By Kristi Eaton for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Texas News Service Service for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

An unexpected volunteer, a geographic information system (GIS) mapping expert helped a rural community in Texas establish its broadband connection.

Bernie South is the GIS volunteer who mapped the data using information from the Census, school district hotpost addresses and areas of growth in the county. A former U.S. Navy electronics technician and geoscientist at Exxon Mobil, South has been retired for about a decade.

South began volunteering with Bastrop County Cares during the pandemic to vaccinate people, he said. Since the pandemic in 2020, Bastrop County Cares, a nonprofit organization, has been working to bring broadband to more individuals and families in rural Texas.

"I've been doing things for broadband - to support that," he told the Daily Yonder in a Zoom interview. "I was sort of a recognized company expert at Exxon Mobil in the use of GIS. And I kind of bring that level of expertise to this project that I've been working on."

Using the data and maps, the task force has been convening different stakeholders to identify areas of need to help develop solutions to address the broadband shortage, Bastrop County Cares Executive Director Norma Mercado told the Daily Yonder in Zoom and email interviews.

"Bernie South's expertise in data science and geospatial analysis has been instrumental in pinpointing the areas with the greatest need for broadband access in Bastrop County..." she said, "...significantly advancing the mission of Bastrop County Cares to bring people together to collaboratively tackle large community challenges and improve the conditions where our neighbors live, work, pray and play."

Using data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Census data and other data sources, South provided detailed maps of where the highest need for broadband was located.

"Basically, I've been able to convert all that data together to give them a coherent picture of where the needs are, and where we need to focus the efforts. So a lot of the project has been driven by that data analysis," he said.

For example, South examined hotspots that students used during the pandemic. "That's kind of a direct indicator of where you have deficiencies in broadband coverage," he added.

Thanks to the assistance of South and others, Bastrop County Cares has been able to identify an antenna where S.O.S Communications will be able to provide broadband access to the 700-person community of McDade at a reasonable cost, Mercado said.

Debbie Bresette, the retired CEO of Bastrop County Cares and now a volunteer with the organization, said broadband will be a game-changer for the McDade community.

"They have four churches in this small town. They can hold their church services if need be, both online and in person," she told the Daily Yonder in a Zoom interview. "It means their kids can have access to better quality education. And if they have to be at home, they can do it at home. It means that the seniors in that community who are pretty far from doctors can do telehealth visits."

Bresette said the maps South has created will help the community in a multitude of ways.

"We now know where people who really struggled to make ends meet live. So we could do some small business development, help people do small business development in certain areas," she said. "We know where the majority of children under certain ages are. So we could do special programming in those communities so those kids start school ready to learn. The applications that we're using for broadband can be used for a wide variety of things."

Across the country, volunteers are helping to support efforts to bring broadband to their local communities. In Vermont, a community-based solution known as Communications Union Districts brings organizations of two or more towns together to build communication infrastructure together. Volunteers from electric co-ops have also brought supplies and line crews to the Navajo Nation.

South has not only focused on broadband-related maps but on maps related to other subjects as well. He has also mapped police calls to domestic disputes, which he said, showed a correlation between calls and economic stressors. Additionally, he has mapped rural hospital closures and the impact on low-income residents and other demographic data.

South said the biggest challenge to Bastrop County is people educating themselves as to how to think and work with a system like the one he worked with.

"That's always been the biggest challenge to me," he said. "People don't know what they don't know about what can be done."


Kristi Eaton wrote this article for The Daily Yonder.


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Researchers at the University of Oregon say a new online parenting skills program has helped improve mental health for rural Oregon families.

After using the app, called Family Check-Up, for three months, parents reported a decrease in depression symptoms and increased confidence in their parenting.

Kate Hails, research associate for the Prevention Science Institute at the University of Oregon, said the program uses techniques like focusing on parents' strengths and children's positive behaviors.

"Family Check-Up really views the parent as the expert on their own parenting in their own family and focuses on their own personal goals," Hails explained.

Hails pointed out the app is for families with young children and is based on an in-person program. She added it is designed to help rural families who face challenges with transportation, scheduling or stigma, preventing them from getting mental health support.

About a third of the parents in the study had significant levels of depression when they enrolled, and about a third were at risk for opioid misuse. Hails stressed the program starts with parents' own wellness.

"We know from research that parents really need to be able to regulate their emotions in challenging moments with toddlers because that will happen regardless of how effective of a parent you are," Hails emphasized.

Parents access the program through their smartphones. It has science-backed lessons and opportunities to meet online with trained parenting coaches. Hails explained parents can work through the program at their own pace and meet with counselors on their own time, allowing them to multitask if needed.

"That kind of squeezing it into life is not really possible when we think of traditional mental health or even like kind of telehealth zoom sessions," Hails observed.

The next step, Hails added, is to gauge the effectiveness of the program over a longer time period with trained providers who are not involved in the research.


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Rural West Virginia counties are already facing shortages of home health care services and nursing home workers. Now, they are facing accusations of alleged misconduct by contract workers in state nursing homes.

A new lawsuit cited a "systems failure" from top to bottom, where officials have allowed front line workers to act in ways that harm patients.

Michael Folio, legal director for the nonprofit Disability Rights of West Virginia, the group behind the lawsuit, outlined its goals.

"What we've identified is even the regulatory bodies in West Virginia that are charged with overseeing these facilities are so understaffed, so underfunded, that we oftentimes are reporting incidents to them, even though it's their job to actually uncover these incidents and take appropriate action," Folio explained.

The lawsuit alleged state officials knew about abuse, harassment, and retaliation of fellow employees and patients. According to the health care advocacy group KFF, there were more than 9,400 people living in certified nursing home facilities in West Virginia in 2024.

Folio pointed to documented incidents of abuse and neglect over the past year in state long-term care facilities. One case is now under criminal investigation, where hot water temperatures were said to reach between 134 and 140 degrees.

"What did they do? They ignored it for five months," Folio contended. "They placed an elderly gentleman who had dementia and he was nonverbal in this water and left him there."

According to the National Rural Healthcare Association, rural health facilities still have severe staffing shortages with fewer clinicians per capita, and sicker and older patients on average compared to urban areas.


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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 Alabama 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 like 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 recounted. "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 said 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 stressed collaboration is key to securing infrastructure funding for rural Alabama but matching requirements for federal grants remain a significant hurdle for many distressed communities. She noted 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," Manchin emphasized. "How they can help be a bridge to these communities by sharing their knowledge and their funding."

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