Jeremy Gulban is serious about saving local newspapers. 'It’s kind of crazy,' but he's trying to find a way.

Jeremy Gulban

Jeremy Gulban is a man on a mission to save at least 92 community newspapers from shuttering their doors. While he's out in the trenches facing tariffs, polarized audiences and stiff competition, "Gulban is discovering in ways large and small just how hard it is to revive America’s ailing local news outlets," reports Katherine Sayre of The Wall Street Journal. "Americans are increasingly distrustful of print media, podcasts are ascendant as go-to news sources and even finding human reporters to hire has proven tough."

Over the past five years, Gulban has purchased dozens of small newspapers through his company, CherryRoad Media. "Today, the top 30 or so of Gulban’s newspapers are profitable, about 30 post mediocre results and about 30 are losing money. The company had $30 million in revenue last year and wasn’t profitable overall," Sayre writes. "Gulban needs between 15% and 20% of households in his communities to subscribe to be economically viable. . . . Across the company, about 8% of households subscribe now, but that ranges from 2% to 69%, depending on the paper."

Gulban began his foray into print news because he felt "that big tech companies like Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google had too much control over the flow of information and commerce for local businesses," Sayre explains. Gulban told her, "If we made the rational business decision, we would take our best-performing markets, say that’s what we’re going with. But that’s not what I want to do. I want to figure out how to make this work.”

Part of Gulban's plan was to hire dedicated reporters who interact with their community. "In some markets, Gulban can’t find reporters willing to do the job," Sayre adds. "The company searched for two years for a full-time reporter at its Crookston Daily Times in Minnesota, offering a salary of $40,000. The newspaper was shuttered in February."

Some people in small towns have reached out directly to Gulban for help. "Kitty Mayo and other residents in the area of Two Harbors, Minn., lobbied Gulban to start a newspaper there after the Lake County News-Chronicle closed in 2020," Sayre reports. "Gulban agreed. The Lake County Press launched in 2022. Mayo said she asked an editor at another CherryRoad newspaper about Gulban before she contacted him. The editor told her: 'This guy, he’s legit. He wants to save small newspapers. It’s kind of crazy. I don’t know if he can do it.'"

USDA cuts and freezes 'ripple' through rural communities, leaving farmers and states scrambling to manage losses

USDA cuts 'are being keenly felt' in Appalachia.
(Adobe Stock photo)

U.S. Department of Agriculture funding cuts and freezes have left farmers and states struggling with supply issues, financial losses and budget shortages. "Along the winding back roads and Appalachian hollers of West Virginia, in a state where Trump won 70% of the votes cast, his administration's vow to cut back on government spending is being keenly felt," reports P.J. Huffstutter of Reuters. Some states may be forced to shutter programs because there isn't enough money to cover gaping budget shortfalls.

In one of its first major cuts, the USDA canceled the "Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which was due to provide about $500 million this year to food banks," Huffstutter explains. "Trump's administration also rolled out cuts to other federal funding that has kept small agriculture businesses open."

For decades, Washington has used "an intricate web of economic support. . . to pump money into rural America," Huffstutter writes. "Much of it has now been frozen, cut back or eliminated – including at least $1.5 billion in USDA funds for schools and food banks."

To help contain the damage, states are "forced to come up with funding from their own budgets – or shutter programs altogether," Huffstutter adds. "States like West Virginia – where more than half the $19.2 billion annual budget for fiscal 2025 relies on federal funds – are particularly hard-hit. . . . Federal funds on average comprise about one-third of states' annual spending."

Meanwhile, some farmers have excess production that was planned for a Local Food for Schools contract. Kentucky farmer Andre Faul's 1,300-pound problem serves as an example. "His farm had a contract with Oldham County Schools to provide chicken and pork for school lunches," reports Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "But Faul and 130 Kentucky farmers who were paid through a federal program were notified the USDA nixed the grant. . . . How was Faul going to pay for the 1,300 pounds of chicken Oldham County had already ordered and he had already paid for and fed?"

Madison Pergrem, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, told Musgrave, "The LFPA program has significantly supported Kentucky agriculture and delivered fresh, local products to our communities in need. . . .KDA will actively pursue and develop new opportunities to advance these efforts.”

Musgrave adds, "Kentucky food programs were started to help local food production and expand markets for smaller growers."

The physical presence of modern technology encroaches over farmland and behind homes

Power lines for Virginia data center may reach across 
Maryland farmland. (Photo by Gary Meulemans, Unsplash)

As the desire for "more" pushes technology to grow and advance, so does the need for electricity to supply its physical growth.

Institutions and businesses used to have their own data centers, but in the past 15 years they began using third parties to house them and warehouses (or computer hotels) followed in quick succession, said Jon Hukill, spokesperson for the Data Center Coalition, according to Stephanie Hanes.

Hanes explored the impact that data centers and their electricity needs are having on communities and farmers in Maryland and Virginia, in an article for The Christian Science Monitor. These data centers are now bumping up to residential areas and the power lines to supply them are proposed to come from New Jersey, through Maryland farms, to the centers in Virginia.

“The industrial scale of data centers makes them largely incompatible with residential uses… And industry trends make future residential impacts more likely,” said Mark Gribbin, chief legislative analyst for Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. Hanes said Gribbin's research found that a third of data centers were now located near homes.

The concerns of the residents affected vary, but they are worrying. Brent Hunsinger, a local river steward, expressed his fears to Hanes, “With data centers, the effects are more distributed…There’s water; there’s the electricity demand, also the transmission lines.” 

U.S. Supreme Court looks poised to allow $8 billion for rural and low-income broadband and phone services

The Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.
(Adobe Stock photo)

The U.S. Supreme Court seems likely to approve continued funding for an $8 billion program for broadband and phone service maintenance and expansion in rural and poor parts of the U.S., reports Mark Sherman of The Associated Press. In what is considered a "new test of federal regulatory power," justices are "reviewing an appellate ruling that struck down as unconstitutional the Universal Service Fund, the tax that has been added to phone bills for nearly 30 years."

