You may have noticed cars with out of state license plates at the Library, Tuesday- Thursday. The Lake Andes Public Library played host to Lutheran Services of America, Lutheran Social Services of SD, The SCAN Foundation and the Public Policy Lab from New York City. The groups were here to interview local older adults as part of their Rural Voices 2025: Elevating the Resilience of Rural Older Adults Navigating Medicare-Medicaid, a human-centered initiative that uplifts the lived experiences of low-income older adults in rural and frontier communities. The project addresses persistent disparities in healthcare access and aging policy by engaging rural older adults directly in conversations that shape national solutions.

The project was able to use the library as a convenient meeting place to hold interviews with older adults from Armour, Lake Andes, Wagner and Tyndall. The interviews were held July 29th through July 31st. Each interview took approximately 90 minutes. Participants were provided meals and snacks and were compensated $200 for their time and effort.

If anyone is hosting a small group of people for a meeting or for a zoom call the conference/activity room at the library could assist with that.