Can rural America lead the next innovation boom? The Range is showing us how it can be done

On this episode of Connected Nation, we are joined by the leadership at the Range, which is short for regional accelerator and new growth engine. 

Learn how the organization is focusing on creating incredible innovation for everything from energy and food production to workforce development and healthcare in one of the most rural places in America - the Texas Panhandle.

Recommended Links:

The Range website

The Range LinkedIn

Matt Garner LinkedIn

Transcript

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Jessica Denson (00:00):

<silence> This is Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband from closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds. We talked technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods. On today's podcast, I talk with leadership at the Range, which is short for regional accelerator and new growth engine. Learn how the organization is focusing on creating incredible innovation and everything from energy and food production to workforce development and healthcare in one of the most rural areas of America, the Texas Panhandle. I'm Jessica Denson, and this is Connected Nation. I'm Jessica Denson, and today my guest is Dr. Matt Garner, the founding director of the Range. Welcome, Matt. 

Matt Garner (00:58):
Hello. 

Jessica Denson (00:59):

Nice to, nice to have you. Uh, our viewers don't know, but we've had a little bit of technical trouble. Our, our listeners, don't dunno, but we're having a little technical trouble. I'm sorry about that, Matt. Um, glad to hear your voice though. Um, the Range is an industry led organization serving the Texas Panhandle, and, um, talk about what you do, um, and how it's connected to broadband. 

Matt Garner (01:23):

So what the range is, is formed to do is be a regional accelerator for the Texas Panhandle. And really what that means is we are trying to get new and novel projects off the ground, um, that are, that are based in technology and impro and improving, uh, the lives of the Texas, Texas pan hit citizens. Um, we have several priority areas. They are, uh, water digital equity, um, improving the health of, of folks, um, and doing things in kind of the agricultural space, including improving our workforce. What we have found across these priority areas is that, um, the one thing that's really needed to accelerate the panhandle into, into this century is for everyone to have equal access, um, to the internet and the tools that the internet, um, provides. One of the things that, um, is really lacking is access to fast internet or broadband across the Texas panhandle. So that, um, we've got several projects that are funded and that we're working on to improve connectivity and then, um, and then use devices which offer some sort of solutions, uh, to problems that we encounter here in the panhandle. 

Jessica Denson (02:48):

And, uh, you know, for the average person who maybe I'm, I was born and raised in Texas, so I know the, the panhandle and I, I think of Amarillo every time I think of the panhandle. But it's really, there's, it's a, it's a broad range of stuff, right? There's, there's a bigger city, Amarillo. Yes. But there's also a, a wide rural area. So talk about what are some of the unique challenges in that setting? 

Matt Garner (03:11):

Well, the, the Texas panhandle is, is quite large. It's 26 counties. It's the size of a, of, of, of, of a lot of states. It's about the size of West Virginia. And, um, it is true, we, we have one large or population center, which is, which is Amarillo. And then we have lots of cities, um, kind of scattered about the panhandle, which really rely on, um, agriculture as their means, uh, for making a living. Uh, one of the things that we pro that we do here is we produce about 40% of the nation's, uh, beef, and we produce about 10% of the nation's dairy. And so, um, while we have a very small population, we're very outsized on the amount of food that we're producing for the nation. And so not only do we have to produce the food here, um, but then we have to logistically, um, process it and then transport it outside the panhandle. So it's a, it's a very, um, critically important system for the nation, um, even though there isn't very many people in a, in a large geographical area 

Jessica Denson (04:23):

Because you're serving so many with that. 

Matt Garner (04:25):

Yeah, that's correct. 