John Fritze of CNN reports, "A conservative 'consumer awareness group' challenged [USF] as an unconstitutional 'delegation' of the power of Congress to levy taxes. What’s worse, the group argues, a private entity calculates the amount of money that must be contributed. . . . .The Supreme Court has not invoked the non-delegation doctrine – or the idea that Congress cannot delegate its authority – since the 1930s. It has, for decades, permitted delegations under certain conditions."

The court seem sympathetic to communities that receive USF dollars. Sherman reports, "Liberal and conservative justices alike said they were concerned about the potentially devastating consequences of eliminating the fund that has benefited tens of millions of Americans."

Should the conservative-led court uphold USF funding, the ruling will be a departure from its ongoing efforts to "rein in" federal agencies, Sherman writes. "The Trump administration, which has moved aggressively to curtail administrative agencies in other areas, is defending the FCC program."

Consumer Research calls USF "a 'nightmare scenario' in which Congress has set no limits on how much the FCC can raise to fund the program," Sherman reports. “'Predictably, the USF tax rate has skyrocketed. It was under 4% in 1998 but now approaches 37%,' lawyers for the group wrote."

Congress established the Universal Service Fund in 1996. Fritze explains, "Telecommunications companies contribute billions to that fund – a cost that is passed on to consumers – to pay for programs like E-Rate, which lowers the cost of high-speed internet for libraries and schools."

The court's decision is expected in June.

Rural letter carriers rally against USPS privatization; about 51.3 million rural Americans could be impacted

More than 100 rural letter carriers gathered to rally
against USPS privatization. (The Daily Yonder photo)

Rural letter carriers from around the country gathered last week at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to "rally in support of the U.S. Postal Service, which they said faces an increasing threat of privatization under President Donald Trump," reports Julia Tilton for The Daily Yonder. "The rally was attended by members of Congress from both sides of the aisle."

The event also announced the "launch of the NRLCA’s National Campaign to Protect the U.S. Postal Service from Privatization, which the union said is its top priority to preserve what it calls a 'critical institution that serves rural America and the country at large,'" Tilton writes. "Approximately 51.3 million rural addresses would be disproportionately impacted by the privatization of the USPS, according to NRLCA National President Don Maston."

Part of the USPS service mandate is to get mail and packages across the "last miles," which can add to delivery expenses. Tilton explains, "It is unprofitable for private companies to deliver mail to the end of long dirt roads located 50 or 100 miles from the nearest post office, Maston said. Privatization would add surcharges to such rural deliveries, which include essential goods like prescription medications and documents like Social Security checks and ballots."

Maston told the Yonder: “Rural Americans rely on rural carriers. In fact, the entire community relies on the rural carrier, and that sense of community would be taken away, and the disproportionately impacted group in the Postal Service would be rural carriers, rural Americans, and rural communities.”

Rally speakers "called for bipartisan support for House Resolution 70, a resolution in the House of Representatives that affirms the Postal Service’s role as a federal institution and opposes privatization," Tilton adds. "Since being introduced at the end of January, the resolution has garnered 180 cosponsors. . . . After the rally, more than 100 rural postal workers headed to meetings with members of Congress to ask for their support in backing the USPS."

As the battle over water fluoridation continues, rural Americans are at risk for higher rates of tooth decay

Thirteen states and the counties in gray don't report data on fluoride and drinking water to CDC.
(Map by Brett Kelman, Harvard University study from Census and CDC data)

As states consider banning tap water fluoridation mandates, rural America may be at risk for higher rates of tooth decay and its accompanying health problems. "Dozens of communities have decided to stop fluoridating in recent months, and state officials in Florida and Texas have urged their water systems to do the same," reports Brett Kelman of KFF Health News. "Utah is poised to become the first state to ban it in tap water."

Advocates for banning water fluoridation often cite "a government report last summer that found a possible link between lower IQ in children and consuming amounts of fluoride that are higher than what is recommended in American drinking water," Kelman explains. "The report was based on an analysis of 74 studies conducted in other countries, most of which were considered 'low quality' and involved exposure of at least 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water — or more than twice the U.S. recommendation."

Even as the battle over fluoridation continues, rural Americans already struggle to access basic dental care. Kelman reports, "Republican efforts to extend tax cuts and shrink federal spending may squeeze Medicaid, which could deepen existing shortages of dentists in rural areas where many residents depend on the federal insurance program for whatever dental care they can find."

Removing fluoride from rural water sources could exacerbate dental decay and the numerous other health problems it causes. "Dental experts warn that the simultaneous erosion of Medicaid and fluoridation could exacerbate a crisis of rural oral health," Kelman writes. "The changes could reverse decades of progress against tooth decay, particularly for children and those who rarely see a dentist."

Rural America already has large pockets with few dentists and unfluoridated water. A Harvard study "identified over 780 counties where more than half of the residents live in a [dentist] shortage area. Of those counties, at least 230 also have mostly or completely unfluoridated public drinking water," Kellman explains. "That means people in these areas who can’t find a dentist also do not get protection for their teeth from their tap water."

Several peer-reviewed studies give a glimpse into what ending water fluoridation could look like. Kelman writes, "Studies of cities in Alaska and Canada have shown that communities that stopped fluoridation saw significant increases in children’s cavities when compared with similar cities that did not."

Many Americans favor fluoridation, but "a sizable minority does not," Kelman notes. "Polls from Axios/Ipsos and AP-NORC found that 48% and 40% of respondents wanted to keep fluoride in public water supplies, while 29% and 26% supported its removal."

Social Security recipients can still use phone to contact SSA; however, no paper checks allowed after Sept. 30

SSA had planned to disallow several types of
customer service phone calls. (Farm Journal photo)

In a quick turnabout, the Social Security Administration changed its "plan to demand more in-office visits from beneficiaries after leaders said they would no longer allow benefit recipients to use telephone services to confirm their identification or change direct-deposit information," reports Chris Clayton of Farm Journal. The changes were planned to begin on March 31, but SSA delayed any changes until April 14. Recipients can still contact SSA customer service by phone.

