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Source: https://dailyyonder.com/feed/

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34. <title> “A Beautiful and Unusual Thing:” When Region-Specific Is Truly the Best</title>
35. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/when-region-specific-is-truly-the-best/2024/07/26/</link>
36. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/when-region-specific-is-truly-the-best/2024/07/26/#respond</comments>
38. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliza Blue]]></dc:creator>
39. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
40. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
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42. <category><![CDATA[Rural Life]]></category>
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46. <p>I am writing this from a hand-hewn table built into the wall of a tinned cabin in the woods. Outside the large picture window, there’s a small meadow of wildflowers below the green canopy of trees, and beyond that a gravel road. I haven’t heard a car all morning, but I have heard the clip-clop [&#8230;]</p>
47. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/when-region-specific-is-truly-the-best/2024/07/26/"> “A Beautiful and Unusual Thing:” When Region-Specific Is Truly the Best</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
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50. <p>I am writing this from a hand-hewn table built into the wall of a tinned cabin in the woods. Outside the large picture window, there’s a small meadow of wildflowers below the green canopy of trees, and beyond that a gravel road. I haven’t heard a car all morning, but I have heard the clip-clop of hooves on dirt as a buggy belonging to one of the neighboring Amish farmers passes.&nbsp;</p>
51.  
52.  
53.  
54. <p>My ‘Stories, Songs + Yarn Tour’ is underway, and we are currently in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. The Driftless Area is a region in Minnesota, Wisconsin, northwestern Illinois, and northeastern Iowa that was never glaciated. The result is steep hills and ridges, now punctuated with red barns buried in the hillsides, and cornfields and forests somehow flowing into and out of one another. It is very beautiful and very different from the rocky hillsides of the short grass prairie I call home. It even smells different–green and damp, like a slow, meandering river.</p>
55.  
56.  
57.  
58. <p>But that isn’t what this column is about–at least not directly.&nbsp;</p>
59.  
60.  
61.  
62. <p>Last night, I played a concert at a small, family farm called, appropriately, Small Family Farm. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny with a hint of cool breeze, and pale, blue sky populated with fluffy, golden clouds to herald the dusk. The crows of young roosters punctuated my songs, and as I introduced a reading about different migrating birds, a chipping sparrow and song sparrow landed on opposite sides of me, and gave the audience a short, cheerful concert of their own. All this was very magical, but perhaps not as magical as what I am about to describe.</p>
63.  
64.  
65.  
66. <p>When we first arrived on the farm, one of the owners gave us a tour. There were many delights, but for me, the highlight was, of course, her sheep. “What breed are they?” I asked.</p>
67.  
68.  
69.  
70. <p>“Oh, I’m not sure…” she said. “We got them from our Amish neighbors to milk.”</p>
71.  
72.  
73.  
74. <p>It may not surprise you to learn I’ve spent a lot of time looking at and reading about different sheep breeds, but after meeting these particular sheep (a mother and her teenaged lamb), I had no idea what breed they were either. Most likely they are an as yet unclassified breed, perfectly suited to their region and function because that’s been the main consideration with breeding. Someday we may know them as ‘Wisconsin Driftless Milking Sheep’ but they are just sheep for now.</p>
75.  
76.  
77.  
78. <p>This in and of itself is delightful and amazing. Most humans, at least in America, have become increasingly divorced from interdependence with the ecosystems in which we reside. As a result, our livestock, seeds, and even seasonal celebrations have become increasingly divorced as well. Having a sheep that’s just a sheep, but is the perfect sheep for where you live, is a beautiful and unusual thing.</p>
79.  
80.  
81.  
82. <p>I was also charmed by folks keeping a sheep to milk. The family milk cow, or even a family milk goat, is a rare but not wholly unexpected phenomenon. But a family milk sheep? That I have not heard of, and why not? In my experience, sheep are a lot easier to care for than goats merely because they are much easier to keep fenced in. (Or OUT as the case may be…goats eating up the garden is definitely a thing…) And sheep require a lot less feed and space than a cow, not to mention the amount of milk produced is more appropriate for the average family than the massive quantities a healthy jersey will provide.&nbsp;</p>
83.  
84.  
85.  
86. <p>I was gifted a jar of just-milked sheep milk after the show, and sitting at this lovely hand-hewn table, writing to you all, I am drinking my coffee with that milk instead of cream. It’s absolutely delicious. So is the regionally-specific family milk sheep the next big thing? Perhaps it should be, but I think the bigger question is this: Which of MY sheep is most likely to want to be the family milk sheep&#8230;?&nbsp;</p>
87. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/when-region-specific-is-truly-the-best/2024/07/26/"> “A Beautiful and Unusual Thing:” When Region-Specific Is Truly the Best</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
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96. <title>Q&#038;A: What&#8217;s Special about Rural Educators?</title>
97. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/qa-whats-special-about-rural-educators/2024/07/26/</link>
98. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/qa-whats-special-about-rural-educators/2024/07/26/#respond</comments>
100. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lane Wendell Fischer]]></dc:creator>
101. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2024 09:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
102. <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
103. <category><![CDATA[path finders]]></category>
104. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142898</guid>
105.  
106. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=760%2C428&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=706%2C397&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
107. <p>Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in&#160;Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&#38;A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can&#160;join the mailing list at the bottom of this article&#160;and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week. [&#8230;]</p>
108. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/qa-whats-special-about-rural-educators/2024/07/26/">Q&amp;A: What&#8217;s Special about Rural Educators?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
109. ]]></description>
110. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=760%2C428&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?resize=706%2C397&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-design-6.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
111. <p><em>Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in&nbsp;<a href="https://dailyyonder.com/path-finders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Path Finders</a>, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&amp;A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can&nbsp;<a href="#signup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">join the mailing list at the bottom of this article</a>&nbsp;and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.</em></p>
112.  
113.  
114.  
115. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
116.  
117.  
118.  
119. <p>Dr. Melissa Sadorf is a retired superintendent of the Stanfield Elementary School District in rural Arizona and author of the new book <a href="https://ascd.org/books/the-resilient-rural-leader?variant=123028"><em>The Resilient Rural Leader: Rising to the Challenges of Rural Education</em></a><em>.</em>&nbsp;</p>
120.  
121.  
122.  
123. <p>In the book, Sadorf, who also serves as the executive director of the Arizona Rural Schools Association and president of the National Rural Education Association, draws on over three decades of dedicated service to rural education to address common misconceptions about rural school leaders, highlight their unique strengths, and discuss the multifaceted roles they play in their communities. She aims to inspire and equip rural educators and leaders to drive positive change and ensure the success of rural schools.</p>
124.  
125.  
126.  
127. <p>Enjoy our conversation about the importance of building strong support networks, advocating for rural education, and creating a supportive school culture to combat teacher and principal retention challenges.</p>
128.  
129.  
130.  
131. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="764" height="386" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Stanfield.jpg?resize=764%2C386&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142770" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Stanfield.jpg?w=764&amp;ssl=1 764w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Stanfield.jpg?resize=760%2C384&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Stanfield.jpg?resize=400%2C202&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Stanfield.jpg?resize=706%2C357&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Stanfield.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Stanfield Elementary School in Stanfield, Arizona (pop. 457). (Photo credit: Susan Stropko)</figcaption></figure>
132.  
133.  
134.  
135. <p><strong>Lane Wendell Fischer, The Daily Yonder: Tell me a little bit about yourself. What led you to become a rural educator and superintendent?</strong></p>
136.  
137.  
138.  
139. <p><strong>Melissa Sadorf: </strong>I grew up in a rural community, so the values of close-knit relationships and community support are deeply ingrained in who I am. My journey in education spans over three decades, all of which I have dedicated to serving rural communities. I began my career as a classroom teacher in a rural school, where I quickly recognized both the unique challenges and the immense potential of rural schools. The strong sense of community, the deep connections with students and families, and the chance to make a significant impact motivated me to pursue leadership roles. Becoming a superintendent was a natural progression, enabling me to advocate more effectively for rural education and implement systemic changes to benefit both students and staff.</p>
140.  
