Appeals court bans dicamba-based herbicide sales in U.S. for 6 months; EPA is likely to reauthorize it for next year

A federal appeals court has essentially halted the sale of dicamba-based herbicides in the U.S. for the next six months after ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency did not do its due diligence when reauthorizing the chemical in 2018. That reauthorization expires Dec. 20.

Environmental groups sued EPA in 2018 in an attempt to force the agency to cancel its approval of XtendiMax, a dicamba-based herbicide then produced by Monsanto, which has since been acquired by Bayer AG, Joel Rosenblatt reports for Bloomberg. The ruling applies to dicamba-based herbicides by other companies such as BASF and Corteva Agriscience.

The three-judge panel ruled that the EPA had "failed entirely" to acknowledge the risks of dicamba and therefore violated federal regulations by reauthorizing XtendiMax for two years in October 2018," Rosenblatt reports. The judges wrote in the opinion that the EPA's decision also failed to consider the "enormous social cost to farming communities" where disagreements over dicamba damage have "turned farmer against farmer, and neighbor against neighbor," and cited the 2016 murder of an Arkansas farmer during an argument over dicamba damage.

Dicamba is well-known for vaporizing after application and drifting to nearby fields, where it can damage crops not genetically engineered to resist it. That can unfairly influence farmers to buy dicamba-resistant seeds and pesticides, the judges ruled. "The decision is the latest blow to Bayer in the wake of its $63 billion takeover of Monsanto — a deal that made the German company a leader in agriculture products but also saddled it with a mountain of legal liabilities related to weed killers," Rosenblatt reports. In February, a Missouri peach farmer was awarded $265 million in a lawsuit against Bayer and BASF over dicamba-damaged crops.

State inspection agencies have been inundated with similar complaints for the past three years. Bayer's XtendiMax herbicide is "widely blamed for damaging 3.6 million acres of untreated soybeans in 2017, and more than 1 million acres in 2018," Rosenblatt reports.

"Still, the EPA will probably re-authorize dicamba in a revised form in time for next year -- and the agency could even move up that reauthorization before Dec. 20, when the current clearance was set to expire."

U.S.-China farm trade deal is in doubt after dispute over Hong Kong, Chinese cuts in soybean and pork purchases

The future of the "Phase 1" trade deal between the United States and China is in question after recent actions by the two governments, Karl Plume, Hallie Gu, and Keith Zhai report for Reuters.

In January, the countries signed a partial deal in which China promised to increase purchases of U.S. farm products by $32 billion over two years, if that didn't disrupt China's other trade relationships. China was once the U.S.'s top customer for soybeans, but lately China has been buying big from Brazil, Keith Johnson reports for Foreign Policy.

China recently passed a national-security bill that effectively overrode Hong Kong's legislature, giving Beijing more control over the city. In response, President Trump said Friday that the administration will begin eliminating policy exemptions for Hong Kong on extradition, technology exports and more, Jonathan Garber reports for Fox Business.

China volleyed back by canceling some U.S. agriculture purchases, weakening U.S. corn, wheat and lean hog futures; soybean futures remained flat. Sources with insider knowledge said the Chinese government told state-owned companies to stop making large-scale soybean and pork purchases from the U.S.; one of the sources said corn and cotton purchases were also on the chopping block, Reuters reports. But after that order, state-owned Chinese firms bought at least 180,000 tons of U.S. soybeans on Monday, scheduled to ship in the fall when U.S. soybeans are usually the cheapest on the global market, said three U.S. traders familiar with the deal.

"It was not immediately clear why buying continued after Beijing’s message to state-owned firms, but U.S. traders said Chinese importers still have not covered a large share of October and November soybean needs, Reuters reports. "The soybean sales on Monday were small compared to recent purchases by state-owned firms totaling 1 million tonnes or more at a time."

"Any sustained halt in buying would further threaten progress in meeting goals set in the Phase 1 trade deal signed in January," Reuters reports.

'To mask or not to mask?' reminds columnist of questions some had about seat belts, DUI laws and smoking bans

By Mary Jane McKinney

     To mask or not to mask? That is the question a lot of people are wrestling with as the coronavirus pandemic in Texas worsens. We as a culture have been here before. Americans have resisted seat belts, helmets, infant car seats, and other safety measures. They have also resented laws prohibiting driving while drunk, buzzed, or high. And for 60 years, Americans have been warned not to use tobacco. Laws now prohibit smoking in public places, but tobacco use persists in spite of overwhelming evidence that it is harmful. Most Americans go along with changes, but there is always a percentage of the population who are slow to comply. Now it’s wearing a protective face mask in a pandemic.
     Our village post office is the size of a large walk-in closet. The mail is put up Monday through Saturday by 11 am. After that time, more than 300 residents enter the closet-sized space to get their mail. The daily trip has become dangerous as residents try to social distance. I thought I had the answer to safe mail pickup when I started getting my mail after 7 pm. My plan worked for four weeks until others had the same idea. Now there is a line of cars parked on Main Street between 7 pm and 8 pm. Almost everyone I’ve seen at the late mail pickup is over 60 years old. Nobody wears a mask except me. I’ve got gloves on, too.
     The whole idea of the late pickup is to go to the post office when no one else is there, thus eliminating the need for a mask. Why the resistance to masks? We can blame human nature for the reluctance to change. I also think the mask seems so low-tech; primitive; and to some, silly, that a lot of people dismiss its power to make a difference in the pandemic. But masks work to slow the spread of the virus. I heard a reporter in Hong Kong say that not wearing a mask in public is like not wearing clothes. In China, Singapore, South Korea, and other Asian countries, wearing a mask is accepted as a public health requirement and a cultural norm. The root of resistance to masking up in rural Texas may be the fear that the custom will become a cultural norm in the United States.
     As the number of coronavirus cases in Texas rises, we will also see an increase in mask-wearing. We’re just putting off the inevitable as long as possible. One of the best things about living in a small town is the feeling of safety. The illusion that the virus won’t come here is just that—an illusion. As more businesses open, we will see more cashiers, clerks, and store managers in masks. We will see more stores requiring customers to wear masks.
     As the covid-19 cases increase in my county, I already see more West Texans wearing masks. At first, we had three cases, then 17, then 29, and now 106 cases. The virus is here, and more people will be infected in the next few weeks, especially after the abandonment of social distancing on Memorial Day weekend.
     Epidemiologists are calling the spike in cases “the second wave of the first wave.” Texas cases may reach 100,000 at the rate they are going. Eventually, Gov. Abbott will have to follow in the footsteps of Gov. Murphy of New Jersey, who told his citizens to wear masks and stay six feet apart. Exasperated, he finally tweeted, "ATTENTION KNUCKLEHEADS: KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE."

Mary Jane McKinney of Christoval, Texas, writes her "Plain English" column for Texas newspapers. 

