Locally sourced, collaborative reporting from and for rural America.
Featured Story
Courtesy of A Hernandez for the National Park Service.
Setting Fires On Purpose to Cut Risk of Catastrophic Wildfires
Indigenous people have used this tool for centuries in Minnesota’s northeast region. Early research suggests that watersheds can quickly recover from small fires.
LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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Alaska districts close 12 schools this year, amid severe budget cuts
Officials in four districts say the closures were incredibly complex and difficult decisions but necessary to combat millions in budget shortfalls and years of state funding not meeting districts’ surging costs to operate schools.
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Oklahoma Holding Back on AI Regulations Amid Trump’s Order for States Not to Stifle the New Technology
Trump’s move to restrain states’ actions on AI drew criticism from members of both political parties and from civil liberties and consumer rights groups.
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Grand Teton, Yellowstone visitors find no ideological bias in signage
Trump administration sought to restore ‘truth and sanity’ in parks. Visitors thought it was already there.
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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A solution to data center backlash? Put them in oil fields.
June 18, 2026
A new project in California’s oil country could dodge national controversies over energy and water usage.
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Lawmakers agree North Carolina has a maternal health crisis. So why are reforms stalling?
June 18, 2026
For Black mothers in North Carolina, pregnancy risks are persistently high, but measures that have improved outcomes in other states have stalled here.
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A year into Missouri’s ban on cellphones in school, opinions are divided
June 17, 2026
Some appreciate the legal backup for teachers’ cellphone policies and say students are socializing more. Others think the ban goes too far.
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When Forests Burn, Lakes Suffer
June 17, 2026
Severe fires can damage soils, increase runoff, and degrade water quality in remote watersheds.
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In Idaho, a Community Addresses a Cat-Astrophe
June 17, 2026
A trap-neuter-release program in Weiser, Idaho, addresses a rapidly increasing cat colony.
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Survey: Staff say school-based telehealth cuts behavioral issues
June 17, 2026
The new data comes from initial responses from a survey being conducted by researchers at the Cecil G. Sheps Center at UNC Chapel Hill to collect data on the impact of school-based telehealth programs.
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Ballot provision to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage fails
June 16, 2026
State Question 832 asked voters whether Oklahoma’s minimum wage should be decoupled from the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, bringing it to $15 by 2029. The last time the national number increased was in 2009.
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How a change to mail-in voting could impact Alaska’s most rural voters
June 16, 2026
A pending Supreme Court case could force Alaska to reject ballots that arrive after Election Day — even when weather and mail delays are beyond voters’ control.
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Law enforcement uses tear gas after hundreds in Senatobia protest following police shooting of toddler
June 16, 2026
Police and Tate County sheriff’s deputies were responding to an alleged shoplifting. State officials said the driver drove in the officers’ direction and nearly hit one, leading an officer to fire at the car.