skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump signs order seeking to end federal funding for NPR and PBS; NY immigrant wrongfully sent to El Salvador 'supermax' prison; PA 'Day of Action' planned for higher minimum wage, immigrants' rights; New bill in Congress seeks to overturn CA animal welfare law.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is leaving that job to become UN ambassador, bipartisan Arizona poll finds Latino voters dissatisfied by Trump's first 100 days, and Florida mass deportations frighten community members.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural students who face hurdles going to college are getting noticed, Native Alaskans may want to live off the land but obstacles like climate change loom large, and the Cherokee language is being preserved by kids in North Carolina.

Report highlights how Georgia can unlock rural infrastructure, broadband

play audio
Play

Monday, February 10, 2025   

A new report highlighted how regional commissions are helping improve infrastructure in rural America.

According to the Brookings Institution, the Appalachian Regional Commission has directed nearly 70% of its infrastructure funding to distressed rural areas, addressing gaps left by traditional federal programs. The report said in Georgia and surrounding states, the commission has been a vital resource since 1965, completing 91% of its goal to build highways through the Appalachian Mountains.

Now, the commission said it is shifting its focus to modern priorities such as broadband.

Gayle Manchin, federal co-chair of the commission, called broadband the "second highway," underscoring its role in expanding education, health care and economic opportunities in rural communities.

"When our children were sent home to go to school virtually, they had no internet in which to do that," Manchin pointed out. "Parents could not go home and work. There was no telehealth. And so that has become obviously the second highway system that we are building."

Manchin explained the goal is to reduce the number of distressed counties and poverty rates. Since its creation, she noted the commission has decreased the number of distressed counties by 60% and halved poverty rates. Manchin added there is still much more to do.

Manchin emphasized collaboration is key to securing infrastructure funding for rural Georgia but matching requirements for federal grants remain a significant hurdle for many distressed communities. She explained commission grants, unlike federal loans, are designed to be more accessible for small towns with limited budgets.

The Brookings report highlighted how partnerships between commissions, nonprofits and local organizations play a vital role in helping communities overcome obstacles and access critical resources.

"It's about the federal agencies working together as well," Manchin stressed. "How they can help be a bridge to these communities by sharing their knowledge and their funding together also."

Manchin also underscored the importance of building technical expertise in rural areas, noting many communities lack the staff or resources to navigate complex grant applications without outside support.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
In Florida, Highway Patrol troopers and Border Patrol agents are also traveling together in the same vehicles to enforce immigration laws. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

While Gov. Ron DeSantis touts "Operation Tidal Wave" as a success, advocates for Florida's immigrant families say the crackdown is tearing them apart …


Social Issues

play sound

A new bipartisan poll looks at how Latino voters in Arizona are feeling about President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office - and pollsters descri…

Social Issues

play sound

A Minnesota proposal is in the works that supporters say would end forced labor in correctional facilities. They note the 13th Amendment was adopted …


Experts say Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on Saturday is a good time to move fuels and flammable materials away from homes. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Montana's wildfire risk is 74% higher than other states, so experts are encouraging Montanans to think ahead Saturday on Wildfire Community …

Social Issues

play sound

Thousands are expected to rally in Harrisburg on Monday for a "Raise the Wage and Immigrant Rights Day of Action." More than 47,000 Pennsylvania work…

Marian University's David Benson spotting birds at the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab. Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy

Environment

play sound

By Enrique Saenz for Mirror Indy. Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public …

Social Issues

play sound

By Lauren Cohen / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration. S.B. 109, a bill that …

Social Issues

play sound

An Illinois law professor is weighing in on what she called a "very public and open test of due process" for immigrants being deported from the United…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021