Rural / Public News Service

In a new national survey, people 65 and older were more likely than other age groups to think raw milk was less safe than pasteurized milk. (Adobe Stock)

Friday, September 6, 2024

Rural residents more likely to consider raw milk to be safe

By Tim Marema for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Wisconsin News Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration…

The Biden administration is providing a range of subsidies to spur carbon-capture projects to help reduce carbon emissions. But as projects take shape in the Midwest, issues such as landowner rights have led to extensive public debate. (Adobe Stock)

Friday, September 6, 2024

Survey sheds light on public sentiment about carbon-capture land conflicts

In a new poll, 81% of registered voters from several Midwestern states said they oppose corporations resorting to eminent domain for private projects…

The last operational one-room schoolhouse in Sheridan County, Wyoming, the Slack School, was built in the 1880s, burned down in the 1920s and rebuilt in the 1930s. (Ashlee Gorham, Slack School)

Friday, September 6, 2024

School year begins in WY’s few remaining one-room schoolhouses

It is back-to-school season and for 11 students in Sheridan County, Wyoming, it means returning to a one-room schoolhouse. The Slack School was …

Weston Lombard, at his Athens County farm, uses regenerative practices funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. (Photo credit Sijie Yuan)

Friday, September 6, 2024

Ohio reacts to Biden's investment targeting rural electrification

President Joe Biden has announced a landmark $7.3 billion investment, the largest since the FDR New Deal, aimed at electrifying rural America…

The Center for Rural Affairs said if all forecasted solar in the Midwest was developed on prime farmland, it would occupy only 1.45% to 2.9% of such farmland in this part of the nation. (Adobe Stock)

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Tractors, barns and solar panels: Renewables help reshape MN ag land use

Minnesota has plenty of prime farmland, with some of it being converted in the transition to clean energy sources such as solar. The movement has …

Colorado residents and out-of-state visitors spent an estimated $10.8 billion on outdoor recreation within Colorado's river basins in 2019. About a quarter of this came from participants in water sports such as rafting. (Adobe Stock)

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Polis taps nation’s strongest water-quality protections for 15 CO rivers

Nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court left key watersheds unprotected by the Clean Water Act, the Polis administration has designated new …

Brazil and Vietnam are currently the largest coffee-producing countries in the world. Production is increasing in China and even in California and on the Gulf Coast. (Somchai20162516/Adobe Stock)

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Climate solutions for the future of coffee

By Anne Connor for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public Ne…

80% of Wyoming adults say that EMS should be considered an essential service, according to a 2024 AARP survey. (Kirill Gorlov/Adobe Stock)

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Survey: Wyomingites support increased EMS funding

Some emergency medical services, or EMS, are consolidating or closing across Wyoming, while the need for services is increasing. In 2021, Wyoming EMS …

Independent agriculture producers are asking Congress to consider small family farmers in the next Farm Bill, which has yet to be debated in the nation's capital. (Adobe Stock)

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Family farmers call for a level playing field

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering new rules, seeking to level the playing field for independent farmers in Iowa and across the …

By federal law, tribal law enforcement officers may attend a state training program or the Indian Police Academy in New Mexico. This year is the first tribal-specific training has been included in South Dakota's program. (Adobe Stock)

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

SD police academy grads newly schooled on Indian Country

South Dakota's police training program included a new course this year, one specific to tribal communities. A class of 20 graduated yesterday from …

The Alabama Forestry Commission has identified almost 5,000 southern pine beetle spots across the state, with an average mortality of 191 pine trees per spot. (Adobe Stock)

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Southern pine beetle outbreak poses threat to Alabama forests, economy

Alabama's economy is heavily supported by its forestry industry - but is facing a new challenge, with a widespread outbreak of the southern pine …

Research shows South Dakota had the fifth-highest rate of cropland abandonment between 1986 and 2018, trailing Texas, North Dakota, Kansas and Montana. (Adobe Stock)

Former croplands could be ‘sweet spot’ for renewable-energy production

Researchers mapped American croplands that have fallen out of production in hopes of inspiring new uses for them, such as renewable energy. Roughly 3…

A mega-dairy concentrated animal feeding operations can produce as much waste as a city without the benefit of an advanced sewage treatment system. (ArtemZakharov/Adobe Stock)

NM group seeks moratorium on new factory farms

By Lena Beck for Modern Farmer.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for New Mexico News Connection reporting for the Modern Farmer-Public News Service Colla…

Labor and Delivery doctor Taylor Swartz talks with a pregnant patient and her husband at Mahaska Health Hospital in Iowa. (Tony Leys/KFF Health News)

