A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky.
Links may expire, require subscription or go behind pay walls. Please send news and knowledge you think would be useful to benjy.hamm@uky.edu.
Dairy farmer Derek Orth owns Jersey cows. (Dairy Star photo)
Since President Donald Trump took office in early 2025, some Americans have thrived, while others have been pushed to downsize or put off purchases to pay for the basics. The Wall Street Journal interviewed six Americans, including rural dairy farmer Derek Orth from Lancaster, Wisconsin, to see how they are doing in the "Trump economy," reports Jeanne Whalen of The Wall Street Journal.
Smaller dairy farmers in Wisconsin have been struggling to compete with bigger, more consolidated operations since around 2004. "Orth says he hasn’t had a good financial year in a decade. But higher costs are making things even more challenging these days," Whalen writes.
"We have a $100,000 tractor that hasn’t moved in three or four months because we don’t know if we can afford to fix it,” Orth told the Journal.
He has also been hit by incremental increases in his farm insurance premiums. Whalen reports, "But the accumulation of big increases that snowballed from 2022 to 2024 nearly quadrupled his bill over 15 years, to about $41,000."
Orth, his wife, Charisse, and their four children live rent-free in the farmhouse that Orth's parents own. The couple uses Charisse's income to cover most expenses. Orth told Whalen, "A lot of the income I make goes back into the farm, and what my wife makes is what we use for family living."
Over the past several years, the couple hasn't been able to sock anything away for retirement. Whalen reports, "He said he hopes the Trump administration’s recent efforts to promote dairy products could boost his business, and he appreciates that gas prices are 'fairly reasonable.'"
North American Electric Reliability Corporation graph
Fueled by increased demand and shrinking power options, the U.S. electricity grid is headed toward a reliability crisis. "Tens of millions of people face a growing risk of blackouts over the next five years, according to an annual assessment by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works closely with federal regulators," reports Brad Plumer of The New York Times.
As AI data center builds have continued to demand more grid power, many "utilities are retiring older coal- and gas-burning plants and aren’t adding enough generation to dependably meet growing demand," Plumer explains. The report lists regions in Texas, the upper Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic region and the Pacific Northwest as most "at risk of electricity shortfalls."
How electricity is produced is at the heart of electricity reliability and a contentious point of national political debate. "President Trump has said that policies to fight climate change and promote wind and solar energy have weakened the reliability of electric grids, since wind turbines and solar panels can’t run at all hours," Plumer writes. But renewable energy advocates say that "Trump administration efforts to hinder wind and solar projects are depriving the grid of a fast-growing source of power."
Battery build-outs can help regional power operators create a more resilient grid that can meet demand even during extreme heat or cold snaps. "In MISO, a grid spanning 15 states in the Midwest and South, more than one-third of coal plants are set to retire by 2030," Plumer reports. "But the grid operator recently instituted a plan to speed up the connection of new gas plants and batteries over the next five years."
The report offers a list of recommendations for operators to start planning now, including "speeding up permitting processes for new power plants and transmission lines, and policies to ensure that large new sources of demand, such as data centers, don’t overwhelm the grid," Plumer adds. "It also suggests that utilities and grid operators should be careful about shutting down older coal and gas plants too quickly."
While many rural residents may know that a large AI data center can bring potential gains and losses to their communities, many details remain unclear. To address potential knowledge gaps and help rural residents stay informed, the Rural Assembly is offering a 90-minute interactive session, “What Rural Communities Need to Know about AI Data Centers,” that clarifies disputed issues about data mega builds and their potential impact on smaller communities.
Who pays for all the electricity a data center will need during construction and once the build is completed?
What community agreements can and cannot secure.
How federal and state politics and legislation on data center development are evolving.
Tools communities can use to maintain local decision-making power, including zoning and permitting strategies, rate class separation, and transparency demands.
This online Zoom event will begin with hearing from attendees about what their community has already heard or experienced.
The session will wrap up with a small group discussion about concrete next steps. Whether you’re facing a proposal now or want to prepare before developers arrive, attendees will gain a clearer picture of how the AI boom can impact their neighborhoods and learn the leverage points available to rural communities.
Rural hospitals have relied on foreign-born doctors to provide care for decades. (MedPage Today photo)
Rural communities already struggle to staff their hospitals and clinics with physicians of all types, from specialists to family practitioners. The Trump administration's failure to make progress on immigration changes and the newly established $100,000 fee for each new H-1B visa application, which has no exemption for health care workers, will leave rural Americans with far fewer doctors to treat them, writes Manav Midha in his opinion for MedPage Today.
The difference in the number of physicians and the availability of specialists between urban and rural locations is stark. Midha writes, "There are approximately 263 specialists for every 100,000 people in urban areas compared to 30 for every 100,000 people in rural areas, and 46% of counties (and 86% of rural counties) have not a single cardiologist."
For decades, rural communities have relied on immigrant doctors for their care. Midha explains, "Foreign-born physicians are uniquely willing to serve rural communities even when few others move there. Immigration restrictions risk cutting off one of the last remaining lifelines for rural healthcare access."
Immigrant doctors who came to the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s were able to obtain J-1 visas, which "allow for a path to permanent residency if a doctor works for at least 3 years in an area with underserved healthcare needs," Midha adds. They cared for patients in "rural Indiana, deep Appalachia, coastal Louisiana, and parts of Texas, hours from the closest city," where few American graduates wanted to live.
Congress could expand the Conrad 30 program to add some physicians with J-1 waivers who can treat in rural communities. "The bipartisan Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act would have expanded (albeit slightly) the number of spots and extended the program. It was initially introduced in Congress in 2023 and again in 2025 but has seen little movement," Midha writes.
