Small-town America gets economic boost from data centers

Photo by İsmail Enes Ayhan, Unsplash

Umatilla, Oregon, was once a place “known for a former chemical-weapons depot nearby, a state prison on the city’s outskirts and the strip clubs once dotting its main drag,” David Uberti reported for The Wall Street Journal.

Now its economy is being revived by Amazon, which has poured millions of dollars into the area to build its data centers – and the same thing is happening in various rural counties across the United States.

“The need for technicians, electricians and more has helped mint new members of the middle class in a job market previously geared toward manual labor in fields and warehouses and factory work turning the region’s bountiful potato harvests into french fries,” Uberti wrote.

Thousands of construction workers are populating these towns and boosting revenues through taxes and their expenditures in the community. But this sudden economic boom also raises questions about what will happen to the small-town economies when the data centers are finished.

“Sometimes I do worry: What’s going to happen once they stop building?” Leon-Tejeda, a resident and real estate agent in Umatilla, said in an interview with Uberti. “Not everyone is going to stay here for good.”

Small businesses and their employees could lose health care coverage if ACA subsidies are cut

Farmers and their employees are among those who stand to 
'lose the most' if ACA subsidies are cut. (KFF Health photo)

As the debate over federal Affordable Care Act subsidies stalls efforts to reopen the government, small business owners worry that their employees won't be able to afford health insurance if the subsidies are cut. 

For lawmakers grappling with ACA decisions, any cuts could impact the 2026 Congressional elections.

Small-business owners such as farmers, dentists and barbers are among those "who stand to lose the most should Congress let the additional, generous federal subsidies put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic lapse," reports Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News. 

ACA subsidies cover nearly 24 million Americans -- and almost half of all those enrollees either own a small business or work for one. Collectively, the group "is more likely to vote Republican and overwhelmingly backed President Donald Trump in last year’s election," Seitz writes. But "even Trump’s own pollsters found deep support for the Obamacare subsidies."

According to Seitz, "Nearly 6 in 10 Obamacare enrollees live in a Republican-held congressional district."

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who is up for reelection in 2026, "broke with her party last month, calling on the GOP to extend the subsidies," Seitz adds. "Greene said in an interview that rising health care costs are the 'No. 1 issue' she hears about from people living in her district."

Farmer opinion: 'The pain has spread far beyond my fields. Every person and business in rural America is feeling it.'

U.S. farmers sold nearly half of nation's 2024 soybean crop
to China. (Adobe Stock photo)

Even with a relief package, U.S. farmers can't recoup losses from the U.S.-China tariff war. "We’re on the verge of the nation’s worst farm crisis since the 1980s," writes Mark Heckman in his opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal. Promises from China to "buy a 'tremendous' amount of soybeans, as President Trump put it, aren’t good enough either. We want fair trade."

American farmers sold $12.6 billion in soybeans to China in 2024, which equals roughly half of the soybeans grown in the U.S. But in retaliation against Trump's 2025 tariffs, China snubbed U.S. farmers and bought billions of bushels of beans from South American countries. Heckman writes, "Most of mine will sit unsold in a warehouse."

He said the media often describe "potential relief payments to American soybean farmers as a 'bailout.' I see it as a slap in the face," Heckman adds. "The money won’t come close to making up for the hurt in farm country. . . . The pain has spread far beyond my fields. . . . Every person and business in rural America is feeling it."

"Meanwhile, Trump is boasting," Heckman writes. "Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s elaboration on Trump’s promise from China — feels hollow. What happens if the Chinese don’t come through? More tariffs causing more pain to American farmers like me."

Border taxes serve "no financial purpose if the federal government simply intends to redistribute the money it collects," Heckmans explains. "It turns self-sufficient producers into supplicants pleading for subsidies. . . .The government should get out of American farmers’ way and allow market forces to work. Don’t give us handouts. Let us sell what we grow to the people who want to buy it, at home and abroad."

Mark Heckman is a hog, cattle, corn and soybean farmer who serves as vice chairman of the Global Farmer Network.

Federal and state cuts to child care subsidies leave lower-income Americans with few options

Child care centers can be high-labor, low-profit businesses.
(Photo by McKinley Hess via Hechinger Report)

To prepare for federal budget cuts, some states have opted to slash their early learning programs. The overall reductions to child care subsidies have left lower-income parents struggling with higher co-payments and fewer slots, while child care providers face unexpected pay reductions and delayed payments.

