Blog Posts & Stories

Nebraska's small and medium-sized meat processors may be improving and/or expanding their businesses thanks to a new lower-interest loan program designed specifically for them.

The 2023 Minnesota legislative session has been described as historic, hectic, and unprecedented. There’s an historically high number of new legislators and lawmakers are working with a $17.6 billion...

We’re nearly three months into the Iowa legislative session. Last Friday, March 31, was the second funnel deadline, the date by which most bills needed to pass through committees in the opposite...

Rural Nebraska’s health care facilities are facing a nursing shortage and projections show the trend will continue if it is not adequately addressed. According to the Nebraska Center for Nursing, by...

Kristine Flyinghawk has been selected to participate in the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands annual Nonprofit Executive Institute because of her excellence in leadership skills in the nonprofit world and commitment and service to the nonprofit community.

Myron Dorn never expected he’d end up at the Nebraska State Capitol representing his family, friends, and community as a senator. “If you would have asked me when I was 20-something or 30-something, it would have been the farthest thing from my mind,” he said.

Lincoln, Nebraska, es el hogar de muchas organizaciones sin fines de lucro que trabajan para ayudar a mejorar su comunidad. Uno de ellos, ECHO Collective (Colectiva ECHO), está dando grandes pasos para hacer que Lincoln sea aún más inclusivo y acogedor.

Lincoln, Nebraska, is home to many nonprofit organizations that work to help better their community. One of them, ECHO Collective, is taking huge steps to make Lincoln even more inclusive and welcoming.

This is the last week of committee hearings in the Nebraska Legislature and full day floor debate on bills will begin March 28. Due to the continued filibuster, Speaker John Arch announced that evening debate will also begin that day, instead of April 11, to give more time for priority bills.

It’s the 11th week of the Iowa state session. The first funnel deadline passed earlier this month, and we are looking ahead to another deadline on March 31. By then, most bills must pass out of...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced application deadlines for a new federal grant program that offers funding to rural communities to make investments in reliable clean energy. The...

Farmers, ranchers and livestock producers are working with solar companies in Iowa to find multiple uses for land once used only to plant corn and soybeans. Some are investing in what's known as "dual-use solar" or agrivoltaics. They are cultivating profitable crops, grazing livestock, even raising healthier honeybees, all in the shadows of solar panels.

Tres mujeres en South Sioux City han demostrado su espíritu emprendedor en Nebraska rural, satisfaciendo la necesidad de servicios de cuidado infantil, por eso ellas son las ganadoras del Premio al Empresario 2022 del Centro.

Three women in South Sioux City have exemplified their entrepreneurial spirit in rural Nebraska, filling a need for child care services, and are this year's Center's 2022 Entrepreneur Award recipients.

Since the Center’s founding, we mark decades of working with rural communities taking note of their resiliency. Sandra Renner, Farm & Community director, speaks to our past work, present endeavors, and what’s in store for the future.

Every property owner knows Nebraska relies too heavily on property taxes to fund our public schools. This has been true for more than a decade and remains so today, even after legislators created...

The 2023 South Dakota legislative session is coming to a close. Yesterday was the last day for bills to pass both houses. The 38-day legislative session will officially conclude March 27, which is reserved for gubernatorial vetoes.

We’re around the halfway mark of the 2023 Iowa legislative session, but plenty of work remains for state lawmakers. The projected last day is April 28. Last Friday, March 3, was the first funnel...

The Nebraska Legislature will be wrapping up committee hearings by March 24. The past two weeks, the Center for Rural Affairs provided in-person testimony during committee hearings on Legislative Bills (LB) 62, 84, and 566.

Travis Scheffler, a beginning farmer in Lonsdale, Minnesota, routinely finds himself in a quandary. He has to choose between planting in the way he knows is best for his operation and his crop...