The reversal is a relief for "elderly and disabled residents in rural America who were about to face hours-long drives to Social Security offices if they don't know how to use the internet or have access to the Social Security Administration's website," Clayton explains. "The changes were set to affect millions of rural residents, including roughly one in five farm households."

Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, told Farm Journal, "We are updating our policy to provide better customer service to the country's most vulnerable populations. . . . Medicare, Disability, and SSI applications will be exempt from in-person identity proofing because multiple opportunities exist during the decision process to verify a person's identity."

When the updated policy begins on April 14, "individuals applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, or Supplemental Security Income who cannot use a personal my Social Security account can complete their claim entirely over the telephone without the need to come into an office," Clayton adds. "The decision to change requirements for Social Security beneficiaries also comes as the Department of Government Efficiency is pressing to close at least 47 Social Security offices nationally."

"There is little hard data breaking down percentages of rural residents who rely on Social Security," Clayton reports. "A 2011 study by the Center for Rural Strategies showed rural counties rely on Social Security benefits nearly twice as much in terms of total personal income than urban counties."

There is a separate Social Security change that some beneficiaries may need to plan for soon. Clayton adds, "People will have to stop receiving their payments by check and provide some details for electronic payment. The SSA will stop issuing paper checks at the end of September." 

Some Republican legislators push for NPR and PBS cuts over alleged bias. Rural stations depend on public funds.

PBS stations in rural areas are more dependent on
tax payer money. (PBS graphic)

During recent hearings with heads of PBS and NPR, Republican legislators zeroed in on alleged reporting bias to justify "dismantling and defunding the nation’s public broadcasting system," reports David Bauder of The Associated Press. "The nation’s public broadcasting system is facing perhaps the biggest threat to its existence since it was established in 1967. . . . The broadcasters get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting."

While some Republicans have routinely "grumbled that PBS and NPR news programming leans left, their efforts to cut or eliminate funding usually fade because legislators want to protect their local stations — 336 of them for PBS alone, with those in rural areas most heavily dependent on taxpayer money," Bauder explains. The fact that President Donald Trump said he would 'love to' see both services cut off from federal dollars may keep GOP defunding efforts alive.

The hearings allowed "a succession of GOP lawmakers to complain bitterly about alleged bias, particularly from NPR stations, making clear it was not an issue that was going away quietly," Bauder writes. "Democrats characterized the hearing as a distraction from more important issues, like this week’s revelation that a journalist from the Atlantic was included in a text chain of Trump administration officials detailing a U.S. military strike in Yemen."

Broadcasting leaders acknowledged some past errors in judgment. "NPR President Katherine Maher said the radio network was wrong to dismiss what was on Hunter Biden’s laptop as a non-story," Bauder adds. "Although saying she is not responsible for editorial content, Maher detailed efforts by NPR to ensure a variety of political viewpoints are represented."

PBS chief executive Paula Kerger "emphasized the service that PBS provides to local communities, particularly with its educational programming for children, and said she is worried for the future of its smaller stations," Bauder reports. Kerger told the committee, “This is an existential moment for them.”

Canadian travelers boycott visits to U.S., and the loss of Canadian dollars could 'upend local economies.'

Fearful of problems at the U.S.-Canada border, many
Canadians have canceled U.S. travel.  (Adobe Stock photo)

In a response to U.S. annexation and tariff threats, many Canadians are boycotting U.S. travel and opting to spend their vacation dollars in other countries. "Canadians have long been the top international travelers to the U.S.," reports Allison Pohle of The Wall Street Journal. The loss of Canadian travel dollars "threatens to upend local economies across the U.S. . . . Even a 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean $2 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses."

Craig Treulieb, a Canadian who planned a celebratory trip to the U.S. with his wife, serves as an example of how costly the loss of Canadian visitors can be. "They spent about $3,500 on flights, hotels, an Airbnb booking and a rental car, with plans to spend freely on food and excursions during the nearly two-week trip," Pohle writes. "The day after (former Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau told business leaders that (President Donald) Trump might be serious about annexing Canada, they canceled the trip. They will instead travel to British Columbia."

Canadians' concern over border delays has kept some from visiting the U.S. simply because they fear they won't be allowed home. "Canadians say Trump’s threats of annexation have infuriated and scared them, so much so that they won’t cross the border to spend time or money," Pohle reports. "Recent news about lengthy detentions for tourists and green-card holders has further deterred would-be travelers."

Air travel to the U.S. from Canada has also decreased. "Calgary-based WestJet says it has 'observed a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean among Canadian travelers,'" Pohle writes. "In tiny Whitefish, Mont., which is just 60 miles from the border of British Columbia, spending by Canadians was down 14% in January compared with a year ago."

Two million rural Americans live in 'dead zones' that lack health care providers and reliable internet service

'Dead zone' counties have three things in common: They lack access to high-speed and reliable internet, primary care providers, and behavioral health specialists. (KFF Health News graphic)

In U.S. communities that lack both medical care providers and dependable internet service, residents tend to "live sicker and die younger than others in America," report Sarah Jane Tribble and Holly K. Hacker for KFF Health News. KFF Health News calls regions that lack both services “dead zones.” Roughly 2.7 million Americans live in dead zones, and the vast majority of those zones are rural.

"In 2023, 83% of residents in non-metropolitan, or rural, counties had access to broadband, compared to over 90% of metropolitan residents," reports Sarah Melotte of The Daily Yonder. Out of the 2.7 million Americans who live in dead zones, "two million, or 70% of them, are from rural counties. That means the rate at which rural residents live in these shortage areas is five times higher than the urban rate."

In some cases, communities leverage broadband service and telehealth care to fill in for a lack of providers; but the absence of both options leaves millions disadvantaged. "Compared with those in other regions, patients across the rural South, Appalachia, and remote West are most often unable to make a video call to their doctor or log into their patient portals," KFF reports. "Both are essential ways to participate in the U.S. medical system."

