Locally sourced, collaborative reporting from and for rural America.
Featured Story
Illustration by Hanscom Park Studio
Who’s Buying Nebraska? Corporations, investors grabbing giant chunks of Nebraska farmland
Seven out-of-state buyers, including a Utah church, a Philadelphia corporate farm and a California investment fund, spent nearly $250 million in the past five years on pricey Nebraska farmland, FFP analysis shows.
LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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Wet winter revved up outdoors adventure in 2023
A look back at some of the biggest stories in outdoors from the past year.
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Condit Dam is gone. The fate of the land around it remains in question
The Lower White Salmon Coalition is pushing a new plan for conservation of fish and wildlife habitat. PacifiCorp, the power company that owns roughly 500 acres of land along the White Salmon River where the dam once stood, has yet to announce a decision regarding its intentions.
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Moms and babies navigate risks in Wyoming maternity care desert
Fremont County, the New Hampshire-sized home of nearly 40,000, has lost significant maternal health services. In part one of a series, WyoFile looks at how families rearrange their lives to find care, often at the risk of long-distance travel.
RNN Highlights
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Illustration by Vanessa Saba, Special to ProPublica
Committed to Jail
How Mississippi Jails People for Mental Illness: In Mississippi, many people awaiting court-ordered treatment for mental illness or substance abuse are jailed, even though they haven’t been charged with a crime.
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Photo compilation
Speaking out
The nearly 14 million people of color who live in rural America face unique challenges. This six-part RNN series explores the issues these communities are facing and what some are doing to change their fates.
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Courtesy of the Danville Historical Society
Bloody Monday
In 1963, Black Danville residents took to the streets for months to peacefully protest segregation. They were arrested and confronted by the police, often violently. Sixty years later, here’s how the movement shaped Danville.
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MORE NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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Research and Analysis: Rural Internet Subscribers Pay More, New Data Confirms
November 28, 2023
Just because the internet is available doesn’t mean people can afford it. Will funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act help close the price gap that keeps some families from using broadband?
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‘Massive’ federal solar investment could mean big utility savings in Kentucky coal country
November 28, 2023
Advocates see an Inflation Reduction Act program as a critical opportunity to help low-income communities – from its largest cities to its rural Appalachian counties – reap the benefits of solar power.
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Three young cattle have been on the loose in Dryden for over a week
November 28, 2023
In attempting to alert the school community, local district officials incorrectly identified the missing calves as “wild bulls that would charge if approached.”
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Aroostook power corridor faces opposition from rural landowners
November 26, 2023
In a scenario reminiscent of similar battles, plans for overhead transmission lines are being pushed by key politicians but fought by those directly affected.
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A lot of bear: Yellowstone grizzly weighs in at near-record 712 pounds
November 24, 2023
Coming out of a verdant summer, Wyoming bears were in good shape. One grizzly tipped the scales just three pounds shy of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s top mark.
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A new idea could ease tensions between farmers and solar energy developers
November 23, 2023
Agrivoltaics integrates solar power and crop cultivation to the benefit of both. An OSU prof thinks it could be the future.
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How a Vermonter forged a Norman Rockwell painting — and why his family is thankful
November 23, 2023
“Lucky us, we’ve got a heck of a story,” says a son of Don Trachte, the late Bennington County resident who bought the original for $900, not knowing decades of subterfuge would lead to a $15.4 million payoff.
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Judge halves wolf trapping season to protect grizzlies
November 22, 2023
The order cites ‘a reasonably certain threat of imminent harm to grizzly bears should Montana’s wolf trapping and snaring seasons proceed as planned.’
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Voters didn’t have a say in nearly 75% of local Central Virginia races this year — because there weren’t enough candidates
November 22, 2023
Getting more people to run is a complicated issue plaguing localities nationwide. The jobs are time-consuming with little-to-no pay, threats against elected officials have scared some people off and, unless you’re a Republican in a rural area or a Democrat in a major city, the odds of getting elected aren’t favorable.