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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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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.

Farm Bill Meeting - "Littler is Better" for Small Towns

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Thursday, December 7, 2006   

Boise, ID - When it comes to Idaho's small towns, bigger is not always better. That was the conclusion this week during a meeting about prospective content for the next U.S. Farm Bill. It's a massive and complex piece of legislation that deals not just with agricultural issues, but with rural economic development.

Kathie Starkweather with the Center for Rural Affairs, believes previous policies of trying to lure big companies to small towns is "backwards." She says instead, small businesses should be the focus.

"What we've found through the research is that businesses that have five employees or less are the foundation on which rural community and economic development can survive and thrive."

According to Starkweather, the "big business" state of mind doesn't work for farming and ranching towns.

"In the past, we've traditionally tried to build rural communities by bringing businesses in; sometimes that works, but more oftentimes it doesn't."

Congress is expected to start drafting the Farm Bill next month.


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