EPA quick hits: Agency weakens states' power over pipeline projects; refused to use current data to revise air toxics rule

"The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced that it had limited states’ ability to block the construction of energy infrastructure projects, part of the Trump administration’s goal of promoting gas pipelines, coal terminals and other fossil fuel development," Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times. "The completed rule curtails sections of the U.S. Clean Water Act that New York has used to block an interstate gas pipeline, and Washington employed to oppose a coal export terminal. The move is expected to set up a legal clash with Democratic governors who have sought to block fossil fuel projects."

Also in EPA news: Emails show that the agency recently refused a White House Office of Management and Budget request to use current data when revising its rule on mercury air pollution.

The regulation involved a second look at the Obama administration’s legal rationale to see whether it was “appropriate or necessary” for the Environmental Protection Agency to limit mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants," Amena Saiyid reports for Bloomberg Law. "The Trump administration’s EPA concluded May 22 the mercury and air toxics standards, known as MATS, which were set in 2012 and met subsequently by the power sector, weren’t justified. It reached this decision by using the same health benefits and compliance estimates used in 2012 to set the standards."

Only 301 oil and gas rigs were drilling in the U.S. last week, the fewest since national records have been kept

Fewer rigs are drilling for oil and gas in the United States than at any time since national records started being kept in 1940, energy-service firm Baker Hughes Co. reports.

The count fell by 17 to 301 in the week ended Friday, May 29. "That was 683 rigs, or 69 percent, below this time last year and was the fourth week in a row the U.S. count fell to a fresh record low," reports Scott DiSavino of Reuters. "For the month, the U.S. rigs dropped by 164, its third monthly decline in a row."

DiSavino notes that energy companies cut back on new drilling "after global coronavirus lockdowns caused energy prices and demand to collapse." Some active rigs have been idled, the Houston Chronicle reports. The price plunge has made some production uneconomical, and oil companies are running short of lack of storage space for crude oil and petroleum products.

Rural counties at both extremes of infection rates in May

New covid-19 cases in May (Daily Yonder map; click on the image to enlarge it; click here for the interactive version.)

Non-metropolitan counties had some of the highest and lowest covid-19 infection rates in the nation in May, according to a new Daily Yonder analysis of USA Facts data.

"On one hand, 352 rural counties reported no cases of covid-19 infections in May. That number includes 171 rural counties that have never had a case of covid-19, plus another 181 counties that reported no new cases in May but had cases previously," Tim Marema and Bill Bishop report for The Daily Yonder. "Another 500 rural counties reported five or fewer new cases of covid-19 in May."

Read more here for a regional analysis and an interactive map with county-level data.

Pandemic stress could prompt spike in rural mental health problems and suicides; see county-level estimates

Estimated additional deaths of despair between 2020-2029 (Click the image to enlarge it)

Mental health issues and deaths of despair, or those caused by depression-related suicide or substance abuse, have been increasing over the past decade, but stress from the pandemic could cause a spike in such deaths, according to a recent paper by the Well Being Trust, a mental health and substance abuse research nonprofit, and the Robert Graham Center, a primary care research organization affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians.

An increase in deaths of despair could disproportionately affect rural residents, who are at a higher risk of such deaths. Racial and ethnic minorities and people with lower incomes are also at higher risk, especially those with more than one risk factor.

The paper considers nine possible future scenarios, including ones with quick economic recovery, slow economic recovery, and somewhere in between, along with other factors. The fastest recovery could result in an additional 27,644 deaths of despair, and the slowest recovery could lead to an additional 154,037 deaths of despair, according to the paper.

The authors suggest ways to mitigate the increase in deaths of despair, including finding ways to decrease social isolation. Read more here.

Agricultural economists to discuss pandemic's impact on the agricultural economy in webinar at 2:30 ET Thursday

As part of the University of Kentucky's Cafe Conversations series, three agricultural economists will discuss how the covid-19 pandemic is affecting the agricultural economy in a free webinar on Thursday, June 4. The webinar will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET and will likely be less than an hour long. Click here to register.

The featured panelists will be Will Snell, Kenny Burdine, and Tim Woods. Snell's expertise lies in tobacco economics, ag policy, and trade. Burdine's focus is on livestock economics and price risk management. Woods' speciality is horticulture, food business development, farm entrepreneurship, and wholesale food supply chains.

The webinar will take place on Zoom, and preregistration is required. A free recording will be available afterward on the university's College of Agriculture, Food and Environment website.

76 journalists attacked covering riots, mostly by police, according to database that tracks threats to journalists

"At least 19 journalists have been arrested, 36 journalists shot at by police with projectiles, and 76 journalists have been assaulted during the period of May 28 through 31 while covering protests throughout the US," Justin Boggs reports for Scripps. "Of the 76 reported assaults on journalists, 80% were by police, either through physical encounters or being shot at" with non-lethal rounds.

The figures have been compiled by U.S. Freedom Tracker, which maintains a database of threats to the news media's right to report. That includes physical attacks, damage to equipment, denials of access, subpoenas or legal orders, arrests, and "chilling statements". Though most of the threats and violence against journalists covering the riots has been urban, the database is one to watch, and often lists rural journalists.

"The group said on Monday that it generally documents 100 to 150 'press freedom violations' per year in the US. In just four days, that number is well over 100," Boggs reports. That figure could increase in coming days as the group investigates other incidents.

Rural counties with covid-19 outbreaks and meatpacking plants have some of the highest infection rates in the US

Infection rate per 100,000; white dots are meatpacking plants
(Daily Yonder map; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version)

Most of the rural counties with the highest covid-19 infection rates are home to meatpacking plants where workers have been sickened by the disease. Such rural counties, which have some of the highest infection rates nationwide, have an average infection rate an average of five times higher than other rural counties, according to a data analysis by The Daily Yonder and the Food & Environment Reporting Network.

"Rural counties with covid-19 cases linked to meatpacking plants have an average infection rate of nearly 1,100 per 100,000, according to the analysis of data on covid-19 cases and deaths, Leah Douglas and Tim Marema report for the Yonder. "The data used in the analysis was from USA Facts. In rural counties without meatpacking plant-linked outbreaks, the average infection rate is only 209 cases per 100,000."

Click here for more data from the analysis, including an interactive county-level map, county rankings, and more.

Meatpacking production is almost back at normal capacity, but some lawmakers and labor advocates say protections for workers are still lacking, Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture.

Study: covid-19 significantly worse among smokers

People who smoke are more likely to contract covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and more likely to have a severe case than non-smokers, according to a newly published analysis by University of California San Francisco scientists. That includes people who use e-cigarettes.

That has ominous implications for rural areas, where smoking rates are higher.

In a meta-analysis of recent studies about 11,590 covid-19 patients, the researchers found that current and former smokers were nearly twice as likely to see advanced progression of the disease, and more likely to die from it. "Smoking and e-cigarette use increase risk and severity of pulmonary infections because of damage to upper airways and a decrease in pulmonary immune function," according to the paper.

