News from rural America.

Abortion care can be five minutes away in California or 11 hours for women in Texas, rural living proves a mixed blessing for veterans, an ancient technique could curtail climate-change wildfires, and escape divisive politics on World Kindness Day.

TRANSCRIPT

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

Abortion rights were on the ballot in 10 states, with rights protected in 7.

But accessing reproductive health care has always been tougher for rural women.

Daily Yonder data reporter Sarah Mallott says since the Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion two years ago, rural women who need reproductive care have had to go farther than their city peers.

But travel distance varies by state, with women in parts of rural Texas having to travel up to almost 800 miles to receive care.

An average rural woman now travels 160 miles to get the procedure, nearly 50 miles farther than in 2022.

Trigger laws in some states made abortion bans take effect immediately following the DOB decision, but in other states access worsened over a number of months.

States with strict bans have the longest travel times, including Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

Veterans who live in rural communities experience benefits, but also face challenges compared to those who live in cities.

Anya Slepian has more.

Fitzgerald, Georgia resident Amanda Fleener is the caregiver for her husband John, wounded in Iraq in 2006.

Because there are few health care resources in their rural community, she regularly has to drive him three hours each way for medical care, and they've had to opt out of some treatments.

We had to ask ourselves, does the drive negate the value of having that treatment done?

But Fleener also says a rural setting can itself be healing for vets like her husband.

And if they can get away to a quieter place where they can hunt or fish or just find some solitude in nature, it goes a long way to help their mental health.

I'm Anya Slepian.

Getting old is new again, including an ancient way of fighting the wildfires made more common by climate change.

Native Americans in the South practiced prescribed burning, and it was quickly adopted by early European settlers.

In Texas, Forger Fire Department wildland coordinator Archie Stone says it's still useful there, where the La Nina weather pattern in the ocean pushes drier air toward Texas.

A lot has to do with that setup as far as out in the oceans go and how our weather patterns set up.

Some winters are warmer and drier.

Some winters we start seeing the moisture and they're pretty docile.

Finally, a small cure for our divisive politics.

It's World Kindness Day, celebrated every November 13th to encourage random acts of goodwill toward individuals, communities and the world at large.

Go ahead, send a letter to your grandparent, walk a friend's dog or buy your neighbor flowers.

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

For more rural stories, visit dailyyonder.com.