In the face of the current shortage, some states are developing their own approaches to help rural communities secure access to doctors. Midha writes, "At least 18 states, led by Tennessee, have enacted laws permitting internationally-trained physicians with appropriate experience to practice medicine without having to repeat medical residency."
Meanwhile, some rural communities may face a more severe shortage of physicians, and residents will have to travel longer distances for care. Expanding and developing paths for immigrant physicians "is not merely a moral imperative -- it is an economic one," Midha adds. "And it is one that can address one of the greatest challenges to equitable care."
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. (koto_feja/iSotck via Getty Images Plus, CC)
With its spiking fevers, extreme fatigue, watery eyes, diarrhea, photo-sensitivity, and possible lifelong complications or death paired with its high contagion rate, measles has been likened to the "flu on steroids." Alla Katsnelson, the associate health editor for The Conversation, shares a brief on measles, reviews its renewed spread in the U.S. and discusses the measles vaccination.
As one of the world's most contagious diseases, measles is "far more contagious than more familiar infectious illnesses such as flu, Covid-19 and chickenpox," Katsnelson explains. Beyond its ability to spread, the disease can cause severe lung problems, pneumonia or brain swelling, which usually require a hospital inpatient stay.
Since early last year, the U.S. has had an increasing number of measles cases. Katsnelson writes, "The measles outbreak in South Carolina reached 876 cases on Feb. 3. That number surpasses the 2025 outbreak in Texas and hits the unfortunate milestone of being the largest outbreak in the U.S. since 2000, when the disease was declared eliminated here."
Measles has spread more easily in communities with overall vaccination rates below 93 to 95%, which is considered the threshold for herd immunity. Katsnelson adds, "A striking – though unsurprising – feature of the South Carolina outbreak is that at least 800 of the reported cases occurred in people who weren’t vaccinated."
The vaccine mimics what catching measles does without the long-term risks. The vaccine, when given according to the recommended 2-dose regimen, is 97% effective in preventing measles infection. Daniel Pastula, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Colorado, told Katsnelson, "The immunity from a vaccine is effectively the same immunity you get from having measles itself – but vastly safer than encountering the wild virus unprotected."
Why have some parents refused to have their children vaccinated against measles? Few people, including medical providers, have ever known anyone with measles or treated someone with it. Many parents who have lived in the U.S., where there has been herd immunity for decades, "have decided that vaccinating their children, which does pose some amount of risk from rare complications, is the better choice," Katsnelson writes. However, when enough families decline vaccination, herd immunity no longer protects against the disease.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, recommended that Americans get the measles vaccine. He told Dana Bash of CNN, "Take the vaccine, please. We have a solution for our problem."
Nearly half of all U.S. farms are not profitable. (Photo by Matthew Putney, DTN)
A bipartisan group of agricultural leaders representing nearly all sectors of the industry sent a letter to congressional agriculture leaders outlining how current farmer distress is so extreme that, if left unaddressed, the country risks a "widespread collapse of American agriculture."
The missive identifies the primary causes of the current farm crisis and urges Congress to begin passing its recommended corrective actions immediately.
"The group charged that Trump administration policies 'have caused tremendous harm to U.S. agriculture' and are having long-term negative effects on the competitiveness of farmers and agriculture," report Jerry Hagstrom and Chris Clayton of Progressive Farmer.
The letter points out the stark realities that many American farmers face today: "Farmer bankruptcies have doubled, barely half of all farms will be profitable this year, and the U.S. is running a historic agriculture trade deficit. These metrics reflect a sharp reversal from record farm export surpluses and farm incomes experienced just a few years ago."
The letter cites multiple factors causing the crisis:
Increased farm input costs driven by tariffs on fertilizer, farm chemicals and machinery parts
Loss of export markets due to trade wars and withdrawal from trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Weakening of international trade partnerships as traditional allies turn to other suppliers
Disruptions to agricultural labor supply affecting dairy, fruit and produce, and meat processing
Massive cuts to USDA staffing and agricultural research funding
Reductions in foreign aid and domestic food programs
The group asked Congress to immediately take nine specific actions to begin restoring stability for American farmers, including exempting all farm inputs from tariffs, passing legislation for E15 ethanol, passing Trade Promotion Authority, completing review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and passing a new farm bill and farm labor reform.
A letter synopsis and a copy of the letter, including the names and positions of all 27 signatories, are found here.
An animal wound with New World screwworm eggs, larvae and an adult. (Photo by Samantha Gibbs, FWS)
The first New World screwworm animal case in 10 years was discovered in Florida earlier this week, prompting farm leaders and state officials to acknowledge that, although current protocols prevented this infected animal from entering the U.S., the noxious pest's reentry may be inevitable.
The blowfly larvae rode in on a horse "from Argentina [that] presented for routine inspection at an import quarantine facility in Florida," report Chris Torres and Joshua Baethge of Farm Progress. Larvae samples collected from a wound during the horse's examinations were "shipped to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Iowa, and it was confirmed that the larvae were New World screwworm."
Sid Miller, Texas agriculture commissioner, said "the detection is proof of the importance of USDA’s import inspection and quarantine protocols," Torres and Baethge write. According to Miller, "Our federal inspection system is working exactly as designed and is an additional biosecurity tool that will protect our industry."
At the annual Lancaster Cattle Feeders Day in late January, Colin Woodall, the CEO for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, told fellow cattle producers, "You should be worried about [NWS] because no doubt there will be a market impact." Torres and Baethge add, "Woodall said beef producers should be prepared for an outbreak."