Shrinking rural Iowa loses maternity units

By Tony Leys for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Mark Moran for Iowa News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service Collabora…

The Lomakatsi Restoration Project partners with the U.S. Department of the Interior on forestry training for tribal youth. (fs.usda.gov)

Fed grant supports OR tribal youth conservation training

Federal grant money is supporting an Oregon organization rehabilitating the land and training tribal youth. The Interior Department's Indian Youth …

Nevada has seen an exodus of poll workers since 2020. (AnnaStills/Adobe Stock)

NV lawmakers will consider changes to its elections process

Nevada lawmakers will consider changes to the state's election laws next year. Most proposals are minor, like adding small filing costs for primary …

The BLM's Rock Springs planning area in southwest Wyoming is one of the largest in the lower 48 states and is part of the world's longest recorded mule deer migration. (Adobe Stock)

BLM's Rock Springs management plan has some wins for conservation

The Bureau of Land Management proposed a new plan for public lands in southwest Wyoming, that makes some headway for conservation. The BLM's new …

The Cleveland Cliffs Middletown Works project includes replacing an old blast furnace with two electric furnaces to produce iron with nearly zero greenhouse gas emissions. It is expected to create 170 permanent jobs, 1,200 temporary union construction jobs and sustain 2,500 existing jobs. (Adobe Stock)

Inflation Reduction Act boosts Ohio’s economy, environment

As the Inflation Reduction Act marks its second anniversary, Ohio communities are seeing changes spurred by investments in clean energy and …

Health effects from exposure toxic algae include skin rashes, headaches, vomiting, pneumonia and more, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Adobe Stock/AI-generated)<br />

Toxic algae blooms are on the rise in WV, industrial farming a driving cause

Harmful algae bloom events are increasing, according to a recent analysis of EPA data from the advocacy group Environment America and have occurred …

More than 80 percent of Oklahoma's wastewater sludge ends up in crop fields, according to an analysis by Investigate Midwest. (Losonsky/Adobe Stock)

Concern grows over 'forever chemicals' in biosolid fertilizers

By Ben Felder for Investigate Midwest.Broadcast version by Will Walkey for Oklahoma News Service reporting for the Investigate Midwest-Public News Ser…

The suicide rate among 15- to-19-year-olds in Wyoming was more than double the U.S. rate in 2019, according to data from the Wyoming Department of Health. (Adobe Stock)

Experts: Schools play important role in K-12 mental health

As the school year begins, experts are advising schools on how to preserve students' mental health but politics in states such as Wyoming limit …

A field of sunflowers is shown on fourth-generation Koelling land in Ord, Nebraska. The Koellings grew their sunflower oil business with the help of the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program. (Photo courtesy of Alan Koelling, Simply Sunflowers)

Federal funds back renewable energy, efficiency upgrades for NE ag, small business

Nebraska ag producers and small businesses have until Sept. 30 to apply for the latest funding round of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural …

School-based mental and behavioral health services not only help prevent problems, they also improve education and future employment outcomes. (Adobe Stock)

Mental health checklist for Colorado students returning to school

Transitioning back to school can bring as much stress as excitement for many students and a new checklist created by the group Inseparable aims to hel…

The Sage Creek Community Club could soon be on the National Register of Historic Places. (Alliance for Historic Wyoming)

Bighorn Basin community halls tour to promote preservation efforts

The Sage Creek Community Club is 100 years old this year and is one stop on a tour this weekend of similar buildings in the region. The small…

University of Minnesota officials said a new climate change prediction tool means information gathering is not just for the research community but by the broader public as they prepare for possible scenarios. (Adobe Stock)

Wanna know what climate change looks like in 50 years? MN tool can help

From government planners to farmers to residents, those wondering how climate change will affect Minnesota in the decades to come can now get the …

The recipients of the USDA's Discrimination Financial Assistance Program include more than 23,000 individuals who have operated farms or ranches, receiving assistance up to $500,000. (JackF/Adobe Stock)<br />

Mississippi minority farmers to receive USDA discrimination payments

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing direct payments to Mississippi minority farmers and ranchers who faced past discrimination and there …

The proposed Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets rule ensures that livestock and poultry producers would

Proposed USDA rule defines “unfair” meat industry practice

A proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture would clarify fair practices in the American meat industry. The Fair and Competitive …

In the summer of 2024, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers visited rural communities to discuss the progress of a new state program to help agricultural areas fund road improvement projects. (Photo courtesy of Evers' office)

