Erin and Sally Simpson*, like so many of us, were hearing wise advice from every corner, from television pundits to radio personalities to lifestyle magazines: eat well, avoid fast food, stay healthy. Late last year however, they noticed that their household budget was taking a hit.

West Sacramento, Calif. – In the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2017, Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) closed 25 loans totaling more than $19 million to assist rural communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Kunia, Hawaii – Gov. David Ige can recall spending youthful summers working at the cannery near the once sprawling Del Monte pineapple plantation in Kunia on the island of Oahu. The school bus he rode every day passed Kunia, and when he and his classmates saw a flashing yellow light there, they knew they were close to home.

Fallon, Nev. – When Kelli Kelly arrived in this western Nevada desert community in 2009, the seemingly endless austere landscape might have given her pause. Her boyfriend at the time – who has since become her husband – suspected she might be put off. Fallon has a population of around 9,000 and Kelly recalls his warning that relocating there from her San Diego home could be “a relationship killer.”

Back in the day – nearly a century ago – the OK Theatre in Enterprise was a shining light in eastern Oregon, hosting events both unique and routine. There were plays and musicals at the 350-seat, single-screen theatre and traveling Chautauqua, an adult education movement in the early 20th century that brought musicians, preachers and academic lecturers to rural America.