Emergency service providers in Wisconsin are warning that rural communities might not have the fire response they need.
“What we found was that just under half the departments lack the personnel to make a fire response that involves four people and an engine. So, the way that’s being dealt with is that most of the departments are using mutual aid to fill that gap, and as there’s less and less volunteers available, and about 80 percent of our fire departments in Wisconsin are staffed by volunteers, or near volunteers who are paid a small amount to be part of the department. It’s put a pretty significant strain on the emergency response infrastructure,” said James Small, the EMS Outreach Program Manager for the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health.
Small warns that more than 60 percent of rural fire departments have expressed concerns about staffing and budget levels. A big problem, he says, is that more and more folks are taking jobs outside their local communities.
Rebuilding domestic textiles depends on automation and vertical integration, not tariffs or legacy manufacturing models.
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RFD NEWS correspondent Frank McCaffrey spoke with U.S. Congressmen Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and John Rose (R-TN), who say bipartisan cooperation will be key to getting the Farm Bill to the president’s desk.
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The EPA has approved over-the-top dicamba applications for the 2026 and 2027 growing seasons, outlining new rules that impact herbicide use for U.S. crop producers.
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Top issues facing the beef industry took center stage at CattleCon this year in Nashville.
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Dr. Peter Beetham, interim CEO of Cibus, joined us to discuss the status of EU gene-editing deregulation and its potential implications for agriculture.
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