2026 Midterms: Why Rural America Matters

These elections promise to be some of the messiest ever and with more at stake than I’ve known in my lifetime. Each Saturday over the next six months, we’ll help you make sense of it all by bringing you stories on rural politics and elections you won’t find anywhere else—from reporting on data centers, the farm bill, the influence of corporate dark money and local solutions that have a national impact. 

No horse race here. Instead, you’ll find unsung local heroes, courageous candidates and everyday people fighting for a better life. You’ll find inspiration to organize in your community, information to fight voter paralysis and energy to feed your soul. Not every story has a happy ending, but it will have something you can take with you. (Not signed up already? Do so below.)

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I grew up in the woods of Upstate New York. Winter mornings we got dressed crouched in front of a space heater. Missing the bus meant a 3-hour walk to school. When the power went out, no one flushed. Pushing cars out of ditches was our winter entertainment. Playing with salamanders in the creek was our summer fun. 

I’ve replicated the best parts of my childhood on 73 acres in my adopted state of Iowa. I fell in love with this state and its struggles after graduating from the University of Iowa in 1985. I left in 1989 to pursue work as a union rep, writer, publisher and organizer, where I experienced life in big cities, suburbs and small towns. In 2011, I returned to an Iowa I barely recognized and moved to Cedar County where we knew almost no one but could afford this chunk of land. 

I’ll never be a local. That takes at least 3 generations. Still, I wouldn’t trade settling here for anywhere else. I appreciate and respect our neighbors. There’s a plumber, an electrician, two tractor mechanics and nearby farmers I can call on who will be fair with me. You can go see the vet at the county seat, get a haircut, see your USDA agent and grab a decent hamburger all in the same trip. 

Sounds pretty Our Town, but the truth is most folks here cross the county line to work and spend their paychecks. That’s where the jobs, hospitals and shops are. Our rural county is no different than most. It relies heavily on federal money—Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, farm subsidies, road funds—while homemade billboards demand the government get off our backs. It’s those contradictions I like to push at like a cow worrying a fence until it knocks it down and walks right over it.

These days I farm perennial crops, write a Substack called Postcards from the Heartland and organize. This stint with Barn Raiser fits right in. I’m glad to have this opportunity to bring you some of the best writers and stories in the country covering rural America. 

Have a story idea? Contact me at suzan@barnraisingmedia.com 

Let’s start the conversation. 

Suzan EremMore by this author →

Suzan Erem is a fruit and nut farmer, working writer and community organizer in rural Cedar County, Iowa. Her Substack is Postcards from the Heartland. Her farm can be found at DracoHill.org.