141.  
142.  
143. <p><strong>DY: What are the biggest misconceptions of rural school leaders? And what are their biggest strengths?</strong></p>
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149. <p><strong>MS: </strong>One major misconception is that rural school leaders are less capable or less innovative due to limited resources. In reality, they are often incredibly creative and resourceful, finding ways to do more with less. Their biggest strengths include building strong, trusting relationships within their communities, having a deep understanding of local needs, and being able to adapt and multitask effectively. These qualities allow them to create a supportive and cohesive educational environment, driving progress despite challenges.</p>
150. </div>
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155. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="1040" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=780%2C1040&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142907" style="width:308px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=570%2C760&amp;ssl=1 570w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=900%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=600%2C800&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=450%2C600&amp;ssl=1 450w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=300%2C400&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=150%2C200&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?resize=706%2C941&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image0-1.jpeg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo courtesy of Dr. Melissa Sadorf. </figcaption></figure>
156. </div>
157. </div>
158.  
159.  
160.  
161. <p><strong>DY: The first chapter in your book suggests that rural educators and administrators serve as &#8220;high capacity&#8221; leaders who wear many hats. One rural superintendent, for example, might oversee managing the district, preparing the budget, serving and advising the school board, leading the community, and may even serve as a principal. What are the challenges and benefits of this rural reality?</strong></p>
162.  
163.  
164.  
165. <p><strong>MS: </strong>The challenges are significant. The workload can be overwhelming, leading to stress and potential burnout. However, there are also incredible benefits. Wearing many hats fosters a holistic understanding of the school and community, allowing leaders to make well-informed decisions. This deep involvement builds trust and collaboration with students, staff, and community members. Leaders in this setting become adept problem-solvers and innovative thinkers, qualities that are essential for driving their schools toward success.</p>
166.  
167.  
168.  
169. <p><strong>DY: You identify school leaders as a key to expanding local access to broadband and combating food, healthcare, and housing insecurity. Why are district leaders so well-posed to tackle these issues and how can they find time to address these problems in the community on top of their already busy schedules?</strong></p>
170.  
171.  
172.  
173. <p><strong>MS: </strong>Rural leaders are often at the heart of their communities, with strong networks and a clear understanding of local needs. They can advocate for and coordinate efforts to address issues like broadband access and food insecurity because they see firsthand how these factors affect students&#8217; ability to learn. To manage these responsibilities, it’s crucial to build strong teams, delegate tasks, and prioritize initiatives that will have the most significant impact. Partnering with local businesses, government agencies, and non-profits can also help mobilize resources and support, making it more feasible to tackle these challenges.</p>
174.  
175.  
176.  
177. <p>Finding time to address community issues amidst a demanding schedule requires strategic time management and prioritization. Leaders can set specific goals and timelines for initiatives, integrating them into broader strategic plans. Involving staff and community stakeholders to share the workload is essential; delegating tasks and empowering others ensures progress without overwhelming individuals. Leveraging technology, such as virtual meetings, can save time and increase efficiency by keeping projects on track without extensive travel. By prioritizing initiatives based on their potential impact, leaders can focus their efforts where they are most needed and effective.</p>
178.  
179.  
180.  
181. <p><strong>DY: Teacher recruitment and retention is a perennial issue for many rural schools and has become a buzzword in the rural education sphere. Bottom line: what is the single most important thing school leaders should consider when combatting this issue?</strong></p>
182.  
183.  
184.  
185. <p><strong>MS: </strong>Creating a supportive and inclusive school culture is paramount because relationships are at the heart of rural communities. Teachers need to feel valued, supported, and part of a community. This involves offering professional development opportunities, recognizing and appreciating their contributions, and fostering a sense of belonging. When teachers feel connected to their community and supported in their professional growth, they are more likely to stay and contribute positively to the school environment. Additionally, highlighting the unique benefits of teaching in a rural setting, such as close-knit relationships and the opportunity to make a significant impact, can help attract and retain talented educators.</p>
186.  
187.  
188.  
189. <p><strong>DY: A lesser-known problem you highlight in the book is a fractured principal-pipeline in many rural schools. Could you talk more about this side of recruitment and retention for those who might be unfamiliar?</strong></p>
190.  
191.  
192.  
193. <p><strong>MS: </strong>The principal-pipeline issue is critical because strong school leadership is essential for student success. In many rural areas, there are limited opportunities for aspiring leaders to gain the necessary experience and training to become effective principals. This can lead to a shortage of qualified candidates and high turnover rates. Addressing this requires investing in leadership development programs, creating mentorship opportunities, and providing aspiring leaders with hands-on experience in various aspects of school administration. By building a robust pipeline of well-prepared leaders, rural schools can ensure sustained leadership and continuity, which are vital for long-term success. For instance, mentorship programs that pair experienced leaders with new administrators can provide invaluable guidance and support, helping to cultivate the next generation of rural school leaders.</p>
194.  
195.  
196.  
197. <p><strong>DY: Why is finding a support network so important for rural school leaders? What advice do you have for individuals searching for support?</strong></p>
198.  
199.  
200.  
201. <p><strong>MS: </strong>Leading a rural school can be isolating, and having a support network provides emotional support, professional advice, and a platform for sharing best practices. It helps leaders feel connected and less alone in their challenges. My advice for individuals searching for support is to actively participate in professional organizations, online forums, and local community groups. Building relationships with other educators, both locally and nationally, can provide invaluable support and resources. Additionally, engaging in ongoing professional development and attending conferences can help leaders stay informed and connected. I also recommend seeking out or establishing local networks where leaders can regularly meet to discuss challenges and share solutions, fostering a sense of camaraderie and collective strength. As any rural educator can tell you, we are stronger together!</p>
202.  
203.  
204.  
205. <p>One aspect I would like to emphasize is the importance of advocating for rural education at both the state and national levels. Rural schools face unique challenges that require tailored solutions, and it is crucial to have a voice in policy discussions. I encourage rural leaders to actively engage in advocacy efforts, share their stories, and collaborate with other stakeholders to ensure that rural education receives the attention and resources it deserves. Storytelling is a powerful tool to inspire and mobilize communities. By sharing the successes and innovations happening in rural schools, we can change the narrative and highlight the critical contributions of rural educators and leaders. It&#8217;s about fostering a broader understanding and appreciation of the vital role rural schools play in our society and ensuring they are well-equipped to continue making a positive impact.</p>
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267. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/qa-whats-special-about-rural-educators/2024/07/26/">Q&amp;A: What&#8217;s Special about Rural Educators?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
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274. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142898</post-id> </item>
275. <item>
276. <title>As Factory Farms Expand in Ozarks, Grassroots Groups Organize for Water Quality and Property Rights</title>
277. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/missouri-guardrails/2024/07/25/</link>
278. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/missouri-guardrails/2024/07/25/#respond</comments>
280. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Kaitlyn McConnell]]></dc:creator>
281. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
282. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
283. <category><![CDATA[Politics and Government]]></category>
284. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142634</guid>
285.  
286. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Two men and one woman, founders of Missouri Guardrails, standing in front of a river." decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?w=1107&amp;ssl=1 1107w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=706%2C529&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
287. <p>The beauty of the Ozarks has become a little more in question due to a lack of protection around property rights.&#160; That’s the perspective of Dan Chiles, Dave Coonrod and Kathy Christy, and it’s based in part due to the 2019 removal of local control of confined animal feeding operations, otherwise known as CAFOs.&#160; As [&#8230;]</p>
288. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/missouri-guardrails/2024/07/25/">As Factory Farms Expand in Ozarks, Grassroots Groups Organize for Water Quality and Property Rights</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
289. ]]></description>
290. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Two men and one woman, founders of Missouri Guardrails, standing in front of a river." decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?w=1107&amp;ssl=1 1107w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?resize=706%2C529&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
291. <p>The beauty of the Ozarks has become a little more in question due to a lack of protection around property rights.&nbsp;</p>
292.  
293.  
294.  
