Home, not alone: Helping aging seniors in rural America

In North Dakota, small farming towns like Hebron and Glen Ullin, where there are many retirees, have withstood all manner of challenges. Despite the difficulties, 98-year-old Mae Buchli, whom we met back in 2025, is determined to live out her days out here. "We decided we're not going to move, 'cause we want to stay home," she told us. "You know how that is."

Across the country, rural America is growing older faster than urban America. According to the USDA, the number of counties where at least 20% of residents are over the age of 65 has nearly tripled since 2010.

And it's in those older populations where the health risks associated with loneliness and social isolation are more common.

Eighty-eight-year-old Lynda Hoerauf knows no other life – nor does she want another one. "It's so opposite, these little rural towns, from cities and things," she said. But she wouldn't have it any other way.  "No, I wouldn't. I absolutely wouldn't," she said.