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
-
Farmers, seasonal businesses worry as immigration crackdown ramps up
April 19, 2025
“There are a lot less local people that want to do [this work], so we have to have this program,” said the owner of an apple orchard. “Without it, we’ll just be out of the industry. We go away.”
-
MDI Hospital announced plans to close its birthing unit, making it the tenth Maine hospital to do so in the past decade
March 27, 2025
The hospital president said the choice to close the unit follows a steep decline in births, calling it a “devastating decision.” The Maine State Nurses Association called it an “abject failure.”
-
As birthing units continue to close, potential solutions emerge
March 16, 2025
Cross-training staff, incorporating more independent providers, and expanding training in rural areas are solutions proposed by providers and researchers.
-
Maine’s childhood vaccination rates have benefited from the elimination of nonmedical exemptions
February 13, 2025
During the last school year, vaccination rates among kindergartners across Maine were around 97 percent for all four mandatory vaccines. The rates have increased steadily since 2019, when the state passed legislation ending nonmedical exemptions.
-
Concerns raised about Maine’s ‘crisis pregnancy centers’
January 16, 2025
Activists say these centers circulated misinformation about “abortion pill reversals” not supported by studies.
-
Maine’s yellow flag law in three charts
January 12, 2025
Since the Lewiston shootings, agencies have completed 548 weapon restriction orders, for an average of 38 orders per month.
-
A year since the region saw disastrous flooding, western Maine officials say they’re better prepared
December 22, 2024
Towns are working together and eyeing new resilience projects. They’re looking to the state to help them pay for them.
-
Maritime officials fear ‘catastrophic’ outcome if mariner shortage worsens
November 30, 2024
Many mariners have postponed retirement so the true magnitude of the situation has yet to be felt.
-
Maine proposes major staffing changes for assisted living and residential care facilities
November 24, 2024
The proposed regulations come after an 18-month investigation by The Maine Monitor and ProPublica found dozens of violations at the state’s largest facilities.
-
Who donated to Jared Golden and Austin Theriault?
November 04, 2024
A Maine Monitor analysis of FEC data finds the majority of Golden’s individual contributions came from out of state, while Theriault’s were more evenly split.
-
Bucking national trends, a third of Maine towns still count ballots by hand
October 20, 2024
Maine’s other municipalities use voting tabulation devices, which studies have shown are faster and more accurate.
-
New bill would pay farmers to put rentals on their land
October 12, 2024
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Angus King, would give certain rural property owners two grants of up to $100,000 each to build rental housing.
-
As communities grapple with needle waste, advocates say limiting syringe programs is not the answer
September 28, 2024
A change in 2022 increased how many needles a person could exchange from 1:1 to 1:100. Some community leaders say they now want to revert to the old rules.
-
Cancer patients continue to struggle with long travel times to treatment
September 28, 2024
Two of the state’s most rural counties are without a single oncology practice.
-
‘Not in the business of politics’: The local officials making sure Mainers get to vote
September 14, 2024
Clerks across Maine share their thoughts on election security ahead of November. This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces.
RURAL NEWS SPOTLIGHT
Sign up to receive our occasional newsletter, Rural News Spotlight. Read a recent issue here.