295. <p>That’s the perspective of Dan Chiles, Dave Coonrod and Kathy Christy, and it’s based in part due to the 2019 removal of local control of confined animal feeding operations, otherwise known as CAFOs.&nbsp;</p>
296.  
297.  
298.  
299. <p>As it stands now, Missourians could be informed of the request for a permit for these CAFO operations, which may include thousands of animals – but, aside from protesting, have little ability to stop one from popping up next door, bringing concern around sights, smells and potential water pollution.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
300.  
301.  
302.  
303. <p>“If you’re trying to have an organic farm, it’s gone,” said Chiles. “If you’re trying to do anything small-scale that needs fresh water and a good life – so people in your house can stand to go outside instead of being horrified by the flies and the stench – then people need to wake up to the fact that these laws have changed, and we need to reverse those laws.”&nbsp;</p>
304.  
305.  
306.  
307. <p>Those fears led the trio to form <a href="https://missouriguardrails.org/">Missouri Guardrails</a>, a grassroots group dedicated to educating and drum-beating about the pending disaster that they say is threatening Missourians property rights and clean water with no recourse.</p>
308.  
309.  
310.  
311. <p>“I think if something’s not in their backyard, they tend to not want to take any action,” said Christy of the challenge of proactive change. “I think that’s what we’re trying to do: Inform as many people as we can to combat the issue before it is too late – for our tourism industry and everything else.”&nbsp;</p>
312.  
313.  
314.  
315. <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Call to Action</strong></h3>
316.  
317.  
318.  
319. <p>The clean-water cause is one close to the hearts of the nonprofit’s leaders. All three graduated in the same 1971 high school class in Springfield, Missouri’s third-largest city which – despite its population of nearly 170,000 – is surrounded by largely rural landscapes.</p>
320.  
321.  
322.  
323. <p>Christy long worked in leadership at the local community college; Coonrod was a county commissioner for more than 20 years; and Chiles, a farmer, formerly served on the Springfield City Council and local utilities company board. I met the latter two on the board of a local water advocacy group of which I am also a member.&nbsp;</p>
324.  
325.  
326. <div class="wp-block-image">
327. <figure class="alignleft size-large"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="1041" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=780%2C1041&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142638" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=971%2C1296&amp;ssl=1 971w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=570%2C760&amp;ssl=1 570w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=768%2C1025&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=1151%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1151w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=900%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=600%2C800&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=450%2C600&amp;ssl=1 450w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=300%2C400&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=150%2C200&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=767%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 767w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=400%2C534&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?resize=706%2C942&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1.jpg?w=1178&amp;ssl=1 1178w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-1-971x1296.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Water is abundant in the Missouri Ozarks. According to the National Wild and Scenic River System, Missouri has approximately 51,978 miles of river throughout the state. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)</figcaption></figure></div>
328.  
329.  
330. <p>Over a recent lunch, the three talked of the 2019 Senate Bill 391, which was a no-pun-intended watershed moment in the fight for clean water. Previously, counties had the ability to create local health review boards that could decide parameters around CAFOs, the group’s leaders said.</p>
331.  
332.  
333.  
334. <p>“They made local rules – we did in Greene County,” said Coonrod. “We had a whole section on how many animal units are allowed, and we correlated it with what the state requires.”&nbsp;</p>
335.  
336.  
337.  
338. <p>The bill-turned-law, however, effectively eliminated local decision-making on whether CAFOs would be a good local fit.</p>
339.  
340.  
341.  
342. <p>“First-class counties and those with zoning provisions could also set standards for pollution, nuisances, set-backs, inspections and public comments,” said Chiles. “SB 391 removes these protections along with any concerns that might come from their local health department.”&nbsp;</p>
343.  
344.  
345.  
346. <p>Missouri Guardrails’ concerns over what that means for local property values, water, and quality of life are based in part by what they’ve seen in Iowa.&nbsp;</p>
347.  
348.  
349.  
350. <p>“That’s what got us frightened in the first place,” Coonrod said.</p>
351.  
352.  
353.  
354. <p>The state that shares Missouri’s northern border has seen a significant increase in CAFOs over the last 33 years – going from 789 in 1990 to 4,000 in 2023, <a href="https://www.iaenvironment.org/webres/File/The%20Costs%20of%20CAFOS%20-%20White%20Paper%2011_10_23.pdf">notes a report from the Iowa Environmental Council</a>.&nbsp;</p>
355.  
356.  
357.  
358. <p>“The growth in CAFOs has exponentially increased the animal manure, urine, and wastewater in the state, which is contributing to Iowa’s water pollution issues,” the advocacy agency’s report said. “The amount of livestock manure Iowa now generates is equal to the waste produced by 168 million people, or half the entire U.S. population.”&nbsp;</p>
359.  
360.  
361.  
362. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="585" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=780%2C585&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142645" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?w=1119&amp;ssl=1 1119w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?resize=706%2C529&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-5.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Floating is a popular draw for visitors to Missouri’s rivers, including on the North Fork in rural Ozark County. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)</figcaption></figure>
363.  
364.  
365.  
366. <p>Proponents of the law, such as the Missouri Farm Bureau, said the new rules would improve “scientific” animal management, which would keep water cleaner. (The Farm Bureau declined my request for an interview.)</p>
367.  
368.  
369.  
370. <p>But waste has to go somewhere. To be clear, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources does have a process for permitting these operations, as well as requirements about how waste is disbursed. Yet it also acknowledges on its website that the federal Clean Water Act “identifies CAFOs as possible point sources for water pollution.”&nbsp;</p>
371.  
372.  
373.  
374. <p>The bottom line: Things don’t always go as they should. The potential increase in the number of CAFOs in the state with a delicate system of caves and easy access to groundwater reserves is an untested experiment – and could create issues Missouri Guardrails leaders would like to help the state avoid.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
375.  
376.  
377.  
378. <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Real-Life Ramifications</strong></h3>
379.  
380.  
381.  
382. <p>There is an example of concern closer to home, too. In the southwest corner of Missouri, the stench of meatpacking sludge storage lagoons caused such great distress that it got attention from the legislature.&nbsp;</p>
383.  
384.  
385.  
386. <p>According to the <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/05/07/missouri-bill-protecting-rural-neighbors-from-meatpacking-sludge-nears-passage/">Missouri Independent</a>, legislation – <a href="https://www.ky3.com/2024/07/09/missouri-gov-parson-signed-4-bills-into-law/">which was signed by the state’s governor in July</a> – requires the facilities to obtain water pollution permits, be a certain distance from nearby homes, adhere to specific design requirements and monitor groundwater in certain areas.</p>
387.  
388.  
389. <div class="wp-block-image">
390. <figure class="alignleft size-large"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="1040" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=780%2C1040&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142644" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=972%2C1296&amp;ssl=1 972w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=570%2C760&amp;ssl=1 570w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=900%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=600%2C800&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=450%2C600&amp;ssl=1 450w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=300%2C400&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=150%2C200&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?resize=706%2C941&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2.jpg?w=1179&amp;ssl=1 1179w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-2-2-972x1296.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">In addition to larger rivers and streams, small creeks abound throughout the Missouri countryside. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)</figcaption></figure></div>
391.  
392.  
393. <p>“We pushed for additional protections, but even without them, this is a win for Missouri,” Chiles said. “The success of this bill follows grass-roots outrage and reminds us that if residents care about their land and water and make an effort to speak up, we can make progress.”</p>
394.  
395.  
396.  
397. <p>Potential pollution from CAFOs could affect a disproportionate share of rural residents who rely on their own wells for water.&nbsp;</p>
398.  
399.  
400.  
401. <p>“In some parts of the state, Missourians rely almost exclusively on groundwater sources of drinking water, and groundwater contaminants like nitrates, E. coli and other bacterial pathogens may go undetected because they usually do not affect the color or odor of water,” notes information from <a href="https://moenvironment.org/blog/well-water-contamination/">Missouri Coalition for the Environment’s website</a>.&nbsp;</p>
402.  
403.  
404.  
405. <p>“Private water sources are not regulated … and an estimated 1.4 million Missourians pump drinking water from private wells. If your drinking water comes from a private well, you should have it tested today – especially if you [live]&nbsp; near a CAFO.”&nbsp;</p>
406.  