Using millions of sterile male NSW blowfly dispersals, the USDA and Mexican authorities have been trying to get ahead of the pest's travel through Mexico and into the U.S., where it's most likely to cross into Texas. Farm Progress reports, "The USDA also announced a new dispersal area for sterile flies going as far as 50 miles into Texas to stop the insect’s northern spread."
Female screwworm flies most often lay their eggs in the open wounds or scratches of sheep or cattle, but the larvae will feed on the flesh of any warm-blooded animal, which should leave more than cattle producers worried. Torres and Baethge explain, "Miller says screwworms can infest any of the 200 mammal species in Texas. That’s bad news for pet owners, not to mention the state’s multibillion-dollar wildlife industry."
Western states rely on winter snowpack for community and farming water supplies. (Photo by Lamar, Unsplash)
Unlike most of the country, Western states are experiencing warmer-than-normal winter temperatures and haven't had enough snow to replenish water needed for drier months or sustain winter tourism, which helps to fuel their economy.
"An extreme snow drought and unusually warm weather are keeping skiers off the mountains, snowmobilers off the trails and water out of the rivers across much of the West," reports Jim Robbins for The New York Times.
Much of the West relies on thawing winter snowpack to provide water for residents, irrigation, trout streams and reservoirs throughout the year.
The lack of snowpack in the Colorado Rockies and the Colorado River Basin "adds to the 26-year-long megadrought in the region, which has led to extremely low levels in the two largest reservoirs on the Colorado River," Robbins explains. "Colorado is having its warmest winter since 1895."
The reason for the drastic change in snowfall and temperature between the last few years and this year "isn’t easily explained," Robbins adds. "Scientists have found that it is difficult to attribute the snow drought entirely to climate change."
Skiing tourism in Oregon has been particularly hard hit because there's been so little snow. Presley Quon, a spokesperson for Mt. Bachelor, a ski resort near Bend, Ore., told the Times, "It’s been a really rough season for ski resorts." Robbins adds, "Last year at this time, Mt. Bachelor had 109 inches of snow at its base; this year it has 27 inches."
At higher elevations, snowpack inches are at a more normal level; however, the runoff most communities rely on for water "comes from the middle and lower elevations, which cover a far greater area than the land at higher altitudes," Robbins explains.
Despite the abysmal snowfall thus far, there's still time for snowpack levels to rebound. Robbins adds, "February, March and often April are the months when most of the snow usually falls in the mountains."
Mural painter Pamela Kellough gave this barn a patriotic makeover. (Photo by Pamela Kellough, Successful Farming)
Veterans and active U.S. military interested in farming agritourism can sign up now to attend the in-person, hybrid or online training series: "Serving the Land: A Veteran's Guide to Farm Stays and Outdoor Experiences."
The training includes "five live online sessions held each Monday evening in March, with topics including budgeting, risk management, goal setting, taxes and recordkeeping, and digital marketing," reports Lisa Foust Prater of Successful Farming. "On-demand online classes on zoning, insurance, and agritourism laws can be taken anytime."
Cost: Free for active military service members and military veterans When: March through August Where: Online and participating farm stay locations across Nebraska (to be announced). Online tours will be provided for participants who can't attend in person. Registration required by March 16: Click here to register. Questions/assistance with registering: Contact Kirstin Bailey, kirstinb@cfra.org or 402.870.2390, or Deborah Solie, deborahs@cfra.org or 402.870.1133
Kirstin Bailey, senior project manager with the center, told Prater, "Participants will learn directly from farmers and agritourism leaders about the business of hosting guests on working farms. They will also receive practical tools, examples, and worksheets to help prepare them for launching or expanding guest-based agritourism enterprises."
Stipends are available to cover approved expenses, such as travel, meals and child care. Individuals are welcome to attend with family members.
This program is sponsored by the Center of Rural Affairs, a nonprofit focused on cultivating strong communities through social and economic efforts and environmental stewardship.
This newborn calf was struggling in the deep freeze until she was brought indoors to curl up on couch. (Photo by Macey Sorrell via WKYT-27)
Frigid temperatures left a newborn calf struggling for survival until her farming family in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, brought her indoors to warm. up. "The calf was born outdoors in single-digit temperatures. Macey Sorrell said her husband, Tanner, went outside to check on the pregnant mother and found the calf, suffering in the cold," reports Dylan Lovan of The Associated Press. Macey Sorrell told reporters, "When we brought her in, she had ice on her. The afterbirth was still on her. I had to wipe all that off. I took out the blow dryer and warmed her up, and got her all fluffed out."
During autumn, leaves change into vibrant shades of yellow, orange and red, then tumble to the ground, where they brown and return to nature. But not all leaves fall. "Even in the height of winter, a curious number of oak and beech trees refuse to let go of their brown, brittle foliage," write Kasha Patel, Emily Wright and Marvin Joseph of The Washington Post. Scientists are investigating why some plants don't seal off dead leaves, causing them to fall. "They found a surprising number of species hold onto their papery remains — but the explanations are anything but cut and dried."
Humboldt martens are known for their inquisitive expressions. (Photo by Ben Wymer via Popular Science)
Having once ranged all about the Pacific Northwest, coastal martens, also known as Humboldt martens, were believed to have been hunted into extinction by fur traders "until a U.S. Forest Service biologist discovered a small population in the coastal woods of northern California in 1996," reports Laura Baisas for Popular Science. Coastal martens, known for their cute, inquisitive furry faces, are "related to weasels, otters, mink, wolverines, and fetters are making a slow recovery in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. . . . They are currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and are at risk due to habitat loss, rodenticides, vehicles, and disease."