Jessica Denson (04:27):

And, uh, for, I wanna get into some of your background in just a moment, but since we're on this right now, help people understand why is it important for people in agriculture or those who work in agriculture, whether it's ranching or, you know, with crops, why is it important to have access 

Matt Garner (04:46):

To 

Jessica Denson (04:46):

The internet? One 

Matt Garner (04:47):

Of the things, yes. One of the things that, um, that we have run into, uh, in the last, you know, couple of decades as we've seen, um, we've seen a couple things happen. One is, um, that our, that our citizens are, are running outta water, which is really important for the livelihood of crops. And two, um, we're seeing wealth and information gaps happening. So one of the things that has happened in rural communities is that they've lost access to healthcare. Um, so if you live, say two hours from Amarillo, um, you're gonna have to come two hours to Amarillo and then, and then have a doctor's appointment, and then spend two hours back, which is a, it's a stark contrast to what someone who would live here could just do a doctor's appointment, take an hour off of work and get back. And so we're seeing a huge digital divide because a lot of these things, um, could be taken, uh, care of with things like, um, telemedicine or telehealth. 

(05:52)
Um, but if you don't have access to high-speed internet, um, you, you can't do those things. And so, uh, the other thing is, is that, you know, the amount of equipment that's required in agriculture, um, you know, there's no instruction manuals for, so now you have to go to the internet to figure out how to fix something or repair something or, or, or, or do something with a piece of agricultural equipment. In addition is a lot of those pieces of agricultural equipment are connect required to be connected to the internet. So we can improve efficiencies, um, straighten out rows, use 80% less pesticides by using, um, kind of digital intelligence. And that requires a high speed connection, uh, to the internet. And so, um, without those things, we were unable to, um, reduce the manual burden on the people, uh, performing agriculture as well as, um, get more precise and, um, and get more efficient. 

Jessica Denson (06:55):

Having those tools to be able to, to improve crops and improve, improve yield and that type of thing is so critical. Um, when you're talking about, what'd you say, 40% of production is 

Matt Garner (07:07):

40% of the nation's beef production. 

Jessica Denson (07:09):

Yeah. That, that's incredible. Uh, so I can imagine making sure that herd health is a, is good that you notice that, um, you know, a new, new calf is born and what they need, and even just taking 'em to the market, right? Like noting, noting when is the best time based on the pricing, all those things are impacted by that. Am I overstepping, or is that correct, <laugh>? 

Matt Garner (07:32):

No, I think, you know, doing things like, like animal nutrition and timing and, and, and how that involves weather and actually even timing the market and coming up with, uh, more efficient ways of producing is, is all technology dependent Now. 

Jessica Denson (07:48):

Um, let's back up a little bit. I, I'd like to let our audience know who we're talking to. So, um, we've talk about how, um, you got involved with the range. I think, I believe you're, you're a founding director. Yes. So what led to you to say, you know, we really need this, this is important. Um, maybe talk a little bit about your journey before you got to, to the range, um, and then what led you to begin it. 

Matt Garner (08:13):

Sure. So, um, you know, my family has been in the Texas panhandle since the 18 hundreds. They were from a, a county, um, that's kind of south, uh, of here called Briscoe County. And, um, you know, my family really wanted to continue farming, but Briscoe County ran outta water, um, in the eighties and the nineties. And so that wasn't an opportunity for me. Um, I ended up going to Amarillo College and then a, uh, a state school here called Texas State, and then ended up getting my PhD, uh, at Cornell University studying the digestive tract of cows. And then, um, and then did a, did a postdoc, um, on how to produce different types of fermented foods. So, uh, about eight years ago, I was fortunate enough to, uh, sell some technology and decided that it was time to raise a family. So my wife, who also has a PhD from Cornell, we decided that we would gonna, we, we were gonna move to Amarillo, um, just to kind of figure things out. 

(09:21)
Um, she ended up, um, getting a job at Texas Tech where she's a professor, uh, the vice president of research at the medical school. And so, um, um, and about that time as well, there was a group of citizens that wanted to raise money, uh, to put a vet school here. And so I was a, a part of that group. And once the, the vet school, um, looked like it was gonna happen and, and was guaranteed that it was gonna happen, then we said there's something else that we need to do, uh, to help support this area, which is come up with a regional accelerator that helps attract businesses, helps attract, um, federal and state monies, uh, attract businesses to, to locate in the panhandle, um, to really showcase what we're doing in agriculture. And so we, we started that project, oh, five or six years ago. 

