rural

The past couple of decades have been tough on newspapers. Kansas has lost about 50 publications in the past 20 years. As owners of many small, family-run newspapers are getting older, it’s uncertain who will keep the presses running when they retire.

Small Kansas high schools are switching to six-man football to keep their teams alive, while their towns’ populations shrink. And state high school sports officials think it’s a trend that will likely grow.

Without congressionally approved funding, public media stations say communities will be left with aging infrastructure amid growing risks from extreme weather.

In "Small Town Missouri," Caitlin Yager tours rural locales around the Show-Me State. Her goal was to "humanize" communities outside the big cities, as well as highlight niche attractions like historic spas and haunted sites.

Public radio and television stations in rural areas may be hit the hardest after Congress clawed back $1 billion for public broadcasting.

Talks of overhauling the U.S. Postal Service have picked up since President Donald Trump began his second term. With service cutbacks already underway and privatization on the table, rural residents are bracing for more disruptions. Plus: There are more than 40 species of fireflies in Missouri, but for the past few years, people have been concerned about the populations diminishing.

As a new Postmaster General with ties to FedEx assumes control of the agency, postal workers and their customers are bracing for either scenario, especially as corporate America weighs in.

The once dominant road-trip stop now has about 60 franchise stores left, including one in rural Missouri that offers a vey different menu to the one Stuckey's is traditionally known for.

The Trump Administration is asking states to more closely watch the citizenship status of people receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But some advocates for immigrant families worry the messaging could hurt people who are eligible for the food assistance.

The Dust Bowl led to the creation of what is now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Just as it celebrates a major milestone, the agency is dealing with job losses, massive proposed budget cuts and talk of consolidation.

Many people relying on Medicaid for health insurance are concerned about potential cuts by the federal government, but in rural Kansas, community members don't like to talk about it. A newspaper editor from Marion, Kansas, explains why that is.

Some rural Missouri towns like Oak Grove don’t have control over their main streets because they happen to be state highways. When they attempt downtown revitalization projects like planting trees and improving walkability, the Missouri Department of Transportation can make things complicated.