"Colorado, Maryland and New Jersey recently stopped accepting new families into their child care assistance programs," reports Jackie Mader of The Hechinger Report, which covers education. Indiana and Arkansas announced lower reimbursement rates for child care providers serving lower-income households.

Many U.S. parents with infants and preschoolers already contend with the scarcity and high cost of child care nationwide, but the difficulties are harder on poorer Americans. Mader explains, "Experts warn this trend in some states of scaling back early childhood investments is widening an existing nationwide disparity in the availability of affordable, high-quality child care."

Reduced and delayed payments to child care providers could further shrink the number of child care slots, which already don't meet current needs. Mader reports, "Child care programs are expensive to run and, with limited public support, providers rely heavily on tuition from parents to pay their bills."

Daniel Hains, the chief policy officer at the D.C.-based National Association for the Education of Young Children, told Mader, "Almost every state is facing a very, very, very significant pullback of federal dollars. . . . It’s going to result in lower quality care for children, or it’s going to result in families pulling back from the workforce and facing greater economic insecurity."

Quick hits: The American baked potato; rural deputies get EMS training; 6 states ban lab-grown meat sales; building homes in small town Vermont

American-grown potatoes are still affordable and 
delicious. (Idaho Potato Commission photo)

In a time when going to the grocery store can be both expensive and discouraging, it's good for Americans to reignite their love for the humble, versatile and still affordable baked potato. "The baked potato has always been big and great," writes Eric Kim of The New York Times. "These days, a long Idaho tuber, split down the middle like a hot dog bun to reveal fluffy white starch, a pat of butter nestled into the left side, is still big and — more important — great, with its perfect creamy-crunchy-fresh combo of sour cream, chives, cheese and bacon." Find recipes here. 

A rural sheriff in Montana is working to help the region's emergency responders by using "some of his department’s budget to restart a first responder medical training and certification program for deputies to be able to supplement emergency medical providers and help provide care when they are first to the scene of an incident," reports Blair Miller of the Helena Independent Record. Often, when accidents occur in rural Montana, law enforcement arrives well before medical emergency teams. In his announcement, Sheriff Tom Grim said he believes that if deputies could provide medical assistance to victims before an ambulance arrives, their additional training could save lives. 

Six states have passed laws banning cultivated meat.
(Graphic by Adam Dixon, Offrange)

Where's the meat? According to several states, only animals are meat. "Livestock powerhouse Nebraska became the sixth state to preemptively ban the sale of cultivated meat," reports Jaclyn De Candio for Offrange. Nebraska joined the "beef with cultivated meat" by joining states that already ban the sale of lab-grown meat, including Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana and Indiana. "Florida was the first to pass such a law, and in several cases, companies like UPSIDE Foods already filed lawsuits challenging these restrictions on constitutional and commerce grounds. . . . While laboratory meat products are indeed made from real cattle cells, they give pause to many."

Power grids across the country need upgrades, and areas of the Midwest will get them. "The Department of Energy closed a $1.6 billion loan guarantee for transmission upgrades in the middle of the country — a move that comes as the Trump administration slashes funding for other grid improvements, including a separate transmission megaproject in the Midwest," reports Alexander C. Kaufman of Canary Media. The financing will enable a subsidiary of American Electric Power to "overhaul around 5,000 miles of power lines across Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia."

A bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken may be a game-day crowd-pleaser, but the chain has been struggling against competitors that offer on-the-go chicken. "Consumers eat 26% of their fast-food orders in their cars," reports Heather Haddon of The Wall Street Journal. To recapture its market share, the company is revamping its menu to compete with newcomers like Chick-fil-A and Canes. "KFC this month brought back its Original Honey BBQ sandwich, introduced in the late 1990s, at a discounted $3.99 price. The announcement swiped at Chick-fil-A while championing its own sandwich: 'bigger than Chick-fil-A’s AND available on Sundays.'"

Jonah Richard’s first development project was once home to a post office. It now consists of eight apartments and a coffee shop. (Photo by David Littlefield, Vermont Public Media)

Despite the daunting challenges of building affordable housing in New England, a homegrown Vermonter found a way to get it done. "Not so long ago, Jonah Richard spent his days working for a white-collar consulting firm in New York City. Now, he fills his time bopping between construction sites in the corner of Vermont where he grew up," reports Carly Berlin of vtdigger. "His philosophy of trying to squeeze more housing into any possible nook and cranny in a building, and in a town – guides all of the projects that Richard takes on through his small construction company and development business. . . . State officials want to clone Jonah Richard."