Without reliable high-speed internet, it's hard to attract and keep medical providers in more remote parts of the country. At the same time, poor connectivity means telehealth care isn't an option. "Connectivity dead zones persist in American life despite at least $115 billion lawmakers have thrown toward fixing the inequities," Tribble and Hacker explain. "Federal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping, with more than 133 funding programs administered by 15 agencies, according to a 2023 federal report."

The contrast between "the digital haves and have-nots" is stark. "The KFF Health News analysis found that counties with the highest rates of internet access and health care providers correlated with higher life expectancy, less chronic disease, and key lifestyle factors such as higher incomes and education levels," KFF reports. In many rural counties, the lack of reliable high-speed internet access leads to the opposite, where residents tend to live unhealthier, poorer and shorter lives."

Rural advocates push for plan to install fiber optic infrastructure as the best way to close the digital divide

Map by Sarah Melotte, The Daily Yonder, from American Community Survey data

The question of how to close the digital divide between rural America and the rest of the country may not have a simple answer; however, many advocates insist that allowing Low Earth Orbit satellite connection instead of fiber optic build-outs shouldn't be part of the federally subsidized solution.

"In early March, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick proposed changes to a federal broadband connectivity program that would favor Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity," reports Sarah Melotte of The Daily Yonder. "Critics say Lutnick’s proposal to prioritize LEO will worsen the digital divide by abandoning rural communities without the long-term economic benefits of fiber optic infrastructure."

In Washington, most of the battle over rural internet installation centers on the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, with some Republicans griping about its regulatory attachment to fiber technology. "BEAD aims to connect 25 million Americans with high-speed internet in all 56 states and territories," Melotte explains. "Lutnick said he wants to make the program 'technology-neutral' by shifting the focus to LEO satellite connectivity."

While shifting BEAD funding to LEO might lead to faster internet roll-out in rural areas, some experts point out that LEO is a sub-standard internet offering when compared to fiber optic. Melotte explains, "Benton Institute’s Broadband & Society Director of Policy Engagement Drew Garner told The Daily Yonder that fiber optic infrastructure is faster, more reliable, and a larger driver of economic growth compared to satellite internet technology."

BEAD aims to provide fast, reliable internet access for all communities -- even those in remote regions -- while creating a nimble platform for further technology developments. "Garner wrote in a March 4 press release, 'Secretary Lutnick’s reported meddling is likely to leave millions of Americans with broadband that is slower, less reliable, and more expensive,'" Mellote writes. "Fifty-six percent of non-metropolitan counties have low access to broadband, compared to the national average."

Mike Romano, executive vice president of the NTCA – the Rural Broadband Association. said "that BEAD funding is critical in the effort to connect areas where larger internet providers haven’t previously had the financial incentive to invest," Melotte reports. "After connecting all unserved households with high-speed internet, states and territories can invest in programs that advance broadband equity, like remote learning and telehealth services."

As tariff wars continue, Farm Journal asks farmers their opinion on tariffs as a trade tool

As the U.S. continues to levy or threaten heavy tariffs to renegotiate international trade terms, Farm Journal asked farmers how they feel about being caught in trade war crosshairs again.

"As both targeted and blanket tariffs are applied, retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture are also caught in the middle of the latest trade war," reports Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. "How do farmers feel about this?"

AgWeb's latest poll asked, “Do you support President Donald Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiation strategy?” Morgan writes, "Even though the majority of farmers say they don’t support Trump’s use of tariffs, according to the AgWeb poll, it wasn’t an overwhelming majority."

Farm Journal polled 2,891 farmers in March 2025. (Farm Journal graph)

The poll's second question asked, “Do you believe USDA will compensate farmers for losses if agriculture is affected by a trade war?” Morgan notes, "The responses were much more mixed."

• 36% responded “no”
• 34% said “yes”
• 30% responded they were “unsure”

"What are farmers saying in the field? Michelle Jones, a fourth-generation farmer in south central Montana was asked the question about if she supports Trump’s use of tariffs on 'AgriTalk' last week," Morgan reports. 'No, definitely not,' Jones said. 'I don’t think that tariffs are an effective negotiation strategy, and I also don’t think that we’re truly being surgical in how we are applying them.'"

Not everyone agrees with Jones' assessment. "Some farmers and those in agriculture support the president’s heavy use of tariffs," Morgan writes. "One of those is Bubba Horwitz of Bubba Trading, who focuses on the commodity markets. . . . Horwitz said on AgriTalk, 'I think it’s a great tool to use. . . .You can bargain with those tariffs, you can do whatever you want.'"

At a recent interview with Fox News, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins "defended the president’s use of tariffs, also saying he’s holding Canada accountable," Morgan reports. "Rollins pointed out the president has been very clear that there will be an interim period where the economy readjusts."

Morgan adds, "Ninety-two percent of economists think Trump’s strategy of using tariffs as a negotiating tool won’t benefit U.S. agriculture in the long run."

Federal layoffs leave many military veterans unemployed. If firings continue, the 'burden will only grow on veterans.'

Veterans make up roughly 30% of federal civilian
employees. (Adobe Stock photo)

U.S. veterans are losing their jobs as the Trump administration continues to terminate federal employees to cut costs. "From layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs to a Pentagon purge of archives that documented diversity in the military, veterans have been acutely affected by Trump’s actions," reports Stephen Groves of The Associated Press. "The burden will only grow on veterans, who make up roughly 30% of the over 2 million civilians who work for the federal government."

Even though more than half of all military veterans voted for Trump, many openly reject his current money-saving tactics. "At a series of town halls last week, veterans angrily confronted Republican members as they defended the cuts made under Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency," Groves writes. Most Republican lawmakers have continued back Trump's approach to saving dollars, even if it cost veterans jobs.

While Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson "advised his members to skip the town halls and claimed that they were being filled with paid protesters, some Republicans were still holding them and trying to respond to the criticism," Groves explains. "At a town hall, Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw told the audience, 'We’re learning about this stuff at the speed of light, the way you are. I think there’s been some babies thrown out with the bath water here, but we’re still gathering information on it.'"

Some terminated veterans "have now been put on administrative leave, but a sense of dread and confusion is still hanging over much of the federal workforce," Groves reports. "Other [veterans] are angry they have been portrayed as deadweight and cut from jobs they felt played a direct role in helping veterans get health care."

Democrats see veteran firings as a way to recast their image and "have zeroed in on the cause of protecting veterans," Groves writes. "In both the House and the Senate, Democrats have introduced legislation to shield veterans from the mass layoffs. And when Trump spoke to Congress this month, many lawmakers invited veterans as their guests."

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who is an Iraq War veteran and former assistant secretary at the VA, told Groves, “They said Donald Trump promised to watch out for them. And the first thing he does is fire them.”

Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, who is also a veteran, was unsure if the firings would shift  veteran political alliances but said the terminations give Democrats an opportunity to "hammer home a message," Groves reports. He told Groves, “Elon Musk and his buddies would rather just deal with the bottom line and try to save billions of dollars so they can have more tax cuts at the expense of veterans.”

Researchers explore bringing medical care to rural Vermonters by adding telehealth hubs to libraries

Almost two-thirds of Vermonters live in rural places.
(Adobe Stock photo)

A lack of rural health care providers often leaves residents with few ways to see medical providers without long-distance traveling. While telehealth services are an option in some smaller communities, a lack of reliable internet can get in the way. A new grant in Vermont aims to answer both challenges by exploring "the feasibility of offering telehealth services at the state’s 185 libraries," reports Chris Teale of Route Fifty. Library telehealth hubs would allow medical care in some of the state's most remote areas.

The research project, known as VITAL-VT, aims to remove obstacles Vermonters face when trying to access health care. Teale explains, "The majority are in rural communities located sometimes hours away from providers. . . . Accessing telehealth is also a challenge due to slow connectivity and gaps in understanding of how to use technology."

Along with a grant from the University of Vermont, the Vermont Community Broadband Board, which coordinates the state's broadband reach, is also supporting VITAL-VT. Robert Fish, VCBB’s deputy director, told Teale, “Everybody is pretty spread out. . . Most of the major health care providers [are in] larger towns, which makes getting access to good health care very difficult for rural Vermonters. . . . Telehealth reduces the need to do that, it's also access to experts around the world you can connect with. It also saves money for the provider, the outcomes can be better, it's better for the environment, there's less transportation, and it also allows more people to participate in care.”

FAIR Health, a nonprofit that looks to make health insurance and health care costs more transparent, "found that telehealth utilization and insurance claims have increased nationally and in every region of the U.S. except the West," Teale reports. "The Northeast region saw a 3.1% jump in telehealth claims." VITAL-VT hopes to pave new ways for telehealth services to reach and care for its residents even in the most rural parts of the state.

A small town saves its local newspaper with citizen-led fundraising and a 2-year search for a new owner

There's a new paper in town for La Conner, Wash.

When their small-town newspaper closed, the citizens of La Conner, Wash., didn't sit idly by and let their community become another "news desert." Instead, town activists "raised $70,000 and worked for two years to find someone to save it," reports Eric Wilkinson of KING-TV. Last week, the newly revived paper celebrated its "first day of delivery as the La Conner Community News, keeping a journalistic tradition that has connected townspeople for more than a century."

The newspaper's new owner, Kari Mar, said she bought the paper because she "saw an opportunity to make a difference at a time when facts and accuracy are critically important," Wilkinson writes. She told Wilkinson, "The pain of not having a local newspaper was pretty widely felt. There was no place to send an obituary. The town council didn't have a way to get the word out. Firefighters were having a fundraiser. They couldn't tell anybody about it. The need for the paper was palpable."

Small newspaper closures have become almost commonplace. Wilkinson reports, "Over the past 20 years, more than 3,200 newspapers have vanished, nationwide. Since 2004 Washington state has lost 20% of its local papers. . . . The situation is so dire, that a bill is being considered [in Washington] that would tax social media platforms and search engines to help fund the state's struggling newsrooms."

Meanwhile, folks in La Conner are celebrating a special win for local journalism. "The La Conner Community News already has more than 900 subscribers in a community of fewer than 1,000 people," Wilkinson writes. Mar told him, "We have almost everybody. . . .That's pretty good."

The U.S. isn't ready for another pandemic, but it could happen anyway. As bird flu spreads, the threat grows.

Bird flu, or H5N1, kills between 90% and 100% of infected
chickens, normally within 48 hours. (Adobe Stock photo)

Whether it's high egg prices or the fear of another pandemic, many Americans want bird flu, also known as avian flu, contained and a long-term answer found. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., however, "recently mused about a novel way to contain bird flu, which is to let it 'run through the flock so that we can identify the birds, and preserve the birds, that are immune to it,'" reports Hanna Rosin of The Atlantic. "This could involve millions of birds dying slower, more horrible deaths."

While studying birds -- not necessarily chickens -- that are immune to bird flu is important work that could help breed more resilient flocks, many scientists would not recommend letting bird flu "run through" flocks "because it would only give the H5N1 virus that causes bird flu more opportunities to evolve, which it’s already doing at what experts see as an alarming rate," Rosin explains. "So far, the outbreak has caused one human death in the United States and several others overseas."

Looking back, the U.S. government had a brief window to act and contain the virus in the spring of 2024, when bird flu surfaced in a small number of dairy cows. Science reporter Dr. Katie Wu explained to Rosin how the virus spread: "Instead, they let business proceed as usual and dairy cattle move all over the place throughout their lifetime. They gave the virus more opportunities to spread. That should have been a five-alarm-fire level of: We need to ratchet up this response and make sure that the virus does not move any further than it already has. And that did not happen."

