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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Court Blocks Superintendent Walters’ Bible Purchase, For Now
March 11, 2025
A group of parents, students, teachers and faith leaders sued Oct. 17, challenging the Bible mandate under the state constitution, which prohibits public money from being spent for religious purposes.
-
Mid-Ohio Valley group blends religion, politics to affect policy in Ohio and West Virginia
February 27, 2025
From the Tea Party to Trump, the MOVCAC mixes religion and politics to inform its members’ activism.
-
North Carolina churches join lawsuit against policy allowing ICE into places of worship
February 18, 2025
Several denominations, including the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, united against the policy that allows ICE in “sensitive locations.”
-
Vance, at Christian nationalist revival, says immigration stance is in keeping with faith
September 28, 2024
JD Vance’s remarks in Monroeville, PA, seemed aimed at quelling some of the controversy that sprang up after he and Donald Trump accused Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, of eating townspeople’s pets.
-
‘Haitians are not eating pets’: Springfield faith leaders stand with embattled migrants
September 16, 2024
‘It was a tough week,’ said Harold Herard, a Haitian community leader in Springfield and visitor at Central Christian Church on Sunday. ‘But today, we feel free.’
-
Maine law thwarts impact of school choice decision, lawsuit says
September 09, 2024
A Christian school at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that required Maine to include religious schools in a state tuition program is appealing a ruling upholding a requirement that all participating facilities abide by a state anti-discrimination law.
-
Concerns grow about Christian nationalism in North Dakota
August 06, 2024
Some Christian denominations are publicly or discreetly raising worries about a rise in an ideology known as “Christian nationalism” that desires a brand of conservative Christian dominion over all aspects of American society and politics.
-
Five faith facts about Harris pick Tim Walz, a ‘Minnesota Lutheran’ Dad
August 06, 2024
Some are calling his persona “Midwestern Dad” energy, citing his background as a high school teacher and football coach. But Minnesotans know Walz as something even more specific: a “Minnesota Lutheran” Dad.
-
Oklahoma’s superintendent orders public schools to teach the Bible – relying on controversial views about religious freedom
July 08, 2024
Ryan Walters claimed in an interview on NewsNation that the Bible had “been removed from classrooms, and we’re saying, listen, we’re proud to be the first state to bring it back.”
-
Photo Essay: Exploring Trans and Queer Identity through Appalachian, Christian Iconography
May 07, 2024
In this photo series, one photographer aims to capture the essence of the shared experiences of trans and queer individuals within the context of Appalachia.
-
Thousands of churches will likely close down. What happens to all that real estate?
March 15, 2024
A new book looks at the ways churches could be reused for the public good in the future, including rural sanctuaries partnering with health care centers.
RURAL NEWS SPOTLIGHT
Sign up to receive our occasional newsletter, Rural News Spotlight. Read a recent issue here.