Rural kids fall short on nutrition

Rural kids fall short on nutrition

U of M study suggests unhealthy diets are prevalent in rural teens

Rural kids are more food secure than their counterparts in urban and northern Manitoba and more likely to eat meals with family, but when it comes to nutrition, they’re not exactly pulling ahead, according to a recent study from the University of Manitoba. “The [study] shows there is urgent need to improve the overall diets

Two thirds of rural Manitoba emergency rooms either closed or working restricted hours.

Medical meltdown: Know the nearest available ER, doctors urge rural residents

While rural health care challenges grew in the pandemic, municipal leaders have been calling for change for years

A group of Manitoba doctors has set up a resource to tell rural residents where they can find emergency medical care. “Please plan ahead,” said Dr. David Cram in a news release from Doctors Manitoba issued at the start of the summer. Cram works in Souris. “In all my years practicing medicine in rural Manitoba,


Editor’s Take: New towns and old farms

With so many living in cities it seems there’s plenty of appetite for urban living. But it’s not for everyone. There’s also a solid subset that’s willing to swap a reasonable commute to jobs in the city for the pastoral countryside.  As our Alexis Stockford documented, there’s been substantial demand for new housing here in

Apartments stand adjacent to farm operations outside of Brandon.

Culture clash: Dealing with the rural-urban divide

Tensions can rise when ag areas get a sudden burst of population, especially if those new residents are not familiar with agriculture

To the homebuyer yearning for lower costs and a change of pace from the urban bustle, a bedroom community outside city limits looks idyllic.  The homebuyer drives out. They’re impressed with the area. They can envision raising their family in the cosier — but still conveniently commutable — small town. They break ground on a

Nunavut residents wear masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Rural communities hard hit by coronavirus

From Steinbach to Shamattawa and Nunavut, rural and remote communities are suffering COVID’s worst wrath

Reuters – The coronavirus pandemic is racing through Canada’s remote and rural regions, as isolation, a crucial buffer during the first wave, left their limited health-care systems vulnerable once the virus arrived. The latest spread opens a new front for the world’s second-largest country by area as it prepares for a logistically difficult vaccination program


VIDEO: Author examines rural communities’ key to survival

VIDEO: Author examines rural communities’ key to survival

Doug Griffiths tackles 13 ways communities might accidentally be setting themselves up for failure when it comes to economic development

Doug Griffiths, along with Kelly Clemmer, is one of the author’s of 13 Ways to Kill Your Community and one of the most recent speakers at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities annual convention Nov. 25-27. Griffiths spoke on 13 ways in which he says communities might block their economic development, including encouraging residents to shop

United States Senator and current democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders made a stop to the Downtown Farmers’ Market in Des Moines on Saturday, May 4, 2019, to greet Iowans. (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave, The Register (Des Moines) via Reuters Marketplace)

Bernie Sanders promises help for family farms

Reuters — U.S. presidential contender Bernie Sanders unveiled a plan on Sunday to help family farmers and rural residents, promising to break up corporate agricultural monopolies and invest heavily in social and economic programs in struggling rural communities. Sanders, an independent U.S. senator and fierce corporate critic, said on a campaign trip to Iowa that

Opinion: A rural view of the KPMG provincial review

*[UPDATED: Jan. 10, 2018] There has been much discussion and analysis of the KPMG Manitoba Fiscal Performance Review recently released by the provincial government. However, the potential impacts that will occur in rural and remote Manitoba communities, if some of the review’s recommendations are implemented, have not yet been part of the dialogue. The review


Are small towns doing enough to make immigrants feel welcome?

Are small towns doing enough to make immigrants feel welcome?

Study shows programs and services can’t be ‘one size fits all’

UBC researchers have determined that efforts to make immigrants feel welcome in small, rural towns often miss the mark — despite the good intentions. Assistant Prof. Susana Caxaj, along with Navjot Gill, recently published research examining the well-being of rural immigrants and whether they feel connected to their communities. Caxaj says a sense of belonging,

Emery Huszka, NFU president.

Changing landownership driving rural depopulation: NFU

More non-farmer landowners spells trouble for rural Canada, the organization says

Rural Canada is losing population and communities are suffering because of changing farmland ownership patterns and it’s time for governments to correct the situation, says Emery Huszka, president of the National Farmers Union of Ontario. “Landownership in addition to consolidation now sees pension funds, investment professionals and non-farm investors gobbling up ground as if it