Locally sourced, collaborative reporting from and for rural America.
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A. Falgoust for National Park Service
Delisting or Destruction? New Grizzly Rules Highlight Struggle Over ESA
Five decades of federal protection have boosted bear numbers. Will state control undo that recovery?
LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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$20 billion OpenAI data center to open in Effingham County
The project plan aims to keep electricity rates low, provide funding for community resources.
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Starlink satellite network to serve North Country locations, stirring debate
The rollout reflects a broader national push to close the rural digital divide, even as communities wrestle with the tradeoffs of rapidly expanding satellite constellations.
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West Virginia’s school funding formula is failing shrinking districts. Here’s how the state could fix it.
As enrollment declines across the state, experts, teachers and politicians agree the state’s outdated public school funding formula no longer works. With federal COVID relief gone and more closures on the horizon, here’s how lawmakers could rethink the formula.
RNN Highlights
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Rachel Livinal for The Merced FOCUS
Young Brains, Huge Stakes: How transitional kindergarten is shaping San Joaquin Valley’s youth
As California expands transitional kindergarten statewide, this four-part series examines whether San Joaquin Valley schools can meet the needs of young learners.
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Courtesy of U.S. Senate
Cardinal News 250: Virginia’s stories. A nation’s birth.
The project spotlights Virginia’s overlooked contributions to America’s march to independence ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial.
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Gordon Hodges for Door County Knock
Locked Out: Door County’s affordable housing shortage
An in-depth series on Door County’s affordable housing shortage, examining its causes, shrinking availability and the roadblocks to building more.
MORE NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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7 things to know ahead of the SD gubernatorial runoff
July 22, 2026
Several factors are leading up to the historic election, including a year of campaigning, fights over property tax and negative advertisements.
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Oklahoma agriculture leaders praise FTC ‘right to repair’ settlement with John Deere
July 22, 2026
Terms of the settlement include for the company to pay $1 million attorneys fees and be under the commission’s oversight for the next 10 years.
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Charlestown board advances data center proposal with stipulations
July 21, 2026
The planning commission approved the roughly 55,000-square-foot data center, despite many in the community who say they don’t want it or don’t like its location.
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EPA seeks community input on Iron Mountain Mine for the first time in 35 years
July 21, 2026
The community involvement plan will shape how the EPA engages with residents in the years ahead. Officials say systems are working as intended at the contaminated site, and no major operational changes are planned.
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Parasitic infections likely linked to farming practices, not restaurants
July 21, 2026
Two state experts break down the mysteries around a complicated foodborne infection, Cyclosporiasis, that’s been gaining traction in North Carolina and across the nation.
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He saved a woman from a dog attack. Then he was arrested. | Backstory
July 21, 2026
The latest episode of Backstory, The Ithaca Voice’s podcast, explores the arrest of a man hailed as a hero after rescuing a woman from a dog attack.
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Pandemic-era spike in New Mexico maternal deaths concentrated among American Indian women
July 20, 2026
The rate of pregnancy-related deaths in the state’s Northwest region — which includes McKinley and San Juan counties and overlaps with the Navajo Nation — was more than double than in other regions of the state.
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Texas flood destroyed or heavily damaged 135 Kerr County homes, Abbott said
July 20, 2026
Long-term housing is a pressing need after last week’s storms left another 490 residences needing repairs, the governor said.
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Are the foothills of Mount St. Helens the right place for a copper mine?
July 20, 2026
A local conservation non-profit cites concerns of water pollution, impacts to tourism and recreation.