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The Daily Yonder
No One Does Rural News Like the Yonder
We began the Yonder in 2007 because nobody else was doing the job of telling the news of rural America. It was coming up on a Presidential election year and we figured without some effort rural places would just disappear from the picture. It seemed like a unique time and a particularly important election.
Finding Sanctuary in Rural Oregon
This story was originally published by Oregon Humanities. Like all other living things, humans move beyond borders to find refuge. Migration has always played, and will continue to play, a role of utmost importance on this earthly plane. We migrate for survival and to overcome poverty, hunger, fear, and violence. These reasons for migration cannot be denied or hidden. We move beyond borders as seekers and time travelers, imagining a better future. In our seeking, we are accompanied by dreams, faith, and hope. Each of our decisions entails risk—sometimes many risks, some of them extreme—but the risk is worth taking to have better living conditions, safety, and shelter.
Labor Organizers Discuss Immigrant Workforce Integration in Rural
A panel hosted by the Rural Community Action Assembly last September brought together worker advocates, local government officials, and other community members to discuss better integration of both immigrants and U.S.-born residents in the local workforce. There are significant barriers that make employment uncertain for both local residents and immigrants...
Q&A: Vincent Neil Emerson’s New Album Highlights his Rural and Indigenous Roots
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.
Analysis: USDA and DOJ Take on Deceptive Poultry Contracts
Last week was a big week for contract poultry farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) took several actions to target deceptive and predatory poultry-growing contracts. USDA finalized a rule that will require chicken companies to disclose more information about pay variation between farmers, and the DOJ sued the fifth-largest poultry company for forcing chicken growers to pay massive fees to work with another company.
Poor, Rural Kids Earn More than Urban, Poor Kids Later in Life. A Higher Incidence of Two-Parent Households Might be the Reason
Authors of a new study on social mobility found rural children born in poverty gain higher incomes as adults compared to low-income urban children. But on some measures of income attainment, girls born in low-income households don’t benefit from the same rural advantage as boys. Factors like community trust,...
Ozarks Notebook: A Mountain Region Built on Rocky Soil and Complexity
Editor’s Note: Today we’re launching a new, monthly column focusing on the life and culture of the Ozarks, the largely rural uplands region located predominantly in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. Writer Kaitlyn McConnell grew up on an Ozarks farm in a house that has been in her family for generations. She has spent years documenting the region for her website Ozarks Alive.
Election Day Takeaways
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. Last week’s elections marked a win for Democrats on several fronts,...
Purdue University Launches Broadband Team to Serve All of Indiana
A new initiative at Purdue University between various offices – including one focused on rural affairs – aims to create a coalition of students, alumni, and employees to raise awareness about broadband access and adoption across Indiana, although its specific impact on rural residents remains unclear. The Purdue...
Rural Hospital Legislation’s Long Wait in Congress
As more than 450 rural hospitals face closure across the country, several bills aimed at helping them are waiting on Congressional action. In February of this year, Chartis, a consulting group focused on healthcare, said in its latest study of rural hospitals that 453 were at risk of closure due to financial difficulties. The study found, 43% of rural hospitals are operating at a loss. In states that have yet to adopt or implement Medicaid expansion, 51% of rural hospitals are operating in the red.
The Yonder Gets Me
Twice a year, my rural area’s volunteer fire department does fundraisers. Earlier this year, I wrote about why we have to. Personally, I would rather work traffic control than flip pancakes or go to area businesses hat-in-hand asking for donations. I’m not a huge fan of being asked for donations either.
Food Insecurity Increased Faster in Rural Areas than Urban Ones Last Year
Food insecurity rates increased much faster in rural areas than urban ones last year, something food policy experts attribute to rising costs of living and roll backs of pandemic-era federal programs. The percentage of rural households experiencing food insecurity grew by 4 points in 2022 to 15%. Metropolitan households experiencing...
Biden Touts Rural Achievements as Part of “Barnstorming” Tour
The Biden administration is in the final days of a two-week national rural “barnstorm” designed to take the administration’s accomplishments to rural America, which could be a pivotal part of the 2024 presidential election. President Biden kicked off the tour with a speech at Dutch Creek Farms,...
45 Degrees North: Who You Gonna Call?
Recently, a friend and I were talking about things we’re doing to make our lives a little easier as we age. She mentioned putting garbage from their weekend cottage into the trash container at a nearby park. “That’s OK, isn’t it?”. I’m glad she asked, so...
Q&A: How Does Geography Play a Part in Rural Identity and Politics?
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.
Rural Voters Shift Toward Democrat in Kentucky Governor’s Race
Rural voters were part of a statewide shift toward incumbent Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear this week, helping give the Democrat a 5-point election victory in a state that Donald Trump won by over 25 points three years ago. Beshear won the statewide vote 52.5% to 47.5%, a comfortable margin compared...
West Alabama Programs Help Recruit and Teach Rural Teachers
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in Mile Markers, a twice monthly newsletter from Open Campus about the role of colleges in rural America. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox. For Kendall Goldman,...
Rural Vermont Community Finds Success Distributing Narcan With a Vending Machine
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. In January 2020, a 17-year-old young man died of an opioid overdose in Johnson, a rural community in northern Vermont. Such a tragedy naturally reverberates in a town of barely...
Rural Voters Swing More than 20 Points from Trump in 2020 to Abortion Rights in 2023
Rural voters in Ohio on Tuesday were part of a general shift away from Republican Party priorities, resulting in a victory for a state constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights. Statewide, the measure protecting access to abortion and other reproductive rights passed 56% to 44%. The vote represents a dramatic departure...
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The Daily Yonder provides news, commentary, and analysis about and for rural America.
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