Quick hits: SS Edmund Fitzgerald mystery remains; internet carriers team up; complex beef pricing; what to wear for extreme-weather reporting

At 729-feet, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the longest ship traveling through the Great Lakes
before it was 'swallowed' by Lake Superior. (Wikipedia photo) 

It's still a story investigative reporters are exploring: What caused the massive SS Edmund Fitzgerald to sink 17 miles from the safety of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin? "On November 9, 1975, the ship left Superior, Wisconsin, with more than 26,000 tons of taconite pellets aboard. By the next evening, Lake Superior had swallowed the Edmund Fitzgerald whole," reports Andrew Daniels of Popular Mechanics. "One answer may be the ship’s cargo hatches. Ric Mixter, who visited the Fitzgerald wreck in the 1990s, said that if he could return, he would take photos of every hatch clamp and investigate where the taconite ended up." Read Pop Mech's deep dive on the famous ship's final voyage here. Listen to Gordon Lightfoot's haunting ballad about the fate of the Edmund Fitzgerald and its 29-member crew here. 

It's expensive for U.S. ranchers to increase their herds.
(Photo by Daniel Quiceno M, Unsplash)

Why can't farmers just raise more cattle so the price of beef will come down? "Ranchers say it's not that simple," reports Jack Dura of The Associated Press. "It’s never been so expensive for Americans to buy a steak or hamburger. … The dwindling number of cattle is a key reason the average price of all uncooked ground beef in the U.S. was $6.86 per pound in March." Even with high beef demand and high prices, ranchers still have to consider the cost of adding to their herd. Livestock owners are already paying more for the cattle they do have because drought and wildfires have left ranchers no choice but to pay for additional feed and water to be delivered to herd sites. 

Despite efforts to get the entire country online, many U.S. residents still live in areas without internet access, but that problem could soon change. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Communications announced that they are "setting aside their differences and forming a joint venture that will help end wireless dead zones across the U.S., especially in rural and underserved areas," reports Connor Hart of The Wall Street Journal. "The companies said the initiative will help the U.S. extend its global leadership in wireless communications technology … "

Handwritting letters is good for the human brain.
(Photo by T.D. Aran, Unsplash)

Handwriting letters may seem more than a trifle old-fashioned, but revisiting the aged tradition of letter, pen and stamp can reap benefits. Elizabeth Passarella of The New York Times writes, "Research shows that writing by hand lights up multiple parts of your brain — areas that are associated with creativity, memory and your senses — in a way that emailing does not. … Unlike chatting, writing makes you slow down and decide which details of your life are meaningful enough to share." Readers interested in tips to get started with a letter-writing habit can click here.

Whether it's tornado, wildfire or hurricane season, journalists need to be ready to hit the natural disaster beat. But first, preparations need to be made, and extreme-weather reporter Judson Jones is here to help reporters look good no matter what Mother Nature blasts. "Shortly after returning from a trip to chase hailstorms, Jones gave me a rundown of his core outfit packing list that keeps him ready for any assignment," reports Kyle Fitzgerald of Wirecutter. "We talked about why the way he unpacks is as important as the way he packs, as well as the need to bring multiple hats." After years of trial and error, Jones has even found a jacket that keeps him dry during hurricane rain and winds and is stylish enough to wear to dinner post-storm reporting. Read his picks and tips here. 

The world loves American cheese and butterfat products.
(Photo by Edward Howell, Unsplash)

Global cheese and butterfat demand continues to climb, helping American dairy farmers slice off profits even as milk production continues to increase. Cheese exports in March broke records with "over 63,435 metric tons exported, which is an all-time high for single-month exports," reports Sarah Jungman of Dairy Herd Management. The 2026 gain represents a 29% jump in cheese exports over March of 2025. "Butterfat and anhydrous milk fat exports also set a single-month record at 17,074 metric tons shipped, 109.9% higher than March of 2025." During the first quarter of 2026, Mexico exported the largest chunk of American dairy products. 

With too few employees and rangers, Yosemite National Park hosts visitors with the 'wrong kind of wildness'

Yosemite's iconic rock face, the Half Dome.
( Photo by J. Andersson, Unsplash)

National Park staffing reductions have left Yosemite's increasing number of visitors to their own devices. Park guests "were far less supervised than they normally were, which had led to the wrong kind of wildness — littering, cliff jumping, drone-flying," reports Soumya Karlamangla of The New York Times. Since 2025, the National Park Service staff has shrunk by 25%.

Meanwhile, Yosemite's visitor numbers have increased, and last summer was one of the park's "busiest summers in recent years," Karlamangla explains. "October was unusually packed because the park was left open and free during the federal government shutdown."

