Local newspapers may have only a few employees doing most of the work. PBS report focuses on one example.

Eads, Colo., mural on the side of the Kiowa County Independent
building. (Photo by Chase McCleary, Rocky Mountain PBS)

As many newsroom staffs shrink across the nation, some independent rural newspaper owners are working almost every job in the shop to maintain local news coverage with integrity and avoid the possible pitfalls of outside ownership. Reporter Chase McCleary from Rocky Mountain PBS met with Betsy Barnett, the owner, publisher, editor, ad-sales rep, designer and only full-time reporter of the Kiowa County Independent newspaper in Eads, Colorado. Because of other newspaper closures, Barnett's paper is reporting on five counties.

"In a span of about two weeks at the end of July and in early August, five local newsrooms in Colorado shuttered, all of them were located in the eastern Colorado plains: the Plainsman Herald, the Burlington Record, the Lamar Ledger, the Fort Morgan Times and the Brush News-Tribune," McCleary writes. "The Herald was independently owned and operated, as it had been since it opened in 1887, nearly 140 years ago. . . . " 

Barnett is wearing so many work hats to keep her paper open and community-centered. McCleary explains, "Barnett has been running the Kiowa County Independent since 2016. She intends to retain full ownership and independence to avoid the fate of some neighboring publications that sold, and were subsequently shuttered by larger media conglomerates." Barnett told McCleary, "They don’t have that community understanding of what a newspaper means in a community. To them, it's just a purchase. And if you don’t have your finger on the pulse of the community, you’re done.”

As local and more rural newspapers have closed in Colorado, news deserts have emerged, and like many places in the United States, regions with no news outlets are more likely to fall victim to misinformation or gossip mills. "According to a 2023 study from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Colorado newspapers had declined by over 20% in the last five years," McCleary reports. "Barnett noticed that areas without news sometimes became 'rumor wells,' where competing voices began spreading mis- or disinformation."

For smaller papers to survive several avenues can be explored. Corey Hutchins, a professor at the Colorado College Journalism Institute, "noted a few alternative business strategies newsrooms might take to stay alive, including exploring non-profit and public benefit corporation status and chasing alternative sources of funding," McCleary explains. "He noted that some newsrooms are also, perhaps surprising to some, focusing less on digital and more on print."

Smaller papers rely on community support and letting readers know their contributions are needed and appreciated can provide additional income. Hutchins told McCleary, "People should care about what’s happening to their own local source of news and information. How are you supporting news where you live?”

Farmers and food production voters weigh in on their choices for U.S. president n November

Graphic by Adam Dixon, Ambrook Research

The folks at Ambrook Research wanted to know who farmers are voting for this November. The publication boasts some 80,000+ subscribers who are either farmers or individuals working in the U.S. food industry. To find out "how food producers are feeling on the eve of a historically monumental election," writes Ambrook's editor, Jesse Hirsch, "Ambrook put out a call" for its readers to complete a "wholly unscientific survey." . . .Their readers' responses "give some compelling insight into the varied feelings at play right now," a few of which are shared below. Hirsch notes: "We’ve included first names, professions, and states for some respondents. Others preferred full anonymity."

I am very disappointed with the U.S. presidential election. I remember a quote from Jim Hightower that represents my sentiments about this year’s election, 'If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates.'
-Rick, farm lobbyist, Wisconsin

If Trump is elected again, our country will be subjected to what it does not deserve: loss of freedom and democracy as we have worked to preserve. The word “compromise” will disappear from the dictionary.
-William, agriculture professor, Florida

Frankly, I don’t understand why any small business, rancher or farmer would not vote for TRUMP!!! A vote for the other is a vote for socialism, anti-American and anti-agriculture end of story!
-Leslie, cattle rancher, Texas

I have been a Republican for most of my life, but I have not and will not vote for Donald Trump. I will be voting for the Harris/Walz ticket.

-Anonymous, North Dakota

Trump is the only option for president for any sound-minded, USA-loving, God-fearing, American. Respectfully, a 4th generation farmer/rancher, entrepreneur, and business woman, of mixed race from around the world.
-Krista, farmer/rancher

About the upcoming election, what I feel is absolutely terrified. I voted for one of the candidates in the last election, but I will not vote for him again. The thing is, it doesn’t matter which candidate wins. I think we’re going to have major problems.
-Anonymous, produce and livestock farmer, South Carolina

To read more survey answers, click here.

In a first, the Conservative Energy Network hosts a national conference to promote 'eco-right' agenda

Participants at this year's Conservative Energy Summit.
(CEN photo via USA Today)

These "going green" supporters aren't touting climate change as their reason for supporting renewable energy. Instead, they are making a case for solar, wind and nuclear power because they believe those energy sources will help make and save Americans money, reports Elizabeth Weise of USA Today. "Conservative voices have never been absent from discussions around clean energy, but the Conservative Energy Network is part of a new 'eco-right' that's emerged."