Current rules only allow mules to compete as jumpers. (Photo by Amy Heartfield via The Chronicle of the Horse)
Horses aren't the only four-legged animals that can be trained for hunting competitions -- mules can too. But current U.S. Equestrian Federation rules only allow mules to show in equine jumping competitions. Sport horse breeder Kimmy Risser and Holly Fox, who are both mule enthusiasts, are pushing to have the rules changed, reports Sarah K. Susa for The Chronicle of the Horse. According to Risser and Fox, "There’s just no reason mules can’t compete against horses. Hunter classes have clear standards, and mules can be held to those same standards and judged equally alongside their horse competitors."
Wildfire smoke in the West can spread for miles from a fire site and harm crops in its path. "Similar to how it affects humans, smoke can block out sunlight and inhibit photosynthesis," reports Shelby Vittek for Offrange. Idaho researchers have been working with different potato varieties to identify the most smoke-tolerant. "The current study is focused on three French fry cultivars: Russet Burbank, which makes up almost half of all plantings in the state; Clearwater Russet, a new variety that’s popular for its heat resistance; and Alturas Russets, a late-maturing and high-yielding potato. Preliminary results already show that certain varieties might fare better than others." The Puppy Bowl's fine flying canine promoters soar to an epic Styx song.
Puppy Bowl XXII returns to screens on Sunday, Feb. 8, beginning at 2 p.m. EST. The furry competition between Team Ruff and Team Fluff is
sure to feature penalty flags, squeaky toys, Hail Mary catches, adorable
side-eyes, fumbles, speedy paws and touchdowns. This Animal Planet
tradition is one of the country's biggest rallies for pet adoption. This
year's teams boast a highfalutin lineup, including puppies like
"Button," who has soft ears and a hard game. Or "Lobster Roll" from Westbrook, Maine. She's 30 pounds of muscle. . .not the seafood kind. . . It's football, only
better.
The EPA issued guidance that the Clean
Air Act does not interfere with farmers’ right to repair equipment.
(Photo by Lance Cheung, USDA)
After years of battling for the right to repair their own equipment, American farmers gleaned a victory from the Environmental Protection Agency.
As of Monday, the agency "notified manufacturers that the Clean Air Act does not prohibit independent repairs to off-road diesel equipment such as farm machinery," reports Cami Koons of the Iowa Capital Dispatch. "A news release from EPA said manufacturers 'can no longer' use the act to 'justify limiting access to repair tools or software.'"
The EPA news release outlined how equipment manufacturers have
consistently used the Clean Air Act to force farmers to wait for
company-certified techs, pay for repairs they could have done
themselves, or work with older, less sophisticated equipment.
Farm machinery manufacturer John Deere "has been central to the right-to-repair issue," Koons explains. The company had used the Clean Air Act to restrict farmers from tampering with emission control systems, insisting that its machinery used "sophisticated technology that could only be [legally] worked on by John Deere technicians."
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said that EPA's clarification is "expected to save farmers thousands in unnecessary repairs . . . .We are reaffirming the lawful right of American farmers and equipment owners to repair their farm equipment.”
During his January visit to Iowa, President Donald Trump said he planned to remove some emission requirements for tractors, Koons reports. In a speech to a crowd of Iowans, Trump said, "We’re going to get the tractors back where you don’t have to be a Ph.D. in order to start your tractor, in order to keep the environment clean."
A group of concerned Willmar residents gather to discuss recent ICE activity. (Photo by B. Froiland, The Yonder)
What would you do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement descended on your small town? Residents of Willmar, Minnesota, are working on an answer.
The town might have only 21,000 people, but as ICE has fanned out in Minnesota's bigger cities, such as Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., it has also taken to raiding in smaller towns like Willmar, which has a racially diverse population, including many Somali and Latino residents.
A group of Willmar residents, who have been working together to prevent community ICE arrests, recently met at a local Mexican restaurant to discuss ICE actions and possible ways to help threatened neighbors, reports Betsy Froiland of The Daily Yonder. "The residents around the table were high school students and business owners, children and parents, white neighbors witnessing the terror in their community and neighbors of color living it."
One Willmar resident told the group, “You see things in the news and you think, ‘that’s never going to happen here,’ Froiland reports. “And then you’re witnessing it firsthand.”
The ongoing ICE presence is also having a chilling effect on the town's economy. Froiland explains, "With people too afraid to leave their homes to work or shop, many local businesses are taking a financial hit."
Location of Willmar within Kandiyohi County, Minn.
Right now, many Willmar residents are doing their best to look out for one another and provide for residents in hiding. Froiland reports, "They are picking up the pieces after ICE arrests a neighbor, contacting their family, returning their belongings, and arranging care for children and pets left behind."
Other residents have seen their relationships with neighbors fracture. Froiland writes, "While some cross-party relationships remain intact, others have devolved, particularly online, into political sparring about ICE."
The group at the table is trying to figure out how to handle present-day life in Willmar." Julie Vossen-Henslin, another resident in the room, wondered aloud about how the community might recover from an experience like this, Froiland adds. "Then, looking at her neighbors sitting around their big, makeshift table, she answered her own question, 'it starts like this.'"
States in green have been granted federal SNAP waivers to restrict SNAP benefit purchases. (USDA map)
State food-choice restrictions on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program purchases have some grocery stores in a conundrum, trying to determine which foods are allowed and which aren't.
Beginning Jan. 1, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia rolled out their new "no junk food" SNAP purchase limits, but a total of "eighteen states have adopted new food-stamp restrictions," report Jesse Newman and Laura Cooper of The Wall Street Journal. As a whole, rural Americans are more likely to use SNAP benefits, but less likely to know about benefit changes because of online access limits.
