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
-
‘A different standard’: Native Americans still searched at far higher rates by Washington State Patrol, new data shows
January 09, 2025
Though disparities for other races improved, InvestigateWest analysis reveals Native Americans five times more likely to be searched despite ongoing scrutiny.
-
In a rural stretch of Washington, a ‘constitutional sheriff’ and his growing volunteer posse provoke controversy
October 10, 2024
Where some see a “rural neighborhood watch” that saves money, others worry about liability and ties to extremism.
-
Among Idaho lawmakers, it’s Freedom Caucus vs. Freedom Caucus
September 15, 2024
The coalition of conservative legislators has fractured — and its brand is heading for a custody battle.
-
Four-year-old Oregon report identifies missing Native American women as a ‘emergency’ — but progress has been limited
June 14, 2024
Main recommendations remain unfinished, governor has not read the report, and critics say Indigenous voices have been left out.
-
An Indigenous teen in Washington disappeared amid clear signs of danger. It took more than a year before police started investigating
February 14, 2024
Kit Nelson-Mora is one of 58 missing children and 128 missing Indigenous people in Washington. Kit’s disappearance is part of a much larger crisis, one that’s increasingly on the radar of state and federal officials.
-
Idaho youth treatment home exposed in InvestigateWest investigation closes down
February 03, 2024
Advocates express relief but push for greater oversight of facilities statewide.
-
Idaho’s infant, mother death rate is rising, new report finds
December 05, 2023
The mortality rate for mothers rose 121.5%, while the rate for children rose 18%, the report found. It recommended overhauling Medicaid coverage for children and pregnant women by updating income cutoffs that haven’t been adjusted in decades and extending postpartum coverage to match what other states are doing.
-
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.
-
Indigenous people in WA incarcerated at higher rates than any other group, data show
October 23, 2023
The disparity between Indigenous and white incarceration in Washington has roughly doubled over the past decade.
-
WA spent $500M to help small, minority businesses. Did it work?
October 21, 2023
Restaurants were eligible for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a $28 billion federal program created in 2021. But that money disappeared quickly, offering up to $10 million to some restaurants while leaving many smaller and more rural establishments with nothing, as Crosscut reported last year.
-
Rape, beatings and racial slurs: None of it was enough to shut down this Idaho youth facility
October 01, 2023
Employees at Cornerstone Cottage alerted state officials to the dangers, only to be fired themselves.
-
In Eastern Washington, Victims Seeking Protection Steer Clear Of A Judge Accused Of Domestic Violence Himself
June 30, 2023
Attorneys say there’s little accountability for judges who may show bias against victims.
-
Telehealth Business Closes After InvestigateWest Report Details Alleged Wage Theft
June 14, 2023
A Seattle law could provide a model for protecting independent workers in Washington.
-
It’s Not The First Time This Puget Sound Psychologist Faces Accusations He Shortchanged Workers
May 08, 2023
Former colleagues blame a lack of oversight for continued exploitation of practitioners and patients. InvestigateWest spoke with 10 current and former workers who said they had been paid just a portion or none of what they were owed for their work.
-
Three Decades of Well Water Pollution in Rural Oregon Sees Almost No Government Action
April 10, 2023
Community organizers band together to tackle pollution from food processors and industrial farming. The region is home to several large farming and food processing operations that for more than 30 years have been overapplying nitrogen to the soil for use as a fertilizer.
RURAL NEWS SPOTLIGHT
Sign up to receive our occasional newsletter, Rural News Spotlight. Read a recent issue here.