More than half of U.S. states saw a decline in licensed foster homes from 2021 to 2022. In Nevada, the decline was nearly 18%. In South Carolina, it was a 61% decline, the largest of any state. Getty Images hide caption
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rural America
Wednesday
Friday
Reagan Gaona stands beside the Unfillable Chair memorial in front of Santa Fe High School in Texas. The memorial is dedicated to the eight students and two teachers killed in a May 2018 shooting. To the left is a sign displaying solidarity with Uvalde, Texas, a city that experienced a similar school shooting in May 2022. Renuka Rayasam/Kaiser Health News hide caption
Monday
A combination of factors is pushing some people in rural areas to consider moving closer to cities. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Wednesday
A Viasat internet satellite dish is seen in the yard of a house in Madison, Va., on March 31. Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption
Tuesday
John Calhoun of Flathead County has diabetes and was convinced by an old friend to get vaccinated, through he suspects the coronavirus isn't as dangerous as health officials say it is. He's hoping vaccination will ease divisions over masking. Katheryn Houghton/KHN hide caption
Thursday
Vice President Harris talks to reporters Tuesday as she leaves Milwaukee, a stop on her tour to promote President Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, which includes expanded broadband. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption
Friday
A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine in Ridgeway, Va., in March. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Biden Administration Looks For Help With Next Phase Of Pitching COVID Vaccines
Monday
Monday
Political divisions over the pandemic are creating a wedge and splitting off health care workers from small communities that desperately need them. Charlie Riedel/AP hide caption
'Toxic Individualism': Pandemic Politics Driving Health Care Workers From Small Towns
Thursday
In Bucksport, Maine, the smokestack of a closed mill can be seen in this waterfront view along the Penobscot River. Molly Haley/The Hechinger Report hide caption
In Rural America, Fears About The Future Abound As Fewer Students Go To College
Wednesday
"There's this sense that decisions about the pandemic are being made in cities and kind of imposed on rural spaces," said Kathy Cramer, an expert on the rural-urban divide at the University of Wisconsin. JamesBrey/Getty Images hide caption
Biden's Win Shows Rural-Urban Divide Has Grown Since 2016
Thursday
Rural communities across the country, places largely spared during the early days of the pandemic, are now seeing spikes in infections and hospitalizations. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
COVID-19 Surges In Rural Communities, Overwhelming Some Local Hospitals
Thursday
The U.S. Postal Service warned states in late July that it might not be able to deliver mail-in ballots in time to be counted. Amid a growing outcry from rural leaders, the agency's director has backed down from planned broad cuts and changes. Paul Weaver/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption
Why Rural America Is Fighting The Trump Administration On The Post Office
Friday
In recent years, former coal miners were retrained to work with fiber optics, expanding high-speed Internet — and possible economic opportunities — to rural areas. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption
Even In Crisis Times, There Is A Push To Wire Rural America
Thursday
The recently closed Pickens County Medical Center in Carrollton, Ala., is one of the latest health care facilities to fall victim to a wave of rural hospital shutdowns across the U.S. in recent years. With hundreds of hospitals endangered, residents are worried about getting health care amid the coronavirus outbreak. Jay Reeves/AP hide caption