Without enough park rangers and staff, scientists working in Yosemite have taken to picking up trash and cleaning the bathrooms. Mark Ruggiero, a retired Yosemite ranger who still does part-time work in the park, told Karlamangla, "It’s really disheartening to see the direction we’re going."

Elisabeth Barton, a co-owner of a Yosemite guided tour company, explained how the lack of park rangers can mean visitors -- mostly unintentionally -- are seen doing things that could harm themselves, others or park land. The Times reports, "She has  noticed more visitors driving the wrong way down one-way roads, parking on sensitive meadows and BASE jumping off cliffs, which is not allowed."

Before the staffing cuts, park employees were stationed at Yosemite's entrance to collect entrance fees and explain the park rules and guidance. Park rangers also supervised the trails to ensure the safety and care of visitors and wildlife. 

"It was the vistas of Yosemite. . .that helped inspire the creation of the entire national park system," Karlamangla adds. "President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 made the Yosemite Valley federally protected land designated for public use."

Right now, Yosemite's staff is struggling to maintain the most basic services. Barton told Karlamangla, "I struggle to see the long game here.”

'Hub City' earned its moniker from railroad days, but it's still a place where people from all walks of life come together

‘All Are Welcome’ banner on Bethlehem’s 
exterior. (Photo by Betsy Froiland, The Yonder)

Like spokes on a wheel, nine railroad lines used to converge in Aberdeen, South Dakota —a small rural town that railroads transformed into "Hub City." And while Aberdeen's moniker was earned in the early 1900s, much of the town's reputation as a physical and social hub remains. Betsy Froiland for The Daily Yonder writes, "Many of those railways are gone. But the nickname and the identity endure."

Today's Aberdeen is different in many ways, but it's still a "place where people with different backgrounds, political leanings, and personal identities come together," Froiland writes. Hub City still offers community spaces where its residents and visitors can feel welcome, no matter their differences.

"One such space is Bethlehem Lutheran Church," Froiland writes. "The church itself is a hub of activity, discussion, and community for people from all walks of life. . . . It's politically diverse. While the majority [of members] supported Donald Trump in 2024, 37.5% of its electorate voted for other candidates. People of all political leanings share pews in worship."

The Rev. Jeff Whillock is Bethlehem's lead pastor, who takes an open view to discussing things that can divide people. Froiland writes, "Instead of shying away from political topics at church. . . Whillock takes these conversations on, thoughtfully and methodically." He told Froiland, "I’m continually committed to being a pastor with people that I disagree with."

Like a track that keeps a train moving, part of what has kept Bethlehem alive and growing is "the congregation’s shared understandings of faith and nature to relay a powerful message: all are welcome at Bethlehem," Froiland explains. "Perhaps in part due to the church’s work to connect across differences, Bethlehem is thriving."

Some evenings at Bethlehem include a meal before the religious service. Members and visitors share a meal, with some staying for the service, but some head home after the meal. "In many ways, Bethlehem is a hub of its own. A hub where people from all walks of life can share a meal together," Froiland adds. "A hub where people with different political views can speak a common language."

Parents revive the one-room schoolhouse in two rural Missouri communities

The Homestead School’s main room serves as the school's primary 
gathering space. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell, The Daily Yonder)

Ozark parents are going back in time to the old one-room schoolhouse concept, hoping that the past offers the best lessons on how to educate the hearts, minds and spirits of children.

"This seemingly old-timey form of schooling is reemerging in rural areas where families seek a different education for their children," reports Kaitlyn McConnell for The Daily Yonder. "Technology is very limited, and value is placed on personal character, work ethic, relationship building, and a foundation of faith in the primarily Christian region."

Starting around the end of the Civil War until the 1940s, the one-room schoolhouse was "the bedrock of rural Ozarks communities. Kids focused on learning basics that were taught by one teacher in one room," McConnell explains. The trend is re-emerging as "smaller – or at least more localized – is seen by some as better."

Not every new one-room schoolhouse runs exactly the way they did in earlier times; instead, their structure is meant to "channel close-knit classes, ideals, and beliefs – religious and lifestyle – that their leaders feel are important to instill in younger generations," McConnell reports.

Neighborhood Christian Schools serves about 40 kids from kindergarten through high school in Hutton Valley, Missouri, following the old philosophy. "The day is broken into periods that focus on traditional subjects," McConnell writes. "Kids from first through sixth grade are in the same room with one teacher. Like a traditional one-room school, more advanced students assist kids at lower levels."

Brenten and Kimberly Blake founded Homestead Schoolhouse about 100 miles west of Hutton Valley in rural Taney County. Their school "takes a more modern approach to 'one-room schooling,’" McConnell reports. "Instead of all being together in one room. . some core classes are broken down more into age or skill. In addition to coursework, the student’s experience includes 'life skills' training to recover rural knowledge, like animal husbandry and home economics."

