January 2007 | Issue 4

Like rural America itself, the 24 groups that were selected to be part of the 2006 Rural People, Rural Policy Cohort are diverse in their programs, locations, and strategies. But they share a common concern for building a stronger voice for public policies that help rural communities.

As the January 22, 2007 , application deadline approaches for groups that want to be part of the 2007 Cohort, here is what a few of the 2006 Cohort have to say about their hopes for participating in Rural People, Rural Policy.

Rural communities need to see what they have in common with other parts of the country. “We can see the trends here [in northern California ] and know that other regions face similar challenges,” says Kathy Moxon of Redwood Coast Rural Action in Bayside, California.

Small communities are stronger when they connect with others and help each other. “If we work together, we can strengthen our rural areas, where there are always limited resources," says Brad Gibbens of the North Dakota Center for Rural Health. "We need to come together as a coherent voice.”

Many of the 2006 Cohort are concerned about rural youth and finding creative ways to expand choices for young people. "We have to get young people between the ages of 12 and 15 and motivate them then," says Dianne Sims, a former staff member of the Boys, Girls, Adults Community Development Corporation of Marvell, Arkansas. Another common theme is the goal of getting youth directly involved in creating policy. " I hope we're bringing the voice of young people to the table," says Kim Phinney of YouthBuilds' Rural Initiative. "We need to figure out ways to engage them in the policy process."

IN THIS ISSUE

News to Use

Rural Americans played an important role in the election of the newly convened 110th Congress, according to an analysis by the Center for Rural Strategies.

"The change in Congressional leadership came not from a Democratic tsunami but from dozens of close elections, many within pollsters' margins of error," said Rural Strategies' Dee Davis. "When races are that tight, even small changes in the rural vote have big implications."

Davis pointed to a number of close Senate races where Democratic candidates improved their performance with rural voters over 2004 levels and narrowly won as a result.

Nationally in recent years, rural voters have preferred Republican candidates. The gap narrowed in 2006. Republican candidates won the rural vote by 3 percentage points in 2006, compared to 12 points in 2002, the last off-year election, according to pollster Anna Greenberg. The difference was large enough to affect the results in key House and Senate races.

For more information, see NPR's report at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6466892.

Rural communities are experiencing a disproportionate number of the U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new study by University of New Hampshire 's Carsey Institute.

"The mortality rate for soldiers from rural America is about 60 percent higher than the mortality rate for soldiers from metropolitan areas," said the Institute's William O'Hare.

The study found that 27 percent of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan came from rural communities, even though rural areas account for only 19 percent of the nation's population.

The study attributed this higher rate to a tradition of military service coupled with a decline in economic opportunity for rural areas.

"The decline in manufacturing has hit rural American harder than urban America," O'Hare said. "In the context of fewer job opportunities, the military has appeared as a more attractive option."

For the complete report, visit http://carseyinstitute.unh.edu/documents/RuralDead_fact_revised.pdf. For a video report, visit http://www.ruralstrategies.org/projects/ruraldead/.

Rural organizations may soon have a rare opportunity to apply for licenses to build full-power, noncommercial radio stations. The Federal Communications Commission is expected to allow applications for building new noncommercial stations this year for the first time since 2000. If your organization is interested in more information, visit Prometheus Radio Project

Southwest Network: Dona Ana County Colonias Development Council (Las Cruces, New Mexico)

Dona Ana County Colonias Development Council started helping immigrants achieve citizenship rights. The group quickly expanded its work to include a range of programs that help strengthen unincorporated subdivisions in rural New Mexico called the colonias.
[Read More]

Central Appalachian Network: Garrett County Community Action Committee, Inc.
(Oakland, Maryland)

Between a declining traditional rural economy and a quickly expanding tourism industry, Garrett County Community Action Committee helps its low-income clients navigate through change.
[Read More]

Midwest/Great Plains Network: High Plains Community Development Corp. (Chadron, Nebraska)

When it's helping individuals, High Plains Community Development Corp. also looks for opportunities to build healthier rural communities through better policy.
[Read More]

Mid-South Network: John C. Stennis Institute: Civic Capacity Development Initiative (Starkville, MS)

A powerful research institution finds a new way to work in rural communities. [Read More]

At-Large Network: Llano Grande Center for Research and Development (Edcouch-Elsa, Texas)

For this community-based education and development center in South Texas, the success of individuals isn't the whole story. "Never did anyone do it on their own," says one of the group's leaders. "It required a supportive community, family and friends." Now the Llano Grande Center is teaching other communities how to build on this kind of strength. [Read More]