The CEN sponsored the Conservative Energy Summit in Houston, Texas, this month, which was the first time "it brought together more than 200 people from around the country to discuss how best to champion energy sources they believe will restore American energy leadership, save people money, create jobs and secure the power grid," Weise explains. "That doesn't necessarily mean believing in climate change, speakers said. Anyone who supports free markets can see that cheap, renewable energy is the future."

Pat Wood of the Hunt Energy Network in Dallas told Weise, "We need to get the politics out of the energy business." Weise reports, "Speaker after speaker argued that free market competition, consumer choice, private property rights and cutting government overregulation are fundamentally Republican values. If those principles prevail, clean energy will thrive in the U.S., they believe."

Marshall Conrad, vice president of government relations at Strata Clean Energy in North Carolina, told Weise, "In rural, red areas, we’ve got to repudiate the feeling that Democrats are trying to force clean energy projects down our throats." Weise adds, "The Conservative Energy Network came into existence to help provide an alternative view of renewable energy at the state and county level."

Some of the CEN and its offshoots efforts include "championing the property rights of farmers and ranchers to build solar or wind on their property, fighting over-regulation and getting power projects built that bring significant revenue to rural communities without raising taxes, said Bradley Pischea, national director of the Land & Liberty Coalition," Weise explains. "They also spend a lot of time fighting misinformation about new kinds of energy."

Weather reports in the future could be faster and more accurate with the help of AI forecasting tools

More accurate weather forecasts could save lives.
(NOAA photo, Unsplash)

Heading into a holiday weekend, many people will check the weather forecast to see if outdoor plans are possible. And while most of us know weather reports are predictably unpredictable, we look at them anyway. But what if AI did some of the predicting? Labor Day weekend forecasts in the future might be more accurate.

Over the past five years, "using AI to predict weather has evolved from an academic notion to operational tests at weather agencies in the U.S. and Europe," reports Eric Niiler of The Wall Street Journal. "In time, AI-based programs could calculate forecasts faster and at a lower cost than existing methods, scientists say."

This year, "Microsoft released a forecasting tool called Aurora that produces five-day global air-pollution predictions and 10-day weather forecasts 5,000 times faster than existing models run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration," Niiler writes. As the weather has become more severe and dangerous, faster and more accurate predictions are more important and could save lives.

To train Aurora, Microsoft researchers used "huge amounts of historical weather data so it could make those predictions," Niiler reports, "about 16 times more data than the amount used to train the latest version of the AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT, according to Paris Perdikaris, the project's principal researcher. . . . Microsoft expects to make Aurora publicly available in coming months to allow more people, including researchers at weather-forecasting agencies, to give it a test drive."

Other weather forecasting businesses and meteorology academics are working to develop their own AI tools. "The Weather Channel app and Weather Underground recently signed a deal with chip maker Nvidia to develop a global AI weather forecast program that can predict extreme weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes and thunderstorms," Niiler adds. And groups of researchers are focusing on "developing AI forecasts to extend the warning time for tornado and hail warnings to an hour from the current 15 minutes."

Taking the rural stop train tour: 'There’s something remarkable about everywhere.'

Big sky and wide open spaces in Rugby, North Dakota (Photo by Travis Brown, Unsplash)

American songs are replete with tunes about trains. There's "Love Train," "Peace Train," "Girl on a Train, "Crazy Train" and "Stop This Train," to name only a few. But what about "Rural Train"? There doesn't seem to be a song about what happens to a reporter who takes an Amtrak across the United States and has some great times getting off and exploring rural stops. Luckily, there is a newspaper story on just such a journey. 

"If you ride the railroad’s Empire Builder route from Chicago to Seattle and back, as I did recently, you’ll watch the scenery evolve. . . . My pass entitled me only to one coach seat. No bed; no shower; shared bathrooms that, more often than not, looked long overdue for a cleaning," reports Richard Rubin of The New York Times. "But I also met a lot of interesting people on the train. . . . Most memorably, I visited six American places that I would never otherwise have experienced. Or even known about."

Here are a few of his favorite stops.

A view at Glacier National Park
(Photo by M. Kirchman, Unsplash)

Rugby, N.D., population: 2,509
"If the sight of endless prairie doesn’t convince you that you’ve reached the heartland, Rugby will: It is, as signs all over town will tell you, 'the geographical center of North America,'" Rubin writes. "Whether or not this is true, or whether such a status can even be mathematically determined, is disputed. . . . Down Second Street, I found the florist in the spot it has occupied since at least 1903. The 1938 WPA Guide to North Dakota notes that the shop’s founder, Nels Lindberg, is credited with coining the phrase 'Say it with flowers.'"

Cut Bank, Montana, population: 3,056
Cut Bank is the last stop before the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and Glacier National Park. The town provides "splendid vistas of the Rockies — without crowds," Rubin writes. The town includes unique lodgings, including "oil workers’ houses, a recreated homesteader’s cabin, or a genuine caboose at the Glacier County Historical Museum, . . ."

