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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Women Look to Close Gender Gap in Oregon Wind Energy

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Tuesday, March 15, 2016   

PORTLAND, Ore. - A new Oregon law ensures that renewable energy, including wind power, will be a force in the state's future utility plans.

By 2040, half the electricity supplied to customers is required to come from renewable-energy sources. The state's commitment should mean more jobs in the wind industry, and Kristen Graf, executive director of the group Women of Wind Energy, said that more women are interested in the field, even though men largely make up the workforce now.

"Young women in K-through-12 programs (are) interested in science and technology, and often interested in it as a way to address larger world problems," she said. "So, why not connect them to renewable energy and jobs that are creating clean technologies?"

According to a survey by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2013, about one in five wind-energy employees was a woman.

Rachel Shimshak, executive director of Renewable Northwest, a Portland-based advocacy group for clean energy, said she has noticed a change in the demographic since she began working with the wind-energy industry nearly four decades ago.

"Wind energy has made a special effort to identify opportunities for women," she said. "and the Women of Wind Energy association is really trying to mentor people and include them in the industry."

Some of the jobs, such as wind-turbine technician, require extensive training and certifications. However, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, turbine technician is the fastest-growing occupation in the country.

Graf's advice for women interested in the field is to find a role model already working in wind, "and then, I would say, connect to other women around the industry. Especially in the Northwest," she said, "we have some really strong Women of Wind Energy chapters."

According to the American Wind Energy Association, wind energy makes up more than 12 percent of Oregon's in-state energy production.


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