Partial SNAP benefits will be paid to participants in November, but their delivery could be significantly delayed

USDA officials claim other funds cannot be used to pay November 
SNAP benefits in full. (USDA photo)

As the federal government shutdown drags into its sixth week, the Trump administration announced it would make partial payments this month to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants; however, it wouldn't predict when the reduced benefits would reach U.S. households, reports Zach Schonfeld of The Hill. 

On Friday, two federal judges "ruled the Trump administration must empty a multi-billion dollar emergency fund before cutting off SNAP," Schonfeld reports. "The judges indicated the USDA could use dollars from another funding source to fill the remaining gap for November."

The administration indicated it will not access other Department of Agriculture funds beyond the USDA's contingency fund, meaning that the November SNAP benefit will be reduced. "The administration says the fund has $4.65 billion available for households," Schonfeld explains. "It is not enough to cover the full November benefits, which are expected to cost upwards of $9 billion."

The Trump administration flatly rejected the judges' suggestion to redirect USDA money to fully fund November SNAP payments. Patrick Penn, who oversees the SNAP program at the USDA, wrote in a sworn declaration, "Section 32 Child Nutrition Program funds are not a contingency fund for SNAP. Using billions of dollars from Child Nutrition for SNAP would leave an unprecedented gap in Child Nutrition funding." 

Although Penn said the USDA will begin providing states with details, he warned November payments could take "weeks or months" to reach beneficiaries.

$12 billion aid package for farmers is ready and waiting for federal government shutdown to end

Economic headwinds have left U.S. farmers struggling 
to plan 2026 crops. (Photo by Luke Thornton, Unsplash)

The Trump administration is preparing a $12 billion initial bailout package to help U.S. farmers "harmed by the president’s tariff policies," report Grace Yarrow and Meredith Lee Hill of Politico. 

The federal government shutdown is the one thing holding back the current farmer aid package. Politico reports, "Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told reporters that a Market Facilitation Program — similar to the $28 billion farmer bailout Trump issued during his first-term trade wars — is 'all teed up and good to go.'"

The announced aid comes on the heels of the declared tariff truce between the U.S. and China. According to the article, "Trump secured new commitments from China to purchase U.S. soybeans, sorghum and wood, and to drop retaliatory tariffs on other agricultural products like meat, wheat and dairy."

American farmers have been trying to make a living despite tariff limitations, high labor and machinery costs and low commodity prices. Added economic stressors have made it difficult for farmers to plan 2026 crops.

Changes to Social Security disability benefits will affect 50 to 60-year-old applicants

ProPublica graphic, with data from SSA, Master Beneficiary Record, 100% data; USPS geographic data; and Census Bureau, Population Division, 2023 estimates of resident population.

Changes made to Social Security disability benefits by the Trump Administration could harm 50 to 60-year-old applicants “without a high school or college education who have, for decades, toiled in physically grueling jobs,” Eli Hager reported for ProPublica.

“The five states where the highest proportions of people rely on these benefits are West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama,” Hager wrote.

Currently, applicants who are at least 50 years old are given priority to redeem disability benefits due to their age. The changes made to the program would mean that age would no longer be a factor in determining eligibility for the benefits.

A senior administration official (who requested anonymity) explained that the current rules reflected the job economy of the 1970s, which mostly relied on manual labor. Now that the internet has created more sedentary jobs, 50-year-olds have more options.

Another change would “modernize the job listings that Social Security’s disability adjudicators and judges use to decide if there’s work available in the U.S. economy that a manual laborer could do despite physical impairments — like a low-skilled desk job at a computer or driving for Uber or DoorDash,” Hager wrote.

But Hager added that Michelle Aliff, who provides expert testimony for Social Security disability hearings, said in an interview that “an oil field roustabout in his 50s isn’t going to just sit down at a computer for work without additional training.”

Pilot program that pays irrigating farmers for their water rights helps Nevada aquifers recover from overuse

Retiring groundwater rights helps depleted aquifers 
recover from overuse. (The Nature Conservancy map)

After years of battling water overuse by irrigating farmers, Nevada officials decided to use $25 million in federal funding to launch a pilot program that paid farmers for their water rights," reports Daniel Rothberg of The Daily Yonder. Once the state compensated irrigators for their groundwater rights, the state would retire the rights and no longer allow irrigation from that land, thereby conserving water.