Each state has limited different items and has varied its wording of restrictions, which can be confusing. For instance, in Indiana, mini-donuts can be purchased with SNAP benefits, but candy bars cannot. The Journal reports, "Grocery executives said that determining which products are food-stamp eligible and which aren’t has become a complex undertaking."
Retailers, who are working to ensure that only SNAP-allowed items can be purchased, have had "employees sifting through state-issued flow charts, scanning product bar codes and checking ingredient lists across thousands of goods in stores," Newman and Cooper explain. Allowed items have to be cataloged and entered into computer systems as well.
Beyond the labor hours needed to update their SNAP catalogs, retailers and industry groups said "guidance from USDA and many state agencies on how to implement the new restrictions has been insufficient," Newman writes.
For states that implemented their restrictions on Jan. 1, many SNAP enrollees seem unaware of the changes. Mark Griffin, chief executive of grocery chain B&R Stores, said "his company is dealing with lines at checkout counters as clerks tell longtime customers they can no longer use food stamps to buy soda or candy," the Journal reports.
The SNAP changes are part of a federal push to help Americans make healthier dietary choices; however, opponents to SNAP restrictions point out that "limiting grocery options ignores the real causes of poor diets, such as low incomes, high food prices and access to healthy food," the Journal reports. Last month, the Trump administration unveiled new dietary guidelines that it hopes can address some of the chronic diet-related diseases in Americans.
Wind power is being blown over by opposition from local residents, who don't like the look of turbines, and the Trump administration, which ended federal tax credits and has worked to stall federal permitting approvals. Without robust growth in wind power, experts are doubtful the U.S. will be able to meet future electricity demand.
In states that were once turbine-friendly, "new wind project developments are teetering on the brink, despite growing power demand," report Dan Gearino and Anika Jane Beamer of Inside Climate News. "Even Iowa, the nation’s most wind-powered state, is 'closed for business,' experts say."
Graph by Paul Horn, ICN, from Energy Information Administration data
Although the Trump administration's resistance to offshore wind farms may be more familiar to Americans, the administration's weakening of land-based or 'onshore' wind development will have a much larger impact on the nation's power grid. Gearino and Beamer write, "In 2024, the most recent full year for which data is available, wind energy produced 7.7% of the nation’s electricity, more than any other renewable source."
Atin Jain, an energy analyst for the research firm BloombergNEF, told ICN, "U.S. onshore wind is in its weakest shape in about a decade, not because the technology has stopped being competitive, but because the policy and, to an extent, the macro-environment have turned sharply against it."
During the early to mid-2010s, many Iowa landowners and local governments welcomed wind farm developments and the significant revenue they generated. Opposition from residents was sporadic and generally ineffective, but "in the late 2010s, something changed," Gearino and Beamer explain. "In both Iowa and nationwide, wind energy projects began to face local opposition that was more aggressive and better organized than before."
The era of growth in Iowa’s wind industry "is almost certainly nearing its end," ICN reports. "The resistance comes almost entirely from the local level. . . . Roughly 58 of Iowa’s 99 counties now have rules designed to limit wind power development, including many of the counties with the strongest wind resources."
Whether it's 32 degrees or -5 degrees, prolonged exposure to cold air takes a toll on the human body. For rural residents living in remote areas far from help, or in regions not accustomed to colder temperatures, knowledge about coping with cold, including proper clothing, and supplies for extended power outages can save lives, reports Devi Shastri of The Associated Press.
Cold can be stealthy. "Some of the most dangerous situations happen when the temperature is low for a long time, even 30 to 40 F," Shastri writes, "In these situations, long-term cold exposure taxes the body, driving up blood pressure and working the heart." A person who is shivering needs to be warmed as soon as possible.
Drinking plenty of water helps people stay warm. Drinking alcohol isn't advised because it can make people feel warmer than they are.
Wearing layers of dry clothes, especially dry socks, is one of the best ways to help the body trap heat. "The North Carolina Department of Emergency Management suggests wearing warm, loose-fitting, lightweight clothing in many layers that are easy to add or remove," Shastri reports. "It also recommends covering your mouth with scarves to protect the lungs from directly breathing in extremely cold air."
Smaller spaces will stay warmer. If you're waiting for the heat to come back on, move into a smaller room. Some sources even suggest pitching a tent in a room and climbing into a sleeping bag to add heat.
Check on your neighbors. "Young children, older adults and people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are the most at risk when it’s cold," Shastri adds. "Community awareness is key during dangerous cold spells. Many don’t realize they need help until someone asks."
A direct trade route from the Port of Chancay, Peru, to Shanghai, China, decreases transit time and lowers costs. (Investigate Midwest map)
Despite the financial boost China's purchase of 12 million tons of soybeans gave some U.S. farmers this year, the shift in Beijing's trading partners doesn't bode well for future U.S. crop sales. China has spent the past decade fostering global relationships outside of trade with the U.S., with a particular focus on South America.
China has invested in nearly two dozen seaports throughout Latin American, which create a "logistics network to support China's growing trade with the region," reports Mónica Cordero of Investigate Midwest. "These seaport investments range from multi-billion-dollar deep-water terminals to smaller upgrades that improve rail links, storage capacity, and ship turnaround times."
COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned company, has been investing in Peru's Pacific-facing Port of Chancay. "The $3.54 billion project marks a major expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative into Latin America," Cordero writes. "From Chancay, the promise is that ships will reach China faster, a critical advantage for agricultural products."