Sandpoint, Idaho, population: 8,639
"The Empire Builder stopped at 11 places in Montana, but I saw nothing at any of them that topped Sandpoint — Amtrak’s only stop in Idaho — for raw beauty," Rubin adds. "It sits on Lake Pend Oreille (pondo-RAY), which is surrounded by verdant mountains and runs 43 miles long and nearly 1,200 feet deep. 'The Navy tests stealth submarines in it,' one gentleman told me. (It’s true.)" To read Rubin's complete account of his "Rural Train" adventure, click here.

The seemingly endless coastline of Sandpoint, Idaho (Photo by Backroad Packers, Unsplash)

 

 

If he wants their votes, Tim Walz will have to dig deep to connect with the needs of rural voters and win their trust first

A Harris-Walz camo hat (Campaign photo)

Just because Tim Walz sports a camo hat and comes from a small town doesn't mean rural people will vote for him. It's "hard to deny that many rural advocates and writers genuinely feel seen and represented with the choice of Walz – a feeling not felt in quite some time," writes Nicholas Jacobs for The Conversation. "But a closer examination reveals that such expectations may be overly simplistic and optimistic."

Media coverage of Walz as a "corn dog-eating, dad-joking, 'Midwestern Nice' [guy] does little to explain the real issues that have made rural voters a sizable force in recent American elections," Jacobs explains. "Walz’s performance within his home state of Minnesota is a relevant bellwether for his national appeal among rural voters. Though Walz has deep rural roots, rural voters have not always supported him as much as his backstory might quickly suggest. . . . Walz’s performance has decreased among rural voters since he last ran for reelection to Congress in 2016."

Looking around the Midwest for Democrats that do well in rural counties, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and "even Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer outperformed Walz’s rural numbers," Jacobs writes. But Walz is a "clear counterbalance to the image constructed by another Midwestern, self-proclaimed spokesperson for rural America on the ballot: JD Vance." Democrats would do well to remember that Trump has never claimed to hail from rural roots, but instead, he taps into "the sentiments of rural discontent and align them with his broader political message."

To win support from rural residents, Walz will need to address deeper issues "that motivate rural voters, such as economic insecurity, perceived cultural marginalization and distrust in government," Jacobs adds. "Symbolic gestures – and camo hats – alone are not sufficient to sway their support."

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."

States that still have grocery taxes look to cut them to help residents save a bit more on food costs

Even cereal boxes look alarmed at their
prices. (Photo by G. Fryer, TRB)

After years of grocery inflation, U.S. food prices are so high that many families have tightened their food budgets. And while the average American can't do much more to fight food and staple costs, some states have cut their grocery sales tax to help ease some of the burden, reports Elizabeth Daigneau of Route Fifty. "Earlier this month, Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation eliminating Illinois' 1% tax on groceries starting in 2026, saying the tax is regressive and hurts low-income Illinoisans."

Even as overall inflation cools "food prices are still far higher than they were pre-pandemic," Daigneau explains. "And grocery shopping is a major expense for all Americans: Food ranks as the third-largest household expenditure, following housing and transportation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. . . Next week, Oklahoma’s 4.5% statewide grocery tax will come off the books."

Many states already eliminated grocery taxes. "With the legislation in Oklahoma and Illinois, now only 10 states impose a grocery tax. That number could soon be down to seven as Idaho is considering eliminating its 6% grocery tax in the 2025 legislative session," Daigneau reports, and Utah and South Dakota voters will decide if their grocery taxes should be nixed during November's elections.

Military community needs more access to the great outdoors; a new report explores obstacles and solutions

Yosemite National Park
(Photo by Johannes Andersson, Unsplash)

Spending time exploring nature has proven especially important for the U.S. military community's mental and physical health, which is why the Sierra Club Military Outdoors campaign and the University of Kentucky’s Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky have been investigating how to make the outdoors more accessible for all armed services members, their families and veterans.

The partnership just released its initial report and will host a virtual briefing at 1 p.m., E.T., on Wednesday, Aug. 28, to go through the report, provide community reactions to the findings and offer a space for questions. Register for the briefing at https://sc.org/SCMOReportBriefing.

Particularly for veterans, spending time outside walking or participating in activities can supplement treatment for injuries and disabilities, including post-traumatic stress disorder. However, safely accessing the outdoors is not always easy for the military community, and barriers such as cost, transportation, experience level and mobility can interfere. These obstacles and how plans could be enacted to remove them prompted the report.

To research outdoor uses and accessibility, the SCMO conducted a series of in-person listening sessions in California, Florida and Georgia, as well as a virtual listening session for women veterans and a nationwide online survey that drew respondents from 48 states. The report combines research from the listening sessions and survey results.

