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
-
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.
-
Oklahoma Farmers Face Uncertain Future as Comprehensive Farm Bill Splinters
January 30, 2026
For farmers and ranchers, a certain amount of uncertainty is part of the business. In recent years, however, that uncertainty has grown alongside sharply rising costs.
-
Federal Benefit Cuts Push Oklahoma Families Into Eviction Crisis
December 10, 2025
The recent government shutdown, which included would-be cuts to the federal child care subsidies, Head Start and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, along with furloughs, has created such crises throughout Oklahoma among low and middle-income families.
-
Counting the Invisible: Why Rural Homelessness Stays Hidden
December 08, 2025
Data about the depth of homelessness in rural areas is such a challenge that an accurate number doesn’t exist, according to frontline homeless outreach workers in rural Oklahoma.
-
Interior Department Takes On Tribal Education
December 02, 2025
Some lawmakers say the dismantling of the Department of Education could spell problems for tribal programs caught in the reshuffling.
-
Native American Tribes Are Struggling in Wake of SNAP Uncertainty
November 10, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, 23% of American Indian and Alaska Native households used SNAP benefits in 2023 — nearly double the national average.
-
Isolation, Illness and Guns: Why More Older Oklahomans Are Dying by Suicide
November 07, 2025
The rate is particularly high in Oklahoma, and especially in rural counties, according to an analysis of detailed mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2023 by The Trace and GQ.
-
Are rural areas more likely to be harmed by reductions to SNAP?
October 31, 2025
SNAP benefits have been found to increase employment and economic output in rural economies by more than double the increase in urban economies.
-
Do One in Six Oklahomans receive SNAP food benefits?
October 29, 2025
Of Oklahoma SNAP participants, more than two-thirds are in families with children and more than one-third are in families with disabled or older adults.
-
Oklahoma Predator Hunters Face Felony Charges
October 19, 2025
Three men involved with an Oklahoma-based self-styled “predator-catching” group are now facing felony charges in Texas, as authorities scrutinize their confrontational tactics and the legal viability of their operations.
-
Lawmakers Aren’t Sure if Tribal Programs are Safe From OMB Shutdown Cuts
October 17, 2025
While some government-run programs for Indian Country are insulated from the lapse in funding, there is growing bipartisan concern that Native American nations will see cuts to critical programs.
-
Ryan Walters is Doubling Down in Support of a Conservative Online School
August 11, 2025
The Oklahoma Tax Commission denied the academy’s participation in the Parental Choice Tax Credit program, which provides an income tax refund of up to $7,500 for parents whose children go to eligible private schools.
-
Predator Hunters’ Tactics Draw Fans, but Concern Police and Advocates
August 01, 2025
An Oklahoma group says they’re protecting children from predators, but their targets are often vulnerable and law enforcement agencies are reluctant to participate.
-
Missing, Murdered Native American Cases Delayed as Police Struggle to Work Together
July 23, 2025
Responses between agencies improve if a cross-deputization agreement is in place, but the responsibility for contacting tribal police often still falls on the shoulders of victims.
-
Trump Administration Wants to Close Down Key Weather Labs Nationwide
July 08, 2025
The National Storms Lab in Norman Severe would be shuttered.
RURAL NEWS SPOTLIGHT
Sign up to receive our occasional newsletter, Rural News Spotlight. Read a recent issue here.