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Critics Say Crypto Mines Spew Pollution, Not Wealth, into Rural Communities
Critics of crypto-mining operations say the burgeoning industry is not delivering on promises to provide jobs and economic development to rural areas in exchange for cheap power and tax breaks. Little available data suggests that the companies that use massive, power-hungry data centers, tend to be located in rural areas....
Goldman Sachs Invests Millions in Job Creation and Economic Growth in Rural America
In 2021, Thomas Mulholland experienced two events that hurt his small grocery store. First, the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the number of workers he could retain. If that wasn’t hard enough, at the end of the year, the Mulholland Grocery Store in Malvern, Iowa, caught fire. To this day it has yet to be rebuilt.
45 Degrees North: 7 No-Excuses Lessons On Rural Fire Safety
Let’s be blunt: Rural volunteer firefighters may have the same training and firefighting skills as their urban counterparts. But out in the country, it takes more time to get personnel and equipment to the scene of a structure fire. And water? I wrote about the challenges of getting water...
Q&A: Why Do Humans Need Dark Skies?
Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.
Echoes of Coal in West Virginians’ Resistance to Mountain Valley Pipeline
Beginning in 2015, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC approached landowners in southwest Virginia and West Virginia to negotiate easement agreements that would allow the natural gas pipeline to run through their land. In an echo of the offers previous Appalachian landowners received from early coal entrepreneurs for the minerals beneath their feet, some are saying these agreements were not fully transparent.
Government Shutdown Averted, Natural Disasters Continue
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Keep It Rural, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Like what you see? Join the mailing list for more rural news, thoughts, and analysis in your inbox each week. Late last week, the Northeast was drenched by historic rainfall that...
Per Asper Ad Astra – Rural Southwest Is Slowly Becoming a Destination for Commercial Spacetravel
On the morning of August 10th, 2023, residents of Elephant Butte, New Mexico (population 1,427), stood in their yards, eyes trained on the sky. They were rewarded with the sights—and sounds—of a spaceplane being launched into sub-orbital space. “We could hear the rocket ignite—it was right overhead—and you...
Former All-Black School in Rural Missouri To Be Turned into Cultural Center
This story was originally published by Ozarks Alive. Sunlight streams through the wall of windows in the small white school, the beams – figuratively and literally – helping illuminate a dark piece of Ozarks history. It’s Lincoln School, a one-room landmark in West Plains, Missouri, few are alive to remember but none should forget.
Lawsuit Aims to Loosen CAFO Waste Restrictions in Wisconsin. Even Farmers Are Alarmed.
In Wisconsin, farmers are worried for statewide water quality and public health after the dairy industry filed a lawsuit to eliminate the only protection that Wisconsin has against contamination from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Some CAFOs can produce as much waste as a small city, but without comparable waste management infrastructure, rural communities face health, economic, and environmental hazards.
A Western Store in Small-Town Nebraska Keeps on Dressing Cowboys in the Age of Amazon
This story was originally published by Flatwater Free Press. Mort McBride was walking down Main Street when a man stopped him with a question. “Is there a place to buy a decent pair of boots in this town?”. McBride was standing in front of a building he’d recently bought. It...
USDA’s Vilsack Warns of Rural Fallout with Government Shutdown Likely
With House Republicans delaying progress on 2024 budget negotiations under an October 1, 2023 deadline, the effects of a government shutdown if an agreement is not reached could be a swift and brutal blow to rural America, according to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “The extreme Republicans pushing this… represent...
45 Degrees North: Hunting Season Explained
In northern Wisconsin and many other rural areas, hunting is huge. But for many people, “hunting season” can be bewildering. Like lumping Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year, and January White Sales together and calling it Winter Solstice Season. So here are some things you should know about the economic, environmental, social, and cultural impacts of hunting in rural areas.
Q&A: How Studying Place Can Provide Insight on American Poverty
Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.
The Real Housewives of… Rural Illinois?
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, a newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, retrospectives, recommendations, and more. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox.
Rural Development in the Farm Bill: What the Research Says
The farm bill is wide-ranging legislation that sets funding and directs priorities for a variety of federal food consumption and production programs in the U.S. — plus, economic development programs aimed at improving broadband access and providing small business loans, among other things, in rural areas. Congress usually debates...
As Extreme Heat Blasts Farms, More Harvests Are Taking Place in the Dark
This story was originally published by Nexus Media News and Civil Eats. In the summer months, Flor Sanchez and the members of her harvest crew rise before dawn and arrive at a cherry orchard in Washington state’s Yakima Valley when there is only the slightest hint of daylight. “We...
New Guidelines Proposed for Mergers Could Bring Back More Healthy Market Competion to Rural Areas
New draft guidelines from the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission related to reviewing mergers will benefit farmers and return to the rule of law, say advocates for greater enforcement. Mike Stranz, National Farmers Union (NFU) vice president of advocacy, said greater scrutiny of mergers will help address...
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