Dear Professor Kernion, I consider myself to be one of those “bad rural people” that you brazenly claimed should be bashed for “making stupid life decisions.” While I question the reasoning behind the vitriol in your now-famous tweet, I am no stranger to the phenomenon of “open mouth, insert foot.” […]
Category: Rethink Rural
Youth Programs and Dedicated People That Run Them
Youth programs play a monumental role in community development in rural areas. One of the main reasons we choose to live in a rural area is for the opportunities for our kids to be involved in quality programs. We believe that participating in quality programs where our kids will learn […]
Tele Mental Health For Rural Schools?
Tele Pharmacy In 2014, Shawn started working with a local pharmacy owner about possibly locating a satellite pharmacy in our downtown. The idea was that a small pharmacy could not pay for a licensed pharmacist to be in each satellite office. However, a small pharmacy could pay one pharmacist to […]
Fall Creek Overlook, Illinois: Finding A Waterfall
I’ve got another rural treasure for you. After seeing a couple of people post about Fall Creek, we decided we would spend some time exploring Fall Creek, Illinois. This little gem is a great example of how there are probably some really great things right in your back yard, but […]
Hometown Festival: Pittsfield Pig Days
Ya’ll, my hometown used to be the pig capital of the world. Yes, you read that right. Keep reading. I promise it’ll come together in the end. Maybe. I have no idea if my hometown STILL is the Pig Capital or if that ship has sailed. Anyone reading this, feel […]
We Took our Turkey’s To See The Eagles
We live in between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, which has provided endless entertainment for each of us growing up. We love being on the river in the summer, but we recently attended Clarksville, Missouri Eagle Days and enjoyed the river in the winter. Sophie’s class has been learning about […]
Why Broadband is a Game Changer for Rural America
I have the pleasure of working in economic development for a utility provider and my job allows me to see where technology will advance in the future. I must say that I am quite excited about the future of rural communities because of broadband. Lately, there has been a push […]
Engaging and Retaining The Young ones
All rural leaders are tasked with retaining their young people. Or at least, in my opinion, they should be. Every year, local high schools graduate students that set out to pursue their life goals. For twelve years of a student’s life, locals funded their education only to watch them move […]
Small Town Saturday Night
Our little town was bustling today, and it makes Shawn’s insides dance with delight. Mine, too if I am being honest. We live here for the quality of life that a small town affords and today was a perfect spotlight for that quality of life. We had about four things […]
Rural Transportation
Any of you see this video from Buzz Feed? I mean, who doesn’t love Buzz Feed? Where else can you find such pointless but RIDICULOUSLY entertaining articles? Anyway, this little video intrigued me. Watch it here. Basically, two people who live in LA and are Buzz Feed producers, agree to […]