Overall, the report's recommendations include improving equitable access with a new grant program supporting outdoor access programs focusing on underserved veteran populations, establishing an Office of Outdoor Recreation that would coordinate and support efforts around outdoor access for veterans and military, and expand and fund the new Military Families Outdoors Program, which generates programming and initiatives on public lands to improve the health of the military community.

Fact check at the Democratic National Convention: Harris' acceptance speech lacked detail but still strayed from facts

Photo by Nils Huenerfuers, Unsplash

Last week the Democratic National Convention rallied around Kamala Harris and her choice for vice president, Tim Walz of Minnesota. The four-day event culminated in Harris giving her 40-minute nomination acceptance speech, which included more rhetoric than checkable facts. 

Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post reviewed several claims from Harris' acceptance speech, which are edited and highlighted below. For the Post's complete fact-check story, click here.

Note: The Rural Blog previously posted a fact-check story on the Republican National Convention. 

“We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare.”
This is mostly false. . . . But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from asserting this all week. On Medicare, virtually all anticipated savings sought by Trump would have been wrung from health providers, not Medicare beneficiaries, as a way of holding down costs and improving the solvency of the old-age health program. Trump, in fact, borrowed many proposals from Barack Obama, who had failed to get them through Congress. . . . As for Social Security, Trump kept his promise not to touch retirement benefits, bucking longtime efforts by Republicans to raise the retirement age.

(Trump) doesn’t actually fight for the middle class. Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends, and he will give them another round of tax breaks that will add up to $5 trillion to the national debt.
The numbers don’t tell the whole story. Harris’s $5 trillion figure reflects the cost of extending the 2017 tax cuts. (The Congressional Budget Office estimated $4.6 trillion.) Because of the way the law was written, the tax cuts expire in 2027 and, unless Congress acts, Americans would face a steep tax increase. . . . By wanting to extend some of the tax cuts, Harris is acknowledging that a good chunk — as much as half — of Trump’s tax cuts benefited the middle class.

(Trump) intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales tax. Call it a Trump tax that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year.
This is a high estimate. Trump suggested he wants to impose a 10% tax on every imported good entering the United States and a 60 percent tax on every imported good from China. The Peterson Institute for International Economics has estimated that this would cost a typical U.S. household in the middle of the income distribution about $1,700 in after-tax income. . . . Harris is relying on an estimate from the left-leaning Center for American Progress Action Fund, which calculates the cost would be $3,900.

“As commander in chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.”
Harris. . . has not put out detailed policy papers yet, but it’s worth noting that Biden repeatedly proposed budgets that have failed to keep military spending ahead of inflation.

“He encouraged [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to invade our allies, said Russia could, quote, do whatever the hell they want.”
This needs context. Harris carefully uses the word “encouraged” in this passage. Trump did not issue an invitation to Russia to invade U.S. allies, but (in his telling) was informing the leader of a NATO member country that he would not defend that country from a Russian attack if Trump deemed the nation was delinquent on payments to the military alliance. . . . NATO figures show that the defense expenditures for NATO countries other than the United States have been going up — in a consistent slope — since 2014. . . . When NATO decided to boost spending in response to Russia’s seizure of Crimea.

Rural Minnesota town will be 'guinea pig' for long-duration solar batteries. It's a big change for this community.

Upon completion, Sherco will be the biggest solar farm
in the Upper Midwest. (Photo by APPA, Unsplash)

Becker, Minnesota, is covered with viny potato fields and endless rows of corn that go as far as the eye can see. But in this small community of 5,000 residents, solar panels by the thousands are about to be added, replacing three of the town's coal mines in a test of long-duration batteries, reports Ivan Penn of The New York Times. "Becker is also one of two sites where Xcel Energy is installing demonstration battery systems from Form Energy, a Massachusetts company. The systems — using readily available materials like water, air and iron — can store solar and wind-generated energy as a backup, with a capacity to power 2,000 homes for up to five days."

The Sherburne County Generating Station, known as Sherco, is a massive example of what Minnesotans are doing to meet the state's goal of "100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040," Penn writes. "And it tests how the energy transition could unfold on a nationwide scale for jobs at decades-old fossil fuel facilities, local tax revenues and agricultural businesses. . . . Sherco will stand as the largest solar farm in the Upper Midwest — replacing three coal units in Becker with three solar sites on the town’s outskirts along the Mississippi River."

Becker is in Sherburne County, Minn.
(Wikipedia map)

The closing of the coal plants has been met with distrust and some past-employee grumblings. "Among skeptics of the energy transition, suspicion about solar runs as deep as the town’s cornfields are long. . . . Xcel [has] promises no layoffs," Penn reports. "'We are the guinea pig for the whole group,' said Tracy Bertram, the mayor of Becker, acknowledging the anxiety some have felt about the loss of an economic anchor. 'People don’t like change. It’s the unknown.'"

Despite the positives that Xcel's development offers, some Becker residents are sad to see coal go. Rob Miller, a journeyman who has worked at the Sherco [coal] plant for 20 years, told Penn, “There’s a lot of pride, blood, sweat that has gone in here. It’s sad to see it coming to an end.”

