Rural Economy
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Op-Ed: Lessons for the rural housing crisis from Western N.C.
Sarah Davis, a realtor in Watauga County, realized something was missing from most of her transactions: people. Nameless companies from somewhere else — usually under some otherwise bland word followed by “LLC” — were buying up most of the properties in her western North Carolina county. Houses were selling for astronomical prices. It wasn’t a bad time…
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We asked North Carolinians if child tax credit payments helped them. Here’s what they said.
Most of the North Carolinians we talked to said the Biden tax credit payments made a big difference at the end of each month. Right now, there’s a push in DC to restore them.
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Some claim that NC’s first Buc-ee’s is being built on Indigenous land
Buc-ee’s, a popular chain of mega-sized convenience stores, is set to build its first location in Mebane, NC. But it’s sparked a conversation about how NC protects, or doesn’t protect, Indigenous lands.
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Rural NC communities get grant funding to address healthcare, infrastructure issues
The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) this month gave the greenlight to fund eight projects in communities across North Carolina, providing $1.5 million dollars to support a variety of projects and help create 270 jobs. “These funds make strategic investments in our rural communities to help them seize opportunities to prosper,” Governor Roy Cooper…
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Gas station sushi, anyone? A new book from a NC author dives into convenience store cuisine in the South.
Gas stations aren’t just gas stations in many rural, Southern communities. They’re also restaurants and community gathering places. A new book takes you on a tour of the best ones out there.
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Biden visits Raleigh, announces $82 million for high-speed internet in NC
President Joe Biden on Thursday visited Raleigh to announce an $82 million dollar investment in high-speed internet, which will help expand the critical technology to an additional 16,000 households in North Carolina through funding provided by the American Rescue Plan. This latest investment in high speed internet brings the administration’s total funding for high speed…
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A new child tax credit could pass this month. Here’s what it would do for low-income families.
During the pandemic, Democrats changed the child tax credit and cut childhood poverty in half. Now there’s new hope for making those changes permanent, but there are skeptics.
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Rural hospitals, nursing schools, and mental health support: How NC will spend its $1.7 billion Medicaid bonus
North Carolina expanded Medicaid last year in part because President Biden’s 2021 American Rescue Plan offered a financial incentive that will have equally huge effects on rural healthcare services.
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NC farmers can’t repair their own equipment. It affects us all.
Imagine purchasing equipment that is critical to the success of your business that costs you tens, if not over a hundred thousand dollars, but you’re not allowed to make repairs on the equipment yourself. That is the reality that farmers in North Carolina and across the country face. Patrick Brown, a fourth-generation farmer in Warren…
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How $37 billion in federal funding is being used to improve at-home caregiving in NC
North Carolina used American Rescue Plan dollars to fund wage increases for at-home caregivers and launch a fund to recruit and retain workers.
