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Young Voters Are Getting Tribal Citizens to the Polls
Native Americans in swing states could help decide the 2024 election. Can they overcome barriers to vote?
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Investigative Report
Private Equity Is Gunning for Wisconsin’s County-Owned Nursing Homes
Rural citizens are banding together to ensure everyone has access to care
The Grassroots Electoral Movement Reshaping Rural Politics
In many rural areas, races go uncontested. That’s changing in 2024 thanks to grassroots efforts to contest every election
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Down but Not Out? In This Rust Belt Town Turnout is Key … and Uncertain
Kamala Harris will win more than 90% of the vote. But how many registered voters will go to the polls?
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Crime Is Down. Why Do So Many Rural Americans Think It’s Going Up?
False claims of “migrant crime” echo the Ku Klux Klan’s fear mongering
Religion
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The Christian Right’s Playbook to Elect Donald Trump in November
And how voters can use the tools of democracy to counter their plans
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The Politics of Loving Your Neighbor in Rural America
Reflections of a Lutheran pastor in Dunn County, Wisconsin
Politics & Policy
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The 10 Rural Districts That Could Swing the House
Candidates in rural battleground congressional races are pivotal in deciding who controls the U.S. House
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Farmers Weigh Harris and Trump on Ag Policy as Candidates Vie for Rural Votes
How tariffs, climate policies and the farm bill are swaying Minnesota growers
Ana Radelat & Ava Kian, MinnPost
Special Reports
New
Charting a Path of Rural Progress
Interviews with the organizers who created a rural policy platform for 2024
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Rural Communities Respond to the Long-Term Care Crisis
Rural communities come together to respond to the crisis in long-term care
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Interviews with Rural Organizers
Meet the rural organizers and changemakers working for change and justice
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Rural Libraries
Rural libraries, under threat, are finding renewed purpose
More →Native Life
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Montana Tribal Citizens File Lawsuit Over Alleged Voter Suppression
Does GOP control of the U.S. Senate hinge on stopping Natives from voting in November?
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Water Protectors Use Novel Legal Tactic to Challenge the Dakota Access Pipeline
Novel anti-SLAPP laws could help uncover Dakota Access Pipeline secrets
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The Indigenous Growers Reviving Hemp’s Deep Roots
“Cannabis and hemp offer solutions to many challenges in an industrial society”
Science & Environment
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Project 2025 and Its Plans for the Nation’s Public Lands
Native leader says massive deregulation would lead to “total desecration”
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Signs of a Ceasefire in Michigan’s Energy Wars
Rural comunities have been fighting for nearly two decades over large-scale solar and wind farms. A new law might turn down the temperature as the state seeks to reduce carbon emissions from generating electricity.
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What’s Fueling Michigan’s Green Energy Backlash?
A renewable energy push is bringing millions of dollars to Michigan’s rural communities. But not everyone is pleased.
Barn Raisers
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The Secret to Creating Vibrant Rural Economies
The USDA's Rural Development office works with nonprofit enterprises to to revitalize rural economies
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Wendell Berry: What New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman Gets Wrong About Rural America
‘Those of us who speak for the country (“rural America”) must never give up’
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Welcome to Barn Raiser: Your independent source for rural and small town news
A letter from the editors
Letters to the editor
Readers Respond to Wendell Berry
Read →Arts & Culture
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Farm to Table Goes International in Rural New York
Korean lunch, Albanian dinner and Iranian wine—in the Catskills?
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Country Queers Spread the Love in Rural America
Rae Garringer’s new book documents more than a decade of LGBTQ+ rural life
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A Supper Club State of Mind
Wisconsin has more supper clubs than any other state. But how long will this iconic institution survive?
Food & Agriculture
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Animal Agriculture Conference Asks: What’s the Future of Our Food System?
Iowa’s environmental crisis has policy leaders and farmers challenging corporate agriculture
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The Farm Bill Must Support Farmers Affected by PFAS Contaminated Sewage Sludge
Maine stepped up to protect its farmers. It’s time for Congress to protect farmers nationwide.
Rep. Bill Pluecker
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How Harris’s Economic Strategy Could Help Farmers
Taking on monopolies and lowering consumer costs is both a winning political strategy and the right thing to do
History
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Jim Hightower Confronts the 1980s Farm Crisis
"It's the same old story—Reagan helps the rich, and Lord help the rest of us."