Politics & Policy

To Reach Rural Voters, Democrats Need a Place-Driven Strategy

One rural political strategist details a plan
Matt L. Barron

Jim Hightower Confronts the 1980s Farm Crisis

"It's the same old story—Reagan helps the rich, and Lord help the rest of us."
Jim Hightower

Election Deniers Focus Recruitment in ‘Out of the Way Places’

Election officials fear conspiracy theories are undermining civic infrastructure in rural America
Claire Carlson, The Daily Yonder

Rural Tennessee County Uses Opioid Settlement Funds to Collect Highway Litter

None of the $2.7 million Greene County has received has been used to address its epidemic of drug overdose deaths
Aneri Pattani, KFF Health News

As Moms for Liberty Expands in Wisconsin, School Board Elections Become Proxies for a National Culture War

Opposition to the "extremist" group grows ahead of the 2024 election
Rachel Hale, Wisconsin Watch
Hans Breitenmoser, a Wisconsin Dairy farmer, sits in his office

Hans Breitenmoser: Dairy Farmer for Fair Maps

“Wisconsin is so severely gerrymandered that you can't even hardly think straight.”
Joel Bleifuss & Justin Perkins

The Emerging Movement to Build Multi-Racial Power in Rural Communities

What the D.C. establishment gets wrong about rural politics
Michael Chameides, Danny Diaz, W. Mondale Robinson & Celina Culver

A New Ford Plant in Rural Tennessee Inspires Anti-Union Backlash

The American Legislative Exchange Council has plans to penalize companies that voluntarily recognize unions
Don Wiener
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From Way Outside the Beltway

Way Outside the Beltway

Why Rural America Should Bet on a Green Energy Future

House Republicans see oil, gas and coal fueling our energy future; the facts prove them wrong.

Thomas Gahm
Read column
Politics
July 19, 2023

Jim Crow in the Driver’s Seat

Rural Mississippians without cars face voting hurdles

Ingrid Cruz
Politics
May 26, 2023

When Moms for Liberty Cancelled a School Librarian’s Mother’s Day Lesson, Concerned Parents Fought Back

Here is what they said at the Hamilton County, Tennessee, school board meeting

Joel Bleifuss
Culture
May 17, 2023

“We’ve Had Death Threats, Bomb Threats”

Rural libraries, often a lifeline, now face efforts to ban books and restrict funding

s.e. smith