The first report from the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll was released on June 21. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Nebraska Rural Poll, rural Nebraskans were asked about changes they may have experienced during the past ten years. Where have they lived during the past decade? In what types of business activities have they been involved? Have they received any education or training during that time period? What has been their experience with the Internet? This first report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll, the tenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans' perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about changes they have experienced during the past ten years. For all questions, comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, the following key findings emerge. * One quarter of rural Nebraskans have lived somewhere other than their current community during the past ten years.* Younger rural Nebraskans are more likely than older residents to have lived elsewhere during the past decade.
* Many rural Nebraskans who have lived in a different community during the past ten years have lived in another state.
* Twenty percent of rural Nebraskans currently own a business.
* Persons living in or near the smallest communities are more likely than persons living in or near larger communities to currently own a business.
* In general, rural Nebraskans have favorable opinions about self-employment but they also recognize the hardships and risks involved with this type of employment.
* Younger persons are more likely than older persons to agree that the cost of health insurance makes self-employment unappealing.
* One-half of rural Nebraskans have participated in formal education courses, workshops or other training activities during the past ten years.
* Sixty-nine percent of rural Nebraskans have Internet access either at home or at work.
* Persons with higher levels of income are more likely than persons with lower incomes to have acquired Internet access.
* Information searches and email are the most important reasons for having an Internet connection.
* In general, rural Nebraskans say their satisfaction with various features of their Internet connection has increased during the past ten years.
* Persons living in or near the larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near the smaller communities to say their satisfaction with the speed of their Internet connection has increased during the past 10 years.