The Yonder Report

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.

A planned high-voltage line in Texas is proving divisive, a new poll shows North Carolinians are pessimistic about the economy, the Trump administration’s next budget could devastate tribal higher ed and a tall ship flotilla sails the Eastern Seaboard.

Affordable housing in Wiscasset, Maine is stalled after a proposed data center disrupted plans, farms and ranches now account for 83 percent of solar projects and Colorado farmers turn to rye after a record-setting dry winter.

A dialysis unit has closed in rural Nebraska due to lower Medicare reimbursement rates, “deaths of despair” are slowly declining nationwide but still more common in Appalachia and a South Dakota rancher plants native grasses to fight drought.

A record wildfire season is predicted for parts of the U.S., An Illinois researcher says the Farm Bill is an opportunity to address more than just agriculture and one group is turning surrendered guns into garden tools and artwork.

Political attitudes among rural voters are shifting, maternity care is complex – and becoming more so in rural Illinois communities where demographics have changed and Minnesotans vow to fight efforts overturning a ban on mining in the Boundary Waters.

A loophole in reimbursement rates is partly to blame for rural hospitals closing, Maine may become the first state to ban large-scale data centers and farmers’ financial woes are made worse by laws that prevent them from fixing their farm equipment.

Libraries in rural Texas are doing double duty as they loan books and lend telehealth expertise, as health insurance costs soar, some turn to their local Farm Bureau and rural communities are getting federal help to fix aging water infrastructure.

Telehealth is a lifesaver for aging populations in rural Texas, but experts say it shouldn’t replace in-person care, South Dakota’s ag university sees more students majoring in rangeland management and Maine improves kids’ success by embracing rural community schools.

The neediest in Missouri are watching the possible effects of cuts to Medicaid, Illinois is among several states raising alarms over AI data centers and building resiliency among teenagers is the goal of Trekkers in Rockland, Maine.

Barriers for Americans with disabilities are still common in both rural and urban communities, the expansion of detention centers across the country could hurt rural economies and deteriorating water infrastructure is costing Eastern Kentuckians.

Staff cuts at the USDA could hinder the rollout of a regenerative agriculture program, rural voters led a record-turnout in the Texas primaries, and conservationists there worry a massive border wall will spoil the Rio Grande.

Advocates for those with disabilities in Idaho and nationwide are alarmed by proposed Medicaid cuts, programs that provide virtual crisis care are making inroads in rural South Dakota and Wyoming, and the mighty bison returns to Texas.

New England’s already high electricity prices have locals concerned about proposed AI data centers, three-quarters of Montana’s school districts report decreased absenteeism due to on-site health clinics and Missouri expands its trail system.

An Illinois university is trying to fill gaps in the nationwide pharmacy shortage, Alabama plans to address its high infant mortality rate using robots in maternal care and neighbors helping neighbors is behind a successful New England weatherization program.

The crackdown on undocumented immigrants in Minneapolis has created chaos for a nearby agricultural community, federal funding cuts have upended tribal solar projects in Montana and similar cuts to a college program have left some students scrambling.

Silver mining made Northern Idaho wealthy, but left its mark on people’s health, a similar issue affects folks along New York’s Hudson River and critics claim rural renewable energy eats up farmland, while advocates believe they can co-exist.

The immigration crackdown in Minnesota has repercussions for Somalis statewide, rural Wisconsinites say they’re blindsided by plans for massive AI data centers and opponents of a mega transmission line through Texas’ Hill Country are alarmed by its route.

Training to prepare rural students to become physicians has come to Minnesota’s countryside, a grassroots effort in Wisconsin aims to bring childcare and senior-living under the same roof and solar power is helping restore Montana s buffalo to feed the hungry.