SANDY HOOK, Ky. -- In 1988, the band Alabama scored a No. 1 country hit with "Song of the South," Bob McDill's tribute to life in rural Dixie. Twangy ...

Unfortunately, 90 percent of America's persistent poverty counties are in rural America -- and we can't allow these areas to be left behind. This week, USDA is further expanding a program to partner with rural communities on projects they support to promote economic growth.

WASHINGTON -- Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, the head of the Democratic Governors Association, steered clear of calling for a total assault weapons ban F...

"Buckwild," the West Virginia-centered MTV reality show that's been compared to both "Jersey Shore" and "Jackass," is set for its second airing tonigh...

WASHINGTON -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has some harsh words for rural America: It's "becoming less and less relevant," he says. A month afte...

If we spend less on school lunches and food stamps to make the numbers add up on an Excel spreadsheet, we will indeed pay much more with poor performance in school and chronic health issues later.

Hundreds of thousands of people live without power, safe water, or sanitation, as an ongoing reality. Unfortunately, no cries for immediate action arise.

"Appalachia" is no longer the heritage-derived place name coined by European explorers or the designation famed author Washington Irving once suggested as a replacement for North America. The word now represents systemic failure and poverty in the national lexicon.