For the first time in decades, the EPA issued an emergency action to move weedkiller off the market

Farm workers can be unaware of Dactha's
use on fields. (Adobe Stock photo)

The popular weedkiller, Dactha, has been removed from U.S. sales floors by the Environmental Protection Agency, which issued an "emergency suspension of DCPA, citing a serious risk to pregnant women and their unborn babies," reports CNN News. Dactha is mostly used as an herbicide to tame weeds in crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and onions.

Exposure to DCPA (Dimethyl Tetrachloroterephthalate) can cause fetal thyroid hormone disruption, which can permanently harm an unborn baby's normal development. The National Archives Federal Register reports, "The downstream effects of such hormone [disruptions] in the fetus may include low birth weight and irreversible and life-long impacts to children exposed in-utero, such as impaired brain development and motor skills."

Dactha's maker, AMVAC Chemical Corporation, worked to address the EPA's concerns; however, the "EPA has determined that there is no combination of practicable mitigations under which DCPA use can continue without presenting an imminent hazard," the Federal Register reports. According to CNN, the EPA noted that DCPA may be considered unsafe for 25 days or more after application.

This is the first time in almost 40 years the EPA has taken this type of emergency action. Michal Freedhoff, the assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, noted that "pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems."

Rich rural reporting ditches the cliches and dives into 'rural stories that reflect the full range of rural experience'

Carlson, left, interviews an artist about using eucalyptus
bark for screen printing. (Photo by Joel Cohen via SEJ)

Rural places aren't cliche or boring and reporting on them shouldn't be either. If you're a rural reporter, you already know that part, but what can journalists from all walks of life do to make the diversity of rural Americans come to life for non-rural readers?

First off, ditch the political stereotypes, writes Claire Carlson for the Society of Environmental Journalists. She writes that rural voters are often blamed for "today’s particular brand of right-wing extremism, as embodied by Donald Trump. . . Yet data shows that arrestees from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection . . . were no more likely to be from a rural area than an urban or suburban location."

Rural folk aren't one-dimensional white Republican-leaning voters any more than city folk are all mindless, liberal Democrats. For reporters who want to get past the cliches, Carlson suggests, "We can start by talking to rural residents about the issues they’re facing rather than only going to the academics and professionals. . . . If you don’t know how to make those local connections, ask your expert sources for suggestions on who from the community you should talk to."

If you want to explore rural life, reporters can "seek out and tell rural stories that reflect the full range of rural experience," Carlson explains. "East Palestine, Ohio, is a good example of this. The 2023 train derailment that spilled hazardous chemicals in this community inundated national headlines. . . . The town became known for its tragedy. But what was this place before a train derailment defined it? None of the stories I read ever told that part of the story." Find that angle. 

"Good and interesting things happen in rural places just as often as in urban ones," Carlson adds. "It’s up to us to tell those stories, too, if only to offer people an understanding of rural America that reflects the nuance and diversity that has always been there."

Rural cancer patients face 'chemotherapy deserts.' Traveling for care means more time and expenses for rural families.

Rural cancer patients are less likely to survive their
diagnosis. (Adobe Stock photo)

One way struggling rural hospitals cut costs is by closing specialized services such as rural cancer care units, which are expensive to staff and run. As more country hospitals have shed cancer care treatment, rural residents face longer drives for treatment and poorer cancer outcomes, reports Charlotte Huff of KFF Health News. Getting cancer treatment for rural Americans wasn't ever easy, but now there are "chemotherapy deserts."

Between 2014 and 2022, 382 rural hospitals ended their cancer treatment services. "Texas led that list, with 57 rural hospitals — nearly half of those statewide that had offered chemotherapy — cutting the service by 2022," Huff writes. "Rural hospitals in states like Texas, which hasn’t expanded Medicaid, have been more likely to close, according to data from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research."

