CONGRESS. Arizona — Not so long ago, teachers at Congress Elementary School had to start downloading a video the night before showing it in class. The school was hobbled by low internet broadband speed, or bandwidth. In densely populated areas, such as Phoenix and Tucson, bandwidth is high, so online content loads as swiftly as […]
Posted inEnergy, Tribal Affairs
Solar power brings light to some Navajo Nation homes
Electrical power lines are nowhere in sight from Helen Salazar’s home. She lives on a dirt road in Monument Valley, part of the Navajo Nation. Throughout her life, Salazar has adapted to the challenges of living in a remote, off-grid home. She uses an ice chest to help perishable foods last longer, makes trips to […]
Posted inAgriculture, Media
Facebook ‘Farming ‘ for Rural Organizations
It’s good to have friends. It’s nice to be liked. But for businesses, the name of the social-media game is to turn “likes” into clicks and clicks into customer sales. That’s especially true for rural businesses that are seeking to expand their customer base beyond a limited local market. A Mississippi Extension Service program called […]
Posted inEducation
Pell Grants and Rural Students
“It’s an urban myth that the Pell program only helps minority students from urban areas,” said Linda Serra Hagedorn of Iowa State University. “Our data shows that a plurality of grants go to rural students.” Hagedorn was talking about a new report she and other researchers have produced on Pell grants, the federal program that […]