Many experts point to the U.S.-China trade war that began in 2018, during President Donald Trump's first term, as the reason China began shunning American agriculture. Cordero explains, "But since returning to office, the president has renewed that strategy, and China’s investments signal a generational shift that may not reverse if and when the trade war subsides."
Without sales to China, American soybean farmers are in a particularly vulnerable position. Cordero reports, "Nationwide, more than 270,000 farms grow soybeans. . . . In Illinois, nearly half of all farms depend on soybean production, and in Iowa and Minnesota, about four in 10 do."
"As China establishes new trade routes across Latin America, every new port or shipping lane makes a future recovery for U.S. farmers more challenging," Cordero writes. April Hemmes, an Iowa soybean farmer, told Cordero, "The only way that we become their top choice would be if our soybeans were far cheaper than South America’s.”
Members of Groundswell Collective advocate for their 'Nursery to Nursing Home' campaign (Photo The Yonder)
In Walworth County, Wisconsin, a local community group called Groundswell Collective proposed to turn a vacant wing of the county’s nursing home into a combined childcare center and senior-living space, reports Madeline de Figueiredo for The Daily Yonder.
Like many rural communities, this county has faced challenges such as a lack of child care and senior care, as well as the loneliness and isolation that can come with living in a rural area with long winters.
Abriana Krause, who lives and works in the area as a childcare provider, told the Yonder, "In Walworth County, all 2,240 licensed childcare slots, spread across
the 35 active centers listed on the DCF [Department of Children and
Families] website, are already full. That leaves nearly 2,680 children
without stable care." Similarly, Wisconsin is projected to need 33,000 long-term care beds by 2030.
To support their proposal, the Groundswell Collective has relied on research that shows the benefits of intergenerational care, such as "boosting the well-being of both children and older people, reducing isolation, improving cognitive and physical health for older people, and cultivating empathy and connection in young children," Figueiredo explains. Intergenerational care has also been linked to dispelling age stereotypes and a renewed sense of care that affects entire communities and fosters lasting relationships.
Research also shows that the benefits intergenerational spaces offer can "extend to the caregiving staff," Figueiredo reports. "Daily interaction with
both children and older adults can enhance the work environment and
make intergenerational centers more rewarding for staff." There’s hope that this initiative will help the county retain nursing staff.
After almost a year of the community organizing around the proposal, the Walworth County Board approved funding in November for a feasibility study on the intergenerational care center.
Trump poses for photos with younger "fans" during his Iowa visit.
President Donald Trump returned to Iowa this week to reassure farmers of his support and to tout his administration’s recent $12 billion farming aid package.
But as farmers face economic headwinds, "some are growing frustrated with how his policies, including his far-reaching tariffs, have hurt the agricultural economy," report Patrick Thomas and Ken Thomas of The Wall Street Journal.
Trump told an audience of diners at the Machine Shed restaurant in Urbandale, Iowa, that he "'gave farmers $12 billion . . . because they were treated unfairly by foreign countries," the Journal reports. The crowd applauded.
Despite the rousing crowd support the president received, some U.S. farms are hurting. Thomas writes, "In the first nine months of 2025, nearly 300 farms filed for bankruptcy, up almost 40% from 2024, according to U.S. court data."
Mark Mueller, who is president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, told the Journal, "We’re getting a lot of lip service. He’s saying that he’s going to do all these things to make things wonderful. We’ll have a new golden era of agriculture. No, that’s not been the case.”
Last month, Trump angered cattle producers by taking to social media and demanding that they lower beef prices. American livestock owners, who have made abysmal profits for years, are just now realizing steady profits.
Other farmers have been "irked by a lack of ag-friendly policy victories in Washington, such as expanding the blending of corn into gasoline and soybeans into diesel," the Journal reports. Farming advocacy groups have pushed for "increasing the use of gasoline with 15% ethanol, known as E15, [that] would increase demand for U.S.-grown corn and push up prices."
Meanwhile, the state will have some intensely competitive midterm elections where Democrats are working to gain traction. Steve Scheffler, who leads the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, "recalled that former President Barack Obama carried the state in the 2008 and 2012 elections," Thomas adds. "He warned that Democrats would try to make inroads in this year’s midterms — without Trump’s name on the ballot."
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe's buffalo roam on more 15,000 acres in southeastern Montana. (Photo via The Daily Yonder)
The Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana is home to the Northern Cheyenne tribe, a growing herd of buffalo and a new solar installation that will allow the tribe to expand its buffalo restoration program while providing a better path to tribal food and energy sovereignty.
The buffalo herd roams on a vast swath of land that covers more than 15,000 acres and "has no transmission lines crossing it, meaning there’s no way to get electricity out to the land unless the electricity is completely off the grid," reports Ilana Newman of The Daily Yonder. "Last year, the Northern Cheyenne buffalo program received a solar array that will allow it to expand the herd and processing capacity of the facility."
Although all Native American tribes are said to be sovereign nations, in practice, many tribes have been forced to rely on the U.S. federal government for some form of support. Newman explains, "But sovereignty is still the goal for every tribal nation. And asserting independence around how they manage their food, health, and energy are some main ways indigenous communities are reclaiming sovereignty."
Bringing back buffalo herds can be key for tribes like the Northern Cheyenne, who have been working on plans to improve tribal members' health while caring for tribal lands. Newman reports, "Tribes and researchers are proving that buffalo are the key to healthier ecosystems and food sovereignty for northern plains tribes."
