Blog Posts & Stories

It's official! The first day of 2017 is here. What better way to kick it off than with a look at our most viewed post in 2016, authored by Brian Depew, our Executive Director. This piece is a...

At an early age, Executive Director Brian Depew learned to care about his community and the world around him. In our second highest viewed post of 2016, Brian shares what we can do to keep our rural...

Today we share number three in our top five posts countdown, the story of one dynamic lady. Jordan Feyerherm and our Farm and Community team have been working with community leaders like Aida...

The year in review countdown continues with a piece by Brian Hanson, former staff member. Since June, Brian has taken a hard look at trends in rural America. One of his first projects was taking a...

Countdown time! With less than one week remaining in 2016, we thought a recap was in order. So here's a review of the five best Center stories of the year, chosen by the most views on our website...

South Dakota once carried the official moniker of “the Sunshine State,” and is one of only three states without net metering policies. But what does net metering have to do with sunshine and why has South Dakota, a state with a strong portfolio of renewable energy generation, not yet adopted net metering policies?

There is a degree of irony discussing energy efficiency during a time of year when many homes are lit like runways. Yet, the cost of a running a few twinkling lights, LEDs of course, pales in comparison to the dollars in heating costs that escape through drafty windows or a furnace in need of a tune-up.

Over 97 percent of climate scientists concur climate change is happening at an unprecedented rate, is driven in large part by human activity, and is already having catastrophic consequences for communities around the world.

We talk a lot about renewable energy at the Center for Rural Affairs. A big reason for that is because new renewable energy projects can provide a lot of benefits to rural communities – things like new tax revenue to fund local essential services like police or emergency services, direct payments to landowners, and bringing new jobs to small towns and rural areas.

The Midwest and Great Plains is an area that has a bright future in renewable energy, especially in rural areas. Besides bringing cheap and clean energy to these states, renewable energy also brings new manufacturing and income sources that can reinvigorate local economies.

Juan Sandoval, Latino Business Center director, received the 2016 Outstanding Service Award from the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Task Force on Nov. 17 at the Innovation Campus in Lincoln. The award...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, has not always been an agreeable issue. Some say it is expensive, while others say their lives have been saved by access to health insurance.

Of the many lessons learned from the 2016 presidential election, this one cannot be ignored: Americans across the political spectrum are demanding an economic system that better distributes wealth and opportunity.

“What in the world is a field navigator?” This is a question my family and friends asked me in October 2013, and I still get this question from people in my life and from those I encounter on a weekly basis.

For the community of Brookings, S.D., sustainability is more than a buzzword touting efforts to be green. Guided by the Brookings Sustainability Council, the community has adopted a holistic perspective and plan of action toward sustainability.

We’d like to let you know about an open funding opportunity for conservation. The signup process for the updated Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is now open and applications are being accepted...

With donations still coming in, suffice it to say that Giving Tuesday 2016 was the most successful online fundraiser in the Center for Rural Affair’s history. One hundred eight donors across the...

In early November, I gathered with nearly 170 women from several states at the 2016 Women, Food & Agriculture Network’s (WFAN) annual conference. One thing that made it particularly sweet was that for...

First National Bank recently provided a $500,000 equity-equivalent investment to the Center for Rural Affairs. The investment will support micro and small business lending activities throughout rural...

Sydney, a 200-pound Newfoundland, and Beatrixx, an American Staghound, get the royal treatment. Their owner, Rachel, is a dog groomer. Rachel Pittner, owner of the Groomin’ Room in Minden, Neb., has...