Living in a chemotherapy desert can have numerous negative outcomes for patients and their families. "Treatments for breast, colon and other common cancers must be administered intravenously inside a medical facility," Huff explains. "Even distances of an hour or two each way can strain patients who already may be coping with nausea, diarrhea and other side effects." Travel costs, alongside a family member taking time off work to drive a cancer patient to treatment, add to the disease's financial strain for rural families.

"Cancer infusions can last as long as eight hours on top of the travel time, causing significant financial and logistical challenges, said Erin Ercoline, executive director of the ThriveWell Cancer Foundation," Huff reports. "The nonprofit provides adult patients with financial assistance, including for gaps in insurance and transportation-related costs."

Even within communities that have financial buffers to help rural cancer patients, distance from care exacts a toll. "Rural patients are less likely to survive at least five years after a cancer diagnosis compared with their urban counterparts, concluded a study co-authored by Lewis-Thames and published in JAMA Network Open in 2022," Huff writes. "While the rural-urban survival gap narrowed over the nearly 40 years researchers studied, the disparity persisted across most racial and ethnic groups."

States work to entice younger people back to rural communities and also attract new residents to live there

Stay Work Play NH's Policy and Pints series at Post and
Beam Brewing. (The Daily Yonder photo)

Some states are using new ways to get younger people to return to or join rural communities and put down roots. "States like Kansas, Nebraska, and New Hampshire are working hard to attract and retain younger generations," reports Caroline Tremblay for The Daily Yonder. The goal of each state's plan is to get previous rural residents to return and to attract new residents. To entice both groups, planners and policymakers have created platforms for conversations where younger people's ideas and voices are valued and used by decision makers.

In rural Kansas, the Kansas Sampler Foundation implemented a "PowerUp" identifier for younger residents "between the ages of 21 and 39ish," Tremblay explains. "A PowerUp is someone who is rural by choice. . . . Many PowerUps KSF has interviewed express wanting a sense of community, especially when it comes to raising kids, and a number have voiced entrepreneurial aspirations."

Nebraska's approach to gaining younger residents is to invite those who left to come home and add their valued gifts to their hometown communities. State activist Megan Helberg "is one of many spreading the message that young Nebraskans should go explore but then bring their greatness back," Tremblay reports. "In 2024, Helberg's senior class had six graduates, all of whom are heading off to college. But 75% are committed to coming back to help with an existing business or start one of their own."

New Hampshire has its own twist on helping younger people look at the state's rural places in a new way called Stay Work Play. The non-profit hosted conversational sessions that took place across the state's colorful brewery scene where state policymakers and planners could hear what younger residents needed to enjoy and stay in New Hampshire. "Unsurprisingly, housing and childcare were high on the list," Tremblay writes. "Stay Work Play is supporting greater investments in the state’s workforce housing fund and advocating for the ability to build smaller units on smaller lot sizes."

Finally Friday's quick hits: The art of butter; fentanyl drug lord captured; Lincoln's words; the traveling candy bar

The iconic 'Butter Lady' with one of her sculptures.
(Photo via The Daily Scoop)

Butter might be the kitchen's hero for sumptuous deserts and sauces, but it's also versatile enough to create sculptured art. The late Norma “Duffy” Lyon, also known as "The Butter Lady," was an icon at the Iowa State Fair, reports Karen Bohnert for The Daily Scoop. "Her creations included just about everything— cows, Garth Brooks, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and Elvis. Read about the life and times of Duffy Lyon here. 

It seems like no matter which tactics are used, the United States continues to lose its border battle to keep the deadly drug fentanyl from entering the country and killing more Americans. But for all those losses, here's an unusual win. "U.S. authorities fooled Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada into boarding a Texas-bound private plane. There he was taken into custody, alongside Joaquin Guzmán, who is the son of famed drug lord 'El Chapo,'" reports KFF Health News. "Zambada's Sinaloa cartel is believed to be the biggest supplier of fentanyl to the U.S., and the two men were among the top-wanted drug dealers in the world."