Will the virus reach a tipping point from a growing concern to a full-blown epidemic? That point is uncertain and perhaps there are more important concerns. Wu told Rosin, "I think the right question to be asking is: How prepared would we be if this truly escalated to that point? And the answer is: not at all. Like, not even a little bit. It’s impossible to say with any kind of certainty, Oh, there’s exactly, you know, a 14.7 percent chance this is going to turn into a pandemic. . . .We can’t know those things. A lot of this is about randomness, about how we continue to respond, about just vagaries of the virus that people don’t fully understand yet."

Covid-19 and Americans' response to it still has many citizens weary from years of mask debates and misinformation wars. Wu told Rosin, "The public is still really fatigued from having to respond to all of that — there was a lot of trust in public health and science eroded during that time —and I think because of the nature of the slow burn of all this, just slowly percolating through animals, affecting certain farm animals, maybe sort of affecting some aspects of the food supply."

To read more about how bird flu could mutate into something much more harmful for humans, read Rosin's full transcript here or listen to the podcast. To explore a more complete snapshot of bird flu's effect on the the U.S. economy, click here. 

Federal plan to provide internet access to more rural areas might include satellite service, which has fans and critics

A new bill would allow satellite internet in rural
areas. (Adobe Stock photo)

Despite bipartisan congressional support for all Americans to have access to speedy internet, discussions on how to get the job done have fallen along party lines, with many Republicans bemoaning the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program as too slow and overly attached to using fiber technology. "New legislation looks to address those complaints," reports Chris Teale of Route Fifty. "The legislation would amend the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and loosen several requirements."

Rep. Richard Hudson, a North Carolina Republican, "introduced the Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment for BEAD Act, known as the SPEED for BEAD Act," Teale explains. The bill "would clarify that any technology, including satellite internet, can be used to help close the digital divide, and would eliminate what Hudson called 'burdensome' regulations."

While several trade groups "expressed their support for the bill. . . . not [everyone is] convinced that changing BEAD at this stage is the right course of action," Teale reports. "With every state and territory having had their deployment plans approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and several states ready to distribute grant funding and deploy infrastructure, some warned that a change now could delay the program further."

Others insist that spending federal dollars on satellite internet will enrich satellite owners while providing only sub-standard internet access. When Evan Feinman, who had directed BEAD for the past three years, quit, he sent "a blistering email to his former colleagues on his way out the door warning that the Trump administration is poised to unduly enrich Elon Musk’s satellite internet company with money for rural broadband," reports John Hendel of Politico.

Feinman’s "lengthy email, totaling more than 1,100 words is a sign of deep discomfort about the changes underway that will likely transform BEAD," Hendel writes. Feinman warned, "'Stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world’s richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals by Washington.'"

High beef prices could spike further if agricultural tariffs go into effect. Imports are holding beef costs in check.

The price for an all-American beef burger has
continued to climb. (Adobe Stock photo)

Got milk? Yes. Got beef? Well, that depends on how much you want to spend. American "beef has been rising in price for years now . . . And [with] proposed tariffs, it may be about to get much worse," reports The Economist. "Since January 2020, the average price of a pound of beef mince has risen from $3.90 to $5.60. That is a 45% increase, almost double the general inflation rate."

Rising beef prices stem from Americans' high demand for beef and a shrinking domestic supply. U.S. livestock herds are smaller than they were a decade ago, but American beef consumption has remained steady or, in some cases, increased. The imbalance has led suppliers to import beef to meet demand without further price escalation. The Economist reports, "Last year imports totaled 2 million head of live cattle. . .a record high."

While imports helped put the price brake on current beef costs, the Trump administration's tariffs could cause prices to rise again. The Economist explains, "On April 2nd, [Trump said] he will be imposing hefty new tariffs on agricultural imports. That will probably include beef. Farmers, he said, should 'get ready' to grow food to sell to Americans, and 'have fun.'"

If hefty import tariffs are levied on beef, the cost of meat is expected to spike, leaving U.S. farmers more likely to "sell down their stocks" rather than grow their herds, the Economist reports. Steve Sunderman, a rancher in northeast Nebraska, told the Economist, “We’re trying to be in a rebuilding phase for the herd. So it’d be a great thing for price, but probably a horrible thing for the industry."

Opinion: New USDA leader says she has plans to trim the department and refocus it to help U.S. farmers and families

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she
aims to 'get back to basics.' (USDA photo)

The Department of Agriculture traces its humble beginnings back to 1862, when it opened with a commissioner and nine employees. Since then, it has grown into "29 sub-agencies with nearly 100,000 employees, and it reported its total outlays last year at $228.3 billion," writes Sierra Dawn McClain in her opinion for The Wall Street Journal. "Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins aims to get back to basics."

At the time the USDA was created, "more than half of all Americans worked on farms," McClain explains. Since the 1860s, the number of U.S. citizens who "work in agriculture has shrunk to less than 2%, but the USDA reaches into every farm, national forest, rural town, grocery store and school cafeteria."

Secretary Rollins sees herself as a bureaucracy trimmer and "says her broader mission is the 'restoration of rural America,'" McClain writes. "The government tends to ignore farmers, she says, except to impose 'burdensome and costly regulations that hamper innovation.'. . . She wants to ease off, and her plan to lower egg prices, announced in these pages, exemplifies her approach — offering services to farmers without rushing to add new requirements."

Rollins also plans to remake the Forest Service, a "USDA sub-agency that manages 193 million acres of land. The service faces a fiscal crisis that Rollins attributes to unprofitable forest-management practices and Biden-era wage and workforce increases," McClain writes. Rollins told her, “This is the classic case of government gone awry." 

As far as entitlements such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Rollins aims to "reduce fraud, establish stricter work requirements for SNAP recipients and re-evaluate the Thrifty Food Planants," McClain adds. "She wants to make sure the program continues 'serving the families that need it the most,' and she says she grew up in such a family: She and her two sisters were raised by a single mother making $5 an hour." She told McClain: “I will do everything I can to make sure that the people that truly need that will get it."

