Daily Yonder

In this edition of the Rural Index, I wanted to explore a hypothesis that my colleague Julia Tilton and I have been throwing around over the last few weeks: Are data center developers targeting vulnerable and marginalized communities, where they know residents are not as likely to have the power to fight back? As is the case with most good hypotheses, I wasn’t able to come to a definitive conclusion.

This summer, Oklahoma launched a statewide community access portal initiative, bringing private, internet-connected spaces to public libraries across the state. The program will place as many as 175 portals in libraries, giving rural residents a private space to access telehealth, workforce development, education, and other essential online services. The initiative comes as libraries have taken on an expanding role as community access points for technology and telehealth.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AK) held a markup hearing on his version of the Farm Bill on Thursday, August 6. It didn’t go very well. In the long-delayed milestone meeting—which could ultimately reshape Rural Americans connections to the Internet—Republicans were unable to move their bill forward. Democrats held together, and the absence of two GOP senators, Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), meant the measure failed on a 10-11 vote.

Data centers have arrived in rural America. The Daily Yonder analyzed crowd-sourced data on the locations of data centers, how they connect to existing grid infrastructure, and where communities are fighting back. Though the majority of in-progress data centers are in metropolitan areas, our reporting and data analysis show that large data centers, characteristic of the current boom, represent outsized investments in rural areas.

In Caldwell County (TX), some residents are still struggling to keep up in an increasingly digital world. With broadband access lagging behind neighboring metro counties, older residents in particular are feeling the strain. Now, the Martindale Community Library is stepping in to help close that gap.