(10:23)
Um, there was a few folks, um, that initiated that effort. Um, I was one of them. War Street was another one of them. And, um, so we used one of the, um, really the premier, uh, organization that, that helps, uh, found and then, and then, and then, um, operate regional accelerators. And so we kind of came up with this vision that we were gonna be focused, um, on what we're very, very strong at in the Texas panel, which is agriculture and the, and the issues that, our priorities that surround that. And so, um, we thankfully are, um, going on, you know, our third or fourth year as the range. And, um, and we've started to add, uh, quite a few staff members. So we've got a full-time staff. Um, we've got a new executive director, um, who's doing a great job. And we've got support from lots of foundations. 

(11:29)
Um, we've gotten some state and federal monies and, um, you know, some of the areas that we're really focused on we're, we're starting to make big progress. So we're starting to receive results from these projects, um, including in healthcare. We've, we've got over $8.5 million, um, basically through the project that my wife has been working on at Texas Tech to really figure out how we can have a better distributed healthcare in rural regions. And then really the area that that, that we've been focused on and had some early success on is, um, doing technologies that involve, um, bringing rural broadband to producers and with new and novel technologies such as we are working on a project to bring drones to the rural areas, which could be delivering medicine or bringing blood samples to Lubbock and Amarillo to get those processed within a day. So I think we're making huge strides 

Jessica Denson (12:34):

That is, um, really an innovative idea to use drones in that way. Which really drives me to the, the, the quote from your website that, if I may, um, talking about your mis your mission with the range, uh, leveraging the region's expertise, research base and workforce development. Our mission is to transform our community, promote social mobility, and achieve global recognition for research driven innovation. And you're talking about that already with, you know, the drones and the projects that you're working on. Why is it, so, is it because you come from a background of research base, but it sounds like both of you, you and your wife must have very high level conversations, uh, above my degree level for sure. About the importance of technology and healthcare and agriculture and where these things intersect. Um, it, it's, what I'm trying to get at is, it's very interesting that you, you know, I would think the average person who doesn't know Texas or doesn't know the panhandle would think, well, that's not where research is driven, and there's not, where that's not necessarily where innovation is happening, but it sounds like that's not really the case, right?

(13:45)
There's, there's a lot of really cool things happening there. 

Matt Garner (13:48):

Well, I mean, if you look at where agriculture was, say 130 years ago when we were farming with one or two row plows with horses and mules, uh, today where you've got 32 row plows, um, that can drive themselves autonomously, um, through GPS coordinates and straighten out the rows. And, um, you know, uh, you know, if you think about, you know, again, 130 years ago where, you know, north of 75% of the people were involved in some aspect of farming or food production, where that's less than 6% and we're producing more food today, uh, than we ever have. Um, that is definitely due to innovation, um, and research and the gains that we have gotten with technology. Um, I, I, I don't think that we've plateaued, but it, but the next iteration of research is really gonna, uh, revolve around bringing more technology to the region.

 (14:52)
And I think we can all agree is that, you know, the Texas panhandle isn't particularly known for developing, uh, innovative technologies, even though we're probably one of the biggest consumers of agricultural technologies. And so really bridging, bridging that digital divide, um, which we can link up the farmers in those pieces of land to the places that are doing the innovative, innovative research and developing the technology, is where we're gonna continue to get, you know, 10, 20, 30%, uh, gains in agricultural efficiency. So, you know, we, we've gotta use less pesticides. We've gotta, we've gotta conserve water, we've gotta get more, you know, yield per water used. Um, and those, and all those aspects are involved in sustain sustainability. And one of the things I'd like to speak about sustainability is that sustainability, you know, sustainability is not just preserving, you know, the natural resources, but it's also pre preserving the economic livelihood and, and the number of people that are involved in agriculture and without mm-hmm <affirmative>. Without technology, um, we're really gonna get left behind. And, and in healthcare, what you see now is that, uh, being born and, and being raised in a rural zip code is, um, gonna take 10 to 15 years off of your life, and that really shouldn't be. And so, um, we wanna make sure that the same opportunities are afforded, um, to the citizens of the Texas Pando as, as people that live in big urban areas. 