The authors recommend that physicians and public health officials collect more data on smoking and create smoking cessation initiatives to help blunt the impact of the pandemic.

Supreme Court lets states regulate church gatherings in pandemic; White House waters down CDC guidelines

Churches continue to serve as a legal and regulatory battleground during the pandemic as concerns over free speech and public health collide.

The Supreme Court ruledFriday that states still retain some power to regulate how many people are allowed to gather in churches during a pandemic, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court's liberal minority in a 5-4 vote, Adam Liptak reports for The New York Times.

South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista, Calif., sued to block the state from enforcing restrictions on attendance at religious services, alleging that their freedom of speech was being violated. However, Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that churches were not being unfairly singled out since non-essential secular gatherings have also been restricted, Liptak reports.

"The court’s ruling was its first attempt to balance the public health crisis against the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom," Liptak reports. "And it expanded the Supreme Court’s engagement with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, after rulings on voting in Wisconsin and prisons in Texas and Ohio."

Meanwhile, last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed language from its pandemic guidelines for faith communities that had encouraged them to limit or eschew singing since it can spread the coronavirus, Lena Sun and Josh Dawsey report for The Washington Post.

The guide was initially released on Friday, May 22, but it was altered over the weekend to exclude language about choirs, apparently because the White House had not approved it, Bill Chappell reports for NPR. An anonymous federal official told NPR that the CDC "posted the wrong version of the guidance" and that the one "currently up on the website is the version cleared by the White House."

"The altered guidance also deleted a reference to 'shared cups' among items, including hymnals and worship rugs, that should not be shared," Sun and Josh Dawsey report. "The updated guidelines also added language that said the guidance 'is not intended to infringe on rights protected by the First Amendment'."

Churches have been the source for multiple local outbreaks in rural areas. "There is probably no better way to aerosolize the virus than singing," Kevin Kavanagh told The Rural Blog. "Close contact, indoor closed quarters plus singing is a set-up for a disaster." Kavanagh is a retired physician in Somerset, Ky., and chair of Health Watch USA.

Critics say small businesses, some small rural lenders, left out of Paycheck Protection Plan aid

Though Congress has provided more than $600 billion in forgivable loans for small businesses who retain their employees during the pandemic, critics say rural entrepreneurs are being left out.

"A May 8 report by the Small Business Administration’s inspector general found that the SBA failed to follow congressional direction to prioritize small businesses in underserved and rural markets in the original" Paycheck Protection Program, April Simpson reports for Stateline. "And because the SBA did not collect demographic data on those borrowers, the agency doesn’t know how much money went to rural, minority and women-owned businesses."

An online survey by the National Main Street Center found that fewer small rural businesses applied for or received PPP aid than their urban counterparts. "Of 631 respondents in 43 states, the vast majority employ fewer than 20 people," Simpson reports. "The survey found that in communities of fewer than 50,000 people, 76 percent of businesses applied, compared with 89% in places with larger populations. And 45% of small business applications in smaller areas were approved, compared with 59% in larger ones."

Critics say many rural business owners don't have the banking relationships necessary to take advantage of the PPP, Simpson reports. In May, Ines Polonius, CEO of Arkansas-based small-business lender Communities Unlimited told members of a House small business subcommittee that the PPP failed to help rural businesses as the "direct result of decades of bank disinvestment from rural communities across the country."

Responding to the criticism, the SBA and the Treasury Department announced last week "they would set aside $10 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program to be lent exclusively to Community Development Financial Institutions, which lend to rural, minority and under-served groups," Simpson reports.

However, Vandell Hampton Jr., CEO of True Access Capital, said many small CDFIs like his can't participate in the PPP, Simpson reports: "Smaller lenders don’t have the capital to lend and wait to be reimbursed, nor do they have the capacity to quickly process loan applications, Hampton said. Instead, grant money to support smaller institutions, urban or rural, would have been more effective, he said."

Rural Kentucky writer blames Trump, toxic masculinity, for many red state residents' dislike of wearing masks

Teri Carter

When Kentucky slowly began to reopen businesses a few weeks ago, Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, asked all Kentuckians to wear masks in public spaces. But many refused, seeming to view the notion as weak or foolish.

The decision to wear a mask or not has become a cultural and political flash point in Kentucky and many other red states, rural Kentuckian Teri Carter writes in an op-ed for The Washington Post.

President Trump has been a poor role model by not wearing a mask or following social distancing protocols at multiple public appearances, Carter writes, behavior she believes is driven by toxic masculinity.

Carter correlates Trump's refusal to wear a mask with rising pandemic rates in red states: "Infection counts are rising in Alabama, and Mississippi, Utah, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Arizona all set records for daily case totals Friday. Not coincidentally, those are all states where, like Kentucky, Trump remains popular."

"In red states such as Kentucky, where allegiance to Trump so often trumps all else, I pray we don’t see a spike in sickness and death simply because wearing a mask in Trump country has been deemed 'weak' and 'unmanly' by the example of the president himself," Carter writes.

Current unrest underlines necessity of allowing journalists to do their jobs, retired editor-publisher in S.D. writes

Timothy Waltner

President Trump bears indirect responsibility in attacks on the press in recent days during protests over the death of of African-American George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police (and, to a lesser extent, over the death of Breonna Taylor during a botched police raid in Louisville), writes retired rural publisher and editor Timothy Waltner, the First Amendment Committee chair at the South Dakota Newspaper Association.

Law enforcement officials have arrested, tear-gassed or shot at journalists with non-lethal rounds, sometimes even after the journalists had identified themselves as the press. 

"You can’t directly link the president’s verbal attacks on the press with the physical attacks we’ve seen in recent days; he did not tell people to do that. But the words President Trump uses and the attitude he promotes have impact," Waltner writes. "Those sentiments and the constant barrage of those verbal attacks encourage, empower and enable the mistrust of journalists. Journalists have thick skin and will continue to do their jobs. But I fear for our culture, our social fabric and our democracy." Read more here.

Our nominee for best 2020 high-school graduation editorial

By Laurie Ezzell Brown
The Canadian (Tex.) Record

In my own version of social isolation, I’ve spent as many free hours as possible studying the birds and squirrels and hummingbirds that inhabit my backyard, thinking perhaps I could learn something of solitude.

Lured by a plentiful supply of seeds and a frequently-refilled bird bath, they have all neatly assembled a life there, complete with its own pecking order and its own social justice system.

These backyard denizens take little note of any human, unless one is foolish enough to invade their space. I made that mistake recently, climbing a ladder to the roof in order to replace a wind-blown vent cap. Truly, hell hath no fury like a grackle defending its nest. I made my repairs, as quickly as the steeply-pitched, hot metal rooftop allowed, and ceded the territory back to black fury.

One weekend, John and I decided to remove a couple of dead tree branches. Hours later, and too many trips to the city tree pile to count, we were still sawing and loading and hauling. That evening, having cleared a small forest and expended every drop of energy we possessed between us, we idled on the back patio, tracking the well-traveled path of the squirrel family in residence.

