Cody Two Bear, who is Standing Rock Sioux, served on his tribal council during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2017. Growing up in a community powered by coal, the experience was transformative. “I’ve seen the energy extraction that has placed a toll significantly on tribal nations when it comes to land, animals, water, and sacred sites,” said Two Bear. “Understanding more about that energy, I started to look into my own tribe as a whole.”

In 2018, Two Bear founded Indigenize Energy, a nonprofit organization that works with tribes to pursue energy sovereignty and economic development by kickstarting clean energy projects. Last year, with nearly $136 million in federal funding through Solar for All, a program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, the nonprofit launched the Tribal Renewable Energy Coalition, which aims to build solar projects with 14 tribal nations in the Northern Plains.

But when President Donald Trump took office in January, those projects hit a wall: The Trump administration froze Solar for All’s funding. That temporarily left the coalition and its members earlier this year without access to their entitled grant (it was later released in March). However, the EPA is considering ending the program entirely. 

The coalition is back on track with its solar plans, but now tribes and organizations, like the ones Two Bear works with, are bracing for new changes.

When President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, or OBBB, became law last month, incentives for clean energy projects like wind and solar tax credits and clean energy grants were cut — a blow to the renewable energy sector and a major setback to tribal nations. Moves from federal agencies to end programs have shifted the project landscape as well. The current number of impacted projects run by tribes is unknown. According to the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, at least 100 tribes they have worked with have received funds from federal agencies and the Inflation Reduction Act; however, those figures could be higher. “Without that support, most of, if not all of those projects are now at risk for being killed by the new unclear federal approval process,” said John Lewis, the Native American Energy managing director for Avant Energy, a consulting company. 

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, for instance, has planned solar projects reliant on federal tax cuts. The projects were designed to power a community health clinic, schools, and a radio station that broadcasts emergency notices during winter storms. However, with the passage of the OBBB, the tribe must now begin construction by July of next year or lose credits, a feat that doesn’t account for the time it takes to secure capital in various stages, seek a complete environmental review, and navigate long permitting timelines through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

“Some of these projects, at a minimum, have stalled, or they’re having to be reworked in some way to fit within the current parameters that have been laid down by the administration,” said Verrin Kewenvoyouma, who is Hopi and Navajo, and a managing partner at Kewenvoyouma Law that assists tribes with environmental permitting, cultural resources, and energy development. “We have clients that are looking at creative solutions, trying to keep them alive.” 

In June, the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, a joint organization representing 12 federally recognized tribes in the state, joined a class-action lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, alongside a tribe in Alaska, arguing that the agency illegally froze access to promised project funds from the Environmental and Climate Justice block grant program. The now-defunct program promised $3 billion to 350 recipients to fund projects addressing pollution and high energy costs. Plaintiffs hope the program will be reinstated so that pending projects can be restarted.

Tribes are now seeking philanthropy, short-term funding, and conventional financing to cover delays and gaps in project costs. After the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians in California lost access to a $3.55 million BIA award to the tribe for solar microgrid development in March, the BQuest Foundation, which specializes in covering expenses needed to continue housing or climate-related projects, gave the tribe $1 million to resume the project’s timeline. 

Currently, the self-funded Alliance is covering tribal projects that have experienced a sudden loss in tax credits, rescission of federal funds, and uncertainty of direct pay. “We’re helping try to navigate this challenging period and continue on their self-determined paths, whatever it looks like for them — to energy sovereignty,” said Shéri Smith, CEO of the organization. At the moment, the Alliance is offering a mix of grants from $50 to $500,000, and loans up to $1 million, which will be converted to grants should a tribe default. 

“Tribes need to build up internal capacity to carry that out and to have control of their energy situation, for their at-risk members, and members in general,” said John Lewis. “ At such a critical stage, access to affordable, reliable electricity is paramount. The country is getting hotter. The world is getting hotter. It’s warming.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Tribal nations scramble to save clean energy projects as federal support vanishes on Aug 11, 2025.

In Grand Rapids and across Michigan, a state law means thousands of voters are getting new precincts as more people vote early or absentee.

Most Michigan schools don’t have a full-time librarian. They’re required in Mississippi, where reading scores are higher.

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Durable medical equipment has long been exempt from trade tariffs, but President Trump’s decision to include medical devices in new tariff policies is sparking concern among healthcare experts, who warn that rural hospitals, clinics, and medical equipment suppliers could face sharp cost increases as a result.

“The overarching concern from all kinds of hospitals, but in particular rural hospitals, is that the tariffs, if implemented fully, could potentially impact both the costs of delivering care and the availability of certain supplies to meet the needs of patients,” said Akin Demehin, vice president of quality and safety policy at the American Hospital Association (AHA). 

Demehin said that tariffs could touch a large spectrum of medical equipment. 

“We’re talking about things as complex as MRI machines or as simple as masks,” Demehin said. 

Rapidly shifting tariff policies have made it difficult to track their full impact, but experts warn that the tariffs could disrupt supply chains, drive up costs, and place added financial strain on hospitals—especially in rural and underserved areas. Increased expenses may also hinder innovation, limit access to care, and worsen treatment delays.

Anticipating Strains in Rural Medical Supply Chains

“Given the important role of our work in making America healthy, we are concerned that tariffs placed on medical and dental equipment threaten to disrupt the supply chain and raise costs for these critical items,” ten healthcare organizations said in an April letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. “This ultimately places further financial pressure on providers, hospitals, and health systems, particularly those located in rural and medically underserved areas.” 

