By Kristi Eaton for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Eric Tegethoff for Big Sky Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently announced a dozen grants for rural communities, and strategists within the Democratic Party say it’s one way the Biden-Harris Administration is getting out a message to rural voters. 

The grants were announced in a press release just before Christmas. The release touted how the 12 projects would improve and expand transportation infrastructure in rural communities across the United States. 

“Infrastructure investments haven’t always reached rural America, leaving far too many roads, bridges, and other parts of the transportation system across our country in disrepair,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in the release. “Today’s announcement is one of many ways this administration is delivering the investments that rural communities have gone without for far too long, modernizing transportation, creating economic opportunity, and making life better for millions of people.”

The release said that due to decades of disinvestment, around 13% of rural roads and 10% of off-system bridges, most of which are in rural areas, are in poor condition. The fatality rate on rural roads is also two times greater than on urban roads.

One of the projects is a Bureau of Indian Affairs Route 7 Regional Improvement Project in Todd County, South Dakota. In Todd County — which is completely within the borders of the Rosebud Indian Reservation – USDOT is investing $26.2 million in the reconstruction of approximately 24 miles of roadway stretching from US Route 18 to US Route 83.

The project aims to provide improved access for Tribal residents to the town of Rosebud and the essential services located there, including healthcare centers, employment opportunities, and educational facilities.

Another one is the West Reserve Drive Improvements Project in Kalispell, Montana. In the city of Kalispell, Montana – a gateway to Glacier National Park – USDOT is investing $25 million in pedestrian and road safety and economic mobility.

The project will make needed improvements along West Reserve Drive including the addition of a center turn lane, new landscaped boulevards with a shared-use path and sidewalks to separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor vehicle traffic, and a redesign of the Hutton Ranch Road and Whitefish Stage Road intersections that will reduce congestion and improve access to nearby educational facilities, job opportunities, retail shops, and recreation areas for local residents.

Democratic strategists say the announcement helps Democrats get their message out to rural individuals and families that transportation infrastructure is important. 

“In Montana, they drive for a long distance for basketball games, football games between the Bobcats and Grizzlies,” Bob Lombardi, who has worked for Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both from Montana, told the Daily Yonder. “So people know how important it is, especially in rural areas. And just when we had a … cold snap, it was hugely important to make sure those roads were open not only for Montanans to shop but also for utility workers.”

It’s important for the Biden Administration to let people know what’s going on in their communities, he added.

“And these are good paying jobs that are coming to your community,” Lombardi said. 

Teresa Purcell, who was senior advisor for Rural Engagement for the Democratic Party during the recent midterm elections, told the Daily Yonder that it’s important for the Biden-Harris Administration to showcase the “transformational investments in rural America” taking place.

“I think it’s important, and also very necessary for these departments to be talking about these grants,” she said. “It’s also very important for folks to make sure that we’re getting those resources to the ground.”

She added it’s important to have local people telling the story and amplifying the work being done. 

In some cases, she said, elected officials may not be applying for the grants, so it’s important to showcase the grants in order for people to know they are available, awarded and being utilized. 

“It’s not just as simple as the Department of Transportation announcing these grants, which is a great thing,” she said. “But it’s also, ‘How are we making sure that those grants are hitting the ground?’ How are we making sure that, frankly, the county commissioners and elected officials who are choosing not to apply for those grants are held accountable to turning away money that will actually help their communities thrive? How are we making sure that after they do everything they can to keep those resources from coming into the community? They’re not at the ribbon cutting, taking credit.”

It’s important to listen to the communities, she added. For example, mass transit might be a hot topic, but in some areas, getting gravel on the ground is more important than talking about mass transit options, she said. 

“We need to make sure that people are really listening to the needs of the community because that is often missing.”

On Tuesday, 20 Colorado officials sent a letter to the state's congressional delegation protesting six cuts to public lands management in the new tax and spending bill signed into law by President Donald Trump.

John Clark, mayor of Ridgway, said the elimination of river and climate data programs, which are essential to managing the Colorado River Basin and forecasting drought, will put additional burdens on food producers.

"If our farmers and ranchers don't have accurate data about exactly what the situation is with the snow pack and what's happening with the climate, how can they be prepared for each growing season?" Clark asked.

