Weekly roundup: Rural hospitals keep closing, Starlink gets bigger, and a billionaire shut down a campground

The hospital problem isn’t slowing down

Another week, another set of grim numbers. According to Business Insider, more than 100 rural hospitals have closed since 2005. That’s millions of people who now drive hours for basic medical care, emergency visits, or anything specialized.

The worst-hit areas are in the Southeast and Midwest. State-by-state maps show clear clusters there. And when a hospital closes in a small town, it’s not just about healthcare — hospitals are often the biggest employer around. Lose one and the whole local economy takes a hit.

The usual suspects are to blame: low reimbursement rates, not enough doctors willing to work rural, and patient volumes too small to keep the lights on. Telemedicine gets floated as a fix, but it’s hard to do telemedicine when your internet barely works. Which brings us to…

Starlink just got a lot more satellites

The FCC approved 7,500 additional Starlink satellites. According to CNET, astrophysicists are worried — about interference with telescope observations and the growing pile of space junk. Fair concerns.

But for people in rural areas who’ve been stuck with dial-up-era speeds, more satellites could mean actual usable internet. That opens doors: remote work, precision farming tools, running an online business from somewhere that doesn’t have a cable provider within 50 miles.

Separately, Verizon wrapped up a billion-dollar acquisition to grow its customer base, which could mean more competition in rural telecom. Competition is usually good news for people paying too much for too little.

Ted Cruz and rural school tech — still a sore spot

Senate hearings this week revisited technology’s effect on kids, and according to Techdirt, Senator Ted Cruz defended past decisions that cut technology funding for rural schools. He seemed pleased with himself. Rural educators, less so.

The gap between urban and rural schools on tech access is old news, but it isn’t getting better. Rural kids still deal with spotty broadband and not enough devices. Meanwhile, employers expect digital skills as a baseline. It’s a mismatch that hurts rural students when they apply for college or jobs.

A Chinese town sells crystals 24/7 on livestream — and there’s a lesson in it

Here’s a genuinely interesting story. According to Wired, the Donghai region in China turned itself into the “Crystal Capital” by running round-the-clock livestream sales. Local sellers broadcast nonstop, moving crystals and gemstones directly to buyers worldwide. No middlemen.

Could something like this work for rural communities elsewhere? Maybe. The core idea — find your niche product, sell it directly online, keep bigger margins — isn’t complicated. It does require decent internet, though (see above).

In other animal-adjacent news, BBC News reported that scientists observed rare tool use in cattle. Cows are apparently smarter than we thought. The findings could influence how farmers manage livestock and think about animal welfare.

Kids in Argentina are writing songs about pesticides

Al Jazeera covered a story from rural Argentina where teachers and students wrote music about the health dangers of agricultural pesticides. It’s a creative way to draw attention to a problem — chemical exposure near schools and homes in farming areas.

The issue isn’t unique to Argentina. Plenty of American farming communities deal with the same worries about pesticide drift and long-term health effects. Grassroots pressure from people who actually live next to the fields still seems like the most effective way to push for change.

Larry Ellison bought a campground. It’s closing.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the Lion Country Safari KOA campground in Florida is shutting down after billionaire Larry Ellison acquired the property. One less affordable camping option for families.

This keeps happening. Wealthy buyers snap up rural recreation properties and either go private or turn them into luxury developments. The people who used to camp there — or the local businesses that depended on those visitors — are out of luck. It’s a pattern worth watching as more tech money flows into rural land.

A novel about being an immigrant in rural America

Author Nina McConigley talked to NPR about her new novel on immigrant life in rural communities. Rural America is more diverse than its reputation suggests, and McConigley’s book digs into what it’s actually like to be new in a place where everyone already knows each other.

Fiction like this does something statistics can’t — it puts you inside someone else’s experience. Worth a read if the subject interests you.

Winter weather, as usual, hits rural areas hardest

Fox 2 St. Louis mapped expected snowfall this weekend, with rural areas facing the usual headaches: longer distances for emergency crews, fewer plows, older power lines that ice takes down first.

Rural communities with aging populations are especially vulnerable during big storms. When the nearest hospital is an hour away on a clear day, a blizzard turns a medical emergency into something much worse.

What to watch next week

Federal budget proposals could affect rural healthcare and broadband money. Starlink deployment will keep rolling. Spring planting isn’t far off, so agricultural policy talk will pick up. And keep an eye on the campground-and-recreation story — seasonal planning is starting, and the consolidation trend isn’t over.