Jessica Denson (16:31):

Yeah. It really shouldn't be there should, um, I think everybody at Connectio would agree with you. Our mission is, you know, to connect all people. And part of that is 'cause sometimes it is life and death, you know, it's monitoring your heart. It's, um, having access to specialists. It's all those things. Um, so is, is the study that your wife is involved in, is that coming out soon or is it a, is an actual study or is she working on different ideas for distributing? So, 

Matt Garner (16:56):

Yeah, that's a great question. She's been working on this project for about five years, and one of the things, um, that we know is that, you know, there are, there are a couple of zip codes in the Texas panhandle that have the highest child, uh, uh, uh, morbidity and mortality in the nation. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, so, you know, we have child morbidity rates that are, that are higher than, uh, under or undeveloped countries. And, and that should be, and, and really the cause of that is lack of information. 

Jessica Denson (17:33):

Mm-hmm 

Matt Garner (17:34):

<affirmative>. And the lack of, of, of access to healthcare because you're two to three hours away from it. And so, um, what they found is a lot of times, uh, you know, pregnant women, their first, uh, uh, interaction with a doctor in that pregnancy will be when they're, when they're delivering birth. And so there are no places to deliver children. Um, in 20 of the 26 counties. Um, there is no place to get any type of surgical, um, interventions. And so if you're thinking about, you know, minor surgical interventions or, or things that are, um, as essential as labor and child delivery, um, they're looking into why, why that is. Um, and, and, you know, that's because the, the hospitals were basically shut down over 20 years ago. And, and how we can make an improvements and, and a, a big change has got to be, uh, getting telehealth and telemedicine out to these outlying, uh, rural regions. 

Jessica Denson (18:41):

Yeah. I can't, I can't agree with you enough on that one. Um, and I think all of us at Connect Nation would, um, it's, it's incredible what you could see a lot. And you're Texas panhandle is one example, um, of many rural areas that are struggling with that issue with as hospital hospitals close, having access to specialists. I've heard it again and again, but yeah. Hearing those rates for children, that, that's, that's alarming. Um, so I would love to, down the road, you know, once you're, uh, once things are discovered or you you learn new things, I'd love to talk more about what you guys learn about the healthcare stuff. Um, 'cause that is such an important thing, and I think others could learn from that as well. Um, let, let's move on to, um, uh, what you guys are doing with wildfires. You, you received a grant of 120 K. 20 5K as far as I'm last I've known, um, that may have grown, um, for wildfire detection project. Talk about what that project is, how it works, and how it could even help prevent wildfires that can be dangerous and obviously in an area that with crops and, and, and herds can be just detrimental on so many levels. 

Matt Garner (19:56):

Sure. So as you can imagine, due to the, the sheer vastness of our area, um, you know, you're talking about some counties have 400 people in them, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, you know, detecting wildfires, um, early on to be able to put those out before they spread is, is something that's critical. And so what we've got going on is we've got a pilot in which we're gonna be deploying, um, early detection sensors, um, which can detect smoke and then detect, um, people in those areas that, hey, there's, there's a wildfire that's started, um, in this area, or we've detected smoke in this area. And hopefully we'll be able to also triangulate where it is or, or where we think that it started. And so the deployment of these sensors, uh, in multiple sites will give us the power to do some early stage detection in, in including places like in, in the bottom of canyons, um, near some camps, um, where there could be potential, uh, campers. Um, you know, those places are hard to see 

Jessica Denson (21:06):