407.  
408.  
409. <p>If contamination is found, the individual owner is responsible for addressing the issue, Guardrails leaders said.&nbsp;</p>
410.  
411.  
412.  
413. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="585" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=780%2C585&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142639" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?w=1179&amp;ssl=1 1179w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?resize=706%2C529&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-4.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Stockton Lake, a man-made reservoir that is a popular recreation destination, is also considered a source of drinking water. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)</figcaption></figure>
414.  
415.  
416.  
417. <p>“If your well water goes bad and you have to put in a remediation system, you could easily spend $10,000,” Chiles said. “So are we all supposed to spend $10,000 per farmhouse to protect ourselves against these meat factories? That, to me, is oppressive.”</p>
418.  
419.  
420.  
421. <p>The equation is a little different for those on municipal systems, but it still presents a potential challenge.</p>
422.  
423.  
424.  
425. <p>“There is a concern about CAFOs,” said Roddy Rogers, executive director of <a href="https://swmowater.org/">SWMO Water</a>, an agency that has a mission of securing water resources for municipalities in the southwest Missouri region. “We can treat it, but the more you have to treat, the more costs, and it&#8217;s just more difficult. It’s better for everybody to stay ahead of it and keep it clean from the source.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
426.  
427.  
428.  
429. <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What Missouri Guardrails Is Doing</strong></h3>
430.  
431.  
432.  
433. <p>Since their start, Missouri Guardrails has made the rounds with local leaders and companies. Their goal is to increase awareness and change policy. To date, they have met with “well beyond” 100 people – from individuals to companies to civic organizations – to spread the word. Which, admittedly, has been both successful and challenging.&nbsp;</p>
434.  
435.  
436.  
437. <div class="wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex">
438. <p>“Everybody’s in a silo,” said Chiles. “We’ve identified like 100 different organizations in Missouri alone that profess to care about water quality, but they all speak from their silo. They all speak with their voice, or their particular concern. Whereas these meat factories are extremely well organized.”&nbsp;</p>
439. </div>
440.  
441.  
442.  
443. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="585" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=780%2C585&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142647" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?w=1179&amp;ssl=1 1179w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?resize=706%2C529&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-6.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">In addition to its life-giving power, water offers scenic beauty. Just one example is at Vera Cruz, a water access spot located in Missouri’s Douglas County. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)</figcaption></figure>
444.  
445.  
446.  
447. <p>Missouri Guardrail leaders said they hope their work can have an impact beyond Missouri.</p>
448.  
449.  
450.  
451. <p>“Our intention is to make the fight here, and then export it,” said Chiles. “Pass it on to the people in Iowa and say, ‘There is hope.’ You can fight back. You can change the laws. You can do the same thing in Nebraska; for all the people who have suffered. This fight starts in the Ozarks.”</p>
452. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/missouri-guardrails/2024/07/25/">As Factory Farms Expand in Ozarks, Grassroots Groups Organize for Water Quality and Property Rights</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
453. ]]></content:encoded>
455. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/missouri-guardrails/2024/07/25/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
456. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
459. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142634</post-id> </item>
460. <item>
461. <title>Kevin Costner&#8217;s &#8216;Horizon:&#8217; The Culmination of a Career Defined by Rural Roles and Small-Town Sagas</title>
462. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/kevin-costner-horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1-western-icon-rural-roles/2024/07/25/</link>
463. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/kevin-costner-horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1-western-icon-rural-roles/2024/07/25/#respond</comments>
465. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Keith Roysdon]]></dc:creator>
466. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 09:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
467. <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
468. <category><![CDATA[the good the bad and the elegy]]></category>
469. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142774</guid>
470.  
471. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="a dramatic image of a cowboy standing in profile against a landscape filled with dramatic canyons" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=760%2C428&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=706%2C397&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
472. <p>Kevin Costner has helped define the Western genre for almost 40 years. He's back in the saddle again for his latest ambitious project, 'Horizon: An American Saga.' </p>
473. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/kevin-costner-horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1-western-icon-rural-roles/2024/07/25/">Kevin Costner&#8217;s &#8216;Horizon:&#8217; The Culmination of a Career Defined by Rural Roles and Small-Town Sagas</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
474. ]]></description>
475. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="a dramatic image of a cowboy standing in profile against a landscape filled with dramatic canyons" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=760%2C428&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?resize=706%2C397&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/horizon_hero.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
476. <p style="font-size:14px"><em>Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in&nbsp;The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, a newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, retrospectives, recommendations, and more. You can&nbsp;</em><a href="#signup"><em>join the mailing list at the bottom of this article</em></a><em>&nbsp;to receive future editions in your inbox.</em></p>
477.  
478.  
479.  
480. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
481.  
482.  
483.  
484. <p>There’s no one in movies today who’s more associated with the spirit of the West, the quiet pleasures of a small town, and the sound of wind moving across the open range than Kevin Costner.</p>
485.  
486.  
487.  
488. <p>In their day, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and a few others became symbols of the relationship between men and the frontier. Decades later, actors like Sam Elliott and Tom Selleck personified that bond, particularly in film adaptations of Louis L’Amour stories.</p>
489.  
490.  
491.  
492. <p>Costner has much in common with those actors. For most of his career, long before “Yellowstone” and the new film “<a href="https://youtu.be/YYsReoZMj1k?si=DugzqxmCAoxo7G_9">Horizon: An American Saga &#8211; Chapter One</a>,” Costner, now 69, has been drawn to roles that allowed him to portray that spirit.</p>
493.  
494.  
495.  
496. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
497. <iframe title="Horizon: An American Saga | Trailer 1" width="780" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YYsReoZMj1k?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
498. </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An official trailer for &#8220;Horizon: An American Saga&#8221; (via Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube). </figcaption></figure>
499.  
500.  
501.  
502. <p>After a series of small roles, Costner broke out as an exuberant young gunslinger in the 1985 Western film “Silverado.” Throughout the nearly 40 years since, he’s starred in romances and thrillers but returned, again and again, to Westerns and small-town set films about freethinkers in remote settings, from “Bull Durham” to “Field of Dreams” and “Wyatt Earp.”</p>
503.  
504.  
505.  
506. <p>In that regard, Costner is the modern-day model of the lonely frontiersman — probably more accurate to say lone than lonely — anchoring stories both small and epic of a man out there forging his own trail.</p>
507.  
508.  
509.  
510. <p>It helps to look good and authentic astride a horse too.</p>
511.  
512.  
513.  
514. <p>With “Horizon,” intended to be the first in a running saga, Costner returned to the epic Western following several seasons at the center of the <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/catching-up-with-yellowstone-tvs-trending-rural-phenomenon/2023/02/09/">hit neo-Western TV series, “Yellowstone</a>.”</p>
515.  
516.  
517.  
518. <p>Paired with his 2003 film “Open Range,” “Horizon” represents the culmination of a screen persona developed across Costner’s long career.</p>
519.  
520.  
521.  
522. <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-left">On the Range</h2>
523.  
524.  
525.  
526. <p>I’ve always suspected that directors and screenwriters appeal to actors longing for a throwback to traditional Western movies by including horseback scenes in films that aren’t set in that genre or era. The first such example that comes to mind is “The Untouchables,” starring Costner, of course.</p>
527.  
528.  
529.  
530. <p>Westerns ruled Hollywood for decades. Despite attempts to bring new life to the genre, as with “Silverado” in 1985, Westerns have taken a back seat to thrillers, sci-fi, and superhero sagas in contemporary cinema.</p>
531.  
532.  
533.  
534. <p>In the early 1990s, a few Westerns stood out as authentic new takes on the genre. Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven” in 1992 remains one of the most powerful Westerns ever and 1993’s “Tombstone” brought a stacked cast (including Sam Elliott) to an iconic story.</p>
535.  
536.  
537.  
538. <p>For “Open Range,” a few years later in 2003, producer, director, and star Costner recreated the lonely, independent saddle tramp hero, this time a sidekick to an older, more experienced cowhand — played by Robert Duvall in a performance that will remind some of his aging and ornery Texas Ranger Gus McCrae from “Lonesome Dove” (only not as overtly humorous).</p>
539.  