The hunter/gatherer of the bunch made frequent trips down one tree trunk, sprinting the length of the picket fence, and scrambling up the third mock pear tree and into the branches, where he leapt from one to another with great assurance and ease, and with no small measure of panache. Up to the rooftop, then quickly back down, he retreated along the same route he had just navigated. He sent the songbirds at the feeder scattering and briefly confronted the fat doves perched atop the pickets as they scanned the ground, waiting for seeds to fall.

Wings flapped, feathers flew, the squirrel chattered as the birds pecked. A cease-fire treaty was reached, if not an accord. On went the bushy-tailed rodent, scrambling up the trunk of the old elm tree and launching into the branches, darting and dancing from one to another, until he skidded—claws scraping—to a sudden stop.

Where is that branch I’ve climbed, lo these many years? The one that led heavenward, back to my nest, my sanctuary? He retraced his steps, searching for an alternate route, a detour. There was none to be found. Down to the sun-scorched carport roof, where he skittered and scratched, not daring to stop. Alas, there was no escape. He ascended again, returning to his familiar path, hoping it had all been some terrible mistake.

Finally, the decision was unavoidable. He eyed the supple, still-green branch several feet away, accelerated and leapt, flying through the now-empty air and reaching—grasping—for that thin lifeline. His sudden weight bowed the branch. As it bent, he lost his purchase and slid, still clutching, until the branch suddenly sprang back. Propelled through the air, he reached—with all his small might—for the rung above, and lifted himself to safety.

I’ve not seen the squirrel take that same path since, but he did survive and seems unscarred by the grave danger he momentarily faced.

It made me think of how we, too, have been dislodged lately. Confronted by what Canadian High School Salutatorian Melody Hood referred to as “an evil protein capsid with destructive genetic material,” we have been forced to abandon our well-worn routes and are finding new patterns and approaches to old tasks, facing unknown perils and feeling that fleeting exhilaration when we succeed at something we once feared. Testing ourselves. Realizing we can and will survive—or at least, many of us will.

Our students and parents and teachers and school staff and administrators—removed from the familiar and safe and known—have leapt and risked falling, rebounded and soared higher, and found new ways to cross the cavernous void of time and space that seems always to loom ahead. They have relied on each other in ways they had not known they could. They have discovered strength and knowledge within themselves, and risked going it alone. They have worked harder, learned more, exceeded their grasp, and prevailed. Talk about class.

Yes, you are all the Class of 2020. And however much we hope to resume some semblance of normal next year, we no longer doubt our ability to meet and surmount the challenges ahead.

Government advertising related to census, pandemic and other public-health concerns could save local newspapers

Amid the debate over various means of government support for local news media comes a simple suggestion from Steven Waldman, president and co-founder of Report for America and a leader of Rebuild Local Media, a campaign that advocates for locally owned and nonprofit community news.

Waldman suggests that "a big chunk" of the $1 billion the federal government spends each year on advertising, for such things as military recruitment and public health campaigns, should go to local news media, with less going to national TV, cable networks or social media. And he says the advertising budget should be increased to help blunt covid-19 and boost the census.

"Stopping the pandemic requires the dissemination of accurate, trustworthy information," Waldman writes for The Poynter Institute. "That includes a well-functioning local media, but also can include information directly from public health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — in the form of a massive campaign of public health advertising."

The ads could provide general information about social distancing, but also local information about business and recreation openings and where to get tested for the coronavirus. Health experts say widespread testing, with tracing of the contacts of people who test positive, is essential to containing the virus until the advent of a widely available vaccine or an effective treatment.

The federal government is doing general advertising, but it hasn't helped local news media much "because many have gone through the nonprofit Ad Council and have been aired by media organizations for free," Waldman notes. "At a time when local news systems are collapsing, the government shouldn’t expect local news organizations to run these ads without compensation."

There's another reason this is a good time for federal advertising. "The pandemic has hobbled the U.S. Census Bureau’s ambitious plans for door-to-door canvassing," Waldman writes. "They should spend $500 million to plaster local media with ads urging Americans to sign up. Military recruitment efforts have stalled and will need a jump-start soon. . . . Other government ad campaigns tell students how to get loan forgiveness or the working poor how to qualify for the earned income tax credit. These government functions will need greater publicity, too."

Would Congress approve such spending at a time of political polarization and attacks on the news media? Waldman notes that polls show that local media are "more popular (and trusted) than national media. Since the government is already spending money on advertising, this won’t be (just) about spending new money. Since these campaigns have other public purposes, it’s not (mostly) about helping local media." He notes that the Canadian government is running $30 million in advertising about covid-19 to help local media.

Sample-copy extra paid for by local governments

What about the argument that local media, especially newspapers, no longer reach most people? Waldman doesn't address this, but most local newspapers still reach a large percentage of the households in their home market; and postal regulations allow them to send every household in their home county a newspaper at the same postal rate for subscribers, up to 10 percent of the paper's annual mailings.

Smart newspapers use this "sample copy" power not only to attract new subscribers, but to reach readers with public-service information, such as special sections on health and wellness, supported by health-care advertising that pays for the extra printing and postage of sample copying. In Kentucky, local governments have sponsored special editions of newspapers with covid-19 information.

Waldman says safeguards would be needed "to prevent political interference, which sometimes happens on the local level." The best solution for that might be to require the advertising to be pro-rated among local competitors based on their Nielsen ratings and "bona fide circulation," a term many states use to determine which paper gets local public notices.

And what about the understandable wariness about government subsidy of newspapers? Governments have been indirectly subsidizing newspapers for centuries, through public-notice advertising -- which many journalists don't realize is the third leg of a stool also supported by open-records and open-meetings laws -- and by favorable postal rates for in-county circulation. The latter is a service to local democracy and literacy; the former is a transaction in which the government and its taxpayers pay for, and get, something of value. It's an arm's-length trade, with no quid pro quo.

Waldman sees another possible complication: "If the spending goes to local media strictly on the basis of audience size, most would go to local TV stations and newspaper chains owned by hedge funds." That's an exaggeration, but he has a point. His solution: "Half of the local share should go to locally-owned and nonprofit news media. This would help minority-owned newspapers, nonprofit websites, public radio stations, weekly papers, rural news organizations and other locally-owned or nonprofit newsrooms." (Rural newspapers are more likely to be locally owned.)

Waldman concludes, "Like the postal subsidy that helped create the newspaper industry in the 19th century, these kinds of broad formulaic policy approaches have been the most effective ways of helping news media without corrupting the free press." He's right, and a different time calls for some different approaches while following historical precedent. Challenges create opportunities.

--Al Cross, director and professor, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, University of Kentucky

Owners of failed dam in rural Michigan bought it as a tax shelter, ignored needed fixes to save money

An explosive new report underlines the difficulty of regulating private dams, which make up about 64 percent of the nation's 91,000 dams.

