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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Well-trained workforce makes the difference as home builder picks Chatham Co. for manufacturing site
April 26, 2024
Innovative Construction Group pointed to community college and workforce training programs as factors in the decision to pick Siler City.
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North Carolina counties losing elections directors. Concerns point to lousy pay, voter hostility.
March 27, 2024
Seven counties in the state have lost elections directors since January. More than 50, including many in rural areas, have left in last 5 years. State leaders say they’re worried about loss of knowledge.
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Access to mental health care in Western NC only partially helped by telehealth
January 24, 2024
NC mountain counties struggle to recruit mental health specialists. Telehealth helps bridge the gap, but won’t work for all patients.
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Proposed timber project in Nantahala could clash with new federal policy
January 09, 2024
Old-growth acreage in Crossover Project in Nantahala National Forest slated to be harvested. A new federal policy may change that.
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Do NC nursing homes have enough nurses?
December 14, 2023
Advocates for residents say proposed federal staffing requirements for nursing homes are ‘a step in the right direction.’ Industry supporters say they aren’t attainable.
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State health leaders look to close digital divide for farmworkers
October 31, 2023
The National Institutes of Health is funding a state project to improve internet access for agricultural workers and their families.
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In rural Mitchell County, telehealth thrives in one town, falters in another
October 12, 2023
Even though remote health care has not been widely adopted in Mitchell County, there are signs of success in one clinic that prioritized connecting with the rural culture in this mountain region.
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What mobile clinics in Dollar General parking lots say about health care in rural America
October 10, 2023
Deploying mobile clinics to fill care gaps in underserved areas isn’t a new idea. But pairing them with Dollar General’s ubiquitous small-town presence has been heralded by investment analysts and some rural health experts as a way to ease the health care drought in rural America.
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Unity in conservation, Part One: Embracing diversity and ecology at Wilson Creek
October 03, 2023
Wilson Creek’s recreational areas are attracting an increasing number of visitors, particularly from the Latino community, countering national trends of low visitation to public lands by communities of color.
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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.
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Latino votes drop in N.C.: Why it happened and why some Latinos are voting Republican
September 14, 2023
Spanish-language news media in North Carolina are concentrated in the Triangle and Charlotte areas, leaving out rural areas. And yet, according to a UNC Chapel Hill demographic analysis, the Hispanic population is smaller in more rural counties but has seen faster growth there over the past 30 years.
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The burden of student loan debt for Black women in North Carolina and prospects for relief
August 13, 2023
Black women have the highest average total of undergraduate and graduate student loan debt in the nation, according to a study. Black women on average leave undergraduate study with $30,400 in debt.
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Mining in your backyard: The story of Mountain Mist Mine and the neighbors contesting it
August 09, 2023
In July, a North Carolina judge upheld the permit for the Mountain Mist Mine in McDowell County despite water quality concerns.
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Conservation groups plan legal action against U.S. Forest Service for endangered forest bats
July 30, 2023
Six organizations demand urgent actions to safeguard endangered forest bats affected by the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan. Faulty information and habitat loss have led to population decline. The Forest Service’s decisions on public lands are crucial for their preservation.
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New voter ID rule in North Carolina sparks worries about fairness for Black and Latino voters
June 29, 2023
The new requirement, considered part of a larger trend of voter suppression efforts in North Carolina, has drawn criticism from civil rights groups, experts, and nonprofit voting organizations in the state, as it is believed to make it more difficult for minority voters to cast their votes.
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