While landscapes form the better part of rural imagery, our oceans are just as vast -- full of plants, rock-filled sand and creatures sci-fi stories haven't even imagined. Life's origins might just be emerging from the deep. "In the total darkness of the depths of the Pacific Ocean, scientists have discovered oxygen being produced not by living organisms but by strange potato-shaped metallic lumps that give off almost as much electricity as AA batteries," reports Agence France-Presse of The Guardian. "The surprise finding has many potential implications and could even require rethinking how life first began on Earth."

With words and deeds, Lincoln kept a divided nation
together. (Photo by Caleb Fisher, Unsplash)

Somewhere in almost every politician's playbook are some quotes from Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln became president when the nation was "even more deeply divided than today," writes Donald Nieman for The Conversation. "His ability to make prose poetic resonates across the centuries – making him the obvious source for politicians in times of crisis. . . . One of Lincoln's most quoted aphorisms is his "appeal to 'the better angels of our nature'" from his 1861 inaugural address. Americans from all political walks of life have "invoked the phrase to decry the intractable partisan warfare that has escalated over the past decade and call for a return to civility."

Why do you do what you do? A lot of people might say, "Beats me. . . I'm just trying to get to Friday." Daily life can be tough, but knowing our "why," can make daily living more meaningful, writes Neil Speer for Drovers. "How many times do we find people who are just putting in their time?" Neil suggests using the ideas from Simon Sinek’s book, Start With Why as an antidote to facing life just slogging along. "The book revolves around the question: What’s your why?"

Society of Biology photo

Farming advocate Deb Stroschein used the travels of an American candy bar to show elementary students how food ingredients move across the globe before landing in a neat packages on grocery store shelves.

"I broke down all the ingredients in the candy bar. . . and explained that ingredients can come from plants, nuts, and also from animals. . . .The 'food miles' concept offers a way to study how far food travels. . . . It makes you think about where the food we eat originates. All of the ingredients in this candy bar traveled a total of 30,400 miles to get to the central location. . . .The kids were impressed by that fact." 

Kansas police chief expected to be charged for his role in controversial raid on community newspaper

A police chief who led the controversial raid on a Kansas community newspaper will face a charge of obstructing justice, according to a report by John Hanna of The Associated Press.

Two prosecutors had been investigating the raid at the request of the state attorney general, and they released a report Monday outlining the police chief’s alleged misconduct.

According to Hanna, “Prosecutors Marc Bennett and Barry Wilkerson concluded in their 124-page report that the staff at the Marion County Record committed no crimes before former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody led a raid on its offices and the home of its publisher. They said police warrants signed by a judge to allow the searches contained inaccurate information from an ‘inadequate investigation’ and that the searches were not legally justified.”

The AP reported that, “Police body camera footage of the 2023 raid on Publisher Eric Meyer’s home shows his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, visibly upset and telling officers, ‘Get out of my house!’ She co-owned the paper, lived with her son and died of a heart attack the next afternoon.”

Hanna wrote, “Prosecutors . . . allege Cody obstructed an official judicial process in the weeks after the raid. He resigned as chief last October.”

Eric Meyer, who will be honored on Oct. 10 at the Institute for Rural Journalism’s Al Smith Awards Dinner in Lexington, Ky., told the AP that “he’s grateful prosecutors found that the newspaper’s staff committed no crimes, though he questioned why it took them a full year. He also expressed frustration that Cody is the only official expected to face criminal prosecution.

“The newspaper’s parent company, Meyer and three current or former staffers have filed federal lawsuits against the city of Marion and current and former local officials, including Cody,” Hanna reported.

Time outside improves kids' overall well-being. 'A simple walk around the neighborhood will do.'

Even visiting a favorite tree can be a source of wonder
for children. (Adobe Stock photo)

Part of the recipe for healthier, brighter and more prosocial children is as simple as taking them outside to play or for exploratory short walks. "The average American today spends nearly 90% of their time indoors," reports Jamie Friedlander Serrano of The Washington Post. Research shows that kids who spend regular time in nature gain physical, emotional and cognitive benefits. Visits outdoors don't need to be long -- just a stroll around the corner or to a neighborhood park can do the trick.

