Politics & Policy

Public Schools Build Connections in Rural Communities. Vouchers Tear Them Down.

Here is what you can do to stand up for rural public schools before it’s too late

How Democrats Can Win By Organizing from the County Up

In her new role as a party leader, Jane Kleeb is organizing Democrats to go on the offensive

Farmers in Trump Country Were Counting on Clean Energy Grants. Then the Government Changed the Rules.

Thousands of farmers and small rural businesses now in limbo as USDA demands grant rewrites that favor fossil fuels over renewables
Ames Alexander & Mario Alejandro Ariza, Floodlight; Joe Engleman, Barn Raiser

In Red States, Rural Voters Are Leading the Resistance to School Vouchers

Convincing rural voters to walk away from public schools could be a greater obstacle than expected for the GOP

Donald Trump, MAGA and the Logic of the Gun

Trump’s image as a vigilante “peacemaker” reflects the religiously-tinged violence of the American frontier
Rachel Wagner, Religion Dispatches

Undoing the Power of Big Ag

A conversation with author Sonja Trom Eayrs and Farm Action co-founder Joe Maxwell

USDA ‘Cut Off at the Knees’ by Musk’s Mass Firings

Interviews with 15 recently fired employees reveal an agency thrown into turmoil
Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest
Keep an Independent Mind

Sign up to receive twice-weekly Barn Raiser updates on original, independent reporting from rural and small town America.

mail

From Inside the Farm Bill

Inside the Farm Bill

Can Democrats Stop the GOP From Taking a Chainsaw to the Farm Bill?

Republicans are gearing up to cut SNAP programs and increase payments to the largest farmers

Read column
Politics
February 27, 2025

As GOP Moves to Cut Taxes for the Rich, Bernie Sanders Rallies Iowans to Fight Oligarchy

“Trumpism will not be defeated by politicians in the D.C. Beltway,” says Sanders

Health Care
February 24, 2025

Bird Flu Spreads as Musk’s DOGE Cuts Public Health Funding

“It’s not enough for us to sit by on the sidelines,” says Dr. Michael Osterholm

Environment
February 13, 2025

‘Cruelty Is the Point’: The Toxic Trickle-Down of Musk’s Government Purge

Kyla Bennett, former EPA whistleblower, says Musk’s DOGE “coup” has major ramifications for rural America

More in Politics & Policy