Five active wildfires have burned more than 22,000 acres on Colorado's Western Slope. The letter urged state representatives to reject any additional cuts to the U.S. Forest Service's Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program or other mitigation efforts. Republicans have argued cutting the size of government is necessary to eliminate waste, fraud and expenditures they claim are unsustainable.

Officials are also calling out a provision in the new law they believe undermines local decision-making by forcing oil and gas leasing on public lands. In addition, the law creates new barriers for clean energy leases on public lands, a move Clark worries will lead to the loss of good-paying jobs.

"If we discourage clean energy on public lands, that's going to severely impact our alternative energy workforce," Clark pointed out. "If we can't do wind and solar on public lands, it disincentivizes clean energy all across the state."

Officials are also asking members of Congress to fully fund the National Park Service to ensure proper staffing and maintenance. Clark argued standing up for lands owned by all Americans is essential to preserving Colorado's iconic natural landscapes and rural economies.

"Our economy is hugely dependent on people coming in to visit us and eat at our restaurants and experience these beautiful outdoor environments," Clark emphasized.


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A Wisconsin nonprofit is working with farmers in Southeast Wisconsin to educate communities about the importance of agroforestry, with plans to establish its first urban site in Milwaukee.

The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute has planted more than 400 trees across three sites this year, in partnership with the Savannah Institute. The sites include a community garden and two farms.

Iris Lee, owner of Lee Hemp Farms in Burlington, said agroforestry collaboration is breathing life back into her nearly 50-year-old organic family farm.

"You plant and design things that go together," Lee explained. "That will help not only humans but the animals and nature and bugs."

Agroforestry integrates trees, shrubs and perennial plants into crop and livestock systems. Lee noted one of the project's goals is to raise awareness of the practices and their larger connection to food systems, climate change and communities. The sites will also be used for educational demonstrations.

Community members and project participants helped Lee plant a trail of more than 100 trees in April, from hazelnut and elderberry, to Juneberry and pawpaw trees. They have already grown two to three feet, and she anticipates the berry trees will yield results first. Lee added she even loves talking to her trees and emphasized the physical and mental health benefits of agroforestry.

"Growing something is therapeutic," Lee observed. "To be one with nature -- meaning you know where things come from that you put in your body -- anybody that is concerned about the food and their health, to grow something is to build upon a better human being."

Nolan Burkard, research technician for the nonprofit Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, said diversifying food systems in this way is a growing area of interest for small farmers. Through agroforestry, they can also improve soil health and local climate resilience.

Burkard emphasized it requires long-term investment to get there.

"It takes quite a while for trees to grow up and start fruiting or provide their benefit," Burkard acknowledged. "That's why this project is so important because it is such an investment to plant trees."

Burkard added the institute is accepting applications until July 26 for an urban site in Milwaukee. The selected site will receive $15,000 and planning support to aid in designing it.

Despite the elimination of a handful of alternative energy tax incentives in the new federal budget, Iowa corn farmers will benefit from one that was extended.

Tax breaks and rebates encouraging investment in solar and wind power in Iowa were eliminated in the federal spending plan. However, the Trump administration extended an incentive enabling farmers in Iowa to produce more corn. The Hawkeye State is the nation's top corn producer, much of which is used to produce ethanol.

Chris Bliley, senior vice president of regulatory affairs for the biofuel trade organization Growth Energy, said grain-based fuels burn cleaner and are more environmentally friendly.

"The credit actually goes for production of lower carbon fuels that are used for transportation," Bliley explained. "It includes on-road fuels as well as sustainable aviation fuel. And so, the lower in carbon, the higher the credit."

The Trump administration has made efforts to extract more fossil fuels, which it said will move the U.S. toward energy independence.

Lawmakers in Iowa and neighboring Midwest states have introduced their own tax incentives for biodegradable jet fuel, which Bliley noted will create economic benefits for ag producers.

"To remain competitive, plants in Iowa and Nebraska and throughout the Midwest are investing in some of these key projects to lower their carbon intensity," Bliley observed.

The commercial airline industry is aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to the International Air Transport Association, which could continue to benefit Iowa farmers who provide corn for ethanol production.


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