The Northern Cheyenne's buffalo herd is around 300 head and not cheap to care for; however, the "solar array brings the buffalo program closer to self-sufficiency," Newman writes. "It currently powers a small bunkhouse. . . Starlink internet, and a freezer that holds processed bison meat. It also powers electric fences and gates to keep out intruders."
Even with the buffalo and the solar panels, the Northern Cheyenne must plan carefully. Brandon Small, who runs the buffalo restoration program, told Newman, "We wanted to do it in such a way that we could still get meat processed and donated out to the communities, but still have enough money to keep our operation going and keep growing and expanding."
National Guard soldiers push a stuck motorist’s vehicle in Indiana. (Indiana National Guard photo, Flickr CC, via SEJ)
Old Man Winter is here, and he appears to be angry, which may be miserable for most of us; however, seasonal swings provide a unique opportunity for community reporters who can offer highly localized weather data and stories to help their readers with local forecasts, weather warnings, safety reminders and precautions specific to regional needs.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center may have a global reach, but it also "monitors all kinds of things that may make more local news near you," reports Joseph A. Davis for the Society of Environmental Journalists.
"Maybe you live in a water-scarce area like California or the Colorado River Basin. The NSIDC not only monitors seasonal snowpack but translates that into meltwater potential."
When reporting about weather, it's good to remember that not everyone can work from home and "some people have to slog to work to make trips possible for those who do," Davis writes. "Wintry conditions affect the lives of all kinds of people. Plow operators can look forward to double shifts. . . . . Restaurant workers could lose their jobs if they don’t show for work. Farmers can lose their crops or livestock, and older people stuck at home if their heat goes out could die."
Stories can cover how local medical clinics and rural hospitals prepare for snow and ice storms, or could explore how highway officials and snowplow operators prepare for extreme winter weather.
What is rural? A recently recorded webinar addresses that question and adds context. "In 2025, many agencies across the federal government released new data allowing users to understand how rural populations and areas are changing. This webinar will provide a brief history of rural population over time and review how the term 'rural' is defined," reports the Rural Health Information Hub. "Changes to rural areas, as identified by Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), with their most recent September 2025 data release, will be highlighted." Find session handouts here, and the audio version here. The recorded YouTube discussion is shared above.
Carmel-by-the-Sea coastline (Wikipedia photo)
Whimsical or fantastic, home addresses in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, had a breezy flair, free of physical address numbers, but that's about to change. "For 109 years, residents have used directional descriptors. . . . such as Sea Castle, Nut House and A Turn of Fraise," reports Hailey Branson-Potts of the Los Angeles Times. "This spring, every government building, business and house in the town of 3,200 people will be assigned a number." Many residents have long resisted the move, but "complaints about missed packages and mail-order medications, as well as trouble setting up banking accounts and utilities, kept piling up."
WD-40 can remove chewing gum from all kinds of surfaces.
Freemasons and the Knights Templar aren't the only ones with secret societies: WD-40, the world's most famous lubricant, has one, too. The company's current CEO, Steve Brass, was at the helm for nearly 30 years before he was allowed to join the ultra-secret club, which gave him access to the "undisclosed Bank of America location" where the WD-40's handwritten formula is kept, reports Jennifer Williams of The Wall Street Journal. The formula has "only left a bank vault three times in the past 30 years." WD-40 is 70 years old and has been used "for everything from loosening bolts to coaxing a boa constrictor out of a car engine compartment and removing gum from turtle shells."
Zoom. Zoom. Zoom. It could be the sound of a Mazda, or the sound of EV charging stations popping up across the U.S., despite recent efforts to depress EV sales. "The U.S. added a record number of public electric-vehicle fast chargers last year, keeping up with demand from growing number of EV owners," reports Jeff St. John of CanaryMedia. "The Trump administration pushed Republicans in Congress to cancel Biden-era EV tax credits and revoke states’ rights to set clean-car mandates" but that hasn't put the brakes on charging station builds and consumer use. Data analytics firm Paren found that "new chargers are working more reliably and being used more heavily than ever — a sign the country is matching charging supply to demand."
Approximately 100 teen volunteers log more than 10,000 contacts a year from youth around the world. (Teen Line photo via Reasons to be Cheerful)
When teens need someone to talk to about life problems, sometimes the best listener is another teen. Since 1980, the Center for the Study of Young People in Groups in California has supported a free teen hotline that connects trained teens with peers for nonjudgmental listening. Michaela Haas for Reasons to be Cheerfulreports, "Approximately 40% of U.S. high-school students report persistent sadness or hopelessness, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24. . . .For the teens who undergo rigorous training to become hotline volunteers, the experience can be "transformative." Read about the full project and its impact here.
Pew Research graph, from survey of U.S. adults conducted Nov. 17-30, 202
The good, the bad and the ugly: That's what the majority of Americans say we need to be sharing about U.S. history, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. Andy Cerda of the Pew Research Centerreports, "Majorities in both parties say it’s important to talk about both America’s successes and its failures. . . .66% of U.S. adults say it is extremely or very important to publicly discuss the country’s historical successes and strengths and 66% say the same about discussing the country’s historical failures and flaws."
Microsoft’s new AI data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wis. (Microsoft graphic via Canary Media)
Utility regulators in Wisconsin are scrutinizing the state's first energy plan to power AI campuses. Meanwhile, consumer and environmental groups dispute the need and consumer benefits for supporting data center developments.
The biggest debate right now is how much of their energy infrastructure costs data centers will be required to pay. Kari Lydersen of Canary Mediareports, "Wisconsin’s largest utility, We Energies, has offered its first major proposal before state regulators on the issue."
