The Obama administration released a report Monday on its policies and accomplishments in rural America during the President's first term in office. Rural equals agriculture in this report — and that leaves out the environment, worker safety, education and the hearings the administration held across the country on the lack of competition in the ag business.

North Dakota is in the middle of an oil and gas boom. Great for employment. Great for the economy. But there is a downside to this rapid exploitation of a natural resource.

There are newspaper articles and books galore about population decline in rural America. They are misleading. The population of rural America is growing. And, in particular, there is a "brain gain" of young adults.

When it comes to education, the rich are getting richer, as people with college degrees flock to a small number of U.S. counties.