News from rural America.

Advocates for those with disabilities in Idaho and nationwide are alarmed by proposed Medicaid cuts, programs that provide virtual crisis care are making inroads in rural South Dakota and Wyoming, and the mighty bison returns to Texas.

TRANSCRIPT

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

An Idaho family whose disabled daughter needs round-the-clock care say that might be impossible if proposed cuts to the state's Medicaid program go through. 39-year-old Eva Fuchs has severe cerebral palsy and lives in specialized housing.

Her 79-year-old father, Ned, says it grants her independence and better care.

Other than an occasional overnight, we cannot care for her daughter 24/7 on an ongoing basis.

It's physically impossible.

President Trump's one big beautiful bill act slashed Medicaid, including the 80 percent it covers in Idaho.

The governor's proposing another $22 million reduction.

Fouke says that would mean even if Eva's facility stays open, staff could be laid off and care could decline.

And he says they can't shoulder the cost for what she needs.

Eventually we would lose our home.

We would be bankrupt.

Where would he go?

It keeps me awake at night.

KFF says people with disabilities in most states face similar situations.

Rural counties that lack emergency mental health resources are giving police new tools.

Susanna Brown reports.

South Dakota's five-year-old Virtual Crisis Care Program means law enforcement can connect people in crisis to telemedicine professionals for video assessment, intervention, and stabilization.

The program, which aims to keep people out of jails and hospitals, recently expanded across the border to Wyoming.

Alan Thompson leads the Wyoming Sheriffs Association.

When I started my career 25 years ago, jails were the only option to place somebody in an emergency detention.

And that's not the ideal place for treatment for mental health.

Thompson says virtual crisis care offers both an emergency response and sustained support where people live.

My long term hope on this is that we can get in on the early side of mental health treatment and at the same time reduce that stigma that we've always fought with, especially in rural Wyoming.

I'm Susanna Brown.

Bison herds return to the Lone Star State are thriving and lifting up indigenous people.

Millions of buffalo once roamed the plains, including Texas.

Now, Lucille Contreras with the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project says bison are grazing on two parcels in Gonzales County.

At one time, the buffalo was our home, our shelter, our food, our clothing, our medicine, our utensils.

From eight bison in 2021, the herd has grown to 34.

That allows for an annual event to butcher and harvest some of the meat, which is donated to local food programs.

Contreras, a Lipan Apache, says it's hard to explain how badly people want to reconnect to the buffalo.

Our first buffalo harvest started with 100 people and this last one was up to 400 people throughout the day.

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

For more rural stories, visit dailyyonder.com.