"Whether it’s salvation or academics or better citizens, the long game is the goal for schools like these to have their impact be long-lasting beyond the core academic subjects," McConnell adds. Kimberly Blake told her, "Success really won’t be measured for several years – to see if you’re really instilling values in students."

Quick hits: Bakery sign debate; global cheese demand; Marlboro man's mystique; discover the Stargazer Highway

Local art students created the bakery sign, but a code enforcement 
officer said it had to come down. (Leavitt's Country Bakery reel photo)

Even in closely-knit small towns, not everyone gets along. In Conway, New Hampshire, town officials and Sean Young, a bakery business owner, have been in a legal dust-up since Young installed a front signage mural made by local high school students. "But the town of Conway told Young the painting wasn’t a mural, it was a sign that exceeded the town’s legal size limit and would need to be taken down," reports Kyle Melnick of The Washington Post. "Young left the mural up, and sued the town the following year, claiming its ordinance violates the First Amendment." In May, a judge ruled that Leavitt’s Country Bakery sign, with its giant muffins, donuts and beaming sun, could stay.

The love of cheese products is going global, which is good news for American dairy farmers. "While domestic cheese sales remain soft, global cheese demand is accelerating rapidly," reports Taylor Leach of Daily Herd Management. "Much of that growth is coming from international restaurant menus that are incorporating cheese in new and creative ways. . . . Beyond cheese, other dairy products are gaining traction in international markets as well. Whey proteins and milk proteins, in particular, are seeing increased demand across Asia."

The Marlboro man 'was always adaptable to the times.'
(Philip Morris ad via MEL magazine)

Despite the illness and death cigarette smoking has caused, the Marlboro man remains a strong, stoic, and unequivocally American icon. "The Marlboro man was something of a chameleon, in that he took on multiple meanings and was always adaptable to the times — which, more than anything else, speaks to the durability of the cowboy in American culture," reports Brian VanHooker for MEL magazine. VanHooker shares the storied history of one of the most successful ad campaigns in U.S. history. "Twenty years later, while the Marlboro Man may evoke a sense of nostalgia for some due to its beautiful imagery of the West, for so many who have had a loved one die from smoking-related illnesses, he has a much darker legacy."

Department of Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a listing of new Farm Service Agency and Rural Development state directors tasked with implementing the Trump administration's rural agenda. During her announcement, Rollins told reporters, "Our latest additions to the USDA family are personally invested in ensuring farmers and rural America prosper." Mariah Squire of Successful Farming provides a by-state listing of new appointees, with a limited look at their professional backgrounds.

The dark night skies of the Black Canyon in Gunnison National Park, Colorado.
(Photo by G. Owens, National Park Traveler)

America's National Parks offer visual experiences rarely found in other places. A group of photographers wanted to understand more about Native American spiritual history, so they set out across the National Park's path known as the "Stargazer Highway," Eric Jay Toll writes for National Park Traveler. "More than a dozen tribes have traditional lands through which the Stargazer Highway passes, and each has sacred tribal legends explaining the stars in the skies and lessons, consequences, and morals on Earth. . . . These stories [are] along the highway, better known as U.S. 191, and many of its side roads. The road runs 1,545 miles from Mexico to Canada through Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, passing 24 national parks, monuments, and tribal parks."

IQOS is marketed as sophisticated and 'safer' than
burned tobacco. (Adobe Stock photo)

Phillip Morris has a slick-looking new tobacco product hitting U.S. markets. "The chicly futuristic branding of IQOS, a heated tobacco product owned by Philip Morris International, is one of several things worrying researchers and anti-tobacco advocates," reports Sarah Todd of STAT. "The company is rolling out pilots of the device. . . peddling IQOS (pronounced “eye-koss”) as the 'next step in tobacco harm reduction.' The company positions the devices as a better alternative for smokers compared to cigarettes." Health advocates don't agree with the company's sales pitch and say that savvy IQOS marketing could convince some people to start an unhealthy, addictive habit. 

Ticks can transmit diseases to humans.
(CDC photo)

The problem with ticks isn't that they look creepy; they spread illnesses with alarming efficiency. Every summer it's good to review the best ways to avoid and if needed, remove hitchhiker ticks. "These vile little creatures transmit Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and ehrlichiosis, among others, and symptoms can range from swollen joints to meat allergies," report Annemarie Conte and Doug Mahoney of Wirecutter. Click here to read "their favorite picks and the advice to keep in mind as you head outdoors this summer."

Quick hits: Appalachian brooms; soap science; school lunches on tour; summer train traveling; escaping the heat

Cynthia Main makes handmade brooms, Appalachian style.
(Sunhouse Craft photo via the Yonder)

When a talented crafter with an entrepreneurial bent got busy making handmade brooms, a new sustainable business in Appalachia was born. "Rural arts programs helped Eastern Kentucky maker Cynthia Main develop Sunhouse Craft, a sustainable business with an Appalachian sense of place," reports Kim Kobersmith of The Daily Yonder. "Main is driven by sustainability and community. With larger revenues, she can pay her small staff a living wage and offer her restored historic storefront as a community gathering space, while moving closer to her goal of developing a 100% local supply chain."

