In recent years, North Dakota's smaller towns have seen at least 15% of their grocery stores disappear. That's prompted a flurry of action, including a local solution tied to an annual grant program.

Munich is a city of less than two hundred people in northeastern North Dakota.

The area's development arm has been awarded a grant through AARP's Community Challenge program, because the community's lone grocery store - which is nonprofit - struggles to keep regular hours amid operational challenges.

Steve Zimmer, a member of the Munich Area Development Corporation board, said the funds will come in handy as they look to avoid seeing their one option suffer the fate of many others.

"There's two options," said Zimmer. "It was to close the store or to try to do something different - and that's the route that we chose, using technology that we have available to us."

Zimmer said they're putting together a plan where local residents will be given electronic key access to shop whenever they want, using a self-checkout system. He said that cuts down on staffing needs and could prompt customers to come more often.

If it works, organizers say the extra revenue would allow them to expand their inventory of healthy products, and possibly start a delivery service to nearby towns.

Janelle Moos, the advocacy director for AARP North Dakota, said it's encouraging to see solutions like these take shape under the grant program.

"This was our highest-ever round of applicants," said Moos. "We had over 56 applications and obviously, we can't fund all of those. But what we know is that communities are really looking for funding to help meet the needs in their communities."

While these are intended to be quick turnaround projects, Moos said the grants can often be a springboard to long-term action.

This year, AARP awarded six Community Challenge grants to North Dakota organizations, totaling more than $67,000.

As the weather turns colder, two groups of people in one North Dakota city that are generations apart appear to be in good shape to navigate housing issues that might surface this winter and beyond. It's the result of a mentorship initiative.

The Bringing Generations Together project in Grand Forks was funded by an AARP Community Challenge grant. Nearly 20 college students were paired with 10 older residents in an area near the University of North Dakota campus.

Shaylee Miller, project coordinator with Bringing Generations Together, said throughout the fall, the students helped with home and yard tasks while the older residents shared generational wisdom on life skills, including working with landlords.

"I really see this project as providing a space for these generations to connect in a way that they might not have had the chance to before," she explained.

And for the younger residents, Miller hopes they learned a greater sense of community they can bring with them to other towns and cities after graduation. Project leaders say as the initial phase winds down, they are getting positive feedback from participants. With some funding left over, they hope to revive the initiative in the spring.

As older adults juggle costs for things such as medication, Miller said having the students help with certain tasks can ease some of the financial pressure their mentors might be facing.

"So, having students come to your home for an hour to rake [leaves], that can be huge -- not having to pay for a service to do that," Miller added.

This project is tied to University Park Neighborhoods, a collaborative organization aimed at improving the quality of life in northern Grand Forks.

The Community Challenge grant officials used for the fall project was one of six initiatives AARP funded across North Dakota this year.

Child care access has become a major focal point in the U.S., and South Dakota is no exception.

More than two dozen communities are using grant money to come up with local solutions in hopes of expanding options for families. Earlier this week, the governor's office announced more than $1 million in funding will be shared by 28 economic development groups around the state.

Nancy Wenande, CEO of grant recipient Yankton Thrive, welcomed having more resources to help map out a strategy geared for her community.

"Yankton is one of the many communities that has a lot of manufacturing," Wenande explained. "We know we already have a shortage of early morning or evening or weekend child care. So, we're going to be taking a look at are there options there, that we can help fill those gaps."

Wenande pointed out based on local information gathering, Yankton is short around 700 day care spots, forcing some people to stay home with their kids instead of working. The grant program has two phases; a first round focused on planning, and a second in which funding will be provided for implementation of ideas.

Wenande acknowledged low wages for child care staff are a big part of the problem. Whether it is additional help from the state or local planning, she argued sustainability should be the driving force behind any model.

"One-time dollars coming in might help you build a building, or they might help you start a program," Wenande acknowledged. "But if you can't financially sustain that program as well as affordable options for those needing the services, you're really not going to make any progress."

The state is using American Rescue Plan funding to administer the grants. State officials said they had an overwhelming number of applications, suggesting child care access is a critical issue in most South Dakota towns and cities.

The city of Lincoln scores high for "livability," both in Nebraska and the nation as a whole.

In the new AARP Livability Index, Lincoln ranks number one for the state, and number 11 among large communities nationwide. Rankings were based on 61 indicators in seven categories, such as housing, transportation, health status and community engagement. Among Nebraska's top 10 "livable" communities, Holdrege is in second place, and third and fourth are Blair and Seward, respectively.

Todd Stubbendieck, state director of AARP Nebraska, said the ranking speaks well of the state.

"What I think it shows is that cities of any size within our state can be working on these issues and finding ways to become more livable," Stubbendieck contended. "And this is not just livable for people over 50."

In the trademarked AARP Livability Index, users can search by address, city, state or ZIP code to find a score for each of the seven categories, and information about the indicators used to arrive at the score. Demographic and climate information are also included. And for each community, there's an interactive map allowing users to view data even at the neighborhood level.

Stubbendieck pointed out the rankings are based on factors everyone in a community can benefit from.

"People want to be able to age in place, and in order to do that, they need access to affordable housing, health care, good transportation options," Stubbendieck outlined. "I think what we know is that by making our communities more age-friendly, we actually make them better for people of all ages."

Stubbendieck added the Livability Index includes information for people with a variety of backgrounds and interests.

"It's a data-driven look at every community and every neighborhood," Stubbendieck noted. "I think from a perspective of either community leaders or stakeholders or citizens, not only can you see what you're doing well, but you can see those areas in which you might potentially improve, or make improvements."