Locally sourced, collaborative reporting from and for rural America.
Featured Story
Robert Gay for Patagonia Regional Times
Observations from the border: Lochiel protest camp expands as tree-sit continues
What began as a sparse, symbolic protest to save historic cottonwood trees from the destructive machinery of border-wall construction has blossomed into something much grander.
LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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Colorado requests aid for Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain fires from Trump administration
Colorado tallied $18M in damage to public infrastructure alone from the two fires. Trump will make the final decision.
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School consolidation study to get underway, raising concern for former school board chair
Despite greatly reduced numbers of students in the schools, previous efforts for consolidation of the lower grades have been vehemently rejected by district residents, But, last spring all six towns agreed to participate in the study.
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Commercial Picking Ban Eases Huckleberry Harvest for Tribal Gatherers, But Enforcement Challenges Remain
In the second year that the U.S. Forest Service suspended commercial harvest in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Ḱamíłpa Band members report feeling safer in fields, though sale of wild berries persists.
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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Locals concerned as Trump admin fast-tracks public process for Wyoming rare earth mine
August 24, 2026
The 30-day deadline to submit comments on an open-pit mine in the Black Hills National Forest is Friday. Developers received millions in federal and state subsidies.
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We investigated development rules after the deadly 2025 Hill Country flood. Then it flooded again.
August 24, 2026
A Tribune-ProPublica investigation found Texas lawmakers repeatedly failed to take action that could have protected residents in flood-prone areas.
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‘USPS isn’t delivering for Vermont’: Congressional delegation complains to postmaster general about mail issues
August 21, 2026
Vermont’s members of Congress posed a series of questions to the Postal Service about what it’s doing to retain staff and prevent delays.
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Federal regulators accept preliminary permit for underwater data center off Eastport
August 21, 2026
A public hearing is scheduled for Monday on two citizen-initiated ordinances that would ban large-scale data center projects.
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3 downstream Colorado River states will bear the brunt of water cuts under new 2-year plan
August 21, 2026
Coloradans will not need to meet mandatory cuts under the federal plan released Friday. It and other upstream states are focusing on conservation to help stabilize the overstressed river.
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What does the federal farm bill delay mean for Delaware farmers?
August 20, 2026
Local farmers say the continued delay in Congressional approval of new federal farm subsidies has made the situation more challenging, as the future of crop insurance and other support programs remains unclear.
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For early grade reading gains, states look to Mississippi and consider holding students back
August 20, 2026
Years later, as education officials across the country have taken notice of Mississippi’s literacy gains, more states have adopted their own retention policies.
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A judge told Xcel it couldn’t condemn a farmer’s land. Now the utility is headed to the state Supreme Court.
August 20, 2026
Case challenging Colorado’s largest utility’s condemnation powers could resolve conflict over 550 feet of right of way on an Eastern Plains farm.
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Nitrate Is Poisoning the Corn Belt
August 20, 2026
Farm pollution goes largely unaddressed despite grievous risks.