Pioneering women of the 1800s spent grueling hours over a fire making soap every spring. Sounds horrible, but soap itself is somewhat of a miracle. "The discovery of soap dates back approximately 5,000 years, to the ancient city of Babylon in what is today the country of Iraq," writes Paul E. Richardson for The Conversation. "Although billions of people use soap every day, most don’t know how it works. As a professor of chemistry, I can explain the science of soap. . . Soap molecules come together and surround the grime on your hands. The water-loving heads of the soap molecules are on the surface, with the water-fearing tails inside the micelle. This structure traps the dirt, and running water washes it all away."

 

Philadelphia children eating a 'three-cent dinner' at school.
(Science History Institute photo via Smithsonian)

Since the late 1800s, Americans have been arguing over kids' school lunches, but beyond the controversies, the topic offers an interesting look at the U.S. diet. "A new exhibition in Philadelphia spotlights the evolution of American nutritional health through a unique lens: the school cafeteria," reports Sonja Anderson for Smithsonian magazine. "Medical inspections revealed that schoolchildren were malnourished. Many had scurvy or rickets, diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies. . . . Philadelphia and Boston became two of the first cities to offer meals to public school students in 1894. According to a statement from the museum, the exhibition features a tiny aluminum token from 1909, which a Philadelphia child would have used to purchase a 'penny lunch' at school."

A California Zephyr trip is chockablock with scenic
views. (Amtrak photo)

Summer is a time for growing gardens, hiking, swimming, dodging mosquitoes, slathering on sunscreen, and, if you're lucky, taking a long vacation. "Here's how one writer used the $500 Amtrak rail pass to criss-cross the U.S. over the course of one month," writes McConnell Quinn for Condé Nast Traveler. "Unlike planes, where everyone stays in their bubble, trains are oddly social — a rotating cast of characters and glimpses into lives I’d never otherwise encounter. With the USA Rail Pass, I crossed the country three times in 30 days. . . I watched the Pacific creep into view on the Coast Starlight, rode the California Zephyr through the Rockies at sunset, and drifted to sleep somewhere in Texas on the Sunset Limited."

July's heat is surely coming, and for those of us with limited air conditioning options, planning where you will go to keep from baking -- beyond grocery store freezer aisles -- is a priority. One of the all-time favorite spots for escaping heat and humidity is movie theaters. AMC theaters must know they are part of some people's melting prevention plans because "beginning July 9, the movie theater chain will offer 50% off adult movie tickets on Wednesdays for those part of the AMC Stubs rewards program," reports Ramishah Maruf of CNN News. 

Summer is also a time for great reads. It could be on a beach, by the pool, in the grass with your horse or any number of amazing places to chill out and read. Not sure which book to kick off your summer escape? Try one from this list of books that will be made or have already been released as 2025 movies. Wilson Wong of The New York Times writes, "Here are some of the thrillers, romances, sci-fi page turners and detective novels coming soon to a screen near you. This is a running list. Check back for more updates as the year goes on."

"The first novella in the Murderbot Diaries series, 'All Systems Red,' follows a security android that secretly hacks its own operating system, allowing it to think and act independently," Wong writes. "But when an expedition goes strangely awry, resulting in several scientists’ deaths, the robot must help the humans in its own unit unravel the mystery before a similar tragedy befalls them." Murderbot premiered on Apple TV+ on May 16.

Opinion: U.S. farmers helped shape the nation's 'feed the world' programs

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, VP-elect Harry S. Truman and
VP Henry Wallace led the U.S. before, during and after WWII.
(Photo by Abbie Rowe, Truman Library via Barn Raiser)

As the United States ends many of its longstanding international food aid programs, reporter Joel Engleman provides a brief history of American farming as a backdrop for his discussion on the newly released book, Global Heartland: Cultivating the American Century on the Midwestern Farm, by historian Peter Simons. An edited version of Engelman's thoughts and Q&A with Simons are shared below.

The seeds of American "food for the world" were planted after World War I and continued growing through the start of the Cold War. "In that roughly 30-year span, American farmers faced a flu pandemic, a dust bowl, a two-decade-long farm depression and a second global war," Engleman writes. "It was also a time when the federal government took a more active role in rural communities."

U.S supply chains that were created during WWII to provide Europe with machinery and weapons helped "set the stage for larger-scale food processing after the war," Engleman explains. "Technological developments in mass communication, as well as letters from relatives fighting overseas, broadened horizons at home." The shifts made U.S. farmers think about their role in the world.