Last week, the 95-year-old Edenville Dam in rural Michigan failed after heavy rains, forcing thousands of residents downstream to evacuate. The disaster put a spotlight on the nation's crumbling dam system, especially the fact that it's more difficult for regulators to force private dam owners to make needed repairs.

The Edenville Dam's owners, it turns out, had bought the dam and three others nearby in 2006 as a tax shelter, then fought with regulators for years to avoid having to pay for repairs, taxes, or upgrades to make the dam safer, Mike Wilkinson, Kelly House and Riley Beggin report for Bridge, a nonpartisan, nonprofit Michigan newsroom.

Heirs to William Boyce, a Chicago newspaper publisher and founder of the Boy Scouts of America, managed the fortune as trustees of the William D. Boyce Trusts. In 2006 they decided to reinvest money from the sale of an Illinois property so they wouldn't have to pay $600,000 in capital gains taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, Bridge reports. The two lead trustees, Las Vegas architect Lee Mueller and his cousin Michel d'Avenas came up with the notion to buy four hydroelectric dams near Midland under the name Boyce Hydro Power LLC, which Mueller manages. They took out loans to pay the $4.8 million for the dams.

"In the 14 years that have followed, Mueller and the trust have clashed repeatedly with state officials, federal regulators, local homeowners and even fishermen," Bridge reports.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission told Mueller and previous owners since at least 1993 that the Edenville Dam needed to have its flood capacity increased or it could fail. Last week's "flood came 1½ years after federal regulators terminated Boyce Hydro’s license to generate power at the Edenville Dam, citing decades of failures to fix spillways that can prevent flooding," Bridge reports.

Mueller's attorney told Bridge that Mueller would have liked to make the repairs, but didn't have the money. According to Boyce Trust records filed in court, the dams have lost money every year since at least 2016, Bridge reports.

"Residents who live on lakes surrounding the dams are dubious about the pleas of poverty and accuse Mueller and the Boyce Trust of being absentee owners who for years didn’t invest in repairs," Bridge reports.

Quick hits: Scientists ID carcinogenic chemicals in fracking wastewater; rural schools struggle with lack of broadband

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

University of Toledo scientists created a new way to identify chemicals in fracking wastewater; many are carcinogenic. Read more here.

With less broadband access, rural students and teachers struggle to keep up during pandemic. Read more here.

A program takes donated old computers and refurbishes them for rural students; your community can copy it. Read more here.

Some rural areas push back against pandemic distancing

Conservatives in several states, mostly from rural areas, have filed lawsuits challenging state government-ordered public health measures meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The suits highlight the differences in how rural and urban areas are experiencing and perceiving the pandemic, Kirk Siegler reports for NPR affiliate KUOW in Seattle.

In Oregon, where the rural-urban divide has been particularly hostile in recent years, rural churches filed suit to vacate Democratic Gov. Kate Brown's stay-at-home orders. A rural judge ruled last week that Brown had acted beyond her authority, though her orders will remain in effect pending appeals.

Baker County Commission Chair Bill Harvey, a plaintiff in the most recent lawsuit, supports the judge's ruling. "You don't have the threats you would have in a major city," he told Krebs. "You can't judge or control our atmosphere based on what you think the Portland area should be." The local economy depends on tourism and cattle ranching, both of which have been hurt by the pandemic.

Katherine Cramer, a University of Wisconsin political scientist, told Siegler that the pandemic has exacerbated rural residents' worries that the government is disregarding them. "The idea that the government is not attentive enough to the actual challenges of rural communities is not new," she said. "The pandemic seems to have deepened some of the resentment that's been there for a long time." Cramer is on a webinar Friday that will discuss rural-urban differences in the pandemic.

Iowa program to help farmers struggling with mental health in the pandemic; national resources listed

"Studies have found the rates of mental illness and suicide are higher for farmers. They work long hours, have limited social contact and are at the mercy of factors such as weather. Now the covid-19 pandemic is creating even greater challenges to their livelihood—and mental health," Natalie Krebs reports for Side Effects, a news collaborative that covers public health.

Iowa Concern, an Iowa State University extension program that helps farmers with financial, legal and mental-health concerns, is creating a state-funded initiative effort to help with pandemic stresses.

Many Midwestern farmers were already facing financial problems before the pandemic because of the trade war with China and more than a year of very wet weather. The pandemic has caused more problems, such as inability to sell crops or get livestock to slaughterhouses, and the stress of having to euthanize healthy animals. "In the Midwest, more than 300 family farms filed for bankruptcy in the 12-month period that ended in March. That was a 42 percent jump," Krebs notes.

One expert told Krebs that increased depression and stress could lead many farmers to experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and that more may abuse alcohol and/or try to harm themselves, but many find it hard to seek help because so many feel their identity is tied to endurance and hard work.

The new Iowa Concern initiative will direct farmers to mental-health resources. For those in other states, here are some farmer suicide prevention and mental-health resources:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 (24 hours)
• Crisis Text Line: 741-741 (24 hours)
• Farm Aid farmer hotline: 1-800-327-6243 (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern)
• National Farmers Union Farm Crisis Center
• Suicide warning signs: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Pandemic could trigger financial meltdown for schools

"With the nation's attention still fixed on the covid-19 health crisis, school leaders are warning of a financial meltdown that could devastate many districts and set back an entire generation of students," Cory Turner reports for NPR. "Schools receive nearly half of their funding from state coffers. But with businesses shuttered in response to the pandemic and the unemployment rate already nearing 15 percent — well above its 10% peak during the Great Recession — state income and sales tax revenues are crashing."

Some states reported April revenue 25% below last April, and 49 states are required to balance their budgets, so many are cutting school funding. "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled $300 million in K-12 budget cuts — and that's just through June 30, when the current fiscal year ends," Turner reports. The $2 trillion CARES Act "provided K-12 schools with more than $13 billion in emergency funding, an average boost of about $270 per student. But spending the money has been complicated by controversial guidance from the U.S. Department of Education."

Many rural schools are already strapped for tax revenue, and a recent survey by the School Nutrition Association revealed that rural schools were the less likely than those in cities and suburbs to have a reserve fund to operate a summer meal program.

Rural grocers snag, try to keep, new customers in pandemic

A grocery in West Point, Neb., pop. 3,400, between Omaha and Norfolk (Rural Health Information Hub photo)

"Before the days of quarantine and self-isolation, many people left their small communities to purchase their groceries. Consumers may not have known what their rural grocery offers, and may not have been getting as much bang for their buck. Instead, they were considering convenience, product availability, competitive pricing, or additional services," Liz Daehnke reports for the Center for Rural Affairs.

That often meant independent rural grocery stores lost business to larger chains, but "during the onslaught of new restrictions and regulations, people started panic buying, resulting in many stores often being unable to keep products on their shelves," Daehnke reports. That led many rural residents to rediscover local, independent groceries, giving them an unexpected economic lift.