Vermont lawmakers found a way to support child care throughout the state. Its example could help other states.

Vermont's child care system is partially supported by
a new payroll tax. (Shutterstock photo)

Vermont lawmakers made dramatic changes to support child care businesses and family needs throughout the state. System advocates say the state's success could be a national model. "In a February 2023 survey of child care providers in the state, nearly 1 out of 5 said they feared they’d go out of business within the year," report Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene of Route Fifty. "That dramatic response fueled officials and state partners to find a solution."

The state's "new law increases the number of families that can receive financial assistance for child care by increasing eligibility from 350% of the federal poverty level to 575%." Barrett and Greene write. "The law also provides for higher reimbursement rates for child care businesses, with the expectation that increased funding will improve pay for hard-to-find staff. . . Most importantly, the law ensures that state funding continues in future years based on a dedicated new payroll tax that began July 1 and is projected to bring in $80 million in its first year."

The new eligibility and child care pay structure has already had positive results. "Six months after the law’s passage, the state’s 2024 survey of child care providers showed a dramatic reversal in their attitudes about the future," Route Fifty reports. "Just 5% said they’d expect to go out of business over the next two years, down from 20%. In the first three months after the law’s passage, more child care centers and home-based businesses opened than closed. That was the first time that had happened since the state started tracking this data in 2012."

Bipartisan support and advocacy for better funding and business options for child care within Vermont are a big reason why the legislation was successful. "This multiyear buildup has also meant that a healthy supply of both local and national evidence was brought to play in creating the law," Barrett and Greene add. "The motivation to find a solution was bolstered by extensive research on child development, which strongly demonstrates the link between high-quality experiences in the first years of life and future health, happiness and success."

Canadian rail strike leaves U.S. commodities unable to move; agricultural interests push for a resolution

Rail-traffic has stopped at U.S.-Canadian
border. (Denley Photography, Unsplash)

As U.S. farmers prepare for expected bumper crops of corn and soybeans, the shutdown of Canada's two largest railways threatens a chunk of their incomes. The fallout from Canada's unresolved rail closures stretches beyond agriculture. It could have "dire consequences for North America’s economy, threatening deliveries of cars, timber and petroleum products," reports Lauren Kaori Gurley of The Washington Post. "The U.S. railway Union Pacific has said a shutdown would sideline more than 2,500 railcars that normally cross the U.S.-Canada border each day."

The two Canadian railways, the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad and the Canadian National Railway have been unable to strike a deal with Teamsters Canada "despite days of heated negotiations," Gurley writes. "The Teamsters say the railways are requesting that the union make concessions 'on crew scheduling, rail safety, and fatigue management' — echoing union concerns at the heart of a threatened 2022 rail strike in the United States." The two railroads insist they have offered "significant pay increases and addressed concerns about scheduling."

U.S. agricultural interests are pushing hard for a resolution. Gurley reports, "In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden as well as other U.S. and Canadian officials, dozens of trade associations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Cotton Council, said a rail shutdown would trigger 'harmful consequences for Canadian and American agricultural producers, the agricultural industry, and both domestic and global food security.'”

Earlier this week, U.S. companies worked to slow the flow of goods to the U.S. Canadian border, which means "that massive flow of goods has screeched to a complete halt," Gurley explains. But the problems go both ways. "Murad Al-Katib, chief executive of AGT Foods, one of the world’s largest suppliers of staple foods such as beans and wheat, said food supply chains would be 'immediately disrupted,' noting that many commodities — such as peas, lentils, chickpeas and durum wheat used for pasta — travel across the Canadian border to U.S. processing and packaging facilities."

Meanwhile, Teamsters Canada said that it won't agree to the rail companies' "grueling schedules," and in turn, both railway companies said "they’ve made generous offers to the union," Gurley writes. "The Canadian government has rejected calls to intervene, but Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged parties to 'get to a resolution.'"

Medicare will save billions from its first-ever drug price negotiations with pharmaceutical companies

The negotiated prices will apply in 2026.
(Adobe Stock photo)

The first-ever talks between Medicare and pharmaceutical companies have yielded some positive change for Medicare expenditures, but how much older Americans will save remains uncertain. "The federal government released the new prices it will pay for 10 prescription drugs," reports Jared S. Hopkins of The Wall Street Journal. "The drugs, for serious conditions including cancer, diabetes and blood clots cost the government more than $50 billion a year altogether. . . . [But] they might not translate into much savings for many seniors."

The talks were Medicare's first foray using its massive consumer base to tamp down drug prices. "Lowering drug prices through negotiations is a milestone in years of efforts to give Medicare, the country’s biggest purchaser of prescription medicines, a power that private health plans have long deployed to keep a lid on rising drug costs," Hopkins explains. "It follows other new government measures tackling high drug prices, such as a $35 cap on how much Medicare members pay out of pocket for insulin."

