Attitudes expressed in Iowa's news media recently show a change of attitude from an urban or metropolitan slant to a more pro-rural, pro-agrarian point of view. Iowa's major daily news medium is now saying that the state's character, culture, economy, values, beliefs, and social attitudes are in jeopardy, and Iowans should have the moral and futuristic obligation to concern themselves with the total decline facing the entire state: the decline of small farms; the decline of small communities; the decline of small schools; and the rapid and increasing outmigration of younger citizens. Solutions to the problems are hard to achieve. The concept of "wither and die" expressed in the media is accepted by people and becomes a directive not only of impending doom, but of inevitability. Even where optimism exists, the question remains, when does an institution's student enrollment become too small to carry an adequate education (curricular as well as extra-curricular)? Some small schools are meeting the challenge by sharing facilities and programs. Additional assistance could come in (1) passing legislation establishing a minimum number of attendance hours rather than attendance days, (2) training teachers for working in rural areas, and (3) promoting the agrarian lifestyle to rural students. (BRR)