To read more about USDA plans for bird flu management, tariff responses and Rollins' approach to working with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary at Health and Human Services, click here.

Job cuts at USDA reduced staff dedicated to stopping noxious plants and invasive species from entering U.S.

Sniffing dog at work.
(USDA photo)

The federal "Department of Government Efficiency" has eliminated agricultural jobs it considers unnecessary, but the cuts could allow noxious plants and invasive bugs from foreign countries to gain a foothold in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Dog Detection Training Center is one area that received significant cuts, which could prove troublesome.

Derek Copeland, who lost his job during DOGE's cuts, worked to "prepare beagles and Labrador retrievers to sniff out plants and animals that are invasive or vectors for zoonotic diseases, like swine fever," reports Kate Knibbs for Wired. "Copeland estimates the NDDTC lost about a fifth of its trainers and a number of other support staff when 6,000 employees were let go."

Before his termination notice, "Copeland had just spent several months training the only dog stationed in Florida capable of detecting the Giant African land snail, an invasive mollusk that poses a significant threat to Florida agriculture," Knibbs writes. He told her, “We have dogs for spotted and lantern flies, Asian longhorn beetles. I don’t think the American people realize how much [stuff] people bring into the United States.”

The staffing cuts translate into years of lost education and training to protect American crops from invasive pests. Mike Lahar, the regulatory affairs manager at U.S. customs broker Deringer, told Knibbs, “These aren’t your average people. These were highly trained individuals — inspectors, entomologists, taxonomists.”

Allowing potentially harmful bugs and plants into the U.S. could be one harmful after-effect of DOGE's massive staffing cuts, and ports teaming with rotting food could soon be another. "Supply chain experts warn that the losses could cause food to go rotten while waiting in ports and could lead to even higher grocery prices," Knibbs explains. U.S. grocery supply chains are already suffering from tariff whiplash and persistent food inflation woes.

Kit Johnson, the director of trade compliance at the U.S. customs broker John S. James, "predicts prices and waste to increase. But what raises the most alarms for him is the increased likelihood of invasive species slipping through inspection cracks," Knibbs reports "He says the price of missing a threatening pest is 'wiping out an entire agricultural commodity,' an event that could have 'not just economic but national security impacts.'"

Quick hits: Medical flights increase; inflation navigation; rethinking grass-fed meat; NASA astronauts splash home

When every minute matters, a medical helicopter
can be a rural patient's best option. (WSAZ photo)

As more rural hospitals close, medical helicopter services are more likely to be called for emergency medical treatment. "Over the past decade, demand for air ambulance services has grown more than 50%. One factor experts say is a rising number of rural hospitals shutting their doors," reports Blair Miller of WSAZ in West Virginia. "As rural hospitals close and demand for medical flights grows, the healthcare industry faces another hurdle, a shortage of medical pilots."

Since late January, measles infections have spread from Texas to New Mexico to Oklahoma. As of late March, 321 people have contracted the disease, including a child who died from the infection. Even though most infections occur in unvaccinated people, it's still prudent to understand how the disease spreads and who may need a measles, MMR, vaccination, or vaccination booster, reports The Conversation. "In a Q&A, Daniel Pastula, a neurologist and medical epidemiologist, explained how and when you should take action." MedPage Today also offers measles vaccination guidance.

Some Americans skip the expensive
snacks. (Adobe Stock photo)

Amid increasing food costs and health care worries, many U.S. consumers are dropping some of their expensive habits, leaving convenience store sales feeling the pinch. "Convenience-store sales fell 4.3% by volume in the year ended Feb. 23, as consumers cut back on snacks and cigarettes due to rising prices and health concerns," report Jesse Newman and Laura Cooper of The Wall Street Journal. "The change in behavior is hurting U.S. sales of Doritos, Twinkies, Heath bars and Newports. . . . Lottery ticket sales remain strong."

At the time Isaac Newton pondered the idea that "what is up, must come down," he was observing an apple fall from a tree branch. Had he been watching U.S. food costs, he might have come to a completely different conclusion. "The USDA states that food costs have climbed over the past few years and will continue to do so in 2025," reports CaLea Johnson of Mental Floss. "More specifically, food-at-home prices (grocery store or supermarket food purchases) are expected to increase by 1.3%." To see which states people spend the most on groceries, click here.

After years of touting grass-fed burgers as healthier for the planet, some ranchers and conservationists may want to rethink their sales pitch. "A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences challenges found that cattle raised only on pastures do not have a smaller carbon footprint than feedlot cattle, which are quickly fattened on corn and other grains," reports Anna Phillips of The Washington Post. "This held even when the researchers took into account that healthy pastureland can help capture more carbon by pulling it out of the air and storing it in roots and other plant tissues."

NASA astronauts return home to Earth after an extended stay in outer space. (NASA photo)

Steven Speilberg's alien darling, E.T., was famously stranded on Earth and couldn't stop begging to phone home. NASA astronauts had a similar, but opposite problem. They were stuck in space wanting to get back home to Earth. "Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore set off to spend eight days at the space station. The trip lasted nine months," report Kenneth Chang and Thomas Fuller of The New York Times. SpaceX and the Coast Guard members met the astronauts as they "splashed down in calm, azure waters off the coast of the Florida Panhandle. . . . A pod of curious dolphins also greeted the astronauts."

Mexican produce suppliers and U.S. grocers tap dance around tariffs to keep aisles stocked and prices steady

Trade with Mexico keeps fresh produce on American
grocery store shelves. (Adobe Stock photo)

Supermarket produce aisles are suffering from a bad case of tariff whiplash, leaving suppliers juggling orders to avoid levies and grocers searching for ways to hold costs down. "Companies that import and distribute tomatoes, broccoli and other fruits and vegetables are canceling orders and sometimes replacing them within days," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "Supermarkets and retailers are monitoring consumers’ tolerance for higher prices. . . and considering bigger changes in their supply chains."