Launched in 2023, the program has proved to be an effective way to protect some of the state's threatened aquifers. In fact, Nevada has used "federal funds to retire about 22,500 acre-feet of water, roughly the same amount of water Nevada was required to cut from its Colorado River allocation last year," Rothberg explains.

State water officials have been pleasantly surprised at how popular the pay-for-groundwater-rights option has become. Rothberg reports, "There was so much demand that two bills, passed unanimously by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2025, allow for the expansion of the program."

After asking lots of questions, alfalfa farmer Denise Moyle decided to sell some of her groundwater rights to the state. Moyle shared the thought process she and many area farmers consider when debating groundwater rights sales: "If I sell a little bit of water and I pay off debt, do I have to farm as hard? Do I have to pump as hard? Do I have to go for three (alfalfa) cuttings? Can I just do two cuttings?"

Meanwhile, state water officials and conservationists are considering how to keep the program going, which could lean on donations and federal funding. "A donation could target a specific area or ecosystem in need of protection from groundwater overuse," Rothberg explains. "But state funding would help to raise matching federal dollars and maximize the program’s value."

National Park Service let go its last engineer who monitored abandoned wells, which pose a 'significant threat'

Unplugged oil and gas wells can still spew noxious gases 
and pollute groundwater. (Adobe Stock photo)

Forrest Smith was the National Park Service's sole engineer tasked with finding and cleaning up the roughly 93 abandoned gas and oil wells scattered across federal lands. But in September, the NPS chose not to renew Smith's contract, leaving no one to track leaky wells. Old, unplugged wells can pose a "significant threat to the environment and public health," reports Maxine Joselow of The New York Times.

Often dubbed "orphaned wells," most forgotten sites were drilled and abandoned before the "national parks were established," Joselow explains. Orphaned wells can continue to spew noxious gases, such as methane, a greenhouse gas, and benzene, a chemical "linked to leukemia and other blood cancers. . . . .Oil and brine can seep from the wells into aquifers that supply drinking water to nearby communities."

Inactive and orphaned wells will continue to pose an unseen threat because the NPS lacks employees to monitor sites and make arrangements to have them sealed through a process know as "plugging". Beau Kiklis, associate director of energy and landscape conservation at the National Parks Conservation Association, told Joselow, "I don’t think I can underscore enough that this has been a significantly underestimated public health and safety problem." 

Smith estimated that there are "around 2,500 inactive wells on Park Service lands, including 93 that are orphaned. Of those abandoned wells, about 70 are leaking methane," Joselow reports.

A spokeswoman for the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, told the Times that "the Park Service 'has made strong progress in meeting the administration’s priorities to identify and plug orphaned wells on park lands,' and that 'staffing levels naturally fluctuate as appointments conclude and new positions are filled.'"

Second-largest measles outbreak in U.S. found in an isolated community with reduced vaccination rates

 NBC News graphic, from state health department data analysis 
by NBC and Stanford University

A measles outbreak along the Utah-Arizona border is now the second-largest outbreak in the U.S. this year. "As of Friday, 161 [measles] cases had been confirmed in Utah and Arizona," reports Erika Edwards of NBC News.

Most of the area's 161 confirmed cases involved residents of Hildale, Utah, or Colorado City, Arizona—an isolated region collectively known as "Short Creek," home to roughly 4,000 residents.

The country's largest measles outbreak, which began in January this year, was first identified in rural West Texas and spread into New Mexico, where it infected at least 862 people and killed three.

Both communities where measles outbreaks have occurred share several factors, including declining vaccination rates, a cultural distrust in government intrusion and modern medicine, along with "strong ties to religious sects," Edwards reports.

When measles began to spread in Short Creek, some families turned to herbal remedies rather than visiting a licensed medical professional. Edwards explains, "A similar phenomenon was seen in West Texas: In the city of Seminole, parents of children sick with measles flocked to Health 2 U for cod liver oil, an unproven remedy."

Although 11 people from Short Creek have been hospitalized from measles complications, the community is once again embracing vaccinations. Edwards reports, "the area saw a 14% increase in vaccinations during July through September of this year, compared to the same time period in 2024."