Here are a few of the newly negotiated drug prices for a month’s supply compared to Medicare's 2023 list price for a 30-day supply. To read the full list, click here.

Eliquis, a blood thinner from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer: $231, down from $521;
Enbrel, an arthritis drug from Amgen: $2,355, down from $7,106;
Jardiance, a diabetes drug from Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim: $197, down from $573;
Stelara, a psoriasis drug from J&J: $4,695, down from $13,836;
Xarelto, a blood thinner from J&J: $197, down from $517.

Medicare's new prices will start in 2026. Anna Anderson-Cook and Richard G. Frank of Brookings report, "Using publicly-available data, estimate savings consistent with CMS reporting, find that 51.4% of the estimated savings ($3.28 billion) is accounted for by 3 drugs. Penn reports, "The negotiations will save nearly $100 billion by 2031, the Congressional Budget Office estimated."

Flora & Fauna: World's oldest whale; all about potatoes; farming extracted land; everlasting lice; why play?

The humpback whale Old Timer in Frederick Sound in southeast Alaska.
(Photo by Adam Pack, NOAA Research Permit 26953 via NYT)

Sometimes seeing an old friend can warm the heart and encourage the spirit. "When Adam A. Pack, a marine mammal researcher, was photographing whales in Alaska’s Frederick Sound this July, he instantly recognized the flukes of an old friend," writes Emily Anthes of The New York Times. "The tail — mostly black, with a wash of white speckles near the edge — belongs to a whale named Old Timer. First spotted in 1972, Old Timer is now a male of at least 53 years, making him “the oldest known humpback whale in the world. . . The last time he had seen the whale, in 2015, was in the middle of a record-breaking, yearslong heat wave. . ."

Where would this country be without potatoes? It's a loaded question. Fluffed, whipped, baked, fried, scalloped, mashed, au gratin. . . Americans do love their taters. But U.S. scientists said, "It's not enough. . . Potatoes deserve more!" Jacob Bunge and Victor Stefanescu of The Wall Street Journal report, "Agriculture companies are applying cutting-edge genetic technology to the dusty brown tubers, aiming to grow bigger piles of spuds that could make for healthier potato chips and french fries. . .while grappling with storage and shelf life."

Ashford Farm has been cultivating lavender for five
years. (Photo by K. Thacker, Ambrook Research)

Not long ago, a coal mine sat on a blown-off mountaintop in West Virginia. The mine extracted that land's wealth and left it barren, but that is not the story's end. "The prospect of putting a farm on a former coal site is highly ambitious and pretty rare — at least in the mountainous Central Appalachian Coal Basin," report Even Andrew and Kristian Thacker of Ambrook Research. "Lavender, however, is a good match for mined terrain because it’s a relatively low-maintenance crop that thrives in dry, rocky soils. . . . But growing something, especially on reclaimed mine land, is a significant challenge."

What's grosser than gross? Lice. "We are in peak lice season, and the lice seem to arrive, always, at the moment when we are least equipped to deal with them. If you’ve endured them even once, odds are you still have at least a touch of lingering paranoia and phantom itching," reports Caitlin Gibson of The Washington Post. "They were there when Hannibal and his army crossed the Alps. They were there when both World Wars were fought. Now it is 2024, and we have Mars rovers and artificial intelligence and, still, lice. We can’t change the reality of them. Should we try to change the way we think about them?"

Like everything Mother Nature imbues, play has purpose.
(Adobe Stock photo)

It's the Puppy Bowl! The Kitten Bowl! The Turtle Bowl. OK. May there's no turtle bowl -- yet. But humans do love to watch animals play. Why? As David Toomey writes for The Conversation, "Play has a role in Darwin’s theory of natural selection. As I explain in my new book, Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself, there are many similarities – so many that if you could distill the processes of natural selection into a single behavior, that behavior would be play, Animals forage and hunt in specific ways that don’t typically change. But an animal at play is far more likely to innovate – and some of its innovations may in time be adapted into new ways to forage and hunt."

While the Florida Everglades are home to an abundance of animal diversity, including 360 different species of birds and countless insect species, Burmese pythons are not a welcome addition. The state has battled to control the invasive, nonnative snake's spread with multiple approaches, including capture and kill contests. The state just wrapped up its annual Florida Python Challenge "during which time participants caught and killed the nonvenomous constrictors, which feed on the state's native fauna," reports Joe Hernandez of NPR. Florida offers more opportunities to remove pythons year-round.

Some of rural Virginia is getting younger; three years of Census data supports a steady trend

This map shows where age 25-45 population has increased from
2020 to 2023. (Map by H. Lombard, from Census Bureau data)

As more younger people move into Virginia, communities that were once watching young people leave or avoid their regions are seeing population growth. "The net in-migration of younger adults has been significant enough that the median age has now fallen in 35 Virginia localities," reports Dwayne Yancey of Cardinal News. "Most of them are rural, and most of them are in Southwest and Southside."

