Future Population Shifts in the Great Plains and Their Implications

The dynamics of population change in the Great Plains are complex and largely hidden. From a regional or even state perspective, one is left with the impression that the area has enjoyed sustained population growth. All 12 states in the region (i.e., Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) increased their population from 1990 to 2000, and the region as a whole expanded by 6.7 million people or 17 percent (Rathge, 2005). In fact, the region’s population has doubled since 1950. However, these aggregate statistics mask a very different reality. Population growth in the region has been largely a metropolitan phenomenon. From 1990 to 2000, 85 percent of the region’s population growth occurred in metropolitan counties which account for only 14 percent of all counties in the region. In contrast, rural counties (i.e., those lacking a city of at least 2,500 people) comprise about one-third of all counties in the Great Plains and their population base has declined by one-fifth since 1950. Moreover, the redistribution of population in the region has been very age-selective. From 1990 to 2000, the young adult population (i.e., ages 20 to 34) has declined by 7 percent in the region’s nonmetropolitan counties while their metropolitan counterparts grew by 4 percent. In contrast, the senior elderly population (i.e., ages 85 and older), ballooned in both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties at rates of 41 percent and 23 percent respectively. The purpose of this article is to explore future population change in the region and its policy implications, with a specific focus on age cohorts and county population size

Income Distribution in Midwestern Agriculture-Dependent Counties: Policy Implications

Community/Rural/Urban Development, Financial Economics,

Using the American Community Survey (ACS) for Rural or Small Area Research & Policy

CaRDI Research & Policy Brief Issue 2

The Role of Voluntary Association Membership on Rural Community Residents\u27 Awareness of Community Issues

Over the past several decades, communities in rural America have undergone dramatic changes, such as declining-populations, aging populations, loss of businesses, churches, and schools, and sagging economies. In agriculturally dependent rural counties, many of these changes have been related to shifts in the structure of agriculture, and more currently, to the economic crisis facing the agricultural industry. Awareness of and support for those farmers experiencing financial strain has been noted by both researchers and the public media. However, the degree to which residents of rural communities are aware of how farm financial strain affects their rural communities has not been adequately explored (however, see Leistritz and Ekstrom, 1986). Without awareness of how nationwide economic and social forces affect rural communities, residents may find it difficult to respond to such changes. How have rural community residents become aware of the farm crisis\u27 impact on their rural communities? More broadly, how does awareness of social issues develop at all

A Comparison of Four Professional Groups\u27 Support for a Strengthened DUI Law

This study examined support patterns among criminal justice professionals for an enhanced DUI law. We surveyed North Dakota\u27s police, prosecutors, judges, and addiction counselors to measure their personal support and their perceptions of the support of others for the law. Respondents generally favored the strengthened law, but consistent with role theory, there were significant between group differences. There also were significant differences in personal versus perceived peer support and in perceived peer support versus the perceived support of other groups. Groups tended to agree in the differential levels of support they attributed to other groups. Implications for a coordinated system approach to combatting DUI are identified

North Dakota Economic-Demographic Assessment Model (NEDAM): Technical Description

This report describes the logic, structure, data bases, and operational procedures of the North Dakota model.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Women\u27s Contribution to The Family Farm

Our recognition of women\u27s involvement in Great Plains agriculture is frequently linked to stereotyped images and a romanticized perspective on farmers. These notions have been cultivated over time in the absence of careful research or historical documents that realistically detail women\u27s work on the family farm. Except for collections of oral histories, letters, and diaries, we have relatively few written records of rural women\u27s agricultural heritage in the Great Plains. Traditional images of women and girls on farms show them as helpmates whose labor is only indirectly related to agriculture. 1 Their activities center predominantly on family and domestic chores. In contrast, men and to some extent boys confine their efforts to farm tasks

Shifts in Labor Force Participation Patterns in North Dakota

The article discusses the Farm Credit Administration's "Project 1995", a long term 11 year forecast, strategic plan. The plan addresses land use, farm numbers, commodities produced, the financial statements and, obviously, the strategies for the next ten years

Michigan population : a decade of change.

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