The Trump administration's see-saw approach to tariffs is "becoming a day-to-day factor for businesses that rely on cross-border commerce," Thomas writes. "American consumers expect to see fresh produce in stores year-round, and for avocados, broccoli, peppers and mangos, that means buying from Mexico and South American countries."

Despite the scale of Mexican produce sales to the United States -- worth roughly $20 billion annually -- suppliers operate with razor-thin profits, which leaves "little room for sellers to absorb higher costs without passing them along to customers," Thomas explains. "That leaves retailers and suppliers to determine whether consumers can stomach still-higher prices after inflation fatigue has eroded sales at supermarkets and restaurants over the past year."

To hold prices steady, grocers are reworking their supply chains. "Grocery giant Kroger said it is attempting to shift its purchasing of produce and other products to avoid the Trump administration’s tariffs, and ward off further price increases in its stores," Thomas reports. California grocer, Dynasty Farms is "considering moving its broccoli production to the U.S., where the company operates farms from California’s Salinas Valley to Scottsdale, Ariz."

As measles spread in west Texas, the state's 'lackluster investment' in rural health care systems is exposed

Measles is a highly contagious disease
caused by a virus. (Adobe Stock photo)

As the number of diagnosed cases of measles continues to climb, the outbreak in rural west Texas has exposed a health care system that is unprepared to handle even a smaller-scale contagion, reports Pooja Salhotra of The Texas Tribune. "Aging infrastructure, a dearth of primary care providers and long distances between testing sites and laboratories plague much of rural Texas, where the measles outbreak has concentrated."

A few years back, rural Texas was ravaged by Covid infections. Like Covid, the recent measles outbreak is "revealing how a lack of public health resources leaves rural communities vulnerable," Salhotra explains. "What’s left are local leaders forced to scrape together the few tools they have to respond to an emergency, contending with years of lackluster investment from the state and federal level to proactively prevent emerging public health threats."

A lack of hospitals, physicians and dilapidated facilities are just some of rural Texas' health care woes. "Some 64 Texas counties don’t have a hospital, and 25 lack primary care physicians," Salhotra reports. "Swaths of Texas have scant resources for public awareness campaigns. And they lack sufficient medical staff with expertise to provide the one-on-one education needed to encourage vaccination and regular visits to the doctor."

To slow the spread of measles, "rural health care teams have cordoned off spaces to conduct measles testing," Salhotra writes. They've "used social media to blast residents with information about vaccination efficacy and schlepped throat swabs across counties to ship them to a state lab in Austin — the only public state facility that was conducting measles testing until the Texas Tech University Bioterrorism Response Laboratory, part of a national network of CDC-funded labs, began measles testing" recently.

The primary goal of public health is prevention; however, "it’s emergencies that spur the most action, particularly in rural communities," Salhotra explains. "It was only after a school-aged child died from measles that state and federal support intensified."

Currently, Texas "spends less on public health per person than the vast majority of other states, according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, whose analysis shows Texas spent $17 per person on public health in 2023. A decade earlier, the spend was $19," Salhotra reports. "The low levels of state funding particularly hurt rural communities that have higher rates of uninsured Texans and more senior citizens with greater health needs."

Scientists and technical staff who inspect imported items for invasive pests have been fired from USDA

The firing of plant protection workers can lead to economic
 consequences. (Photo by Ante Hamersmit, Unsplash)

Nearly 6,000 workers were recently cut from the USDA, including highly trained scientists and technical staff who screen imported items.

According to Suzy Khimm’s article for NBC News, “the firings have dealt a serious blow to the federal inspection process required for imported food, plants and other organic matter — a program that the agency calls “essential” to preventing infestations and disease outbreaks from crippling America’s trillion-dollar agricultural economy.”

Jonah Ulmer, who was the “government's foremost authority on tiny invasive pests,” was among the 145 people fired from plant protection.

Ulmer told NBC News about the importance of the job. “The one that you identify as a nonquarantine pest, and it comes in the country and wreaks havoc? The impacts of that could be millions or billions of dollars in economic damage.”

Khimm wrote that this effort could lead to economic consequences for farmers and consumers.
To read more about the potential impacts visit NBC News.

Retelling the history of land-grant universities and sharing their contributions is key to their survival

Gary Steinhardt taught and researched soil science issues
at Purdue and Purdue Extension. (Farm Progress photo)

Land-grant universities sit at the heart of farming research and Extension Services, but to keep them alive, their history and contribution need retelling, writes Tom J. Bechman of Farm Progress. "Education at a land-grant university helped make Gary Steinhardt who he is today. . . . He spent roughly half of his final Purdue Agronomy Department seminar explaining the history and mission of land-grant colleges and the Extension Service."

Steinhardt explained to Bechman why he felt driven to retell the land-grant success story: “We are at a point in the history of the land-grant system where we need to be careful. Some in the academic world don’t appreciate what it can accomplish. There is still a tremendous need to tell the public about research done through land-grant universities. Otherwise, education does not get passed along.”

Funding may always be a challenge for Extension Services, and "current upheaval due to efforts to cut federal spending may only intensify the fight for Extension dollars," Bechman explains. "But the threat Steinhardt refers to is within university systems. Is there still support among university leaders for practical, applied research that can be passed along to farmers and families, and to youth through 4-H? When an Extension person like Steinhardt retires, will that position be replaced?"

Steinhardt's seminar showcased the creation of land-grant universities and reviewed why they were established. A few of his highlighted events are shared below:

Land Ordinance of 1785. "Money from the sale of Section 16 in each township was reserved to fund schools," Bechman writes. "Money from land sales also helped start universities, including Miami University in Ohio, Indiana University, the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin."

Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and Industrial universities. "This act of the Confederation Congress declared 'schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged,'" Bechman adds. "In the mid-1800s, Jonathan Baldwin Turner promoted 'industrial universities' that could teach working-class people, like those in agriculture."

Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862. Bechman explains, "In the middle of the Civil War, this act of Congress specified how public lands could be donated to 'provide for colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, including military tactics.'"

To read more about land-grant development in the United States, click here.