When kids get to spend time outdoors, their brains benefit. "One 2022 systematic review published in the journal Educational Psychology Review looked at various nature-based interventions in 5- to 18-year-olds," Serrano writes. "Researchers found that engaging in nature can improve kids’ working memory and attention."

Time spent hanging out in nature also helps children's mental health, especially for children in need of healing from adverse childhood experiences. "Research has also found that long-term exposure to nature reduces stress and anxiety in children and lowers their levels of aggression," Serrano explains. "One 2023 study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology looked at how making art in nature affected about 100 children in a low-income neighborhood in England. Their confidence, self-esteem and agency all improved."

Stomping on grass, swinging from tree branches or even balancing on a curb while checking out a neighborhood garden or weird-looking weed can help kids develop physical skills. Serrano reports, "Being outdoors goes hand in hand with active play, which can improve physical health and coordination, says Stephen Cook, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics."

While technology makes staying inside more entertaining for kids and possibly easier for busy parents, going outside is a healthy part of childhood development. To help parents and caregivers encourage nature excursions, experts give these suggestions:

• You don’t need to visit a national park — a simple walk around the neighborhood will do. 
• Let your love of nature show. Children model what their parents do.
• Put your phone away. It’s important to engage with your children outdoors — don’t just sit and surf your phone while they’re running around.
• Invite other children. It's a prosocial way to engage kids and make trips more memorable.
  

Federal firefighters have 'grueling' jobs for paltry pay; grassroots organizing works to change pay and benefits

Wildland firefighters are considered a 'national resource,'
but many are risking their lives for $15 an hour. (A.S. photo)

Federal firefighters can spend weeks away from home putting out devastating fires while barely making enough money to make ends meet. The mismatch between job demands and pay has caused some firefighters to leave the profession, but other firefighters have organized to change pay and benefits, reports Nathan Pipenberg of Capital and Main. Grassroots Wildland Firefighters "represents a striking example of a growing movement among workers to organize outside the structure of an existing union."

While some new unions start without a broader union's umbrella, GWF is using its members' support to work in tandem with the profession's existing union, the National Federation of Federal Employees, to give the profession a stronger voice. "Firefighters increasingly felt they needed to make themselves heard if they wanted to see change. So far, Grassroots Wildland Firefighters — working alongside NFFE — has proven that point." Max Alonzo, a former firefighter hired by NFFE who helps with legislative plans, told Pipenberg, "I don’t feel like we’d be as far as we are right now if they hadn’t brought national attention to these issues.”

The dual effort is gaining momentum. "When Congress began considering a pay supplement for federal firefighters, whose starting wage is the federal worker minimum of $15 an hour, both the union and Grassroots Wildland Firefighters organized front-line workers to meet with members of Congress and speak at committee hearings and a press conference on the steps of the Capitol," Pipenberg explains. "With pressure came promising results: temporary pay supplements, expiring this September, that currently translate to as much as $20,000 per year. Although it was not the permanent legislation they sought, firefighters saw their starting annual income nearly double, to $51,500."

Even with pay increases, a national discussion about the physical and health risks federal wildland workers endure remains elusive. "The job can be grueling and unusually demanding. Wildland workers are expected to serve as a 'national resource,' available to travel across the country with only a few hour's notice," Pipenberg reports. "Firefighters fell trees, dig fire breaks, and crawl on hands and knees to find hotspots that could ignite. They often sleep outdoors, near the fire and in the smoke."

September will mark the end of the temporary pay supplements, which means the GWF and NFFE continue to lobby. "The groups are pushing for the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act, which would make the supplement permanent, and for Tim’s Act, which would raise wages, expand mental health service and offer health insurance to seasonal workers," Pipenberg writes. "Both bills have been introduced in Congress but have made little progress."

