Blog Posts & Stories

For the past decade, area restaurants have featured some of the finest quality organic heirloom vegetables on their menus thanks to Squeaky Green Organics. Brian and Suzanne Kliewer own and operate...

Black Hills Energy customers will no longer find solar a financially feasible option to cut their energy costs if a proposed tariff on renewable energy generation is approved. In an application submitted to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, the company is asking to implement a “buy all, sell all’’ tariff on new customers who generate their own renewable energy.

During this school year, students at Nebraska Christian Schools in Central City have been eating fresh, delicious vegetables in their school lunches—vegetables they grew themselves in their school greenhouse.

Leaders are the life-blood of small towns and rural communities. The success or failure of community development efforts often rests with the degree of leadership local residents are willing to provide.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, many business owners figured out new, innovative ways to draw in potential customers. One of the alternative methods to face-to-face interaction is the use...

Four months and seven days. That’s how long the 2021 Iowa legislative session lasted. Lawmakers completed their business and adjourned Wednesday night just before midnight.

Desde hacer uñas con cita previa en su casa hasta comprar su propio salón, Verónica Ramos es un excelente ejemplo de emprendedora de éxito.

Owner of Blossom Beauty Salon in Grand Island, Nebraska, Veronica’s specialty is nails—manicures, pedicures, and more. Her sister, Angeles Nuñez, does nails in the salon as well, and Veronica rents the four hair-styling stations to local stylists, making her business a full-service salon.

The Center for Rural Affairs’ staff and board work toward bettering rural America. From helping small businesses with financing and training to giving family farms a leg up against larger operations...

The legislative session in Nebraska is working its way toward its conclusion, likely in early June. Two priority bills from the Center saw significant developments since our last update.

The little blue house sits in the middle of a block, the second in a row of four homes. Two chairs and a small table on the front porch invite friends and neighbors to drop by for a visit. The porch...

Communities throughout Minnesota have recently gone through the process of getting solar projects nearly to the finish line only to be stalled by interconnection challenges. Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a record year for solar installation with a 43% increase over 2019.

Las comunidades de Minnesota han pasado recientemente por el proceso de lograr que los proyectos solares casi lleguen a la línea de meta solo para quedar estancados por los desafíos de interconexión.

In late April, Nebraska’s 2021 Leopold Conservation Award was presented to the Switzer family of Loup County. The family was recognized by Gov. Pete Ricketts in a ceremony at the capitol.

​​​​​​​On Jan. 27, President Biden signed an executive order about tackling climate change. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sought comments on how their agency should take action on the executive order.

For decades Iowans have led the nation in innovating our way to a cleaner, more reliable power grid that promotes public health and economic prosperity in our rural communities.

Dollar General has become a ubiquitous feature of America’s small towns. The discount retailer is opening new stores at a rate of 1,000 a year. There are now more than 16,000 spread across the country...

After retiring from a career in education that took him all around the world, then settling in Red Cloud, Nebraska, Jay Hall found the Center for Rural Affairs through a good friend. He believed in...

As a railroad engineer, Tanner Connell worked long days and was constantly on call, stuck by his phone at all hours. After 12 years, he’d had enough, and decided to become his own boss. Trucking had...

Welcome again to your update on the Nebraska Legislature. The past two weeks saw continued success for bills supported by the Center. Legislative Bill (LB) 366, a bill to improve the Nebraska Advantage Microenterprise Tax Credit passed the first round of debate nearly without opposition (41-1 vote).