News from rural America.

A free Central Texas transportation program allows seniors to reconnect with friends and doctors, a 30-city nurses tour is calling attention to GOP Medicaid cuts, more states are imposing climate-driven water restrictions, and tips for a corny vacation.

TRANSCRIPT

For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, this is the news from rural America.

A rural transportation program in Central Texas is proving to be a lifeline for older adults.

Dana Platts with the Capital Area's Rural Transit System says it launched in 2024 to help reconnect seniors after the pandemic isolation.

We're providing free rides to seniors 16 above, really anywhere they want to go, just to get them out of their houses and connected back into the communities.

Along with social engagement, transportation helps with essential services and means fewer missed medical appointments.

Jennifer Scott leads a local senior agency and says free rides let people visit with family members and go to church or the grocery store.

It's expanded their horizons a little bit, which gives them a higher quality of life.

So far, older folks have taken more than 28,000 free trips throughout the 10-county region, with demand increasing.

Meanwhile, a nationwide campaign wants to save hospitals, many smaller and rural.

The Red Alert Nurses Tour is visiting 30 cities to draw attention to the impact of slashed Medicaid on facilities, staffing and patient care.

Following the nearly trillion dollars cut in last year's budget bill, the Trump administration is adding stricter eligibility reviews and work requirements.

Cindy Evans, a registered nurse at Beacon Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is part of the tour.

Our main goal is to make our community aware of the cuts that are already happening and educating people.

One-third of rural hospitals are at risk, and most depend on payments from Medicaid.

Record hot winters and lowest ever snowpacks have been putting southwest communities under water restrictions, often during severe drought, with higher temperatures and worse wildfires.

Illinois state climatologist Trent Ford says it's trouble for farmers and local water management.

Warming trends have enhanced evaporations.

Warmer temperatures during the winter has also caused less precipitation to fall as snow.

Policy researcher Elizabeth Cobley with the University of Nevada says agriculture soaks up the most water, often for crops like alfalfa that are exported to China and Saudi Arabia.

But she says farms also offer the best opportunities to save water.

If we're really going to solve some of the deeper problems associated with drought and long-term water scarcity, at least in the western United States, we really need to be thinking about where most of our water is used.

If you're celebrating America's birthday by visiting Mount Rushmore, stop by Mitchell, South Dakota, for a slightly more corny view.

Since 1892, the facade of the world-famous Corn Palace has featured new designs each year, made entirely of natural-colored corn and other grains.

This year, it's the Liberty Bell, America's Bald Eagle, and the War Bond poster featuring Rosie the Riveter.

For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, I'm Roz Brown.

For more rural stories, visit dailyyonder.com.