The Rural Blog

A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky. Links may expire, require subscription or go behind pay walls. Please send news and knowledge you think would be useful to benjy.hamm@uky.edu.

The Rural Blog

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How to stay safe when it's cold and there's a power outage

Higher energy prices and older residences mean more rural residents will struggle to stay warm this winter

Cooling off from summer sizzle will cost nearly 4% more this year

HHS fires staff dedicated to helping low-income Americans pay for utilities: 'There's nobody left to do anything'

Rural lands are cooler than urban spaces; a study suggests a new way to reduce sizzling urban temperatures

Friday quick hits: Rural top-flick picks; dairy funds; heat can kill; racial voting division; bread debate; hop on a new train

Expert explains how to use the heat index and other weather tools to stay safe and healthy this summer

Florida lawmakers work to ban local governments from implementing temperature protections for outdoor workers

Extreme heat puts your heart and other organs at risk

Drought and heat roundup: Arizona and Nevada face new water restrictions; corn and cotton harvests weak; how heat disproportionately targets the vulnerable

Quick hits: Q&A on Mar-a-Lago search; 'corn sweat' boosts Midwest heat wave; rural German gun culture different

More farmers are switching from herbicide dicamba, but that leaves their crops vulnerable to those who still use it

Heat roundup: States help farmers in drought; industries resist mitigation for workers; mountain snowpack shrinks

Longer, hotter summers are 'creating inhospitable conditions and endangering lives,' says The Washington Post

Extreme weather kills cattle, stresses crops, risks workers

Climate change effects increasingly drive U.S. migration

Climate change keeps pushing fall leaf change back; the shift may endanger forests and tourism dollars

Heat roundup: Dixie Fire survivors share stories of loss and uncertainty; farmworkers at higher risk of heat-wave deaths