Alex Milan Tracy for Underscore
Explore the Archive
The dozens of independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news organizations that make up the Rural News Network are developing the broadest news alliance reporting on rural America. These newsrooms are pursuing coverage that provides a more complete picture of what it means to live and work in these communities.
Filter by Topic
Filter by Outlet
Search by keywords
Filter by State
LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
-
Over 170 jobs require a license in Nebraska. The state will soon recognize some earned elsewhere.
April 26, 2024
Nebraska was ranked the 22nd most burdensome state in the country for licensing barriers in 2023, according to the Archbridge Institute, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. Kansas was the least burdensome state.
-
Use of antipsychotics in Maine nursing homes climbs
April 21, 2024
After an initial crackdown and decline, the rate of the powerful medications given to nursing home residents has ticked back up in recent years.
-
West Virginians could get stuck cleaning up the coal industry’s messes
December 01, 2023
The state’s program for reclaiming abandoned coal mines has long been plagued with problems, but state and federal officials have done little to prepare for this reckoning.
-
The Endangered Species Act’s complicated legacy in Indian Country
December 01, 2023
The landmark law has served as both sword and shield.
-
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.’
-
How an Idaho children’s facility got away with firing whistleblowers of child abuse
November 07, 2023
Legal experts say the case underscores Idaho’s weak protections for workers facing retaliation.
-
Millions of rural Americans rely on private wells. Few regularly test their water.
October 29, 2023
The practice is common despite concern about runoff from farms and industrial sites, plus cancer-causing minerals that can taint groundwater.
-
Food and Environment Reporting Network
A tell-tale tragedy
October 26, 2023
Two Mexican farmworkers died in a trailer fire in North Carolina. Their story illustrates how the nation’s most important agricultural visa program is failing the workers it is supposed to protect.
-
Mendocino County announces one year building permit amnesty starting Nov. 1
October 24, 2023
To encourage residents to come into compliance and seek required permits, Mendocino County is waiving all penalty fees related to building permits submitted after work has already commenced or been completed.
-
Charlottesville had — and lost — a shelter that social workers say could have helped hundreds of unhoused people off the streets
October 11, 2023
Their sudden stark visibility means people all around the city are talking about the tent community and are inundating city leaders with demands to do something about it.
-
In Puerto Rico, residents wait for accountability, cleanup of toxic coal ash ‘caminos blancos’
October 10, 2023
A Virginia-based power company sold its coal ash to local governments and contractors in Puerto Rico as a cheap material for road construction. Almost two decades later, dust and runoff from this coal ash continues to spread toxic and radioactive pollution in rural communities along the island’s south coast.
-
Massachusetts seeks to streamline approvals for community choice aggregation
October 04, 2023
Nineteen communities across the state are waiting for public utility regulators to rule on proposed community choice aggregation plans, in which local governments negotiate with power suppliers for lower prices or a higher share of renewables.
-
Inside the rough-and-tumble race to clean up America’s abandoned oil wells
September 29, 2023
The federal government has pledged billions to plug thousands of abandoned oil wells around the country, but many hurdles remain.
-
Garbage In, Toxics Out: They promised “advanced recycling” for plastics and delivered toxic waste
September 28, 2023
A North Carolina facility’s record of violations undercuts the dream of plastics recycling.
-
Forestry companies granted state funds despite environmental violations
September 02, 2023
The Maine Monitor learned investigations into environmental compliance are not a requirement of the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan.
RURAL NEWS SPOTLIGHT
Sign up to receive our occasional newsletter, Rural News Spotlight. Read a recent issue here.