540.  
541.  
542. <div class="wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
543. <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow">
544. <p>Duvall plays “Boss” Spearman, an open-range cattle driver in 1880s Montana. Spearman and Costner’s character, Charley Waite, are driving cattle when they run afoul of Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon), a town boss opposed to cattle drives eating their way across his land.</p>
545.  
546.  
547.  
548. <p>When Baxter strikes out at Spearman’s party, the cattle drivers come to town and meet Sue Barlow (Annette Benning), sister of the local doctor, who becomes Charley’s love interest.</p>
549. </div>
550.  
551.  
552.  
553. <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow">
554. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="485" height="314" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNTQzMjg2MDYzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMzY0MDM3._V1_.jpg?resize=485%2C314&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142776" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNTQzMjg2MDYzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMzY0MDM3._V1_.jpg?w=485&amp;ssl=1 485w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNTQzMjg2MDYzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMzY0MDM3._V1_.jpg?resize=400%2C259&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNTQzMjg2MDYzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMzY0MDM3._V1_.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Robert Duvall, Annette Benning, and Kevin Costner in &#8216;Open Range&#8217; (2003). (Credit: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution via IMDb). </figcaption></figure>
555. </div>
556. </div>
557.  
558.  
559.  
560. <p>For all that its name invokes images of sweeping valleys and cattle ranching, “Open Range” is an effective but somewhat claustrophobic story. There are certainly grand landscapes dotted with roaming herds early on, but much of the film takes place in a single town during a long storm that soaks the cowboys and their adversaries. </p>
561.  
562.  
563.  
564. <p>Duvall gets the lead billing here and he deserves it. It’s Costner, though, who ultimately faces the traditional cowboy movie choice: Ride the open range or settle down in a small town with the strong, beautiful female lead?</p>
565.  
566.  
567.  
568. <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-left">Over the Horizon</h2>
569.  
570.  
571.  
572. <p>A lot has been made over Costner reportedly not continuing his role in “Yellowstone,” amid suggestions that shooting schedules between his films and the apparent final season of the series conflicted, that Costner and creator Taylor Sheridan clashed, or that Costner, approaching 70, was simply ready to pursue his own projects.</p>
573.  
574.  
575.  
576. <p>In any case, it’s “Horizon” that looms large, planned as a four-film series set across a 12-year period during and after the Civil War. It’s a time of great westward expansion and the film plays out in several states and unfurls storylines that symbolize the restlessness of the time, as pioneers push into Native lands and deadly conflicts break out.</p>
577.  
578.  
579.  
580. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="422" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_.jpg?resize=780%2C422&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142786" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C701&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C411&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C415&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C830&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1107&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C649&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C554&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C848&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1081&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C216&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C382&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BZTM4ZTI3NjgtOWQzYi00NmYxLWI3ODUtYjQ2Mzk5YjAxNzBjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_-1296x701.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A still from &#8216;Horizon: An American Saga, Chapter 1&#8217; (Credit: New Line Cinema via IMDb). </figcaption></figure>
581.  
582.  
583.  
584. <p>At three hours long, the movie follows the migration of a group of Native people, a wagon train of white settlers, the fate of the survivors of a brutal battle that opens the film, and a change in fortune for Costner’s character.</p>
585.  
586.  
587.  
588. <p>Costner smartly knows he’s not young enough to play the sidekick anymore and here plays Hayes Ellison, an aging saddle tramp whose story is arguably not even the central one of the film. Costner doesn’t show up until about an hour in. It’s a testament to his star power that when he does come on screen, our attention is always riveted to his performance of a self-possessed cowboy who avoids conflict until he can’t.</p>
589.  
590.  
591.  
592. <p>Throughout the film, characters study widely distributed handbills for a town in the making called Horizon. The handbills hold the promise of a town that will offer a growing place for people to settle. It’ll be interesting to see who will make it to Horizon in future films, particularly since audience reaction and box-office receipts were not boisterous and might affect the status of forthcoming installments in the series. Will audiences and Hollywood have the patience to see this story through?</p>
593.  
594.  
595.  
596. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="422" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1.jpg?resize=780%2C422&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142783" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C701&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C411&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C415&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C830&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1107&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C649&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C554&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C848&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1081&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C216&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C382&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MV5BNjgxYTlmZWMtNmQxZi00NWFiLTg2NTktZjYyNmJmYTIyOWNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_-1-1296x701.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A handbill advertising the new town of Horizon, the focus of &#8216;Horizon: An American Saga&#8217; (Credit: New Line Cinema via IMDb).</figcaption></figure>
597.  
598.  
599.  
600. <p>The movie has plenty of character and conflict but can’t help but feel like a prelude to the second film, which was scheduled to come out in August but has since been delayed, with third and fourth parts in the early stages of production. The final moments of “Horizon” do something I don’t think I’ve seen before: several minutes of footage from the second film are cut into a montage showing what’s next for the characters. On a related note, supposedly Costner ultimately intends to package all the films together as a TV series; meanwhile, Netflix is said to have made an offer to acquire the property in recent days.</p>
601.  
602.  
603.  
604. <p>For now, “Horizon” absolutely gets right the iconic look of the American West, with beautiful vistas dotted only by wagon trains and cattle drives. I wonder if Costner didn’t locate his story in so many spots on the map just to give us new establishing shots each time the setting changes. Whatever comes next, it’s very pleasing to the eye and mind. </p>
605.  
606.  
607.  
608. <p><em><a href="https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1#watch">Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1</a> is currently playing in theaters and is also available as a premium rental on digital video on demand platforms.</em></p>
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625. <p>This article first appeared in&nbsp;<strong>The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy</strong>, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, recommendations, retrospectives, and more. <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/contact-us/subscribe-daily-yonder/#good-bad-elegy">Join the mailing list</a> today to have future editions delivered straight to your inbox.</p>
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667. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/kevin-costner-horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1-western-icon-rural-roles/2024/07/25/">Kevin Costner&#8217;s &#8216;Horizon:&#8217; The Culmination of a Career Defined by Rural Roles and Small-Town Sagas</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
668. ]]></content:encoded>
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671. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
674. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142774</post-id> </item>
675. <item>
676. <title>Backroad Ballots: New Podcast Separates Myths and Realities Surrounding Rural Voters</title>
677. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/backroad-ballots-new-podcast-separates-myths-and-realities-surrounding-rural-voters/2024/07/25/</link>
678. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/backroad-ballots-new-podcast-separates-myths-and-realities-surrounding-rural-voters/2024/07/25/#respond</comments>
680. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Will Wright]]></dc:creator>
681. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 09:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
682. <category><![CDATA[Elections]]></category>
683. <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
684. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142726</guid>
685.  
686. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="701" height="701" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?fit=701%2C701&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?w=701&amp;ssl=1 701w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?fit=701%2C701&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
687. <p>The national conversation about the motivations of rural voters oversimplifies a complicated electorate that faces a common set of difficult economic issues, according to a new podcast whose producers include the Daily Yonder. The new podcast series “Backroad Ballots” aims to help clarify what’s at stake in the countryside this November. Through interviews with rural [&#8230;]</p>
688. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/backroad-ballots-new-podcast-separates-myths-and-realities-surrounding-rural-voters/2024/07/25/">Backroad Ballots: New Podcast Separates Myths and Realities Surrounding Rural Voters</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
689. ]]></description>
690. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="701" height="701" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?fit=701%2C701&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?w=701&amp;ssl=1 701w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Backroad-Ballots_square.png?fit=701%2C701&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
691. <p>The national conversation about the motivations of rural voters oversimplifies a complicated electorate that faces a common set of difficult economic issues, according to a new podcast whose producers include the Daily Yonder.</p>
692.  
693.  
694.  
695. <p>The new podcast series “<a href="https://dailyyonder.com/podcasts/rural-remix/backroad-ballots/">Backroad Ballots</a>” aims to help clarify what’s at stake in the countryside this November. Through interviews with rural scholars and organizers, host Olivia Weeks guides us through the nuances of who rural voters are and the difference they could make this election season. </p>
696.  
