. Nitrates can also lead to uranium contamination, causing kidney damage and elevated blood pressure.

It's week 4 of our Letterman-style countdown of Top 10 Rural Research Reports from the Center for Rural Affairs. This #tbt Throwback Thursday post looks at the report that kicked off our health care reform advocacy.

Previously we focused on public policy to increase wages and income, provide enhanced tax benefits, and create partnerships and incentives to develop more skilled, high-paid jobs. Here are four more ways to address income inequality on the rural Great Plains.

This week our Throwback Thursday - #tbt - Top 10 Rural Research Reports rundown focuses on our health care research. We're nerdishly modest, but it's no exaggeration to say we were among the first rural organizations to focus on health care.

In a previous article, I discussed the existence of major income inequality on the rural Great Plains. Data show that rates of income inequality are high in rural counties of the Great Plains region, and generally significantly higher than urban areas of the region, particularly compared to suburban areas of the major cities of the region.

School Name: Fremont Community Learning Centers – Afterschool Programs Washington Elementary Linden Elementary Milliken Park Elementary School Address: Main Street Education and Administration Center...

School Name: Lyons-Decatur Northeast School Address: PO Box 526 400 S. 5th Street, Lyons, NE 68038 Number of Students: 240 How many schools are in your district? Lyons-Decatur Northeast is a pre-K...

The programs of Women’s Business Centers (WBC) are built around the goals of women entrepreneurs. WBCs help women succeed in business by providing business training, mentoring, and access to capital to nearly 200,000 entrepreneurs annually.

This week our Top 10 Rural Research Reports countdown continues. In week two of our #tbt Throwback Thursday series, we focus on our first in-depth report on renewable energy and transmission.

When it comes to power, Nebraska is unique from every other state. That’s because our state is the only one in the nation with public power, giving Nebraskans the ability to elect board members that will represent our interests when it comes to powering our homes and businesses.

The Center for Rural Affairs has been fortunate to have a strong partnership with Nebraska’s Economic Development Districts. It’s been a boost to both of us.

The debate over crop insurance has become a debate between big business interests and family-scale farmers. As you will read here and at cfra.org, we are putting a stake in the ground. We are...

Here in Litchfield, Nebraska, we not only get to enjoy all of the wonderful vegetables at lunch, but we also get to use the greenhouse as a learning experience. We are fortunate to have a local businessman who built a greenhouse for the Litchfield Public School to use.

Here at the Center for Rural Affairs, we're rural nerds, knee-deep in research. We've been reporting on it for 40+ years. Last spring we came up with the Top 10 Rural Research Reports publication.

Food is a major component of health and healthy living. Consumption of healthy foods and a balanced diet will limit obesity, accompanying health issues, and premature death. But not all people have equal access to healthy foods or live in a healthy food environment.

Data from the 2015 County Health Rankings for Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming was used to establish the ratio between the highest and lowest incomes in counties of each state. Not surprisingly, it turned out that high rates of income inequality predominate in rural areas in all of these Great Plains states.

Income inequality is a growing social and political concern in the United States and other western democracies. Data show measures of inequality at rates not seen in nearly a century.

Those of us who live in rural America often proclaim its positive attributes and its extraordinary quality-of-life.