A longitudinal review of U.S. Census data reveals who is moving in, and in this case, it's not retirees. "In much of rural Virginia, we’re seeing an increase in the number of young adults, part of what appears nationally to be a post-pandemic trend to move out of bigger cities," Yancey explains. Three years of data support this shift. "In 1980, there wasn’t much difference in the median ages among localities in Virginia. . . . By 2019, every locality had gotten older but. . .new data that shows since the 2020 census, some localities have gotten younger."

While the shift in numbers isn't huge, it's significant because the overall net shows a trend of younger people making rural Virginia home. Yancey reports, "Virtually every locality is seeing its 65 and older population grow. . . as the huge baby boom generation ages. . . [And] most places have seen their population of ages 25 to 45 grow. . . . working-age adults in the main years for getting married and having families. Overall, though, the state is gaining people in the 25-45 cohort; it’s just not gaining them in the biggest metros. Instead, they’re going to rural areas."

 These communities are getting younger.
(Map by H. Lombard, from Census Bureau data)

Rural Virginia is still aging and remains the oldest in the state; however, "The state's two biggest metro areas, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, are facing unprecedented demographic challenges that should concern all of us," Yancey adds. "Rural areas depend on our state's metro areas to generate the revenue that subsidizes rural schools, for instance. . . . Much of rural Virginia is now seeing a demographic renaissance." Danville and Martinsville, Virginia, were "given up for dead when textiles, tobacco and furniture collapsed," but have had surprising recoveries.

Iowa family of farmers is working to create a midwestern 'blueprint;' they've swapped out pigs for mushrooms

The Faaborg family is working to build a farming blueprint for the Midwest.
(1100 Farm photo)

The Faaborg family made the bulk of their living from running a concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO, for hogs on the family's Iowa farm. While the undertaking was profitable, over time it left owners Rand and Tammy wanting to leave industrial farming, but the couple was unsure how they could make their farm's ends meet without pigs," reports Cara Buckley of The New York Times. "But this summer, with help from a nonprofit group and a leap of faith. . . . The Faaborgs have traded hogs for mushrooms in an effort to restore balance to the land, and their lives."

But Rand and Tammy aren't the ones leading the charge to change the family farm's product portfolio -- their second son, Tanner, is too. "He hopes to make his family’s farm a blueprint in the Midwest, to show how people can leave industrial farming, grow environmentally friendly and profitable food, and, in turn, help rebuild hollowed-out communities," Buckley writes. 'I want to make rural America a place where people want to live and grow up in,' Tanner Faaborg said. Absent significant changes, he said, the heartland will end up becoming one big manufacturing plant.'"

The switch to mushrooms was one idea the Transfarmation Project shared with Tanner. "The initiative is run by the farm-animal welfare charity Mercy for Animals that helps people transition out of industrial animal agriculture and into growing specialty crops," Buckley explains. "Tanner Faaborg seized on mushrooms, intrigued by their potential to heal ailments and serve as a superfood."

It took time for Tanner to convince his parents and his older brother, Tyler, to commit to leaving the CAFO behind. The Transfarmation Project helped him make the case. Buckley reports, "Tyler Whitley, the director of the Transfarmation Project, describes himself as a 'farmer social worker.' His group talks to farmers, learn about their equipment and buildings and whether it’s tied to debt, explores what plant-based alternatives might work, and matches them with resources."

To get started, the Faaborgs received a $15,000 grant from the Transfarmation Project for "a pilot project cultivating reishi, lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms," Buckley writes, "It provided another $200,000 toward redesigning one of the Faaborgs’ hog barns. . . The last of their hogs shipped out in the fall of 2022. Mushrooms for medicinal tinctures and a coffee blend are now being grown in an outbuilding, and a hog barn [will] grow specialty mushrooms. Elsewhere on the land, hundreds of native trees have been planted and a pollinator-friendly field has been sown."

The Faaborg homestead now produces mushrooms "under the name 1100 Farm, a nod to the number of hogs each barn once held," Buckley reports. "If all goes well, the profits from mushrooms could exceed what the farm was generating from hogs during the best of times, without the backbreaking work and sounds and smells from the hog barns and waste pit."

Disagreement, diversity and a look that 'reflects the face of America better' give the Midwest political power

Candidates from the Midwest 'often bring a kind of approachable, average-American feel to a national ticket.' (Wikipedia and Election press photo)

What makes the nation's upper Midwest different is what makes it an election-year game-changer. "While many other parts of the country have sorted into neat red and blue columns, the big upper Midwestern states continue to sit on the dividing line between the two parties," reports Gerald F. Seib of The Wall Street Journal. "The upper Midwest reflects the face of America better than any other region of the country. . . . And it is populous enough to be decisive in the Electoral College, making it political ground zero."

