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Rural Electrification—an excerpt from Rural Renaissance
The creation of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) by Executive Order 7037 followed the TVA Act in 1935. The REA, which was later incorporated into the US Department of Agriculture and became the Rural Utility Service, was established to support electrification in rural areas. When the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 provided federal loans to…
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June is Great Outdoors Month
June is Great Outdoors Month here in the U.S. Coordinated by the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR), the theme is getting outside to enjoy parks, trails, forests, waters, and other natural places. Some places have events. And there’s plenty of places to go with just you and whomever is in your buddy system. The celebration began…
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Rural Infrastructure 2026: Communications, Utilities & Energy Explained
JCShepard.com | June 2026 | Category: Policy, Economy Every comprehensive plan has a chapter that doesn’t always get the spotlight. It sits between community facilities and land use, quietly doing its job. In Thayer County, Nebraska, for example—a rural county of about 5,000 residents who I worked with on their comp plan—that chapter is titled…
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Rural Infrastructure Cover
A panoramic rural landscape at golden hour showing a cell tower, water tower, wind turbines, and solar panels connected by power lines and roads—symbolizing the interconnected CUE infrastructure of rural communities.
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Rural Community Planning Playbook: Proven Actions That Build Thriving Towns
Health, Parks & the Outdoors · Week 5 of 5 Turning Plans Into Action Policy Rural Planning May 2026 The healthy choice should be the easy choice — not just for people who can afford to move. Five weeks of argument, evidence, and case studies come down to this: what can a planner, commissioner, or…