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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‘A dying art’: New moonshine trail to offer an intoxicating taste of the region’s storied history
May 07, 2024
Franklin, Patrick and Floyd counties are embracing their ties to bootlegging with the Mountain Spirit Trail, which will feature stops at museums, distilleries and old still sites.
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Here are the numbers that show why Russell County is looking at closing schools
May 02, 2024
Russell County’s demographic challenges are similar to many other rural counties — a declining and aging population that doesn’t produce many children.
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Parents, teachers beg Russell County not to close 2 elementary schools during emotional public hearing
April 26, 2024
In addition to declining enrollment, Russell County’s teacher salaries are the lowest in the state’s Region Seven, which includes 19 counties and cities in Southwest Virginia, and next to the bottom statewide, the superintendent said.
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A lack of child care can be a barrier for community college students. Virginia is looking for answers.
March 28, 2024
Among the solutions: A handful of colleges offer on-campus child care, and a statewide pilot program is providing child care stipends for single parents. But the need remains great.
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Roanoke is losing population two ways. What that means for the Evans Spring debate.
February 09, 2024
Most communities in Virginia that are losing populations through both deaths over births and people moving out are rural, economically distressed localities. Roanoke is an outlier.
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New population estimates show a rural renaissance while Fairfax County loses big
January 29, 2024
Most rural counties now see more people moving in than moving out. However, Fairfax County and Virginia Beach have posted the biggest population declines in the state.
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When its employees struggled to find child care, a small-town coffee company opened its own center
January 09, 2024
Employers risk losing workers who can’t find affordable child care. Red Rooster Coffee in Floyd offers it on site to its 48 employees for just $2 per hour.
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Community colleges are helping with housing, gas and food to keep students in class
December 05, 2023
Free tuition programs might entice students to enroll in community college, but they don’t cover gas or child care, or put food on the table. Here’s what two schools in rural Southwest Virginia are doing to meet students’ needs.
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15 months after a flash flood devastated parts of Southwest Virginia, state aid is on the way
October 13, 2023
Dozens of homes in Buchanan and Tazewell counties were damaged or destroyed in July 2022. The General Assembly approved $18 million in funding to help residents rebuild; Del. Will Morefield said he hopes residents will get the money before the end of the year.
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From parkway closure to farm loans, federal government shutdown would touch Southwest and Southside in multiple ways
September 29, 2023
More than 25,000 federal workers in Virginia’s 5th, 6th and 9th congressional districts could be furloughed.
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New school meal rules give Henry County fighting chance against food insecurity
August 28, 2023
School systems are now allowed to send meals home with kids during the summer instead of requiring students to come to school to eat. This past June, Henry County served a little over 58,000 meals. In June of last year, prior to the rule change, the team served 22,107.
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Danville becomes one of only two Southside localities to join health data tracking program
August 25, 2023
Danville has one of the worst health outcome rankings in the state. A local organization hopes that data from the City Health Dashboard will help change that.
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Cannabis manufacturer to open growing facility in Alleghany County
July 18, 2023
The jobs will provide attractive new opportunities for residents in Alleghany County (pop. 15,000) who might not have previously considered manufacturing employment.
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Bedford County School Board approves policy limiting discussion of sexual orientation and gender
June 09, 2023
Proponents of the change say parents should be the first to respond to their children’s questions about sexual orientation or gender. Opponents, including the ACLU, say that such a policy invites discrimination.
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Bloody Monday
June 08, 2023
In 1963, Black Danville residents took to the streets for months to peacefully protest segregation. They were arrested and confronted by the police, often violently. Sixty years later, here’s how the movement shaped Danville.
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