After World War II, U.S. farmers "demanded a reluctant government act to prevent postwar starvation," Engleman writes. "Conservative Cold Warriors in the Truman administration slowly recognized that addressing global needs could help improve both U.S. national security interests and global opinion. A Cold War consensus to 'feed the world' emerged as farmers were enlisted to demonstrate the values of American exceptionalism through their commodity exports."

Simons offers a fresh view on how U.S. farmers began
"feeding the world." (Images via Barn Raiser)

Question (Engleman): Global Heartland charts this period when Americans in and around agriculture — farmers, farm interest groups like the Farm Bureau and Farmers Union, commodity trade groups and the USDA — are debating about whether to focus on domestic or international markets for their products. What was the nature of that debate?

Answer (Simons): "It’s only when the vast scope of [WWII] becomes clear, and the fact that the state is stepping in to guarantee farm profits, that farmers see an opportunity for trade overseas. After the war, humanitarianism is involved in the argument to stave off a famine in Europe, but there’s clearly a desire to prolong these markets.

"But you can’t just have changes in technology or the market. You also need people to reconceptualize a sense of national responsibility, or Christian responsibility, to the rest of the world. I see it as this complication sparked by World War II that ultimately creates the postwar world and reshapes the agricultural economy."

Q: You write about the international workers who came to work on U.S. farms during World War II. How did these migrant farm workers lay the groundwork for the agricultural system we have today?

A: "During World War II, [existing] networks become more formalized. The federal government sent trains down to Mexico City and, using the USDA and Department of Labor, got as many people as they could to work on farms.

"Ultimately, it's the Bracero program that formalizes predominantly Mexican immigrant work in American farm fields. That establishes a pattern for the way that agriculture works in the United States. It is a system that has lasted. . . until early 2025."  

Ag updates: Celebrate Beef Month; handling farm stressors; 'regenerative' farming limits; what is 'acequia' irrigation?

"Round-up scenes in Belle Fouche" by John C. H. Grabill. (Library of Congress photo via Ag Clips)

May is National Beef Month, and possibly the best time to look back at the country's short but impactful cattle drive history, which began around 1866 and ended in the 1890s. "The biggest legacy of the cattle drives exists in popular culture. The cattle drives occurred in a time when the United States was shifting from an agrarian-based society to a more industrial and urban society," reports Morning Ag Clips. "Because of this shift, the cowboys and ranch life were looked on with nostalgia as 'simpler times,' and they became a popular subject for stories and songs."

With tariffs, weather, bird flu and hi-input costs, U.S. farmers are unsurprisingly stressed. Burnout and depression can easily follow emotions run ragged by an ever-changing commodities landscape. "This sort of chronic stress complicates decision-making and other aspects of managing a farm or ranch," reports Raylene Nickel for Successful Farming. "If you recognize signs of stress and burnout, do these six things to help yourself cope or recover: Take care of your physical self, surround yourself with good people, take charge of your thoughts, build spiritual capital, find ways to reduce stress, seek help. 

In a letter to Ford President and CEO Jim Farley, a coalition of U.S. corn growers asked Farley to reconsider the company's move away from flex fuel vehicle production and to "reengage in advancing renewable fuel technologies that support rural America," reports Jesse Allen for American Ag Network. "The letter highlights the critical role American-grown ethanol plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening energy independence, and supporting local economies."

Regenerative farming may not be as
"green" as it sounds. (New Lede photo)

"Regenerative" agriculture may be healthy farming's new buzzword, but food producers and buyers should be aware of the label's limitations. "Proponents of regenerative farming say the practice can mitigate harmful climate change, reduce water pollution, and make foods more nutritious as farmers focus on improving the health of soil, water, and ecosystems," reports Carey Gillam for The New Lede. "That momentum comes with a dirty dark side, according to a new report [that] asserts regenerative programs, which generally allow for the use of weedkillers and other chemicals, are being used to 'greenwash' routine use of several dangerous pesticides on farm fields. . . .Corporations that sell such pesticides are entwined with the movement. . ."

An illustration of how acequias work.
(Drawing by Jerold Widdison via Civil Eats)

Southwestern farmers grappling with arid conditions brought on by climate change revived the ancient 'acequia' irrigation system to address water shortage problems. "Time-tested solutions like this one could hold the key to mitigating the worst impacts of climate change, especially in rural communities," reports Samuel Gilbert for Civil Eats. "In the San Luis Valley, in south-central Colorado, 130 gravity-flow ditches irrigated 30,000 acres of farmland and 10,000 acres of wetlands." Devon Peña, founder of The Acequia Institute, told Gilbert, "This is an incredibly productive, resilient, and sustainable system."

Opinion: Bringing women's leadership back onto the farm could benefit the country

Malia Reisinger runs her family's farm and her house-
hold like generations of rural women before her.