Many of them are trying to keep their new customers by offering flexibility and more personal service. "While we have all done our best to stay healthy and safe during the coronavirus pandemic, rural communities have risen above the challenges forced upon them during this unprecedented time and shown what true fortitude and grit look like—coming together to make sure neighbors, friends and family are safe, well-fed, and cared for," Daehnke writes.

Print decline not just happening in the U.S.; Australian news conglomerate moves 100+ local papers online-only

The decline in print media isn't just an American phenomenon, as demonstrated by this week's news.

News Corp Australia, one of the nation's largest media conglomerates, "has confirmed that more than 100 local and regional newspapers will become digital only or disappear entirely, and there will be a significant number of job losses," Amanda Meade reports for The Guardian. "A total of 112 of Rupert Murdoch’s print newspapers will stop the presses, including 36 which will close altogether and 76 which will remain as online mastheads. News Corp will not specify how many staff each title will have, if any, or how much local reporting will continue."

That brings "to 92 the number of online titles published by the company after News Corp launched 16 new online titles in recent years," Meade reports. The company suspended 60 papers in April because of the coronavirus, with no promise that they would return.

Paul Murphy, the chief executive of Australian trade union the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, told Meade: "The closure of so many mastheads represents an immense blow to local communities and, coming off the back of hundreds of previous regional closures during this period, it underlines the seriousness of the crisis facing regional and local journalism." Australia is one of the few countries where rural journalism is a recognized specialty.

Though a review showed that consumers were reading and subscribing to news online, and that advertisers were transitioning to online-only ads, the move will hurt the sustainability of the news media, Murphy said. That's because print advertising makes up the majority of News Corp's revenue. 

Rural Health Information Hub has new help for covering home health services, which are growing fast but pay poorly

The Rural Health Information Hub, which provides excellent resources for those writing about rural health, has updated its Rural Home Health Services guide to include a more current FAQ and new information on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected home-health agencies.

Home health care is one of the 10 fastest-growing job segments in the U.S., according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, but it doesn't pay a living wage. Read more here.

West Virginia governor's businesses often force creditors to sue to get what they are owed, ProPublica reports

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (Governor's Office photo)

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a billionaire whose family owns dozens of companies, many in the coal industry, often cites his business experience as a reason he should be re-elected in November. When asked about being sued for unpaid bills, Justice generally says his companies always pay what they owe. But that minimizes a long history of leaving bills unpaid in the first place, and how long plaintiffs often have to fight to get paid, even after ordered to do so by courts, Ken Ward Jr. and Alex Mierjeski report for ProPublica.

"ProPublica examined legal records dating back to the start of Justice’s tenure as CEO of his family’s companies, representing the most complete accounting yet of how the corporate empire overseen by the governor often forces those it does business with to sue to get what they are owed," Ward and Mierjeski write. They "found that, over the last three decades, Justice’s constellation of companies has been involved in more than 600 lawsuits spanning more than two dozen states — including many filed by workers, vendors, business partners and government agencies, all alleging they weren’t paid. Often, similar cases were filed in multiple jurisdictions, as lawyers for plaintiffs tried to chase down a Justice company’s assets to settle debts."

The list of plaintiffs includes retired coal miners who were denied promised health insurance, vendors, governments, government agencies, and even attorneys hired to represent the companies in court, Ward and Mierjeski report. The U.S. Department of Justice, for example, filed a civil lawsuit against 23 of Justice's companies in May 2019, seeking more than $4.7 million in unpaid fines and fees for mine health and safety violations.

Justice's family businesses were forced to pay off some of their longstanding coal debts to companies and counties in West Virginia and Kentucky last summer. They owed millions in coal production taxes and property taxes to poor Appalachian counties.

Justice blames coal-related lawsuits on the industry's recent downturn, but ProPublica's review found coal debt lawsuits dating back to the 1990s. Justice also blames "the Russian conglomerate Mechel, which purchased a large chunk of Justice’s coal holdings in 2009 and then, according to court filings, ran up big bills in disputes with miners, contractors and vendors. The Justice family reacquired those holdings in 2015," Ward and Mierjeski report. "But few of the major, high-dollar cases in ProPublica’s review were, in fact, related to Mechel. More importantly, legal records show that Justice companies agreed to accept many liabilities in the buyback."

Justice has tried to distance himself from his companies, saying that he handed them over to his adult children. However, Ward reported last October that Justice was still running them.

In related news, the investigative news nonprofit Ward co-founded in March now has a name and a website. Mountain State Spotlight "is an independent, civic news organization that tells stories of importance to West Virginians about the issues and challenges facing their communities," it says. When it launches later this year, it will be "one of the largest newsrooms in West Virginia, with a team of seasoned editors and aggressive reporters focused on major issues including public health threats, economic development challenges, environmental issues, and government accountability." It's affiliated with ProPublica, the American Journalism Project, and Report for America.

Radically Rural Summit to go online-only this year, Sept. 24

The organizers of the Radically Rural Summit in Keene, N.H., now in its third year, recently announced that the conference will be condensed to an online, one-day event this year. The registration fee will be $59 per person, and group rates will be announced soon.

"Radically Rural: Remote will feature six programming tracks on Sept. 24, focusing on key sectors of importance to rural America: Main streets, entrepreneurship, community journalism, arts and culture, land and communities, and clean energy," reports summit co-creator The Keene Sentinel.

While the summit is being pared down, it will have "20 sessions and more than 60 speakers," the Sentinel reports. "The event will be held using webinar software with the opportunity for attendees from across the country to watch and join through a chat function. Each session will have support staff assisting speakers and serving attendees, with the goal of creating lively, interactive programming. The sessions will be taped for distribution to attendees following the event."

Webinar will explore rural-urban political divide in pandemic

The next webcast in a series about politics and policy during the pandemic will focus on differences in how rural and urban residents are experiencing and understanding the crisis.

Johns Hopkins University's SNF Agora Institute will hold "Listening to Rural and Urban Voices" at noon ET Friday, May 29. The webcast is free, and will last about 45 minutes.

Johns Hopkins political science professor and SNF Agora Institute Director Hahrie Han will moderate the discussion. The two featured guests will be:

• Katherine Cramer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a visiting professor with the Laboratory for Social Machines at the MIT Media Lab. "Her work focuses on the way people in the United States make sense of politics and their place in it," according to the website. She is the author of The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker.
• Deb Roy, director of the Laboratory for Social Machines and executive director of the MIT Media Lab, and former chief media scientist for Twitter. His wheelhouse is mapping and analyzing large-scale media ecosystems, according to the website.

Click here for more information and the link to the webcast.

Hemp industry, once booming, now on a downward trend as federal government drags feet on regulations

The hemp boom could go bust, despite the early efforts of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to champion it, Mona Zhang and Paul Demko report for Politico.

