The Yonder Report

Rural voters in border counties helped turn Texas blue, rural areas strongly opposed data centers at the ballot box, and money from mass deportations could cover medical care for millions of people.

Louisiana residents sue to unwind a SpaceX project, Nebraska's farmers will get millions in relief from the USDA, an Oregon nonprofit is helping older adults accelerate their digital technology skills, and school cell phone policies create student concerns.

A majority of Americans say the current political system is "rigged", The Nature Conservancy believes Appalachia's Cumberland Forest is critical for weathering climate change, volunteers are in short supply at rural Indiana fire departments, and your clock needs winding, again.

Americans are filling out ballots amid national gloom over rising consumer prices including energy, which affects Latinos more than others; Indiana is addressing children's obesity, and Ohio volunteers sustain a rite of passage for foster kids.

Midterm voters in Ohio get a protection hotline, while those in South Dakota stare down ballot déjà vu, a Michigan farming initiative aims to get more locally grown food onto dinner tables and Oklahoma hosts this year's gay rodeo finals.

Solar-powered tech takes on toxic algal blooms, The Farm Bill has expired leaving SNAP benefits uncertain, higher prices are a key election concern, and a two-ton pumpkin is smashing records and winning championships.

The midterms are fast approaching and research shows Native voters can expect significant barriers, rural hospitals struggle to keep up with electronic record keeping, Banned Books Week comes as Congress debates censorship, and the Headless Horseman rides again!

An Idaho county's ban on wind and solar energy may soon be overturned, some of Virginia's money for healthcare is instead going to ICE, conservation is the focus of next year's planting season in Iowa, and bikers cruise into autumn.

A growing number of rural communities are calling for local bans on data centers, the fear of ICE agents is keeping some employees from harvesting crops and New Mexico's famous chile peppers vault into American history.

Money from the Rural Health Transformation Program is rolling out, the closure of a Michigan hospital is worrisome as massive 2027 Medicaid cuts loom, producers are squeezed but the Farm Bill remains stalled and America's Grange halls are hosting harvest potlucks.

Dolly Parton's legacy lives on through books, Texas health workers want relief from cuts to Medicaid and CHIP while Virginia health advocates urge lawmakers to restore Medicaid and ACA tax credits and finding a lawyer in rural Alabama just got easier.

The sticker price is higher, but EVs are cheaper once your gas-powered car has 18,000 miles, as wildfires rage in Oregon, community groups are getting food, water and more to farm workers and Oklahoma's libraries are closing the broadband gap.

Americans love burgers, but currently they're busting the budget, a Colorado ranch is demonstrating cattle grazing and prairie conservation are simpatico, Illinois is trying to restore rain to parched parcels, and Congress considers cracking down on misleading recycling practices.

A Trump executive order to overhaul childhood vaccines plus proposed alterations to Head Start mean big changes for America's rural kids, not everyone likes Georgia's data centers but the state's folk-art garden is a must-see, and its "mooing" time in America.

August offers one of nature's most awe-inspiring sights, food insecurity hits hardest in rural communities and the South, Oregon is training responders to support aging populations amid extreme weather and a new mosaic commemorates a devastating flood in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

Economic challenges roil America's farmers, slashed Medicaid is hitting some states harder than others, Washington has joined a lawsuit fighting federal cuts to school-based mental health grants, and libraries help families reduce the high cost of living.

Community Works aims to reduce rural polarization, the U.S. is losing frontline workers to DACA renewal delays while ICE raids increasingly target young people in small towns and Alaska's oldest lighthouse shines again.

A free Central Texas transportation program allows seniors to reconnect with friends and doctors, a 30-city nurses tour is calling attention to GOP Medicaid cuts, more states are imposing climate-driven water restrictions, and tips for a corny vacation.

A population boom in Bastrop County, Texas has increased mental health needs, the changing climate is doing the same nationwide, Americans' preference for mega cars and trucks is deadly for pedestrians, and dinosaurs rule in rural South Dakota.

U.S. Supreme Court rulings are applauded and criticized as the nation celebrates 250 years, an Idaho group ramps up help for those in need, extreme cuts to SNAP are coming into focus, and robots could revolutionize agriculture.

The frontline for voting rights is the rural south, colleges are working harder to recruit rural high school students, an ancient grain called sorghum could help fight hunger caused by climate change and pandowdy is the perfect July 4th dessert.

Illinois residents say data centers should be regulated, but lawmakers haven't acted, a farm group wants voters to back candidates who understand rural America, health advocates encourage rural men to visit their doctor and a 12-state concert tour is celebrating rural roots.

The well-being of children has declined in multiple states, Ho-Chunk tribes are honored at Nebraska's Winnebago Public Schools, solar isn't just for homeowners in Colorado and despite a lack of data on rural LGBTQ populations, Pride Month is celebrated.

A border wall through Texas' Big Bend National Park gets pushback after local news coverage, advocates for small growers in Iowa argue the current Farm Bill favors big ag and doctors tracking Salmonella outbreaks say don't kiss your chickens.

Illinois farmers and landowners are pushing back against the use of eminent domain for private carbon pipelines, Nebraskans say climate change is affecting their mental health, Utah parents can't find childcare and its rhubarb season across the rural Midwest.