Columbus, Nebraska, has a problem. The rural town has jobs, but it can't find workers to fill them. Columbus officials have gone on recruiting missions to find new residents, but they've discovered that there are reasons people can't move.

"The rural brain drain" is an insult, writes Carol Miller of New Mexico. Look around. In your community, it's probably not even true.

The Keystone XL pipeline is promoted as a huge job creator. But most of the counties along the pipeline route have unemployment rates far below the national average.

The unemployment rate in rural America dropped to its lowest level since December of 2008, as rural counties continued to add jobs. Job growth was particularly strong in the Southeast.