After the 2018 Farm Bill legalized widespread hemp cultivation, largely thanks to the Kentucky senator, farmers and manufacturers rushed to get in on the ground floor of the industry, leading to oversupply and low wholesale prices. But patchwork local, state and federal laws have left producers, processors and consumers confused about the legality of hemp and left the door open to snake-oil peddlers who tout hemp-derived CBD as a cure-all without evidence. "All of those factors are hurting the very farmers hemp legalization was supposed to help," Zhang and Demko report.

Meanwhile, a slew of cannabis companies have declared bankruptcy over the past year, including two in McConnell's home state. "Many CBD producers, especially in Kentucky, seemed to be counting on McConnell's influence and FDA regulation," Zhang and Demko report. But McConnell "seems to be missing from the debate in recent months as they clamor for regulatory clarity that could help stave off the economic downturn for the industry."

House Agriculture Committee chair Collin Peterson, D-Minn., introduced a bill in January that would make the FDA regulate CBD products as if they were dietary supplements, "but the chances for such legislation are close to zero in the middle of the public-health crisis," Zhang and Demko report. "Hemp advocates are focused on inserting similar language in a coronavirus package, arguing that it could help boost an industry without additional costs to the federal government." Hemp is not eligible for the $16 billion direct-payment fund for farmers hurt by the pandemic.

Farmers and processors told Politico that it would be unfortunate if quibbles over CBD regulation tanked the hemp industry, since not all hemp is grown for CBD, and the plant has many other uses.

Pandemic could weaken disaster response, since most volunteers are seniors; rural residents tend to be older

Government agencies at all levels rely on volunteers to help survivors of natural disasters. "However, the covid-19 pandemic has exposed a critical weakness in this system: Most volunteers are older people at higher risk from the virus, so this year they can’t participate in person," Christopher Flavelle reports for The New York Times.

Rural areas often have a harder time recovering from natural disasters, and have a disproportionate population of seniors, making such areas likely to be hurt by a lack of volunteers.

Greg Forrester, president of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters, told Flavelle that more than five million volunteers usually pitch in with disaster relief each year, but said he expects this year's turnout to be half that, which won't be enough.

Complicating the possible lack of volunteers, the highly trained staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is already spread thin from responding to the pandemic, Flavelle reports.

"It is the latest in a cascading series of problems facing an already fraying system ahead of what is expected to be an unusually severe hurricane season combined with disasters like this week’s dam collapse and flooding in Michigan, a state particularly hard hit by covid-19," Flavelle reports. "FEMA says it has taken steps to prepare for hurricane season, including expanding its coordination center in Washington, hiring staff and working with state and local officials and nonprofits to adapt to the pandemic."

Because of the pandemic, FEMA said last week it intends to rely on "virtual" disaster aid as much as possible, Flavelle reports. The frequent lack of broadband in rural areas could complicate such efforts.

Democrats criticize USDA for giving food-box delivery program contracts to inexperienced distributors

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is facing increasing criticism from Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee for awarding contracts for its food-box delivery program to poorly vetted distributors, the Food & Environment Reporting Network reports. The recent coronavirus relief bill allocated $3 billion for the government to buy products from farmers and distribute them to food banks and similar non-profits. USDA recently announced it will accomplish that through the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, and has awarded $1.2 billion in contracts thus far.

Some distributors who got large contracts appeared to have little experience with large-scale food distribution, including a Texas wedding and event planner who was awarded a $39 million contract after making dubious claims about credentials, FERN reports. USDA also awarded a $40 million contract, now canceled, to a small California produce company that sells avocados online.

Three leaders of House Agriculture subcommittees (Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Jim Costa of California, and Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands) asked Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to explain his decisions, and why contracts were awarded to distributors without the proper experience: "At a time when the farm economy continues to suffer and families across the country face increasing food insecurity, it is our shared goal that this program fulfill its stated mission to support the domestic agriculture industry and provide critical assistance to families in need."

Wednesday webinar to discuss state and local government efforts to make records more accessible after crises

Route Fifty will host a free webinar from 2 to 3 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 27, to discuss state and local government efforts to make records more accessible to reporters after crises.

Many government offices are trying to digitize government records and incorporate tools to make them easier to edit and share with reporters, auditors and more. But that takes time, know-how and money, and government offices must prioritize and budget to make it happen.

Route Fifty Senior Editor Alisha Powell Gillis will lead a panel of experts to discuss the issue. Click here for more information, including a list of speakers, or to register.

Inmates sue to be released from jail amid pandemic

As prisons and jails become covid-19 hotbeds, incarcerated people "with medical vulnerabilities and short times left on their sentence are suing for release—and if that fails, they want masks, gloves, and the space to socially distance," Emma Coleman reports for Route Fifty. "In courtrooms across the country, lawyers are pushing to release more people from jail in order to allow them to quarantine at home and free up space for those inside to socially distance. The issue is particularly urgent for people with chronic medical conditions—about 40 percent of those held in state prisons and local jails."

Thousands of people were released from jails in the early days of the pandemic, especially those awaiting trial for minor offenses or serving time for non-violent crimes. "But so far, judges have been largely resistant to allowing categorical releases of those not eligible for those earlier reprieves who are medically vulnerable, have short times left on their sentences, or are in jail awaiting trial," Coleman reports. "Instead, some judges are ordering that jails follow CDC recommendations, such as providing soap and sanitizer and making space for people to socially distance.

Most jails have said they're doing they best they can, but family members of the incarcerated, jail reform advocates, and some jail employees say it's not enough to prevent the spread of covid-19. "People in jail say there is little air ventilation and cramped sleeping quarters. They’ve repurposed garbage bags as gloves and socks as masks. In written testimony filed with lawsuits, several described watching people die in the bunks next to them," Coleman reports.

But some communities and victims rights organizations have argued that offenders shouldn't receive clemency because of the pandemic, and some governors, like Greg Abbott in Texas, have barred the release of some detainees, saying it would threaten public safety, Coleman reports.

"Health experts counter that not releasing people is the bigger risk to public safety. Jails and prisons with high infection rates become vectors for the surrounding communities—in one prison 80% of the population inside tested positive," Coleman reports.

Rural census response is running behind, especially online; interactive maps show how your county is doing

Housing Assistance Council maps, labeled, with legend below; for interactive versions, click here.

Rural residents are filling out their census forms more slowly than other Americans, reports the Housing Assistance Council, which helps build homes in the rural U.S.

As of May 17, almost 60 percent of U.S. households had responded to the census. HAC used Census Bureau data and a tract-level analysis to estimate response rates for rural, suburban, and urban census tracts. Suburban areas had the response rate, 66%, rural and small-town tracts were at 53%.

Almost half of census responses have been made online, and in that category, rural residents lag even more. Among internet responses, the rural rate was only 35 percent, far below the suburban rate of 56% and the urban rate of 48%. County rates for overall and online replies are on an interactive map.

