Thursday July 13, 2017 Vol. 5, No. 20
The Weekly Post
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Trend shows rural areas losing people, opportunities By BILL KNIGHT
The nation’s rural population declined again last year, according to recent Census data, and statistics also show fewer jobs to attract new residents, in a chicken-or-egg dilemma. Does population loss contribute to fewer employers, or does less job opportunity discourage staying or locating in small towns? In The Weekly Post area, Fulton County has lost 18.7 percent of its population since 1980; Knox has lost 17.3 percent; and Peoria lost 7.4 percent. In the 1980s, America’s trouFor The Weekly Post
ble spots seemed to be cities, with crime, violence and drug problems, plus slow economic growth due to factories and other employers moving to the suburbs. Meanwhile, the country’s smallest counties used to be on an upswing, generating about one-third of all new businesses in the 1990s, according to the bipartisan Economic Innovation Group. But cities rebounded. Rural areas didn’t, or couldn’t. Today – using factors ranging from poverty and teenage births, to deaths due to cancer and heart disease, disability
benefits, etc. – rural areas attractiveness to residents ranks below cities, suburbs and small metro areas, and steady population declines aren’t helping. “Taking a long, wide view from even before 1900, the trends for large swatches of rural America and its communities have been challenging and largely debilitating for many and beneficial for a few,” says Timothy Collins, assistant director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs from 2005-2016. “The whole economic system is tilted toward urbanization.” Collins, now retired and oper-
New principal
ating Then and Now Media in Bushnell, offers three general observations. “First, the history of rural communities can be viewed in terms of their ability to adapt to mainly urban-driven events that took them out of relative isolation and moved them into regional, national and international economies,” he says. “Global competition is not new, and U.S. agriculture has long been part of the mix. “Second, the byword for American agriculture has been ‘efficiency’ to increase farm inContinued on Page 8
CORN IMPROVING
Farmington board OKs Mason By BILL KNIGHT
FARMINGTON – New Superintendent Zac Chatterton told the Board of Education on Monday he recommends continuing with existing District goals such as “50 percent of students meeting or exceeding PARCC” (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers standards), and the Board approved a new high school principal to replace Brad Hulet. “These are just target goals, and I hope we’ll have action items soon,” added Chatterton, who said he would prepare action steps for discussion at the Board’s September meeting. The board unanimously approved Kris Mason as principal. Mason, who’s worked at Limestone and Dunlap in Peoria County and with the Illinois State Board of Education, has a contract through 2020. In other business, Research Center specialist Ryan Lambert made a presentation on an ambitious For The Weekly Post
plan, “Makerspaces,” to expand student opportunities in a hands-on environment in the Research Center. Centered on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning, the approach would supplement traditional book-oriented, classroom learning to encourage creativity. After seeing first-hand the possibilities during a visit to the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. Lambert met with Chatterton and discussed adapting the concept to Farmington. “They have an IN2 center – for Inquiry and Innovation – and I thought I’d like to do something bigger here, for excelling learners and also ‘lower’ learners,” Lambert said. Open work spaces would permit students to work on many projects individually or in groups, Lambert said, from circuitry, robotics, art and drones, to entrepreneurial skills. A Makerspace ideally “prepares locally, excels globally and builds a Continued on Page 6
The Illinois corn crop has rebounded, with 65 percent of the crop in good or excellent condition as of last week. Photos by Jeff Lampe.
Corn crop in key period By LAUREN QUINN
URBANA – After a tough start to the season, including an unusually cool, wet May followed by hot, dry weather in early June, the Illinois corn crop has rebounded a bit, with 65 percent of the crop in good or excellent condition by last week. That’s up from the May ratings, but still lower than ideal, leaving U of I Extension
many wondering how the season’s slow start might affect silking and yield potential. “One consequence of the spring weather as corn enters the critical pollination period is the short plant height in many fields, especially in central Illinois,” says Emerson Nafziger, professor in the crop sciences department at the University of Illinois. “Plants in many fields Continued on Page 2
FULTON COUNTY Total square miles: 883 Persons/square mile: 41.18 Population 43,734 1980 2015 35,699 2016 35,536 KNOX COUNTY Total square miles: 720 Persons/square mile: 72.35 Population 1980 61,625 2015 51,441 2016 50,938 PEORIA COUNTY Total square miles: 631 Persons/square mile: 298.81 Population 1980 199,839 2015 186,221 2016 185,006