The proposal, which is open for public comment, contains two options for data centers to choose from, both of which outline that "data centers would pay most or all of the price to construct new power plants or renewables needed to serve them," Lydersen explains. The first option, defined as "full benenfits" requires data centers to fund 100% of their needs. The second option, called "capacity only," requires data centers to pay 75% of their costs. "Other customers would pick up the tab for the remaining 25%."
The We Energies decision is also likely to set a precedent for other Wisconsin utilities managing data center energy plans. Bryan Rogers, the environmental justice director for the Milwaukee community organization Walnut Way Conservation Corp, told Lyderson, "As goes We Energies, so goes the rest of the state.”
Consumer and environmental groups are speaking out against the capacity-only option, arguing that "it is unfair to make regular customers pay a quarter of the price for building new generation that might not have been necessary without data centers in the picture," Lyderson writes.
We Energies says "everyone will benefit from building more power sources," Lyderson reports. Jeffry Pollock, a Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group trade adviser, told regulators that "the utility’s own modeling of the capacity-only approach showed scenarios in which the costs borne by customers outweigh the benefits to them."
Although Wisconsin has seven big data centers under
construction, the state "has no laws governing how the computing
facilities get their power," Lyderson writes. Wisconsin lawmakers are
debating two bills that define data center energy division, but "until a
measure is passed, individual decisions by the state Public Service
Commission will determine how utilities supply energy to data centers."
Whether it's juicy burgers, a tender tri-tip roast, or the rich flavor of grilled steaks, many Americans love their beef. But affording red meat -- even ground beef -- has become trickier for many household budgets. For some families, purchasing a whole or part of an entire cow could be the answer to beef dinners that don't empty the grocery wallet, reports Emma Glassman-Hughes for Offrange.
Today's meat industry has accustomed most U.S. consumers to choosing beef cuts from grocery store shelves lined with plastic-covered trays, offering a variety of cuts at a wide range of prices. "But with increasing social, political, and economic instability, some [experts] are predicting more Americans will attempt to insulate their pantries. . . by buying their meat in bulk directly from farmers," Glassman-Hughes explains.
Bulk beef purchases cost more upfront, and consumers pay one price per pound for all cuts. However, the initial cost of half a cow (also known as a side of beef) can be $1,300, which can be cost-prohibitive, even though the price per pound ranges from $6.50 to $7.00, which is a significant savings for family grocery budgets. To offset the costs, some families opt to go in together when purchasing a side of beef and then divide the spoils. Sharing a side of beef purchase also helps consumers reduce the freezer storage space needed.
A direct-sale bulk meat purchase also helps cattle producers and local economies. Michele Thorne, who heads up the nonprofit, the Good Meat Project, which focuses on helping Americans afford more ethically produced meat, told Offrange, “I enjoy supporting a local farm, because I know that my money is staying in the community, in the state."
While some cattle farmers handle the butchering for their customers, in more remote locations, cow-purchasing customers have to arrange their own butcher, which sometimes requires planning months in advance. Glassman-Hughes explains. "This country’s butchering industry has been shrinking for the last half-century, stretching the remaining butchers to their limits."
Even with the initial planning for upfront costs, freezer space and a butcher, the "experience of buying meat directly from a farmer instead of shrink-wrapped at the grocery store would seem to outweigh the negatives for many," Glassman Hughes adds. "Thorne believes that, if nothing else, buying directly from farmers and butchers goes a long way toward strengthening the overall community fabric."
Find step-by-step "buying half a cow" tips and instructions here.
U.S. Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is a donkey of a different color. As a Democrat elected in a red district, she has worked to keep her finger on the pulse of her rural constituents while pointedly telling her party to step into the reality of "regular people," writes James Pogue in his opinion for The New York Times.
Gluesenkamp Perez believes our society "ought to be oriented toward working with your hands, living in nature and fostering deep and considered connection to a community," Pogue explains. "Her two biggest influences, her former senior adviser guessed, are the Bible and the ruralist Kentucky farmer-author Wendell Berry."
She has gone against her party with bold strokes by "voting against President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and repeatedly criticizing his administration’s incomprehensible border policy," Pogue adds.
While many Democratic lawmakers have, for decades, focused on data points and expert opinions to win over voters, Gluesenkamp Perez insists that pushing such singular thinking on rural and working-class Americans has created resentment and anger.
At the Capitol, Gluesenkamp Perez has become the "most visible member of a small movement that has taken the name of the decades-old Blue Dog congressional caucus," Pogue explains. "The Blue Dogs have been arguing that Democrats cannot win over rural or working-class voters simply by studying them . . . . This little movement may well get driven out of the party before Democrats grasp what it’s truly offering."
President Donald Trump's MAGA supporters, who include many voters in rural America, see his administration’s immigration crackdowns and tariffs as "twin pillars in an attempt to create an economic system governed not by gross domestic product data and consumer spending, but by conservative values and nationalist geostrategic ends," Pogue points out. "'Kids don’t 'need 37 dolls,'" Mr. Trump has said. They should have 'three dolls or four.'"
Gluesenkamp Perez and Blue Dog partner Jared Golden, a Democrat from a deeply conservative Maine district, produce a podcast called “Blue Dog Radio" that strives to offer something different from MAGA: an approach that focuses on 'regular people' and the independent spirit many rural Americans hold dear.
"Together, they’ve tried to articulate a friendly and Americana-inflected cultural politics 'for people who still believe in community, country and the common good,'" Pogue writes. "Coupled with an economic vision that is arguably more radical than programs offered by many leftists. It encompasses antimonopoly policies, right to repair and regulatory changes to smooth the path for people to start businesses, buy and work land, even build their own houses and invent things. . . "