"This year’s census response was always a concern for rural communities given long-established internet deficiencies, household dynamics and poor connectivity in many rural markets," HAC notes. "Lower response rates in rural America are likely due to a combination of factors, but many rural households have not received their census invitations and have had no opportunity to participate."

About 5% percent of households, most of them rural, were scheduled to have their census forms hand-delivered between March 15 and April 17, HAC reports: "However, the Census Bureau suspended all field operations due to the covid-19 pandemic. According to the Census Bureau’s latest guidance, field operations will now take place June 13-July 9, and the census has resumed field operations in some limited markets."

NYT page with covid-19 obits relied on local newspapers

Screenshot of page, near halfway through, with largest text box; for a larger version, click on it.

The New York Times all-text front page with names and short descriptions of covid-19 victims was a remarkable piece of journalism, but the online version is even more so. It's one long page of nearly 100,000 silhouettes, with text boxes appearing at different scrolling points.

The names and descriptions came from more than 250 local newspapers, which are each given credit at the bottom of the page. A Times editor cited the obituaries as an example of why "local journalism matters, now more than ever."

Why wear a mask when you go out in public? Because you may have the virus and not know it, and it's very contagious

President Trump wore a mask on a private tour of a Ford plant Thursday but refuses to do so in public.

Wearing a mask when out in public is even more important as state economies reopen, medical professionals advise. Many Americans are skeptical.

"Some people have objected to masks, and the challenging part about that is you can object to a mask on your own personal health, but it is not your own personal health that it is going to impact," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said May 19. "It is other people's health, so it is more about your willingness to protect other people if you are wearing or not wearing one."

"The governor regularly points out that masks are recommended by the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," Melissa Patrick reports for Kentucky Health News. "At one point he said they shouldn't be a partisan issue."

A Kaiser Family Foundation Poll released May 22 found that Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to say they wear a mask every time they leave their house: 70% and 37%, respectively. Majorities of each party said they wear a mask "most of the time."

Kaiser Family Foundation chart; click on it to enlarge. More data and poll questions are here. 

The poll also found that while 72% of Americans think President Trump should wear a mask when meeting with others, only about half of Republicans, 48%, agree. The partisan difference in largely driven by Republican men.

Trump says he doesn't need to wear a mask because he is tested daily for the virus, but critics say he is missing an opportunity to set an example that would save lives. Thursday, he refused to wear a mask in front of news cameras while touring a Ford plant in Michigan, saying "I didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it." He wore a mask when news cameras weren't around, but someone on the tour took a picture of him and it was widely circulated.

So, why should you wear a mask? "The simple answer is because the virus is primarily spread by tiny droplets from infected people, not just coughing and sneezing, but from talking and breathing," Patrick writes. "A mask can stop the spread of those droplets, especially from people who have the virus but don't know that they do." Kentucky Health Commissioner Stevn Stack says about one in four people with the virus have no symptoms.

Patrick writes that the value of wearing a mask is illustrated by a new study, published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It shows how normal speaking can launch thousands of droplets that can remain suspended in the air for eight to 14 minutes, allowing them to be inhaled by others. "There is a substantial probability that normal speaking causes airborne virus transmission in confined environments," the study report says.

The researchers said in a letter to The New England Journal of Medicine that the same experiment, using scattered laser light, found that use of a cloth face mask blocked nearly all droplets emitted when talking. They posted a video, the last part if it in slow motion, to show their finding.

Science supporting mask wearing is so strong that more than 100 prominent health experts have asked governors to require them. They write that the research "strongly suggests that requiring fabric mask use in public places could be amongst the most powerful tools to stop the community spread of covid-19."

So why did the CDC recommend not wearing a mask two months ago? "The Mayo Clinic says face masks were not recommended at the start of the pandemic because experts didn't know the extent to which people with covid-19 could spread the virus before symptoms appear, nor was it known that some people have covid-19 but don't have symptoms," Patrick reports. "The CDC now recommends the use of reusable cloth masks so that surgical masks and N95 respirator masks, which continue to be in short supply, can be saved for health-care workers."

The CDC guidance says cloth masks should: fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face; be secured with ties or ear loops; include multiple layers of fabric; allow breathing without restriction; and be able to be laundered and machine-dried without damage or change to shape. It also cautions that they should not be placed on children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or anyone who would have trouble removing the mask without help. The Mayo Clinic recommends that cloth face coverings be washed after every day of use.

Covid-19 outbreaks in rural areas with meat plants, prisons and political doubt create a checkerboard that will be filled in

There has been "a fundamental shift" in the spread of the coronavirus, The Washington Post reports after "an analysis of case data and interviews with public health professionals in several states. The pandemic that first struck in major metropolises is now increasingly finding its front line in the country’s rural areas; counties with acres of farmland, cramped meatpacking plants, out-of-the-way prisons and few hospital beds."

Post reporters Reis Thiebault and Abigail Hauslohner note that rural areas "are poorer, older and more prone to health problems such as diabetes and obesity than those of urban areas. They include immigrants and the undocumented — the 'essential' workers who have kept the country’s sprawling food industry running, but who rarely have the luxury of taking time off for illness."

Tara Smith, an epidemiology professor at Kent State University, told the Post that the rural spread will be sort of a checkerboard. “It’s not going to be a wave that spreads out uniformly over all of rural America; it’s going to be hot spots that come and go,” she said. “And I don’t know how well they’re going to be managed.” That's because "In many of those places, where the health-care system is already stretched thin, even a minor surge in patients is enough to overwhelm," the reporters note.

The first hot spots have been in meat-processing plants. "Of the 25 rural counties with the highest per capita case rates, 20 have a meatpacking plant or prison where the virus took hold and spread with abandon, then leaped into the community when workers took it home," the Post reports. "Infection has raced through immigrant worker communities, where poverty or immigration status prevent some of the sick from seeking care and language barriers hinder access to information."

Politics and the media -- news and social -- play a role, too: "It has taken hold in counties where residents flout social distancing guidelines or believe the pandemic to be exaggerated, the virus’s lethality a myth spread by President Trump’s political foes and a liberal media," the reporters write.

They quote Rebecca Burns, a health officer Hillsdale County, Michigan, which last month had the highest death toll in the state's rural counties, after a nursing-home outbreak, and armed protesters "protecting" a barber shop opening in defiance of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's emergency orders: “We’ve got a little bit of everything: folks who feel their rights have been taken away because they’ve been asked to stay home and they lost jobs and they’re really hurting, and we have folks who are very concerned and frightened and won’t leave their house.”

Jeffrey Lim, an internist in Texas County, Oklahoma, told the Post that he fears an outbreak there is being worsened by people not taking precautions: “If you go to the local Walmart, I would say 10 percent of people are wearing masks, and the restaurants … that are open are packed. I’m a registered Republican, by the way,” he added. “But [people] don’t seem to know the science behind it. Even though they see the news, they just think it’s all overblown.”