697.  
698.  
699. <p>The series is part of Rural Remix, which is produced by the Daily Yonder and the Rural Assembly (both projects of the nonprofit Center for Rural Strategies).&nbsp;</p>
700.  
701.  
702.  
703. <p>Weeks’ most recent production for Rural Remix was <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/podcasts/rural-remix/home-cooked/">“Home Cooked,”</a> a history of methamphetamines in America.</p>
704.  
705.  
706.  
707. <p>The first episode of Backroad Ballots drops today (Thursday, July 25, 2024) New episodes will come out every Thursday morning through August 15.&nbsp;</p>
708.  
709.  
710.  
711. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
712. <iframe title="Spotify Embed: Backroad Ballots - Ep 1: Representation Reimagined" style="border-radius: 12px" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/2OuIl1LdvQABgCXf4FnEho?si=9a0d31ca436f418f&#038;utm_source=oembed"></iframe>
713. </div></figure>
714.  
715.  
716.  
717. <p>“I really think that stories about economic class get left out — or really botched by — mainstream media,” Weeks said. “I envision ‘Backroad Ballots’ as a sort of corrective to that.”&nbsp;</p>
718.  
719.  
720.  
721. <p>Episode one features rural organizers Annie Contractor and Anthony Flaccavento, who speak about progressive organizing efforts in small-town America. Contractor and Flaccavento say that some liberal thinkers have failed to understand or listen to rural people and that these oversights have political implications.&nbsp;</p>
722.  
723.  
724.  
725. <p>Nationally rural voters leaned about <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/trump-maintains-his-large-rural-margin-democratic-vote-grows-the-most-in-mid-sized-and-large-metros/2020/11/09/">2 to 1 for Donald Trump</a> in the 2020 election. Those national figures hide greater political diversity that exists state to state and regionally. And small changes in rural margins in swing states can determine who wins and loses the Electoral College, according to <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/modest-gains-in-rural-votes-help-biden-flip-michigan-and-wisconsin/2020/11/05/">Daily Yonder analysis</a>.</p>
726.  
727.  
728.  
729. <p>“In an evenly divided country, turnout matters, margins matter, and rural voters matter,” said Dee Davis, president of the Center for Rural Strategies. “If we are going to keep democracy between the ditches, then country people are going to have to lay their share of the gravel.”</p>
730.  
731.  
732.  
733. <p>Episodes two and three feature political scientists Nicholas Jacobs and Chelsea Kaufman, historian Keith Orejel, and journalist Nick Bowlin. They unpack the demographics of the rural electorate, who actually shows up at the polls, and the divergence of rural and urban economies over the past two decades.&nbsp;</p>
734.  
735.  
736.  
737. <p>“This series covers all kinds of topics in rural life but all three conversations center a recognition that, like in all of America, there’s extreme wealth inequality in the countryside and it affects rural people — and their politics — in specific ways,” Weeks said.&nbsp;</p>
738.  
739.  
740.  
741. <p>In the fourth and final episode of “<a href="https://dailyyonder.com/podcasts/rural-remix/backroad-ballots/">Backroad Ballots</a>,” political scientists and authors Kathy Cramer and Hahrie Han will join Davis in a conversation about democracy.</p>
742.  
743.  
744.  
745. <p>In years past, the rural vote has been an important part of Democratic victories, Davis said.</p>
746.  
747.  
748.  
749. <p>“Politics are steady and predictable until they aren’t,” Dee said. “The rule for 30 years has been when Democrats compete for the rural vote, keep the margins close, then they win. But these vectors change fast, and realignment may be around the next corner.”&nbsp;</p>
750.  
751.  
752.  
753. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots"/>
754.  
755.  
756.  
757. <p><a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/rural-remix/"><em>Subscribe</em></a><em> to Rural Remix podcast to get new episodes of “Backroad Ballots.”</em></p>
758. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/backroad-ballots-new-podcast-separates-myths-and-realities-surrounding-rural-voters/2024/07/25/">Backroad Ballots: New Podcast Separates Myths and Realities Surrounding Rural Voters</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
759. ]]></content:encoded>
761. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/backroad-ballots-new-podcast-separates-myths-and-realities-surrounding-rural-voters/2024/07/25/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
762. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
765. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142726</post-id> </item>
766. <item>
767. <title>Latest Fed Survey Shows Nonmetro Residents Have Dimmer Views on Economy</title>
768. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/latest-fed-survey-shows-nonmetro-residents-have-dimmer-views-on-economy/2024/07/24/</link>
769. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/latest-fed-survey-shows-nonmetro-residents-have-dimmer-views-on-economy/2024/07/24/#respond</comments>
771. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Joe Belden]]></dc:creator>
772. <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
773. <category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
774. <category><![CDATA[data]]></category>
775. <category><![CDATA[Yonder Report]]></category>
776. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=140524</guid>
777.  
778. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="699" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?fit=1024%2C699&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?w=1240&amp;ssl=1 1240w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=760%2C519&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=768%2C524&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=1200%2C819&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=1024%2C699&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=400%2C273&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=706%2C482&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?fit=1024%2C699&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
779. <p>Nonmetro areas are worse off financially than metropolitan areas, and the gap is consistent and widening, according to a new report recently released by the Federal Reserve Board.&#160; Based on the Fed’s latest consumer survey, the study found that in 2023, 68% of nonmetro and 73% of metro respondents answered that they are “at least [&#8230;]</p>
780. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/latest-fed-survey-shows-nonmetro-residents-have-dimmer-views-on-economy/2024/07/24/">Latest Fed Survey Shows Nonmetro Residents Have Dimmer Views on Economy</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
781. ]]></description>
782. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="699" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?fit=1024%2C699&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?w=1240&amp;ssl=1 1240w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=760%2C519&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=768%2C524&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=1200%2C819&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=1024%2C699&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=400%2C273&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?resize=706%2C482&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ffct0-percent-doing-ok-or-better-financially.png?fit=1024%2C699&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
783. <p>Nonmetro areas are worse off financially than metropolitan areas, and the gap is consistent and widening, according to a new report recently released by the Federal Reserve Board.&nbsp;</p>
784.  
785.  
786.  
787. <p>Based on the Fed’s latest <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm">consumer survey</a>, the study found that in 2023, 68% of nonmetro and 73% of metro respondents answered that they are “at least doing okay financially.” The gap of 5 percentage points is within the poll’s margin of error.</p>
788.  
789.  
790.  
791. <div class="wp-block-gutena-accordion gutena-accordion-block gutena-accordion-block-156d16-f6 is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow" data-single="false">
792. <div class="wp-block-gutena-accordion-panel gutena-accordion-block__panel">
793. <div class="wp-block-gutena-accordion-panel-title gutena-accordion-block__panel-title"><div class="gutena-accordion-block__panel-title-inner">
794. <h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-left" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px"><strong>What is Nonmetro?</strong></h3>
795. <div class="trigger-plus-minus"><div class="horizontal"></div><div class="vertical"></div></div></div></div>
796.  
797.  
798.  
799. <div class="wp-block-gutena-accordion-panel-content gutena-accordion-block__panel-content"><div class="gutena-accordion-block__panel-content-inner">
800. <p>The nonmetro/metro designations are based on the federally defined Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Nonmetropolitan areas do not have a city of 50,000 or more residents and do not have strong economic ties to a county that does have such a city.&nbsp;</p>
801.  
802.  
803.  
804. <p>Nonmetropolitan is frequently used as a surrogate definition for “rural.”</p>
805. </div></div>
806. </div>
807. </div>
808.  
809.  
810.  
811. <iframe title="Percent of Adults &quot;Worse Off&quot; Than 12 Months Ago" aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-Wb1V8" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Wb1V8/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="436" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();
812.  
813. </script>
814.  
815.  
816.  
817. <p>The study says, “People living in nonmetro areas had lower levels of financial well-being than those living in metro areas.” For all survey questions with published data, there is a consistent and recently growing gap between metro and nonmetro since the first Fed survey in 2013.&nbsp;</p>
818.  
