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Republicans Double Down on School Vouchers by Taking Fight to Rural Members of Their Own Party
State Republican leaders are cracking down on rural members of their own party who oppose universal school vouchers, which allow families to take a portion of their state’s education funding away from public schools to pay for their child’s private education. Rural state legislators have been more likely...
New Proposals Inch Farm Bill Toward Finish Line
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. Nothing exemplifies how slow bureaucracy can be better than the fraught...
Analysis: The Myth of Rural Voters’ Power in the House of Representatives
A Daily Yonder analysis of Census data shows that rural Americans don’t have outsized voting power in the U.S. House of Representatives, despite an oft-repeated assertion that congressional apportionment gives rural voters undue influence. If you have even a passing familiarity with political news this election year, you know...
Maine’s Firefighters Rarely Fight Fires. Instead They’re Answering Medical Calls.
This story was originally published by the Maine Monitor. For years, fire departments around the state have struggled to hire enough staff and volunteers to handle an increasing number of calls. But in many places, those calls are no longer to fight fires — instead, departments are spending most of...
Out of Print but Not Out of News: Canadian Record’s Impact Lives Online and in New Public TV Documentary
For more than 30 years, Laurie Ezzell Brown has stepped into her office at the Canadian (Texas) Record to let her community know the news. Her story, and the story of the 130-year-old paper she took over after her father’s death, are the subject of a documentary set to appear on PBS today (May 6, 2024) via broadcast and streaming.
From Coal Mines to Classrooms and Beyond
This story was originally published by The Mountain Eagle. Jim Adams loved his nearly 40-year career as a coal miner, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and great grandfather before him. He never regretted his decision to go into mining despite his lifelong dream of attaining a college education.
Q&A: Dulé Hill’s New Show is a Journey Across America
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: From Fringe to Mainstream – Vermont-Grown Progressivism
Rural America has long been home to progressive champions and history is rife with stories of rural people banding together to fight systems of oppression and injustice, a tradition which has carried forward to this very day. In fact, the current progressive movement owes a lot to the people of rural Vermont.
A Pilot Program in Rural Vermont Hopes to Build a Blueprint for Substance Abuse Recovery
Tucked away on a quiet side street in downtown Bennington, Vermont, is the public library. It’s an imposing brick building, remodeled in the 1930s to mirror a 19th century courthouse with huge arched windows that bathe the interior in natural light, even in the gloom of Vermont’s long winter days. Recently, it’s been troubled by a very 21st century problem.
‘Civil War’ May Not Be the Movie You’re Expecting
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.
In 2023 REAP Funded More Renewables Projects Overall, But Small-Scale Funding Was Down
Up until a few years ago, when people visited Lavalier’s Berry Patch outside Grand Rapids, Minnesota, to pick strawberries, lingonberries, and apples, Stuart Lavalier would tell them to look for a red building next to County Road 91 to find the turn-off to his farm. Now, he tells them...
The Pandemic Fueled Gains in Digital Equity. But for Native Tribes, It’s Complicated.
This article was co-published with EdSurge. When pueblos in New Mexico looked into running fiber into Jemez Day School, a K-6 school run by the Bureau of Indian Education, they were launching a complicated process. Upgrading the school’s connection meant jumping through hoops, even though there was fiber across the...
May Day Is About More Than Just Pretty Flowers
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. May Day is viewed by many folks living in the Northern...
The South Was the Center of Rural Population Growth Last Year
The Southeastern U.S. was responsible for nearly 90% of the population growth that occurred in rural America last year, a Daily Yonder analysis of 2023 Census Bureau data shows. From 2022 to 2023, nonmetropolitan (rural) counties in the South grew by 0.54%, adding an estimated 95,800 residents. Nationally, rural America...
Rural Counties Increasingly Use Inmates as Firefighters and EMTs, With No Pay and Little Protection
This story was originally published by The Conversation. If you call 911 in rural Georgia, the nearest emergency responders might come from the local prison. In 1963, the Georgia Department of Corrections began a program to train incarcerated people as firefighters to support not only their prisons, but also the surrounding communities. Over time, the program has grown dramatically. Today, prison fire teams from 19 Georgia state prisons, including a women’s prison, and six county prisons are trained in firefighting and emergency medical response.
Analysis: Rural Communities of Color Overrepresented in FEMA’s Disaster Risk Zones
A new analysis from the Urban Institute shows that rural communities of color are overrepresented in FEMA’s Community Disaster Resilience Zones, which are areas classified as at-risk of natural disasters. The National Risk Index shows which communities are most at-risk for natural hazards, including flooding, heat and drought, and...
North Carolina Tried to Rebuild Affordable Housing After a Hurricane. It Took Half a Decade.
This story was originally published by Grist. Editor’s Note: Replacing affordable housing after disasters can be challenging, especially in small towns and rural areas. North Carolina tried to jump start housing replacement by using HUD money in the small city of New Bern after Hurricane Florence. Five and a half years later, it may be too late to pull dispersed residents back together.
Rural Byways Perfect for a Springtime Cruise
Does spring make you yearn for the open road? These four rural road trips feature iconic America: along a craggy coast, deep into a preserved Jurassic-era past, through a remnant of tall grass prairie, and up and over an Appalachian bald. A Whale of a Trip: Strait of Juan de...
Q&A: What’s Going on in Walmart’s Homeland?
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.
Ozarks Notebook: A New Chapter for Small-Town Missouri Newspaper
Marlene DeClue was heading home after her second radiation treatment for cancer when she decided to pull over and buy the Greenfield Vedette. It wasn’t, however, just one copy of the newspaper she pulled from a newsstand on the street. It was more than 150 years of them, which instead of tucked under her arm, she carried in her heart.
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