For hundreds of years, American women ran or helped run family farms. The fact that they were female meant little to families who had to rely on every working hand to manage farm animals and crops. As the United States began urbanizing, women were removed from farming leadership, so much so that their decades of farming experience have been largely forgotten.

Book author and public relations consultant Brian Reisinger shares his sister's experience and why he believes revitalizing female leadership on U.S. farms could help bridge rural-urban divides while providing a more secure future for American family farms.

"My sister, Malia, was a skilled welder. . .one of the many trades a farmer picks up, to get [machinery] going again when break­downs halted work on the farm. So, when she needed a part that required going to town, she went in herself," Reisinger explains. "But when she asked a guy for help, she got a response my dad or I never would have: 'Shouldn’t a man be getting it?'"

Quips like that were "one of the countless moments Malia faced being a woman in the 'man’s world' of farming," Reisinger writes. "It was far from the only time she confronted this challenge, despite the independent women she’d grown up working alongside. Rarely, did she encounter openly hostile sexism; more often it was small indignities that piled up over time."

Rural women led social changes for
decades. (Boston Public Library photo)

For some readers, rural life and women's rights may seem at odds, but "American farming once boasted nearly 6.8 million farms, nearly all of them small operations often ran by women as much as their husbands in many ways," Reisinger writes. "For much of our history, rural women led the charge on social progress through many of our country’s biggest crises." 

The place of women as farm workers and as social leaders is marked throughout U.S. history:

• 6.8 million: Farms at America’s height in 1935, mostly small family operations where women did the work of men
• 11.8 million: Men who went off to WWII, leaving behind urban jobs rural women were ready to fill. 
• By the time of World War II, as more than 12.2 million Americans went to war, there was a legion of rural women moving to the city and handling the industrial jobs of the men.
  

Watching and learning from female farm leadership "can challenge us to change. But if we can force ourselves to stop getting rural voters — and each other — so wrong, we can craft new policies to help solve these problems," Reisinger adds. "There’s reason to believe we can do this. We still have nearly 2 million farms in this country, 96% of which are family operations. That’s nearly 2 million families, searching for a way to survive, led by people like my sister who our policymakers could do so much more to understand. . . "

 

Read Reisinger's full opinion here.

Quick hits: Skate this ice path for miles; chiming in on U.S. politics; discover full moon names; the Salton Sea's lure

Ice path on the Warroad River, Minnesota. (Jerry Holt, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

To make winter less depressing, try skating. "A river runs through Hockeytown USA, and you can skate on it for miles," reports Walker Orenstein of The Minnesota Star Tribune. "It's not a wilderness trail, but rather a wonderfully accessible ice path that attracts skilled hockey players and new skaters alike. It’s easy to forget you’re on a river at all."

For Americans tired of standing on the sidelines and watching turbulent news unfold, there are ways to make your voice heard. "No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on — contact your federal or local representatives and let them know how you feel, via social media, texts, emails, or phone calls," writes Barbara Krasnoff of The Verge. "There are several online sites and mobile apps that can help, by letting us who to contact, helping us know what the issues are." Some apps offer scripts to make reaching out less intimidating.

Each month’s full moon marks the changing seasons.
(Photo by Kym MacKinnon, Unsplash)

Snow, sleet, ice and more snow -- winter's chill hangs on into February. The month is typically the Northern Hemisphere's coldest month, and its full moon's name -- the "Snow Moon" reflects its wintry days, reports Jane Alexander for Mental Floss. When March hits, the "Worm Moon" will glow above as a sign that spring is coming. Each month has a full moon with a unique name. "Any of the names we use today come from Native American traditions, though some originated in Europe as well. The monikers correspond with the seasons."

Just as rural problems might be best solved by rural communities, challenges across the country might be best met by average citizens. An Oregon county is giving its residents a trial run at solving homelessness. If successful, their "citizen assembly" model could become a new tool for other places, reports Nick Romeo for The New Yorker. "These gatherings do what most democracies only pretend to: trust normal people to make decisions on difficult policy questions. Many citizens’ assemblies follow a basic template. . . "

Adobe Stock photo

Fire has helped humans reforge the earth for almost a million years, and recent tragic burns serve as a reminder of how fire changes human lives. "In recent years, fires have blasted through cities in Colorado, the southern Appalachians and the island of Maui," writes fire historian Stephen Pyne for The Conversation. "The narrative is the unbroken saga of humanity and fire, a companionship that extends through all our existence as a species. . . . We are creating the fire equivalent of an ice age."

