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The Rural Blog

The holidays can be a source of good family times and celebration, but for many people the season is marked by severe loneliness and depression. With some inspiration from the U.S. Surgeon General's 5-for-5 connection challenge, Dr. Trisha Pasricha gives her 5-step "prescription to combat loneliness during the holidays."
Reliable and fast broadband service can bring revenue and jobs to rural areas struggling with poverty and shrinking populations due to few work opportunities, reports Kristi Eaton of The Daily Yonder. A new report from the Center on Rural Innovation "found that in areas with high adoption rates of broadband, self-employment increased by 10% or more." 
What's wrong with American rural voters? Maybe the question is the problem, reports Emma Goldberg for The New York Times.
Many western states apply the "use it or lose it" rule to water rights, which penalizes land owners for using less water.  But Utah is working to reward conservation, reports Nina Elkadi of Grist. "Amid climate change, drought, and increased demands for water, Utah is trying to change the system, bucking one of the oldest water rules in the western U.S."
Before casting their vote, and maybe even after, many American voters voiced concern because they didn't like either candidate. But maybe liking a candidate isn't the point, writes essayist Amy Bauer in her opinion for The Wall Street Journal. Perhaps it's better to vote against a candidate or party instead of searching and voting for a "likable" one.
When big tech companies look for cheap land and energy to house and feed giant data campuses, they often shop in rural America. In the small town of Peculiar, Missouri, many residents worked to reject a data center proposal by developer Diode Ventures, which represented a secret corporate tech giant.
This summer's scorching heat may be over, but across the United States a lack of soil-absorbed rainfall has left most states facing drought conditions. "More than 150 million people in the country – and 149.8 million in the 48 contiguous states – are in a drought this week. That is about a 34% increase since last week and an over 150% increase since last month.
Hydroponics has been used to grow plants since 600 B.C. when Babylonians first used it to create lush Mesopotamian gardens. Present-day farmers grow hydroponic crops using the same science used 2600 years ago, but they apply it in vastly different ways. In Pennsylvania, the practice has revitalized parts of coal country. 
U.S. gun owners come with a wide variety of backstories about why they like owning a firearm, but research suggests that most owners share some of the same reasons for wanting a gun.

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