Midwestern balance and diversity have made some of its regions political "power brokers," Seib explains. "In the latest Wall Street Journal poll, the Midwest overall was the most evenly balanced region of the country, with the two parties essentially tied there in both the presidential race and preferences for control of Congress. . . .The region is much more complicated, demographically and economically than is often assumed."

Politicians who've found success in Midwestern elections have always had to walk a keen tightrope between urban and rural needs while facing a gamut of diversity among other constituents. "At a time when the political split between urban and rural areas has become one of the starkest in the nation, [Midwestern] leaders have to be able to bridge that difficult divide," Seib reports. Candidates who "have successfully navigated the complexity of a big Midwestern state are well prepared to do the same nationally."

On the campaign trail, a Midwestern running mate can make a presidential pairing feel more down-to-earth for voters. Seib writes, "Candidates from the Midwest often bring a kind of approachable, average-American feel to a national ticket. . . . 'They look like and sound like a lot of America,' says Democratic pollster John Anzalone. In this year’s race, that means Vance and Walz nicely offset Trump the New Yorker and Harris of San Francisco."

Do you have a rural story to tell? Here's your chance to yarn for glory, publication and maybe some money.

The Milk House and The Daily Yonder are accepting submissions for their 2024 Best in Rural writing contest and invite authors from across the globe to enter their short stories or essays.

Entries are $5 each and all contestants will receive a code entitling them to $10 off all online writing classes offered by The Milk House. Submission deadline is Sept. 30.

The contest judge will first announce 10 shortlisted entries whose authors may elect to have their submission published by The Milk House in 2025. Afterward, the judge will select the best short story and best essay.

Last year's shortlisted tales included authors from the United States, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland. The overall winner of the Best in Rural Writing Contest will receive $500, and the runner-up $200. The winner will be announced later this year.

Some fine print: The work must be original and unpublished. By submitting, the author is agreeing to the possibility of The Milk House or The Daily Yonder publishing or promoting the submission if it is selected in the top two. After publication, all rights revert to the author.

Bit of guidance: Submissions should, in some way, be connected to 'the rural.' The manner and extent to which this is done is open to the author and not necessarily limited to rural characters or rural topics.

Quick hits: Canned bread nostalgia; loneliness primer; python teeth inspire improved shoulder repair; fall skies

B&M introduced canned bread to America in 1928.
(Photo by Kaleigh Brown, The Takeout)

Canned bread might fit nicely on a list of non-perishables that are nostalgic and still worth making or buying. "Canned bread's legacy is tied to the survival instincts of early New Englanders," writes Kaleigh Brown for The Takeout. "When the first settlers arrived in Massachusetts, they hoped to grow wheat, but the local climate made it difficult. Instead, they turned to more affordable and resilient grains like rye and corn. . . .Lacking ovens, they steamed their bread over open fires, often using cans as makeshift molds."

Loneliness is a common experience across the United States, but some Americans are more susceptible to the harm long bouts with the emotion can cause. "Loneliness is more than just isolation: It’s the subjective experience of craving more social interaction than you currently have. It isn’t binary, either, and no one is immune," reports Allie Volpe of Vox. "Chronic loneliness has severe negative physical and mental effects. . . . Rather than point to certain populations as explicitly lonely, understanding what increases someone’s risk for loneliness can help address it on a population level."

Python teeth are uniquely curved and sharp, which helps
them grip their prey without tearing. (A.S. photo)

Picking fruit, baling hay and moving or handling food animals can all end in a farmer or farm worker tearing their rotator cuff, which hurts like heck and normally requires shoulder surgery to repair. The surgery is tricky and often fails, which is why a "python-like surgical implant" could help, reports Eric Niiler of The Wall Street Journal. "Medical researchers at Columbia University designed and built a python-tooth-inspired implant to better mend rotator cuff tear. . . . [The snake's] prey-grabbing method was the inspiration for the device."

Failing to have end-of-life discussions can leave important decisions to a time when there is no time. "Morbidity, mortality, and the many grey zones in between are ever-present in healthcare, writes Nidhi Bhaskar for MedPage Today. "I believe it is crucial to equip future physicians with the skills to navigate these conversations, especially in acute situations where time is limited and patient capacity for decision-making can quickly change. . . . Multiple studies have highlighted the positive impact that early exposure to palliative care and end-of-life goals can have on patient satisfaction at the end of life."

Remember to star gaze this fall; there's going to be a lot to marvel at. Mars and Jupiter will be easily visible on Aug. 27 and "will be accompanied by the crescent moon, creating a dazzling pack in the sky, according to NASA," reports Juliana Kim of NPR. If you missed August's super 'blue' moon, don't despair, "next month’s supermoon will be on Sept. 18. It will be a super harvest moon. It’s called a harvest moon because of its proximity to the autumnal equinox: An equinox is when the Earth’s equator is most directly in line with the sun. This supermoon will also undergo a partial lunar eclipse, reports Mansee Khurana of NPR. "The next two supermoons will occur on Oct. 17 and Nov. 15."