News from rural America.

A population boom in Bastrop County, Texas has increased mental health needs, the changing climate is doing the same nationwide, Americans’ preference for mega cars and trucks is deadly for pedestrians, and dinosaurs rule in rural South Dakota.

TRANSCRIPT

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

Southeast of Austin, Texas, Bastrop County's population is booming.

Now, the community has the state's first new local health department in 30 years.

Indigent Health Care Director Christy Powell says more than a third of residents are rural, and the underserved area needs more behavioral health care.

Our mental health needs have increased exponentially, especially since the pandemic, and people need treatment for it, and they're not getting it.

Anxiety and depression spiked during the pandemic, affecting up to half of young adults.

Powell says they built free online services, including self-guided assessments, wellness tools, and provider directories in English and Spanish.

She says young people like private self-assessment, as do employees leery of involving workplace insurance.

People just don't have a clue of what they have to deal with.

It's very stressful.

Climate change is part of what's straining Americans' mental health.

More than two-thirds of adults say worse wildfires, prolonged droughts, and deadly storms make them feel anxious and helpless.

Some even report post-traumatic stress disorder, violence, or suicidal thoughts.

Derek Seabree with the Michigan School of Psychology says statistics show heat intensifies mental health emergencies.

That tends to have an impact on people who take antidepressant medication, particularly because of the difficulty with the body regulating heat.

He says for rural communities, services like cooling centers might be hours away.

There's not some community service that's saying, hey, you guys need somewhere to come, it's too hot.

That's different in the city versus, I think, in the rural area.

Bigger vehicles might make drivers feel safer, but they're killing more pedestrians.

A New York Times investigation found that since oversized trucks and SUVs were introduced two decades ago, Pedestrian deaths rose by 75 percent.

The higher hoods cause worse injuries, and people die more often by being thrown forward onto the road and run over.

Congress is considering the Pedestrian Protection Act, which would establish minimum visibility standards.

Right now, Michael Brooks with the Center for Auto Safety says federal agencies aren't doing much.

It's an area that they've been hesitant to regulate.

Under the theory, I think, that consumer choice outweighs the safety concerns, but we disagree.

They may be extinct, but kids love dinosaurs.

And in rural Dolan, South Dakota, they're eating up the Adopt-a-Dino Summer Reading Program.

The surprise hit gives them dinosaur statues and adoption certificates and a chance to read about the prehistoric lizards.

George Seaman is the state librarian.

This gives kids a chance to read for fun and to read what they want, to explore different genres that maybe otherwise they wouldn't have in school.

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

For more rural stories, visit dailyyonder.com.