819.  
820.  
821. <p>The study also notes that there is “a small, but persistent, difference in financial well-being between those living in urban and rural areas.”</p>
822.  
823.  
824.  
825. <p>This Federal Reserve report is perhaps best known for its stark finding that a large proportion of U.S. households would have difficulty paying for a $400 emergency expense. In the 2023 survey, 36% of metro and 43% of nonmetro respondents said they could not pay such a $400 amount with cash or the equivalent (e.g., a credit card paid off in one month).&nbsp;</p>
826.  
827.  
828.  
829. <p>The gap in how nonmetro and metro residents answered this question has been at least 6 percentage points in every survey since 2020. But it was never more than 5 percentage points between 2015 and 2019.&nbsp;</p>
830.  
831.  
832.  
833. <p>The study also reports on respondents’ self-assessment of the local economy in their areas. There the nonmetro-metro gap is substantially wider. For 2023, in nonmetro 29% and in metro 44% of those surveyed think their local economy is good or excellent.    This report is based on the Federal Reserve Board’s annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), which “measures the economic well-being of U.S. households and identifies potential risks to their finances.”  This latest survey was of over 11,000 adults in October 2023.</p>
834. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/latest-fed-survey-shows-nonmetro-residents-have-dimmer-views-on-economy/2024/07/24/">Latest Fed Survey Shows Nonmetro Residents Have Dimmer Views on Economy</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
835. ]]></content:encoded>
837. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/latest-fed-survey-shows-nonmetro-residents-have-dimmer-views-on-economy/2024/07/24/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
838. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
841. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">140524</post-id> </item>
842. <item>
843. <title>What Would a Harris Presidency Mean for Rural America? </title>
844. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/what-would-a-harris-presidency-mean-for-rural-america/2024/07/24/</link>
845. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/what-would-a-harris-presidency-mean-for-rural-america/2024/07/24/#respond</comments>
847. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Claire Carlson]]></dc:creator>
848. <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:58:00 +0000</pubDate>
849. <category><![CDATA[Politics and Government]]></category>
850. <category><![CDATA[keep it rural]]></category>
851. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142835</guid>
852.  
853. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C507&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C471&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
854. <p>Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in&#160;Keep It Rural, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Like what you see?&#160;&#160;Join the mailing list&#160;for more rural news, thoughts, and analysis in your inbox each week. Hear reporter Claire Carlson narrate her column on Keep It Rural, a series from the Rural Remix podcast. Imagine, for a [&#8230;]</p>
855. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/what-would-a-harris-presidency-mean-for-rural-america/2024/07/24/">What Would a Harris Presidency Mean for Rural America? </a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
856. ]]></description>
857. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C507&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C471&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24205693354545-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
858. <p><em>Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in&nbsp;</em><a href="https://dailyyonder.com/keep-it-rural/"><em>Keep It Rural</em></a><em>, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Like what you see?&nbsp;&nbsp;</em><a href="https://dailyyonder.com/contact-us/subscribe-daily-yonder/"><em>Join the mailing list</em></a><em>&nbsp;for more rural news, thoughts, and analysis in your inbox each week.</em></p>
859.  
860.  
861.  
862. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
863.  
864.  
865.  
866. <p class="has-text-align-center has-small-font-size">Hear reporter Claire Carlson narrate her column on <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rural-remix/episodes/Keep-It-Rural---Ep-1-Planes--Trains--and-Automobiles-e2er9t9">Keep It Rural</a>, a series from the Rural Remix podcast.</p>
867.  
868.  
869.  
870. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
871. <iframe title="Spotify Embed: Keep It Rural - Ep 14: Kamala Harris and Rural America" style="border-radius: 12px" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/3ajOrTDeDmEoXEUQ6fEp4i?si=QXOadTg7QxGBSWMC0K24mQ&#038;utm_source=oembed"></iframe>
872. </div></figure>
873.  
874.  
875.  
876. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
877.  
878.  
879.  
880. <p>Imagine, for a moment, a world in which a former U.S. president is nearly assassinated, a Republican vice presidential nominee is announced, and the current U.S. president and presumptive Democratic nominee drops out of an election occurring not even four months from now, all in the span of roughly one week.&nbsp;</p>
881.  
882.  
883.  
884. <p>Oh, yeah! We don’t have to imagine, our reality really is this absurd.&nbsp;</p>
885.  
886.  
887.  
888. <p>I am still reeling from the past week, but of course, the news cycle races on so my journalist brain is already onto the next question – what does all this mean for rural America?&nbsp;</p>
889.  
890.  
891.  
892. <p>The most likely Democratic nominee is Kamala Harris (enough Democratic delegates say they will back her, according to an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-biden-presidential-candidate-election-withdraw-9fbd153493cb3f088994854fe61a73e9">AP survey</a>, to clinch the nomination), but the former Bay Area prosecutor doesn’t have much of a rural track record.&nbsp;</p>
893.  
894.  
895.  
896. <p>However, her association with President Joe Biden, who made large investments in rural America through the novel <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/usdas-new-program-targets-rural-communities-with-greatest-infrastructure-needs/2022/04/26/">Rural Partners Network</a> and laws like the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure and Investment in Jobs Act, and Chips &amp; SCIENCE Act, could bode well for rural under a Harris administration.</p>
897.  
898.  
899.  
900. <p>As vice president, Harris was tasked with being a spokesperson for reproductive rights after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Earlier this year, she <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-north-central-states/about-ppncs/media-relations/vice-president-kamala-harris-makes-stop-at-planned-parenthood-health-center-in-fight-for-reproductive-freedom-tour">visited</a> a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota, to see how the Midwest has been affected by abortion bans. The issue is likely to be a central talking point in her campaign if and when she’s officially declared the Democratic nominee.&nbsp;</p>
901.  
902.  
903.  
904. <p>Harris’ other focus as VP has been on immigration. Since 2021, she’s helped <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/06/politics/kamala-harris-migration/index.html">secure</a> private sector investments from companies like Nestle and Target to create local jobs in Central America in order to decrease migration into the U.S. Whether this actually worked is debatable: the number of undocumented folks hailing from nearly every region of the world who moved to the U.S. grew by half a million people between 2021 and 2022, according to Pew Research Center <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/">data</a>.&nbsp;</p>
905.  
906.  
907.  
908. <p>Lastly, Harris has worked to codify voting rights protections. She was one of the biggest proponents of the now-stalled Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act that would have expanded voter registration and access, and established Election Day as a federal holiday.&nbsp;</p>
909.  
910.  
911.  
912. <p>All three of these focus areas intersect with rural interests. Abortion access in rural communities is limited because of the location of abortion clinics (and as clinics have been shut down in more red states, rural folks have had to travel even farther). Medication abortion by mail is another option for rural folks, but <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/medication-abortion">many states</a> have restricted access to medication abortion and one state – Arizona – has fully prevented its delivery by mail.</p>
913.  
914.  
915.  
916. <p>Immigration has also proved to be a hot button topic, with a Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/611135/immigration-surges-top-important-problem-list.aspx">poll</a> from early this year showing it as a top issue for voters. Immigration is likely to be front of mind for folks living in the rural border regions of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.&nbsp;</p>
917.  
918.  
919.  
920. <p>Voting rights protections also have big implications for rural America where voter turnout is the lowest, in part <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/lack-of-access-to-infrastructure-hurts-voter-participation-in-rural-america/2023/04/11/">because of barriers</a> like mail-in ballot restrictions and fewer in-person polling locations.&nbsp;</p>
921.  
922.  
923.  
924. <p>Rural voters are likely to be an <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-voters-in-swing-states-present-untapped-potential-new-poll-suggests/2023/11/01/">essential voting bloc</a> this presidential election. A 2023 survey from the Center for Rural Strategies (publisher of the Daily Yonder) and Lake Research Partners suggested as many as 37% of rural voters could be swayed by either party.&nbsp;</p>
925.  
926.  
927.  
