skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Farmers: Bringing Them Back Home

play audio
Play

Monday, July 27, 2015   

WASHINGTON – A recent study released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service focused on towns that are losing population.

It featured several in South Dakota and other states on the northern plains.

Study co-author John Cromartie, a USDA geographer, traveled to small communities and found that the largest reason for folks not returning home was the lack of career opportunities with a good salary. He also found people who had successfully returned to their hometowns.

"We saw people being very creative,” he explains. “Many of them did mention those career sacrifices they had to give up, better income, more chances for advancement in their careers. And they came back and tried new things, such as opening stores or doing some sort of entrepreneurship."

The study also noted that returning residents with children contribute to school systems that might otherwise face consolidation. They are also quite likely to be active as volunteers.

Cromartie says many of these folks sacrificed higher paying jobs to return to family and the rural lifestyle. He says that lifestyle has helped them be successful in their small business ventures.

"There is a lot of people who are used to starting their own businesses, and that sort of entrepreneurial spirit is in these towns, and people took advantage of that," he adds.

Cromartie says the people who return to their small hometowns have a huge impact by adding educated skillsets to the local economy. He says schools play a role in the decision to return home.

"Returnees with families tended to value things like small class size and the ability to know teachers, whereas those who choose not to return saw city schools, big suburban schools as better meeting their kids' needs," he explains.

Cromartie says researchers visited high school reunions as part of their study, gathering information from both those who came back and those who did not.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021