Roadwork ahead in WI farmlands

As the fall harvest season inches closer, Wisconsin farmers are hoping for promising yields but if the rural roads around them are crumbling…

There is a 50% chance a chick hatchling will be male but the males hatching in egg-laying operations are often destroyed because they are not profitable to be raised for meat. (Adobe Stock)

Animal advocates call for chicken egg gender testing

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Mark Moran for Iowa News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration Eve…

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management considers an agricultural business a concentrated animal feeding operation if the farm meets or exceeds animal threshold numbers including 2,500 swine above 55 pounds, 55,000 turkeys or 700 mature dairy cows. (Adobe Stock)

IN farms have stricter rules for CAFO operations

A new study shows more than 1 million tons of animal waste is produced every year in the U.S. Consumers' desire for more animal protein and better …

According to the Center for American Progress, Black farms today are much smaller on average, representing just 0.4% of all farm acreage. (John Coles / Adobe Stock)

Farmers want clarity after USDA issues discrimination funds

The Biden-Harris administration is awarding 13 grants to Utah farmers, ranchers and forest landowners through the Discrimination Financial Assistance …

A recent report found about 40% of Virginia's kindergarteners still need to build literacy, math and/or social skills. (Parilov/Adobe Stock)

New poll: Voters remain concerned about cost of child care

A new poll found voters remain concerned about the high cost of living and want the government to do more to lower their expenses. More than nine in …

Black American farmers lost more than $300 billion worth of land in the 20th century, in part due to the USDA's discriminatory practices, research showed. (Lou W/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock)

Farmers want more transparency on USDA discrimination payments

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is doling out direct payments to minority farmers and ranchers who the government had previously discriminated …

TerraPower's Natrium plant, slated for construction in Kemmerer, will use liquid sodium to cool its reactor, instead of the industry standard of water, according to the company's website. (Adobe Stock)

Federal funds to help fuel ‘next-gen’ WY nuclear plant

Recent investments in clean energy from the Biden administration are hitting the ground in Wyoming. Engineering company TerraPower, founded by Bill …

In 2017, the average full-time white farmer brought in $17,190 in farm income, while the average full- time black farmer made just $2,408, according to the Center for American Progress. (Adobe Stock)

USDA awards funds to minority NV farmers after years of discrimination

The Biden-Harris administration has announced 103 grant awards to Nevada farmers, ranchers and forest landowners through the Discrimination Financial …

Just like meat processing, the agricultural industry has come under scrutiny over fears corporate consolidation is limiting a farmer's options in seeking equipment repairs. (Adobe Stock)

MN farmers feel left out by new 'Right to Repair' law

The fall harvest is around the corner and Minnesota farmers hope their equipment holds up. Advocates said a new state law, intended to level the …

The latest version of the Farm Bill would incorporate precision agriculture technologies into water conservation and irrigation efficiency practices, incentive contracts, and conservation innovation grants, according to the National Agriculture Law Center. (Adobe Stock)<br />

Stalled Farm Bill could see Conservation Title changes

Progress on the new Farm Bill remains stalled as members of Congress argue over price increases for commodity crops and proposed cuts to the Supplemen…

According to a 2022 Government Accountability Office report, 18% of people on Tribal lands did not have access to broadband internet, compared to only 4% in non-Tribal areas. (Adobe Stock)

‘Tension, confusion’ around broadband access in Indian Country

Some federal incentives to bring internet access to Indian Country neglected to require tribal participation, according to a new report. The Federal …

On Tuesday, each candidate for Lieutenant Governor presented a distinct vision for Indiana, setting the stage for a heated race. (Adobe Stock)

IN Lt. Governor candidates present starkly different visions

In a debate in the race for Indiana's next Lieutenant Governor, the candidates clashed over the future of the state. Micah Beckwith, the Republican …

Beaches are tested for bacteria once a week during the summer because of the Federal Beach Act. (Adobe Stock)

Researchers study fecal matter numbers on TX beaches

Researchers in the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University are studying ways to determine levels of fecal contamination…

U.S. dairy production supports more than 3 million jobs, including workers on dairy farms who regularly handle milking equipment. Sick cows are still being milked, which means workers on farms where the virus is spreading are continuing to be exposed to the virus. (Credit: Molly Condit / Sinergia Animal / We Animals Media)

Milk production may lead to more human infections of bird flu, study finds

Public health officials continue to monitor the spread of bird flu, with it passing from chickens to cows to humans. A new study found the virus can …

