Harry Potter's J.K. Rowling takes a stab at rural life and politics in her first novel for grownups

The self-made literary master of the fantasy world of teenage witches and wizards has turned her attention to the real-life drama of rural politics in a new book out this month. The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling's first adult novel, explores the inner workings of small-town political and personal life in the fictional English village of Pagford, after the death of one of its council members. Though the story is set in England, it could resonate in the U.S. with those familiar with small-town politics. After all, it's our mother country.

Rowling has created "an old-fashioned novel, a thoughtful, angry and densely plotted story in the 19th-century tradition," in which Pagford "is small but its class and racial divisions run deep," Isabel Berwick of The Financial Times reports. The novel explores class divisions between "the posh houses" and inhabitants of Church Row and the Fields, "a sink estate on the outskirks of the neighboring town, Yarvil." The plot centers around the council chair's campaign to fill the vacancy with his son, and then use the council to relieve Pagford of any duty to the Fields. (Read more)

Rural people in swing states agree with Democrats on immigration -- if they don't see the party label

A National Rural Assembly poll shows that rural people in nine swing states in the presidential election have complex views of immigration, and they are often skewed by party lines. If the party affiliation is hidden, rural voters agree more with the Democratic Party's immigration position than with the Republican Party's. When the affiliation is revealed, a majority of rural voters in the nine states agree with the Republican Party's position. Partisan labels influence how people feel about immigration positions by more than 10 percentage points. (Daily Yonder graph)

"Immigration isn't being talked about much in this campaign, and you can see why in the poll," reports Bill Bishop of the Daily Yonder. "The issue is much too slippery. Rural Americans, who are largely Republican, don’t think this is a huge problem and they have very mixed opinions about immigration." Rural voters in this poll believe Mitt Romney better represents their views on illegal immigration, besting President Obama 49 percent to 31. But, 60 percent of those polled said illegal immigration was a small problem in their community. (Read more)

New list spotlights 10 towns that are small in population but big for quality of life

The online magazine Livability came up with top 10 best small towns in the U.S., defined as "places where life can still be simple, quiet and complete, but with more places for folks to gather than just a barber shop." In other words,"small in population yet big for their quality of life." (Livability photo by Clay Jackson: Danville, Ky., No. 9)

The search began with the magazine's already compiled list of the 500 best places to live, from which towns with 25,000 or fewer residents were selected. A list of criteria, including median household income, home prices, crime rates, unemployment rates, average commutes and distances to large cities was used to whittle the list further. Lifestyle amenities including outdoor activities, restaurants, community events, museums, art galleries and performance venues were considered to determine the top 10.

The list, in ascending order, is: Sheridan, Wyo.; Danville, Ky.; Clive, Iowa; Yankton, S.D.; Bedford, Va.; Chardon, Ohio; Boerne, Tex.; Brattleboro, Vt.; Golden, Colo., and Papillion, Neb., which Livability says has "excellent schools, a successful agriculture industry and diverse economy," plus "the lowest unemployment rate and one of the lowest crime rates of any city on this list." (Read more)

Some baby boomers like colder, rural places to retire, for the seasons and lower costs

Several rural towns in cold-weather states including Maine, Washington and Montana, have become retirement destination for older members of the baby boom generation, The Associated Press reports. Camden, Me., Durango, Colo., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Kalispell, Mont., and the San Juan Islands in Washington's Puget Sound are frequently cited as some of the best places to live for retirees.

"Boomers and retirees these days are considering a much wider range of destinations for retirement, often choosing states that don’t commonly come to mind, such as Maine and Montana," Mary Lu Abbott, editor of Where to Retire magazine, told AP. “The Sun Belt remains popular, but many people prefer a four-season climate and enjoy the changing of seasons. They seek towns that are safe and have active, appealing downtowns and good hospitals nearby, and increasingly they’re looking for places with a lower cost of living and lower overall tax rate.” (Read more)

Small cities, rural areas becoming more diverse

The rural U.S. is quickly becoming more diverse as minorities move out of major cities and into smaller towns and rural areas, according to a study released last week. The trend is being led by large Hispanic and Asian populations nationwide.

The study looked at the 15,000 jurisdictions in the country that govern their own fiscal affairs, which are disproportionately rural, 82.6 percent were mostly white in 2010. That was a drop from 93.4 percent in 1980. Localities where whites made up at least 90 percent of the population fell to 36 percent from 65.8.

The study is part of the US 2010 Project at Brown University and is a series of demographic studies by academics across the country. It's the latest study showing that suburbs, small cities and rural areas are now "on the front lines of changing demographics and culture," Conor Dougherty and Miriam Jordan of The Wall Street Journal report.

The trend is "striking in rural areas where white populations are shrinking as young people leave and the elderly who stay die," Haya El Nasser of USA Today reports. As minority populations move into these areas, their children alter community dynamics. Many rural schools have added classes in English as a second language, and social-service agencies have hired translators, El Nasser reports. "There are literally hundreds of American counties that would be losing population if it were not for minority growth," University of New Hampshire Carsey Institute demographer Kenneth Johnson said. "This diversity is bringing them young people they had been losing for a long time and new opportunities." (Read more)