Mm-hmm 

Matt Garner (21:07):

<affirmative>. Um, so you can't see fires from, from a long way because they're, they're hidden. Um, and so we think that the, the deployment of these sensors will help with early detection and early, uh, extinguishment of, of these fires. Um, so we're looking at places that, um, ha are prone to, to wildfires, places that have a lot of vegetation, places where there's potentially a, a, a high value, um, uh, piece of property like a, like someone's house or where there's a camp or near, um, or near drilling equipment or, uh, oil and gas production equipment. And so we're gonna deploy those a around those sites. And, um, we think that that's gonna be very, very useful at, um, communicating with the folks that live there and, and the volunteer fire departs and the fire departments say, Hey, we have detected, um, this type of smoke in this area and someone needs to go check it out, hopefully with a, you know, fire trucks and the ability to put those out. 

Jessica Denson (22:18):

So how long is the pilot program going to to go on? 

Matt Garner (22:22):

So we're gonna deploy those sensors for, uh, approximately a year. And the, the, the point of that project is to see, um, uh, you know, how reliable these, the sense these sensors are. Um, could we deploy these in more spaces? Um, how is our, um, software, how is our communication devices, um, between the sensors and us and us and the, and the, and the people that are concerned. Um, and so we're, we're hoping to, to glean some data from there. Um, we think we're putting together a really neat detection and, and communication, um, system, uh, to, to really bring those people that are interested, um, in those fires together quickly. 

Jessica Denson (23:19):

I can imagine, since it is, as you said, there's parts of the panhandle that are sparsely, um, populated. Um, having first responders be read into that as, as you said, some volunteer firefighters as well. It, how, how important do you think that is? Uh, you know, the whole idea of having this detection, early detection sign and really working with those first responders? I'm calling police and fire first responders. 

Matt Garner (23:48):

Yeah. I think it's, I think it's necessary. It's a, it's a necessary new piece of the puzzle that, you know, we, we need to have early detection. We know also that when fires happen, a lot of times they take down things like telephone lines mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so, um, the ability to, to communicate in multiple ways, I think is, is, is critical, um, at, um, reaching these fires before they, they get out of hand. 

Jessica Denson (24:21):

Does the, uh, panhandle, uh, just 'cause I didn't grow up in the panhandle, but does it have other issues with other types of, um, natural disasters? Uh, do you guys get tornadoes regularly or storms and stuff that, that could also be something that these could help detect or at least 

Matt Garner (24:37):

Follow up? Um, we, we do get tornadoes. I don't think that these can really help with tornadoes mm-hmm <affirmative>. So to speak. Um, <laugh>, you know. Um, but yes, tornadoes, tornadoes and wildfires, uh, are 

Jessica Denson (24:50):

Your big 

Matt Garner (24:50):

Ones are major, major issues. Hail, you know, but, um, you know, you, you've, you've got weathermen that are trying to forecast that. And yeah, hail can be devastating too. It doesn't, you know, really kill that many people, but it, but it does have severe economic consequences. 

Jessica Denson (25:08):

Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I guess what I was thinking with storms was the lightning, how that could spark fire sometimes. 

Matt Garner (25:14):

Yeah. Yeah. Lightning sparks, fires. Um, you know, a a lot of times oil filled equipment will do that. A lot of times. Uh, you know, some of the fires are, are started by locomotives. Um, so we're, we're we're putting some of these sensors near, 

Jessica Denson (25:30):

Um, those locations because of that. Yeah. 

Matt Garner (25:32):

The railways and things like 

Jessica Denson (25:33):

That. Are, are, are those organizations also red in, are they, uh, they, I would imagine you'd have to get some permission to get out there. So are they also part of this project then? Are they green lighting it, so to speak? 