Some U.S. consumers 'ditched' restaurants and brand products over prices, but companies aim to win them back

More than 70% of consumers believe they are being
overcharged for food. (Adobe Stock photo)

Eating out or buying groceries has gotten so expensive that some Americans have crossed restaurants and brand food items off their lists. In response to consumer rejection, food makers and restaurants are hawking special prices, improved quality and novel product packaging to woo customers back "to brands they ditched as prices skyrocketed," report Jesse Newman and Heather Haddon of The Wall Street Journal. "Restaurant chains are promoting deals . . . . Food manufacturers are rolling out more discounts and introducing new products, such as 'Star Wars'-themed Oreos."

Efforts by food companies to maintain past revenue gains while lowering prices is a corporate balancing act. Meanwhile, increasing food prices has become a political hot button. "Many consumers and politicians have said they are angry about growing corporate profits while household budgets don’t go as far as they used to," the Journal reports. "Moderators opened June’s presidential debate with a question about sharply higher costs for groceries and housing."

Food executives have repeatedly said U.S. consumers will eventually adjust to higher prices, and emphasized that despite profit increases "they did not gouge consumers and are working to keep prices as low as possible," Newman and Haddon write. "They have said that they need to maintain their profit margins to fund new products and that a number of expenses. . . surged in recent years and have remained high. . . . Still, more than 70% of consumers believe that restaurants, supermarkets and food manufacturers are overcharging. . ."

The word "value" has become restaurants' new mantra. The Journal reports, "Restaurant Brands International’s Burger King and McDonald’s kicked off limited-time $5 meal deals. Inspire Brands’ Sonic sought to one-up its burger competitors by launching a permanent $1.99 menu in July."

While some food companies opt to use lower prices to attract purchases, others are using coupons or product enhancements, such as "fudgier brownies," to get consumers to try their brand again. The Journal adds, "some food executives and analysts have warned that wooing consumers back will be a slow process or require more investments than companies anticipate."

Ultra-processed foods cause poor health outcomes in Americans; researchers look at their link to cognitive decline

Regular servings of hot dogs drizzled with liquid cheese may
be linked to cognitive decline. (Adobe Stock photo)

A big old hot dog, fried salami and a heaping pile of bacon may sound delicious to many Americans, but emerging research shows Americans who regularly consume processed meats are more likely to develop dementia, report Dana G. Smith and Alice Callahan of The New York Times. Processed red meat, which falls under the umbrella of ultra-processed foods, is only one part of a larger dietary equation where the traditional American diet is linked to poor health outcomes and possibly cognitive decline.

The scientists who studied processed red meat consumption "tracked more than 130,000 adults in the U.S. for up to 43 years. During that period, 11,173 people developed dementia," Smith and Callahan explain. "Those who consumed about two servings of processed red meat per week had a 14% greater risk of developing dementia compared to those who ate fewer than three servings per month." Eating unprocessed meat did not "significantly increase the risk for dementia."

Ultra-processed food is often made with ingredients most Americans don't have in their kitchen cupboards. "Products like soy protein isolate, high fructose corn syrup, modified starches, flavorings or color additives," the Times reports. "Many of these foods also have high levels of sugar, fat or sodium, which have long been known to adversely affect health." Soda, breakfast cereals, flavored potato chips, white bread and energy drinks all fall are all ultra-processed, but they "account for about 58 percent of the calories consumed by both children and adults, on average."

As for ultra-processed foods causing dementia, a body of research is growing, which "shows an association between ultra-processed foods and brain health," Smith and Callahan write. "[The studies] cannot prove that the foods directly harm the brain. And not all studies have found a consistent link between ultra-processed food consumption and cognition." Dr. Dong Wang, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, told the Times, "You cannot conclude that if you eat a certain amount of processed red meat, you’ll definitely get dementia. That’s not the case.”

For most people, changing diet habits is process that takes time and patience; however, experts encourage people to move away from a diet dominated by ultra-processed foods. Dr. Karima Benameur, an associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine, told Smith and Callahan, "Even modest changes over time can have an impact, and that’s important because it means it’s achievable." The Times reports, "Rather than trying to eliminate all ultra-processed foods from your diet — what Dr. Benameur calls 'a recipe for failure' — focus on cutting back on some of the worst offenders and replacing them with healthier options."