Rural Issues

The programs are intended to connect new parents with individual support and mental health resources. Utah's program, which served over 1,000 households last year, got $6 million.

That's especially true in the Mountain West. In Utah, if one delivery unit shuts down, the next closest one is 40 minutes away. For most other states, it's more than an hour.

Mountain West texters are more likely to bring up self-harm in crisis conversations than Americans at large. Rural areas face barriers like geographic isolation and a lack of mental health resources.

Rural communities account for about half of Utah's library systems. It's unclear whether funding for any libraries will be in a budget Congress must pass by the end of the month.

A new lawsuit alleges the Bureau of Land Management failed to conduct required environmental review before approving a mining project on Sevier Lake.

Richard Tatton, a longtime resident of Price, Utah, reflects on the growth he has seen in his community and the encouraging trend of civic engagement.

Small communities are often hit with big city problems like traffic congestion and shortages of affordable housing.

Some of the money will be used to convert upper levels of historic business buildings into housing options.

Utah ranks sixth in the nation for suicides. Utah's Carbon, Emery and Grand counties are frequently ranked first in the state for suicide deaths with coal miners at a significantly higher risk for suicide.

Our guest today is T.J. Ellerbeck, executive director of the Rural Utah Project, which works in voter registration and mobilization in rural areas among other initiatives. We’ll talk about voting and elections, technology, and other issues affecting rural Utah.