Matt Garner (25:46):

Not, not directly. We are working with, um, some of the, uh, oil and gas producers, Uhhuh, 

Jessica Denson (25:52):

<affirmative>, 

Matt Garner (25:53):

Um, and we're working with some of the electrical companies because usually when lightning strikes, it's not striking, you know, a piece of grass and, and, and, and touching up Yeah. The power, it's, it's usually hitting a transformer mm-hmm <affirmative>. Or an electrical line, and that's sparking it up. So yeah, we're, we're working with those entities as well. 

Jessica Denson (26:14):

Well, I'm interested, again, to revisit down the road when you guys find out what you're gonna do or what you've learned from that in the next year, that would be fantastic. It probably could benefit a lot of other organizations or a lot of other counties, not just in Texas, but across the country with rural issues. Um, so what are some other things that, um, the range is working on that you're excited about or that you'd like to see down the road a year, five years from even beyond the wildfire, um, and the healthcare needs? 

Matt Garner (26:49):

Well, I think, I think we're really, I think we're really excited about, uh, you know, working with private companies to invest more money into the panhandle. You know, there's, there's a lot of benefactors from this region that aren't located in this region. Um, and I also think, um, you know, working on the water issue, I think water, uh, is, is one of our most pressing, pressing issues. Um, we use a lot of water. Um, if we run outta water, um, you know, all the agriculture will, will pretty much go away. So we need to figure out better strategies to, um, limit our, our water usage. You know, water is a, is a finite research sourcing. Mm-hmm. We have a certain amount of it. Um, it's, it's really forecasted in most counties. We have between 15 and 20 years of water, uh, at our current usage rates. Wow.

 (27:49)
We've really gotta figure out what to do to do there. Whether it would be bringing in water from another area or, uh, basically slowing down, um, our usage rates and using those for the highest and best economic usage. Um, I, the other thing that we're really interested in is, is having a workforce, um, that is trained and able and, and is really the best in the nation at, at working in agriculture, food processing. And, and the allied industries. You know, there's a lot of companies here, um, that, that manufacture things, um, for the, for the agriculture and food processing environments. And we need to make sure that we've got a, a workforce that's, uh, willing and able to work there and stay here. You know, it's very, very difficult to recruit folks from outside this region to work in this region. So we, we have, um, you know, we spent a lot of money looking at, um, our citizens that were leaving. And, you know, most of the citizens that, that, that leave, they go to get educated elsewhere. Um, and they take a high paying job somewhere else 'cause one's not available here and they leave. And so we really focused on, you know, the employees, um, that don't require a college degree, uh, that's about 75% of our workforce, and making sure that they're ready and able to enter the workforce. And then retaining talent here and, and attracting companies, um, to, you know, build their businesses and build things here. 

Jessica Denson (29:32):

Yeah. Um, I, I, as a, as a, um, native Texan, I would encourage <laugh> that because I love Texas. It's such a wonderful place. I live in Louisville, Kentucky now, but whenever I go back to Texas, it's just feels like it feels good. So I would encourage people to go look at the panhandle. There's a lot of really great things, um, not just there, but all over Texas. That's, that are wonderful. Um, since you said that the range has been around, it's going into three to year four, right? Do I have that correct? You've been around for three years going into year four. What are some lessons that you've learned in running, uh, you know, the organization and living in the rural area that, that others can take away from, from this? 

Matt Garner (30:13):

I think the most important thing when you're, when you're dealing with a nonprofit that relies on, on funding is that you really need to get buy-in, uh, from the citizens, um, who have the ability, um, and, and buy into the vision to help sponsor these projects. Um, you know, there, there, there, there is state and federal funding available for projects, but unless you have, uh, you know, companies and, and, and academic institutions, um, that you're partnered with, you're, you're not likely to get those funds at all. And, uh, the other thing I think that most people don't realize is that most f most state and federal monies require, you know, something like a 60, you know, 50 to 75% match 

Jessica Denson (31:05):

Mm-hmm 

Matt Garner (31:05):

<affirmative>. So, um, you know, you, you, you're not gonna exist as an organization very long if you're just out there asking for money. You've, you've gotta go raise money and you've gotta have partners. And that's one of the things that's, you know, uh, really important about the ranges structure is we're, we're structured as a membership organization and also as a foundation. So we rely on memberships, um, and we rely on, uh, folks to, to donate money, uh, uh, so we can see out our vision. And so having stakeholder and community buy-in, um, is essential. 