Aerial view of Salton Sea coastline. The sea is both 'fascinating and fetid.' (Adobe Stock photo)

As a curiosity and a place for communal contemplation, the Salton Sea in southern California was "created by the collision of geology and bad luck," writes Dennis Hinkamp for Writers on the Range. "Its salt-encrusted shores circle about 340 square miles of sea. A silo-full of conspiracy theories features the Salton Sea. . . It will likely remain a hiding place for the weird until some real monster beneath the sea emerges, which could be a rush to start mining lithium made by the sea. . . . It’s my refuge, my winter solace away from anxious headlines, and just strange enough to be hospitable."

Looking back through history, Americans weren't healthier than they are now. 'The past was actually much worse.'

During many decades in U.S. history, rich men smoked and
heavy alcohol consumption was 'the norm.' (Adobe Stock photo)

The American diet was once dominated by vegetables and dried fruits, but also salted pork and heavy alcohol consumption. Lifestyle practices in the United States have never been particularly healthy. Any models that promote "making America healthy again" aren't taking the country's health history into account, reports Gina Kolata of The New York Times. "The word 'again' presumes a time in the country’s past when Americans were in better health. Was there ever really a time when America was healthier?"

Medicine historians have "a short answer," Kolata writes. "'No,' said Nancy Tomes, a historian at Stony Brook University. . . . John Harley Warner, a historian at Yale, said, 'It’s hard for me to think of a time when America, with all the real health disparities that characterize our system, was healthier.'"

Going back in time, the vision of a more vibrant and healthy America evaporates. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, "rich men smoked cigarettes and cigars, the poor chewed tobacco. Heavy drinking was the norm," Kolata adds. "Fresh fruits and vegetables were in short supply because they were difficult to ship and because growing seasons were so short. As for protein, Americans were relying on salted pork."

Even when beef became part of the U.S. diet, Americans did not get healthier. Many people were underweight and their health suffered because of it. "The start of the 20th century saw public health improvements (cleaner water, for example, and posters advising parents not to give their babies beer), but the disease was rampant," Kolata reports. "When the 1918 flu struck the nation, no one knew the cause — the flu virus had not been discovered."

During the 1950s and 1960s, the "American pharmaceutical industry pumped out new medical advances: antibiotics, antipsychotics, drugs for high blood pressure and vaccines for tetanus, diphtheria, measles and polio," Kolata writes. "Despite that progress, those years were terrible for health," Dr. Jeremy Greene, a historian at Johns Hopkins University, said, "with 'a tremendous amount of heart attacks and strokes.'. . . In part, that was because nearly everyone smoked."

When it comes to optimum health, the United States is nowhere near the promised land, but the number of smokers has steeply declined while treatments for diseases have multiplied. "Researchers are quick to acknowledge that Americans’ health is not as good as it can be. And they bemoan the huge disparities in health care in this country," Kolata adds. "But, historians say, the past was actually much worse."

Opinion: Minnesotans don't all agree on which state flag should be flown. The conflicts come from many places.

The older flag (Wikipedia graphic)

Minnesota has two flags and both are flying in different parts of the state. The older banner represents the state's connection to farming, which is historically accurate. But the flag illustrates the American Indian running into the sunset, which has proved a problematic emblem for many Minnesotans. The second banner was unfurled earlier this year and features two opposing hues of blue and a bold eight-pointed white star. But even with its simplicity, the new flag has stoked controversy.

Some Minnesotans hoped a new flag would help unite the state, but some more rural counties have rejected the new flag and have stuck to flying the old version, writes Karen Tolkkinen in her opinion for The Minnesota Star Tribune. "America has been struggling with how to deal with the symbols of a past that harmed many people, and Minnesota has not been spared. . . . It’s fair to say that the old state flag reflected the reality of the 1800s. As logging and railroad barons plundered the state, and European settlers moved in, the state’s Indigenous people did lose power."

The new flag (Wikipedia graphic)

Part of the point of changing the flag was to remove a state symbol that was emblematic of Indigenous people's historical oppression and loss. "Arguably now, more than at any time in our state’s history, Minnesotans see and understand the massive loss and trauma endured by Indigenous people," Tolkkinen adds. "Simply changing a flag doesn’t fix that, but those who felt their oppression reflected in the flag no longer chafe under that demeaning symbol."

Hanging onto the old is nothing new in people or government politics, but resisting a new flag can have a deeper meaning. "It’s also easy to see the frantic rally around the old flag as the fearful acts of a majority group that is losing power as demographics shift locally and nationally. Some of that is true. But it doesn’t tell the whole story," Tolkkinen writes. "The sting, I think, is feeling like they are being erased from history."

The ancestors of many rural white Minnesotans "arrived here not speaking English, driven across the ocean by hunger or poverty or war. While hundreds of thousands of settlers got Minnesota land for free through the Homestead Act of 1864, many other immigrants bought their land from the government or the railroad, paying $1.25 an acre starting in 1841," Tolkkinen explains. "They had hard lives. . . . The farmer in the old state flag could have been an ancestor of many people in our area. . . . I can see that they might feel, like the Native man riding into the sunset, that they are being written out of history."

