• Marshall Plan for Rural America?

• A Rural Perspective

• Who Will Miss Them?

• Education Case Study

• Who Plays?

• Existential Pete, Chapter One

• Existential Pete, Chapter Two

• Existential Pete, Chapter Three

• Perceptions of Rural America

by Robert Gipe

All New Adventure! Pete would rather be shot by folks he knows than runover on a highway. Read the latest installment.

Visit these classic Pete episodes:
• Chapter 1: Thrown off McGregor's Farm by corporate agriculture, Existential Pete wanders the contemporary rural landscape. Pete's on a quest for insight – and perhaps a bite of old-fashioned lettuce.
• Chapter 2: Pete is off on a little trip down memory lane - with heritage cabbages.

Why no 'Marshall Plan' for America's rural areas?
Rural Strategies president Dee Davis wonders if while Congress rushes to fulfill our obligations to the oil-rich Middle East, perhaps rural America should ask for more than a federal exit strategy.

A Rural Perspective
Rural Strategies vice president Tim Marema and Dee Davis take a look at the myths and realities of rural America and its cultures.

Who Will Miss Them?
The post office is often the gathering place in rural communities. Rural Strategies program coordinator Michelle Reynolds is not pleased with the U. S. Postal Service plan to close many of them.

Higher Education Institutions Engaged with Public Schools
The Rural School and Community Trust sponsored several researchers to develop case studies examining the connections between higher education institutions and vulnerable youth in communities that have chosen place-based education as a framework for student learning and community growth. Marty Newell, vice president of the Center for Rural Strategies, was one of the researchers.

Who Plays?
In small-town America, each person plays a part. Dee Davis writes about the strength of rural communities – and a pick-up game of basketball.

Perceptions of Rural America
Americans have overwhelmingly positive opinions about rural life. But persistent misperceptions about the nature of the rural experience may deter necessary economic change.