They dropped the 14th and 32nd Degree requirements quite some time ago, as long as you are a MM in good standing you can be a Shriner (unless your Grand Lodge says you cant)

Declining membership is the biggest issue Shriners International has.  Most Shrine Centers can't afford to keep up the taxes utilities and maintenance on their buildings much longer, the membership bleed is ongoing, the ranks are not going to ever rebound to anything close to where they were, the average age at my Shrine is in the 70s.  When the dues monies stop rolling in, and no one shows up to help with the constant fundraising to keep the lights on and the taxes paid, that's all she wrote, they will have to consolidate Shrines to keep it going or remove the Master Mason requirement in an attempt to bring in new members.

You can be a Shriner in Arkansas where you can't be a Master Mason and be a Shriner for example

https://www.arkansasshriners.com/join-us

"In Arkansas, there is no longer a requirement of being a mason to become a Shriner. A man must seek admission of his own free will. You must fill our and application, process the background check, submit your dues payment and be interviewed by the membership committee. Your application will then be voted on at the next stated meeting and you will be informed if you were accepted or not."

Odds are you are going to see this in more and more states as the membership issue becomes more and more obvious.

Edit

I would like to see what 'it's all about' but the nearest shrine is about an hour away.

Even now with our York Rite bodies consolidated up to a Temple that is almost 45 mins away, I don't get to
attend those regularly

Thought about checking out the nearest Valley for SR, but it's at the same location as where our YR
consolidated to

Check to see if there are Shrine Clubs. For instance, my Shrine proper is in Baltimore, but the Susquehanna Shrine Club meets near me. We also have one in Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

There aren't any that are closer