Jessica Denson (31:45):

Uh, have you ever read the book Asking by Gerald? Gerald Panis? I, I might be butchering his 

Matt Garner (31:54):

Name. I I have not. 

Jessica Denson (31:55):

Oh, I would highly recommend it. Just because the idea of what you're talking about there is how people could, uh, they wanna be part of something that they really care about, especially for their community, and they just need a way, and sometimes asking is scary, but just ask <laugh>. And that's, that's really what people want. And, you know, we, I work for a nonprofit too, and so sometimes it's just asking and making sure your community is part of things really matters. Well, uh, Matt, I've really enjoyed talking to you. Is there anything that you'd want that you really thought about what we, we thought about talking today that you wanted to make sure that we touched on that we haven't? Or is there really something that people, you want people to take away about the range? 

Matt Garner (32:34):

You know what, I just really like for people to think about what they would like this region to look like in 30 to, to 50 years and, and you know, what, what, what changes are needed, what that's gonna require, uh, what their involvement should be. Um, because, you know, we, we, we can't, and, and no region can continue to operate, uh, the way that it does, or it, it, or it's gonna get static. Uh, it's gonna get stagnant and it's, and it's probably not gonna enter into what the, what the future looks like. And so we need to be thinking about what's the future of agriculture look like? What's the future of healthcare? What's the future of workforce look like? And, uh, how do we make these rural regions, uh, not only, not only just continue to exist, but to thrive. You know, there's a lot of people that want to live in rural areas.

(33:36)
Um, they're passionate about living there, but they, but they still need jobs and they still need to make sure that, um, that things are on par and that we have the, the, the services available, um, and the resources available to, to those rural communities. 'cause they're, you know, without them, we, we can't eat. So, um, I think, I think just having people think about how the future looks like, how they can be a part of that future, um, either get involved or financially donate to things like this, I think is, is really an important aspect of, of being part of the future. 

Jessica Denson (34:18):

Uh, I agree with you there. And really, when you think rural America, that's millions of, millions of Americans. It's not just a small, 

Matt Garner (34:26):

It is, it's about 90, 90 something percent of the <laugh>, right. Of the, of the geography. And so when you're talking about 10% of the population spans 90% of, of, of the geographical regions, it's really important to, to, to, and to think about what is going on there and, and how that is a part of a, the fabric of our nation and our economy. 

Jessica Denson (34:50):

Couldn't agree more. Well, Louis, everybody from cn, I'm gonna let we applaud your mission. Um, Molly Weiner, who, who works in Texas, she suggested I talk to you and just, just, we are very excited about all you're doing, so keep it up. I know sometimes it can be difficult running a nonprofit, so, uh, good work, <laugh>. 

Matt Garner (35:12):

Well, thank you so much. 

Jessica Denson (35:13):

Yeah. And, um, I'd love to revisit in a year once the pilot program or any new things that you guys are doing, and, um, I'd love to talk with your wife about the, um, healthcare thing down the road too, if she's, if she's open to that. 

Matt Garner (35:25):

Yeah, she'd be very open to that. 

Jessica Denson (35:27):

So thank you again. I really appreciate your time, Matt. 

Matt Garner (35:29):

Okay. Thanks 

Jessica Denson (35:39):

Again. We've been talking with Dr. Matt Garner, the founding director of the Range. I will include a link to the organization in the description of this podcast. Go donate, go support it, share it with others. I'm Jessica Denson. Thanks for listening to Connected Nation. You like our show and wanna know more about us. Head to connect to nation.org or look for the latest episodes on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, Pandora, or Spotify.