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The Daily Yonder
In Amish Country, Buggy Lanes Will Flank Some Rural Roads
In Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, shoppers are nearly as likely to see buggies parked outside the grocery store or the doctor’s office as they are to see vehicles. The small town of just under 12,000 people has a large number of local businesses and draws customers from nearby Ethridge and Summertown, Tennessee, both of which have a sizable buggy-driving Amish population. Among Anabaptists, Amish communities are often traditional and live completely without electricity and modern conveniences, including cars.
Mississippi’s Cervical Cancer Deaths Indicate Broader Health Care Problems
This story was originally published by KFF Health News. Shementé Jones knew something wasn’t right. Her back hurt. She felt pain during sex. She said she kept telling her doctor something was wrong. Her doctor told her, “Just wash your underwear in Dreft,” Jones said, referring to a...
Lessons from the Past to Chart the Future of Rural Schools
In 1891, Ernest McIntosh attended a public country school in rural Madison County, Nebraska. West Emerick School, built in 1879, was located on the north bank of Battle Creek, about one mile west of a mercantile store and blacksmith in Emerick. Battle Creek usually sat dry, except when it rained....
A World Without Sriracha
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. I have spent an ungodly amount of money tending to my...
Report: Substandard Housing Facilities for Rural Residents Reflected in Health Outcomes
A new policy brief from the University of Minnesota’s Rural Health Research Center found that a higher proportion of rural residents have incomplete kitchen or incomplete plumbing facilities compared to urban residents, resulting in over 368,000 rural residents living in substandard housing. Further, in both rural and urban areas,...
Report: Rural Communities Explore New Alternatives to Closing Local Newspapers
Rural communities are hit especially hard by the loss of local newspapers, a study from 2022 found. Now, a new model for a newsroom emerges that could be a viable solution to the growing problem. The State of Local News 2022 report, released by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism,...
Requiem for the Joshua tree
This story was originally published by Writers on the Range. Disheveled, gangly, the Joshua tree is surely one of the West’s strangest — and most recognizable — plants. Named by Mormon pioneers for the prophet Joshua, whose upraised arms pointed to the promised land, Joshua trees are more likely to remind people today of the lovable creations of Dr. Seuss.
Efforts in Rural New York Communities Aim to Prevent Children From Entering Foster Care
This story is being co-published with The Imprint, a national nonprofit news outlet covering child welfare and youth justice. Mary Moore and Dylan Matthews-Carroll welcomed their newborn daughter into the world late last year with all the joy and nervousness of any first-time parents. The baby arrived earlier than expected,...
Commentary: Rural Organizers Focus on ‘Monumental Opportunity’
If you were to only rely on national news outlets, you might think that in communities across rural and small-town America, there is an on-going war between two political factions composed of right-wing conservatives and social justice activists. The truth is much more complex. It’s true, there are real disagreements...
Commentary: Conversation With Terry Woodbury About the Battles He Picks
Having launched a new podcast, the Battles We Pick, on the work of advocacy and organizing for social change, I get the chance to hear fascinating experiences and approaches from people who do that work. One recent guest was Terry Woodbury of Public Square Communities, who specializes in helping local areas confront near existential-level threats.
Disappearing Dentists: For Low-Income Nebraskans, Long Drives, Long Lines, Little Help
This story was originally published by Flatwater Free Press. Arline Morris’ teeth are failing fast. She can’t eat much, and struggles with constant pain while taking medication that makes her teeth even more fragile. She’s been offered appointments at Lincoln and Omaha dental clinics that will accept her...
Video: Colorado Finally Got Heavy Rain. Now What?
If you live in a dry Western state like Colorado, many small talk exchanges are actually drought-inspired water chants. Person 2: “You said it. We sure could use the moisture.”. Finally, in Colorado, the dedication to hydration conversation has paid off. For many counties around the Centennial State, June...
Q&A: Using Fiction to Unpack Rural Masculinity, with Author Robert Maynor
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.
Abandoned Uranium Mines on Rural Navajo Nation Proposed for Superfund Listing
This story was originally published by KSJD in Cortez, Colorado. In northeastern Arizona, the Cove Chapter of the Navajo Nation and the Environmental Protection Agency held a meeting in May 2023 on the EPA’s proposal to add nearby uranium mines to its Superfund National Priorities List. “We’re heading out...
Thousands of People Moved to the Rural South During the First Year of the Pandemic. Where Did They Come From?
Out of all the people who moved from larger cities to rural areas in 2021, two-thirds wound up living in the rural South, a Daily Yonder analysis of IRS data shows. Southern rural counties attracted 65% of the people who moved from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan counties in 2021. The region that attracted the next largest share was the Midwest, which had 25% of the nation’s rural in-migrants.
‘Somebody Somewhere’ is a Worthy Watch for Anybody Anywhere
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.
Disaffiliation Votes Hold Special Risks for Rural Churches, United Methodist Pastors Say
Reverend Katie Black had been serving her United Methodist Church (UMC) congregation for less than a year when a member knocked on her office door and told her the congregation had been praying about withdrawing from the denomination. “I had heard a lot of stories about churches [disaffiliating] in bigger...
How Did the [Insert Wildlife] Cross the Road?
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. The first time I saw a wildlife crossing, I was driving...
Q&A: Fallow Agricultural Lands with Non-Native Grasses Are Hawai’i’s Tinder Box
On Tuesday, August 8, 2023, a wildfire whipped from the dry grasslands adjacent to the historic town of Lāhainā on Maui, Hawai’i, into the town’s streets, killing more than 100 people. The death toll continues to grow. Fire scientists say a combination of factors created ideal...
Commentary: Hillbillies in Higher Ed – Confronting Anti-Rural Bias in Academia
I am a professor in the international political economy program at the University of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest. Tacoma, Washington, population of around a quarter of a million people, is by far the biggest city I’ve ever lived in. Many of my students laugh when they hear me describe Tacoma as a big city, because I suppose to them, compared to San Francisco or Minneapolis, or Denver or Houston, it seems rather provincial. We don’t have many high-rise buildings, a subway, or even a very good bus system, and you can easily get across town by car in 15 minutes.
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