Alex Milan Tracy for Underscore
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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.
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LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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Ex-Wyoming Catholic youth minister, diocese face lawsuit over sexual assault accusations involving 3 boys
April 03, 2026
The alleged assaults occurred in the 90s when the plaintiffs were minors taking part in a church’s youth programming, the lawsuit states.
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School districts can set aside prayer time under a new Texas law. Few have done so.
March 02, 2026
School boards had until March 1 to decide whether to establish a daily period for students and staff to pray or read religious texts.
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Bill Would Let Churches Build Affordable Housing Without Zoning Restrictions
February 04, 2026
In Oklahoma, affordable housing is scarce, which contributes to the state having the sixth-highest eviction rate in the nation, according to the most recent available data.
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A pastor searched for a missing congregant. He found a car with the keys on the floor
January 28, 2026
Evaristo Kalonji, an asylum seeker from Angola who has no criminal record, vanished from South Portland. He turned up in one detention center, then another.
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Minnesota churches respond to ICE presence with prayer, solidarity
January 27, 2026
Some Greater Minnesota churches opened their doors for fellowship on ‘ICE Out of Minnesota’ day.
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Why Women Now Lead 6 of 8 Pulpits in Red Hook, Defying a Male-Dominated National Trend
December 22, 2025
Bucking national trends, Red Hook has become a rare place where women lead six of eight Christian congregations. In this six-part series, The Daily Catch explores not only how that happened what brought them to ministry.
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Spiritual connection focus of Native American church
October 29, 2025
A typical service begins with check-ins, communal prayer and a “long talk,” a reflective discussion on a spiritual theme.
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How Maine churches are reckoning with fear of immigration raids
August 24, 2025
Faith leaders are working to set up protocols for interacting with federal agents and ensuring immigrants know their rights, as well as helping to launch an ICE Watch initiative.
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A village for all ages: how one intergenerational campus is redefining aging and early learning in South Dakota
August 05, 2025
The Village of Harmony Hill now brings together a Catholic religious community, a nonprofit organization, senior living, and early childhood education—each woven into one layered, faith-rooted mission of holistic care.
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A group of Catholics revitalized a remote Arizona village before the diocese ordered them to leave
July 28, 2025
More than two dozen residents from Concho and surrounding towns spoke passionately in support of the League of the Blessed Sacrament, saying the newcomers revitalized the community and parish.
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Yellowstone has been a ‘sacred wonderland’ of spiritual power and religious activity for centuries – and for different faith groups
July 24, 2025
A landscape once sacred to Native Americans later inspired Christians and New Age communities alike.
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Vermont’s Roman Catholic Diocese faces 118 more clergy misconduct claims
May 12, 2025
The submissions come after 67 previous child sex abuse lawsuits prompted the state’s largest religious denomination to pay out $34.5 million in settlements and push for bankruptcy protection.
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A small town in Kansas prepares for changes as a local hero is on the verge of sainthood
April 24, 2025
Earlier this year, Pope Francis named the Rev. Emil Kapaun ‘venerable,’ bringing him one step closer to canonization. The road ahead is long, but it could bring big changes to his small hometown.
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After community pushback, rural Ohio fairgrounds cancels conversion therapy event
April 16, 2025
The Mercer County Fairgrounds will no longer rent space to a “conference” featuring an out-of-state ex-gay conversion therapy advocate.
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In Appalachia, a developer hopes to offer refuge to conservative Christians fleeing blue states
March 28, 2025
The venture, which has involved several prominent conservative voices, has drawn the concern of locals who don’t want to see Christian nationalism take over their community.
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