A February 2025 survey of 200 healthcare professionals by Black Book Market Research, a healthcare market research company, found that 82% expected hospital and health system costs to rise by at least 15% within six months due to increased import expenses. Additionally, 90% of supply chain professionals anticipated significant disruptions in procurement and contract negotiations. Among the 21 hospital finance executives surveyed, 90% planned to shift rising costs to insurers and patients through higher service charges. Meanwhile, 84% of payers anticipate increased claims costs driven by higher prices for medical treatments and drugs.

Demehin said independent rural hospitals and clinics face unique challenges due to limited storage space and the short shelf life of critical supplies like IV solutions and medications. While they can collaborate closely with purchasing groups to source efficiently, stockpiling is often constrained, making it harder for smaller centers to navigate price hikes and strained supply chains compared to larger providers.

“Independent rural facilities are continuously working to make their supply chains more resilient,” Demehin said. “Working through both price increases and supply disruptions for smaller facilities can look a bit more complex and in some ways, a little bit more challenging than for other kinds of facilities.” 

The AHA said the consequences of these disruptions could be severe. 

“Disruption in the availability of these instruments would curtail hospitals’ ability to perform life-saving surgeries and keep patients safe from contagion and greatly reduce our ability to effectively diagnose and monitor patient conditions,” said Richard Pollack, president and chief executive officer of the AHA, in a February letter to President Trump. 

Allen Hunt, president of Hart Medical Equipment, a medical supplies company serving Michigan and Ohio, expressed concern about the growing challenges suppliers face in maintaining patient services, especially in rural areas. He highlighted that logistical difficulties and economic pressures—like tariffs and financial uncertainty—are making it harder to provide essential, often unprofitable services that are still crucial to communities. 

“I am worried about the ability of not just Hart, but suppliers in general, to continue to provide any level of service at all to these patients, particularly in the rural communities where it’s further away,” Hunt said. “There are some things we will not do for people in some of our farming communities because it’s just too far to drive. If we can do it via UPS, we’ll do that. But some of these products require specialized instruction and training for people to make sure they’re using them right.” 

These strains are limiting their ability to offer in-person support for complex products, reducing access for patients who need specialized training. Additionally, financial constraints are making it difficult to retain staff, which further impacts patient care and timely product delivery.

“At the end of the day, if these tariffs hit, you will likely have suppliers that will close. And then a lot of suppliers that are left will shrink their product offerings to only those things that are most profitable,” Hunt said. 

Wheelchair Accessibility Is at Stake

Marc Krizack, CEO of RoughRider America, a company that provides all-terrain wheelchairs to people domestically and abroad is experiencing first-hand the uncertainty of tariffs. 

Krizack said that rural communities have unique accessibility needs and RoughRiders wheelchairs are designed to offer rural users as much mobility as possible. 

“In rural communities, there’s different needs. Some people are farmers and they want to be able to get into their field,” Krizack said. “Or it’s just the road between their house and and their mailbox is all gravel and difficult to cross with standard wheelchairs.”

“Getting around outside the house is a bigger hurdle in rural communities. It requires traveling further distances,” said Dr. Carrie Henning-Smith, co-director of the Rural Health Research Center at the University of Minnesota. “You might not have a walkway from your home. You might not have a sidewalk in front of your home. You might have a lot of land that you’re on or that you’re near and getting around that can be really tricky.”

As supplies run low in his California warehouse, Krizack faces mounting uncertainty and expense due to looming tariffs. RoughRider’s Chinese manufacturer requires a 90-day lead time for production, so Krizack must place orders months in advance, gambling on future costs and navigating an increasingly unpredictable pricing landscape.

“I have to kind of be able to figure out 90 days, plus another three or four weeks for shipping, in advance what’s going to be happening with the tariffs. I have to guess the tariff policy, but I have no idea,” Krizack said. “And the other big problem is, I’m so small that a little change (in tariffs) is significant for me.” 

Trump’s sweeping tariffs sparked a trade clash with China, leading to escalating duties on both sides. A May agreement cut U.S. tariffs from 145% to 30% and set a 90-day deadline for a broader deal, with China agreeing to ease key export restrictions.

As of June 2025, the Trump administration said they would impose a total 55% tariff on Chinese imports by combining a 10% baseline tariff, a 20% China-specific duty, and existing 25% tariffs from Trump’s first term.

Krizack said that if he had to move all his manufacturing to the US, his costs would triple, making the wheelchairs prohibitively expensive for customers. 

As he faces the uncertainty of the future, Krizack said he is committed to the RoughRider mission but also can only bear so much financial loss. 

“I have been involved in this field since 1977 really, and it’s what I’m committed to doing. It’s a good thing to do, and I like to do it,” Krizack said. “But at the same time, it’s got to be worth it. There’s some point at which I don’t want to be a volunteer.”

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The post Trump’s Tariffs Will Hurt Rural Healthcare Centers and Medical Suppliers, Experts Warn appeared first on The Daily Yonder.

Few fish are as synonymous with Michigan as whitefish. Pushed to the edge by invasive species, their struggle is the tip of a cataclysmic species collapse that could change our way of life.

A Florida company has acquired all the ferry operations to the island and raised prices to the tourism Mecca. An Up North legislator wants to give the island more control.

A new report on four Michigan nursing home chains scrutinizes their use of affiliate companies to pay themselves for services, as complaints about care mount.

More than 250 Michiganders signed a letter calling for the restoration of evening ferry services to and from Neebish Island, which were cut in 2024.