Rural Matters is a biweekly, 30-minute podcast about rural education, business, and health. The podcast's mission is to increase awareness, inform discussion, and expand the dialogue on the most important issues facing rural stakeholders every day. Guests on the podcast include rural education decision-makers, rural business owners and entrepreneurs, and rural health care representatives. The National Rural Education Association and the Center for Rural Affairs are marketing partners.
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In this episode, Michael chats with Meg Taft, Executive Director of the Rural Youth Institute . They discuss rural youth development and opportunity; the development of the Aspirations Incubator model in rural Maine; relationship-driven approaches to youth success; family and community engagement; lessons from implementing and evaluating rural youth programs; the future of rural youth support and…
In this episode, Michael chats with Angela Galbreath, Director of Partnerships for uFondwa USA, and Lesly Joseph, Agronomist and Statistician specializing in biostatistics. They discuss what the University of Fondwa is and what makes it unique within Haiti and globally ; what rural development actually looks like in Haiti ; how Fondwa is helping to reverse the trend of brain drain; what draws…
In this episode, Michael chats with Mara Tieken, Professor of Education at Bates College and former Rural Matters host. They discuss school closures, how communities respond to them, common misconceptions about school closures, what the research says about the effects of closure, and much more.
In this episode, Michael chats with Adam Ferrari, CEO of Phoenix Energy, an oil and gas company operating in the Williston Basin. They discuss current market conditions, responsible energy development in rural communities, and how landowners can evaluate mineral rights offers. Adam also shares how his engineering and banking experience shapes Phoenix's approach to risk and long-term value. They…
In this episode, Michael chats with Andrea Fox, Senior Editor at Healthcare IT News . Together, they discuss a recent study on how rural hospital at home programs have improved the patient experience—who conducted the study and its findings . Plus, they dive into what makes home health in rural areas unique compared to urban areas, policy implications of the study, the Centers for Medicare &…
In this episode, Michael chats with Michael Backus, President and CEO of Oswego Health; Brian Fisher, Managing Director at BRG; and Dr. Julia Clark, Managing Director at BRG. Together, they discuss the realities rural hospitals are facing; what Oswego Health is currently experiencing in upstate New York; innovative and collaborative approaches necessary to rethink operating models; how BRG…
In this episode, Michael chats with Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association (NRHA); Brian Fisher, Managing Director at BRG; and Dr. Julia Clark, Managing Director at BRG. Together, they discuss the current state of rural hospitals; NRHA's analysis of the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on rural hospitals; what rural healthcare providers should do now to ensure they can…
In this episode, Michael chats with Max Silber, Vice President of Mobility and IoT at MetTel. Together, they discuss connectivity and the role copper-based landlines play in rural hospitals; how rural healthcare facilities can transition to digital systems, even with limited costs and resources; challenges that rural organizations could face when transitioning to digital; how MetTel helps those…
In this episode, Michael chats with Dr. Melissa Sadorf, Executive Director of the Arizona Rural Schools Association; Dr. Steven Johnson, Superintendent of Fort Ransom School District in North Dakota and leader of Rural Educational Associates; and Taylor McCabe-Juhnke, Executive Director of Rural Schools Collaborative. Together, they first offer a warm tribute to Dr. Allen Pratt, who is retiring as…
In this final episode of our MedCerts series, Michael chats with Jenny Story, Office Manager and Co-Owner at Story Family Medicine in Idaho, and Jennifer Kolb, Vice President of Partnerships and Workforce Development at MedCerts. Together, they discuss the unique community Story Family Medicine serves , the challenges it faced in finding new talent, why it partnered with MedCerts to deploy a…