According to the National Park Service, there were 136 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in 1975 when the species was listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. In 2022, the estimated population was 965. (Adobe Stock)

Feds delay decision on ‘endangered’ status of Yellowstone grizzlies

A federal decision on the endangered status of grizzly bears has been delayed. Wildlife managers in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho have petitioned the U.…

Human symptoms of U.S. avian influenza cases to date include conjunctivitis, mild respiratory symptoms and some increased lethargy, according to Crystal Heath of Our Honor. (Scott Griesel/Adobe Stock)

Growing concern over avian influenza in humans

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Kathleen Shannon for Texas News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaborati…

Black American farmers lost more than $300 billion worth of land in the 20th century, in part due to the USDA's discriminatory practices. (Lou W/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock)

Ag advocates push for more transparency on USDA discrimination payments

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making direct payments to minority ag producers that the government had previously discriminated against…

Algae blooms can clog up sewage and drinking water systems, create foul odors and hurt wildlife. (Rospoint/Adobe Stock)

Climate change is making harmful algae bloom events more frequent, experts say

By Aman Azhar for Inside Climate News.Broadcast version by Will Walkey for Virginia News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Pub…

Concentrated animal feeding operations often house thousands of cattle at a single location. (Lukas Vincour/Zv�rata Nej�me/We Animals Media)

Report: CA factory farms perilously close to your produce

By Gabriella Sotelo for Sentient.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collab…

In an article on the Food and Water Watch website, reporter Rebecca Wolf writes,

New organic rules for livestock: What will they mean?

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Deborah Van Fleet for Nebraska News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Coll…

The proposed FEED Act has bipartisan support. (Adobe Stock)

Critics say IN-made dairy cow feed additive is 'overblown'

By Grace Hussain for Sentient.Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Sentient/Public News Service Collaboration A …

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PNS Daily Newscast: Afternoon Update - September 6, 2024

2024Talks - September 6, 2024

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Rural

Rural residents more likely to consider raw milk to be safe

Survey sheds light on public sentiment about carbon-capture land conflicts

School year begins in WY’s few remaining one-room schoolhouses

Ohio reacts to Biden's investment targeting rural electrification

Tractors, barns and solar panels: Renewables help reshape MN ag land use

Polis taps nation’s strongest water-quality protections for 15 CO rivers

Climate solutions for the future of coffee

Survey: Wyomingites support increased EMS funding

Family farmers call for a level playing field

SD police academy grads newly schooled on Indian Country

Southern pine beetle outbreak poses threat to Alabama forests, economy

Former croplands could be ‘sweet spot’ for renewable-energy production

NM group seeks moratorium on new factory farms

Shrinking rural Iowa loses maternity units

Fed grant supports OR tribal youth conservation training

NV lawmakers will consider changes to its elections process

BLM's Rock Springs management plan has some wins for conservation

Inflation Reduction Act boosts Ohio’s economy, environment

Toxic algae blooms are on the rise in WV, industrial farming a driving cause

Concern grows over 'forever chemicals' in biosolid fertilizers

Experts: Schools play important role in K-12 mental health

Federal funds back renewable energy, efficiency upgrades for NE ag, small business

Mental health checklist for Colorado students returning to school

Bighorn Basin community halls tour to promote preservation efforts

Wanna know what climate change looks like in 50 years? MN tool can help

Mississippi minority farmers to receive USDA discrimination payments

Proposed USDA rule defines “unfair” meat industry practice

Roadwork ahead in WI farmlands

Animal advocates call for chicken egg gender testing

IN farms have stricter rules for CAFO operations

Farmers want clarity after USDA issues discrimination funds

New poll: Voters remain concerned about cost of child care

Farmers want more transparency on USDA discrimination payments

Federal funds to help fuel ‘next-gen’ WY nuclear plant

USDA awards funds to minority NV farmers after years of discrimination

MN farmers feel left out by new 'Right to Repair' law

Stalled Farm Bill could see Conservation Title changes

‘Tension, confusion’ around broadband access in Indian Country

IN Lt. Governor candidates present starkly different visions

Researchers study fecal matter numbers on TX beaches

Milk production may lead to more human infections of bird flu, study finds

Feds delay decision on ‘endangered’ status of Yellowstone grizzlies

Growing concern over avian influenza in humans

Ag advocates push for more transparency on USDA discrimination payments

Climate change is making harmful algae bloom events more frequent, experts say

Report: CA factory farms perilously close to your produce

New organic rules for livestock: What will they mean?

Critics say IN-made dairy cow feed additive is 'overblown'