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Rural

MD:Wanted: proposals for a small processing facility

The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission has issued a request for proposals for an entity to develop, manage and operate a meat processing facility for the region's farming community. The facility is planned to be a public-private partnership with minimum processing capability of 500 bovines and 2,000 sheep/goats/hogs and an optional ability to process additional livestock species including poultry. The ideal capacity is 3,000 animals per year, the group said. The contract will be awarded for a term of up to 9 years. [node:read-more:link]

State attorneys general seek more beds for drug treatment

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general on Monday called on Congress to allow Medicaid funding to flow to larger drug treatment centers, potentially expanding the number of addicts who can get help as the nation grapples with an overdose crisis. The government lawyers for 38 states and Washington, D.C., sent a letter to congressional leaders requesting the change. They say it’s needed to help fight the opioid abuse and overdose epidemic, which continues to claim tens of thousands of lives a year. [node:read-more:link]

Wildfires Put State Budgets Under Pressure

The wildfires that tore through over a million acres of Montana this year damaged homes, cloaked communities in smoke, and burned a hole in the state budget.   With winter snow already falling, Montana’s blazes mostly have subsided. But the state now faces a $200 million budget shortfall exacerbated by the record cost of fighting wildfires, Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, said in an early September statement explaining the crisis. [node:read-more:link]

Florida: Commissioner Adam Putnam Waives Rules to Help Puerto Ricans Evacuate with Pets

In an effort to support the safe evacuation of Puerto Ricans and their pets, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam issued an emergency order suspending import paperwork requirements for pets that arrive in Florida with their evacuee owners. This emergency order does not apply to stray animals or livestock. “Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico face a long road to recovery, and they need all the support we can provide,” said Commissioner Adam H. Putnam. [node:read-more:link]

BLM backs out of Sage Grouse pact

When federal land-management agencies pulled out of an inter-agency agreement to protect sage-grouse habitat in Utah in September, the federal Treasury picked up an additional $15,000 from energy companies for public-land leases. The federal government may have to spend many times that amount on legal actions related to the dissolution of the land management agreement, say conservationists. [node:read-more:link]

Public TV puts rural America in the spotlight

Public TV. It’s where we got to see “Medora,” a film about the Hornets, the high school basketball team in a small Indiana town, and its struggle to resist the consequences of school consolidation. And “Deep Down,”  about a community conflict over mountaintop removal in eastern Kentucky. And “A Class Apart,” about the lawsuit that resulted from a murder in small-town Texas and challenged the legal discrimination of Latinos. And “Weaving Worlds,” about the makers of the legendary Navajo rugs. [node:read-more:link]

Dems call for $40B to boost rural broadband

Congressional Democrats are calling for a $40 billion investment to expand internet access in rural and inner-city communities, likening their plan to New Deal efforts to expand the electrical grid. The new proposal is the latest addition to the party's "Better Deal" agendalaunched in July.Democrats say public funds are needed because internet service providers on their own have failed to cover large swaths of the population. [node:read-more:link]

Massive, unregulated networks move dogs into Virginia to save them from death.

These volunteers spend their time and money to rescue dogs from municipal shelters by shuttling them to fosters or adopters in other parts of the country. They see it as a win for everyone – it eases overcrowding at shelters, keeps dogs from being euthanized and loving families get pets. But there are no laws in the U.S. about tracking dogs moving across state lines. Rescue groups say they self-police and emphasize transparency, but critics say the lack of regulation may put adopters at risk if they unwittingly take in dogs with behavioral problems. [node:read-more:link]

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