More modern cheesemaking was created by rural folks; the steps to make it are delicious dairy science

Even though cheesemaking history formally dates back to 2500 BC, the more traditional cheesemaking we know today was invented by French peasants. If you know how rural communities work, you're probably not shocked that farming folks from centuries ago were brilliant and creative in using milk for delicious ends.

Fast forward to the present day, and we now know what rural cheesemakers used to develop cheese is pure science, writes John A. Lucey for The Conversation, a journalistic platform for academics. Lucey, a food scientist who has studied cheese for 35 years, takes readers through the cheese-making process from milk to mozzarella. A few edited steps are shared below.

First off, cheese has delightfully few ingredients. "It’s made with milk, enzymes – these are proteins that can chop up other proteins – bacterial cultures and salt. Lots of complex chemistry goes into the cheesemaking process, which can determine whether the cheese turns out soft and gooey like mozzarella or hard and fragrant like Parmesan," Lucey notes. "All cheesemakers first pump milk into a cheese vat and add a special enzyme called rennet. . . . The cheesemaker is essentially turning milk from a liquid into a gel."

Churning milk and rennet into gel can take 10 minutes or more depending on the cheese. The cheesemaker will then cube the gelled "curd" and work to remove moisture from the smaller blocks. "To do so, the cheesemaker might stir or heat up the curd, which helps release whey and moisture," Lucey explains. "Depending on the type of cheese made, the cheesemaker will drain the whey and water from the vat, leaving behind the cheese curds."

Master cheesemaker Gary Grossen cuts a vat of cheese with a cheese harp. Cutting helps release
whey during the cheesemaking process. (UW Center for Dairy Research photo via The Conversation)

Cheesemakers add different ingredients and steps depending on the type of cheese being made. Hard and soft cheeses require different treatments. For example, "mozzarella, [is placed] in a salt solution called a brine. The cheese block or wheel floats in a brine tank for hours, days or even weeks," Lucey writes. "During that time, the cheese absorbs some of the salt, which adds flavor and protects against unwanted bacterial or pathogen growth."

As cheesemakers go through each step "several important bacterial processes are occurring," Lucey adds. Even as a finished product, cheese is "a living, fermented food. . . .Cheesemaking is a milk concentration process. Cheesemakers want their final product to have the milk proteins, fat and nutrients, without as much water. . . .There are hundreds of different varieties of cow’s milk cheese made across the globe, and they all start with milk. All of these different varieties are produced by adjusting the cheesemaking process."

To read more about the science of making cheese, click here.

Opinion: Keeping D-Day remembrance alive throughout this year's elections can help Americans support democracy

Omaha Beach 116th Regimental Combat Team Memorial
in Normandy, France. (Adobe Stock photo)

The 80th anniversary of D-Day occurred about a week ago, but how many Americans stopped to think about using that day's massive human undertaking as a sounding board for this year's elections? In his opinion for The New York Times, Garrett M. Graff encourages Americans to look at what the country accomplished together during the World War II years and use it as our North Star to guide how we support our democracy through this year's election cycle.

"Day by passing day, the Greatest Generation is coming toward its end. D-Day, June 6, 1944, had more than two million Allied personnel on the move across Operation Overlord, and today, perhaps a few thousand veterans remain," Graff writes. "As we mark the final passing of those who won that war, it's easy to get caught up in gauzy romanticism and lose sight of how the Axis powers unified the free world against them and showed Americans, specifically, what we are capable of."

As Americans follow this year's elections and prepare to vote, "it's worth asking what we are doing with the legacy that the Greatest Generation defended and bequeathed to us. . . . A story of hard-fought rights and bloodily defended liberties that each generation of Americans has handed down to the next," Graff says. "We now face the very real question of whether America will embrace a vision of a country less free and less democratic, more divided and more unequal. It would be a step backward unlike almost anything else in American history."

Consider D-Day's planning and execution. It was "a titanic enterprise, perhaps the largest and most complex single operation in human history — an effort to launch a force of more than a million men across the English Channel on more than 3,000 planes and more than 7,000 ships; to methodically transport entire floating harbors, a herculean secret project known as the Mulberries, as well as 300,500 gallons of drinking water and 800,000 pints of blood plasma, a stockpile carefully segregated, as mandated at the time, between white and Black donors."

What do we, as Americans, have in common with the soldiers and support personnel from 1944's Allied invasion? "Across the next few months, we will be hearing a lot of argument about what America is and what it isn't," Graff writes. "There's a simpler answer to that question than many would like to admit: What we'll fight for is who we are. And, as we look ahead, we must decide if we're still as willing today to fight for democracy as the generation who stormed Normandy was 80 years ago."