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
-
Opioid overdose deaths drop in Missouri, but rural areas fight stigmas, barriers to care
May 28, 2025
Investment in medicines like Narcan, an overdose-reversing drug, has allowed many Missourians to respond to opioid overdoses quickly. But more work is needed to address barriers to care and other stigmas, especially in rural areas.
-
Teaching Kansas students to read gets tougher after $22.6 million federal funding cut
April 23, 2025
Kansas used federal money on an evidence-based reading program. It was helping Kansas students improve their reading skills after pandemic learning loss.
-
Revitalizing a rural downtown is difficult enough. It’s even harder when the state owns the main road.
April 07, 2025
Some Missouri towns don’t have control over their main streets because they are state highways. When they want to pursue downtown revitalization projects, not having control over the road can make things complicated.
-
Trump administration’s cuts cancel food deliveries to Harvesters
March 26, 2025
The food bank, which provides food to pantries and other hunger outreach groups in Missouri and Kansas, will not get scheduled shipments of milk, eggs, chicken and canned goods.
-
A surge in mental health care needs for uninsured Kansans could lead to cuts in services
March 12, 2025
Community health centers have to take patients regardless of ability to pay. More patients are coming in and many don’t have insurance that can cover the cost of care.
-
Medicaid cuts: What could happen in Missouri?
March 03, 2025
Congressional Republicans plan to reduce federal spending on some programs, including Medicaid expansion.
-
Kansas nearing ‘constitutional crisis’ as small-town lawyers become a scarcity
December 20, 2024
Cities, counties, courts and everyday Kansans are struggling to find legal help in rural Kansas. But there is a blueprint to fix it.
-
Prescription delivery in Missouri faces delays under USPS rural service plan
December 06, 2024
The U.S. Postal Service plans to consolidate some services to regional hubs in Kansas City and St. Louis. Critics say the move will hurt rural customers, especially people who rely on the mail for their medication delivery.
-
Platte County voters to decide fate of sales tax to fund children’s mental health services
October 25, 2024
Nonprofits in Platte County collected signatures to get a quarter-cent sales tax on the Nov. 5 ballot after resistance from the county commission.
-
Missouri and Kansas keep losing pharmacies, and a key part of health care
September 23, 2024
The closings come at a time when, an Associated Press analysis found in June, people in majority Black or Latino neighborhoods and rural residents already have the fewest pharmacies per capita. Pharmacies also tend to represent a critical source of health care — sometimes the only one.
-
Why rural Missouri schools and hospitals might become homebuyers
June 10, 2024
Employers across Missouri are looking for creative ways to retain workers in their towns. Buying homes for them might be a start.
-
Missouri and Kansas families will be getting money for kids’ summer meals — eventually
June 03, 2024
The new summer EBT program will give an extra $120 to eligible school-age kids. Families probably won’t get the money until late summer or fall. But even if the money comes late, anti-hunger advocates say the extra dollars are an important step toward reducing growing food insecurity in the states.
-
Minimum wage, abortion, sports betting, an Ozarks casino: What will land on Missouri ballots?
May 13, 2024
With four ballot measures submitted to the secretary of state’s office, Missourians won’t know which questions qualify for the ballot until after the Aug. 6 primary.
-
A new specialized court aims to help Kansas families dealing with substance abuse to get kids out of foster care
February 21, 2024
The pilot program in rural counties aims to collect data and potentially create a model for other jurisdictions.
RURAL NEWS SPOTLIGHT
Sign up to receive our occasional newsletter, Rural News Spotlight. Read a recent issue here.