The President’s budget FY 2011: The rural view

The president’s proposed budget for 2011 includes funding for rural economic development, health services, renewable energy, and other projects that could benefit rural communities.

Brian Dabson of the Rural Policy Research Institute outlines major provisions in the $3.8 trillion budget that could have the biggest effect on rural residents. Among them are $2.5 billion for health centers in rural and other underserved communities, $3.3 billion to finance loans to build wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, and $700 million to manage public lands to develop rural recreation and jobs.

The president also proposes a new “ecosystem-based approach to forest management” designed to improve the condition of the nation’s public forests and maintain employment.

Drawing Resilience: Maureen Hearty

Maureen Hearty transforms objects, space, and community, seeing art as a tool for action, education, and opportunity. The majority of her community-based work today is on the eastern plains of Colorado, considered one of the most sparsely populated areas in the United States. In Joes, Colorado (pop. 78), she is activating space using art, music, and the collection of story. In 2020, Maureen and her friend Kristin Stoltz were awarded an NEA grant for a project titled “Arts for a Prairie Seas: Farming Fluxus.”

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