928. <p>Harris’ work as VP intersects with rural interests nicely. (In a <a href="https://time.com/7001188/kamala-harris-memes-campaign-brat-coconuts-unburdened-context-venn-diagrams/">Venn Diagram</a>, perhaps?) Pair that with expanding the Biden administration’s work to invest in rural America, and she could make headway with some rural voters – if she chooses to pay attention to them.</p>
929. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/what-would-a-harris-presidency-mean-for-rural-america/2024/07/24/">What Would a Harris Presidency Mean for Rural America? </a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
930. ]]></content:encoded>
932. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/what-would-a-harris-presidency-mean-for-rural-america/2024/07/24/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
933. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
936. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142835</post-id> </item>
937. <item>
938. <title>Commentary: In His Tales of Appalachian Life, JD Vance Ignores People Like Me</title>
939. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/commentary-in-his-tales-of-appalachian-life-jd-vance-ignores-people-like-me/2024/07/24/</link>
940. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/commentary-in-his-tales-of-appalachian-life-jd-vance-ignores-people-like-me/2024/07/24/#respond</comments>
942. <dc:creator><![CDATA[William H. Turner]]></dc:creator>
943. <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:58:00 +0000</pubDate>
944. <category><![CDATA[Politics and Government]]></category>
945. <category><![CDATA[commentary]]></category>
946. <category><![CDATA[repub]]></category>
947. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142811</guid>
948.  
949. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?w=1140&amp;ssl=1 1140w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=760%2C427&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=706%2C397&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
950. <p>This story was originally published by the Lexington Herald-Leader. I was born in 1946 and raised in a Black coal mining family at the foot of Black Mountain, Kentucky’s highest peak, in Harlan County. From its summit, during my frequent hikes as a teenager, I could see — looking to the northwest — the ridges [&#8230;]</p>
951. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/commentary-in-his-tales-of-appalachian-life-jd-vance-ignores-people-like-me/2024/07/24/">Commentary: In His Tales of Appalachian Life, JD Vance Ignores People Like Me</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
952. ]]></description>
953. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?w=1140&amp;ssl=1 1140w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=760%2C427&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?resize=706%2C397&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/turner2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
954. <p class="has-text-align-center"><em>This story was originally published by the <a href="https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article290297824.html">Lexington Herald-Leader</a></em>.</p>
955.  
956.  
957.  
958. <p>I was born in 1946 and raised in a Black coal mining family at the foot of Black Mountain, Kentucky’s highest peak, in Harlan County. From its summit, during my frequent hikes as a teenager, I could see — looking to the northwest — the ridges of Breathitt County, the ancestral homeland of JD Vance. Vance came to my attention with his 2016-published best seller, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” the most derogatory and uncomplimentary stereotype of people from the Appalachian region that I ever read.</p>
959.  
960.  
961.  
962. <p>Vance’s memoir advanced the viewpoint that economic policies had abandoned the white middle class and tricked poor whites into learned helplessness; the narrative became the spinal column of the catchphrase “Make America Great Again.” “Hillbilly Elegy” was seized up by filmmaker Ron Howard onto the silver screen four years ago, with Oscar-nominated Glenn Close playing the role of his Appalachian-typecast Mamaw; and before the world could say “Apple-lay-cha,” not “Apple-at-cha,” as we natives pronounce it, Vance was swiftly catapulted to a seat in the US Senate in 2022 and on to his recent selection as the 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate.</p>
963.  
964.  
965.  
966. <p>While “Hillbilly Elegy” put Mr. Vance on the cultural map, he was elevated onto the national political mountaintop by Peter Thiel, the billionaire cofounder of PayPal and extreme right-wing activist with deep ties to another tech oligarch, Elon Musk. Even though Vance referred to Mr. Trump in 2016 as “an irrepressible idiot” and “America’s Hitler,” Mr. Thiel took him to Mar-a-Lago and got Mr. Trump to endorse Vance for the 2022 Ohio Senate race. Musk pledged $45 million a month in support of Trump when Vance was announced as his choice for vice president. </p>
967.  
968.  
969.  
970. <p>My ties to Appalachia are stronger than Mr. Vance’s: my mother was born a century ago into a coal mining family in Harlan County and my grandfathers, father, four uncles, and oldest brother worked as coal miners in Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia, overlapping, from the time of Reconstruction through the mid-1990s. By the time that the mechanization of coal mining was almost complete in the middle of the 20th century, thousands of families – like Vance’s and mine — had left Central Appalachia for the Midwest, to what came to be called the Rust Belt, by the time Vance was born in 1984. They migrated to cities such as Columbus, Cleveland and Dayton, where many of the working class blacks populated the hyper ghettos. As most who write about Appalachia, Mr. Vance had virtually nothing to say in “Hillbilly Elegy” about the color of the canaries in coal mines or how Black workers were the last hired and first fired in the American manufacturing spaces. </p>
971.  
972.  
973.  
974. <p>Surely, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (also an up-from-poverty Yale Law School grad with mega-wealthy friends) delights in the choice of Mr. Vance as vice president, what with the similarity of their journeys and political views. In 1980, Thomas, black, while seeking the endorsement of conservatives, described his sister as “dependent” on welfare — and accused her of making her children feel “entitled” to welfare payments instead of being motivated to work. Mr. Vance laid the failure to succeed on the part of working-class whites to their own individual decisions and “hillbilly” culture; since, as whites, they should have achieved the American Dream, just as he, a Yale Law School grad did; but instead, many – like his drug-addicted mother — chose other paths. In Faustian fashion, both sold out and betrayed their “own kind,” their kin and relations.</p>
975.  
976.  
977.  
978. <p>In “Hillbilly Elegy,” Mr. Vance quite effectively hit a nerve among those who, by the election of 2020, were so openly disgruntled and so ideologically disaffected that they rallied, violently, at the US Capitol on January 6. 2021. Working-class whites – framed by Vance as “victims” of neo-liberal woke-ness, political correctness, and displacement by immigrants – had no better choice to regain their loss status than to zealously support policies that would “Make America Great Again, which, more or less, required the rewriting – and ignoring – of American history. Vance deserves a Pulitzer for his role in this process. </p>
979.  
980.  
981. <div class="wp-block-image">
982. <figure class="alignleft size-large"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="1169" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?resize=780%2C1169&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142814" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?resize=865%2C1296&amp;ssl=1 865w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?resize=507%2C760&amp;ssl=1 507w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?resize=768%2C1151&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?resize=1025%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1025w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?resize=400%2C600&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?resize=706%2C1058&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner.jpeg?w=1140&amp;ssl=1 1140w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/090418ARCTurner-865x1296.jpeg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bill Turner, who as a UK student spoke to a packed Memorial Coliseum the night after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, went on to become a prominent historian, professor and university administrator. (Photo courtesy of William Turner)</figcaption></figure></div>
983.  
984.  
985. <p>Jennifer Senior, in her review, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ glorified Mr. Vance’s working class bona fides: “…his ancestors and kin were sharecroppers, coal miners, machinists, millworkers – all low paying, body-wearying occupations that over the years have vanished or offered diminished security.” In “The Harlan Renaissance,” I wrote, “…were it not for the black underclass, Mr. Vance’s working class whites would have had a label much more pejorative than ‘Hillbilly,’ and the book might well have been subtitled: “Thank God for Black People in America!” </p>
986.  
987.  
988.  
989. <p>There is one standard of analysis that explains the condition and treatment of the Black working class, and another for economically-marginalized whites. The fact that Mr. Vance hardly mentions the experience of Black Appalachians in Hillbilly Elegy shows that he sees racial discrimination as both understandable, normal, and even to be expected. But when the same economic inequality and attendant insecurity applies to whites, even those making the wrong choices, the narrative becomes incomprehensible and perceived as an unendurable and existential threat of the first order. Mr. Vance says, essentially, “This just should not happen to white people in America.”</p>
990.  
991.  
992.  
993. <p>Many voters agree with Mr. Vance, no matter how cynical the logic or whether a Trump/Vance victory in November will knock America off President Reagan’s “Shining city on the hill.” We’ll see.</p>
994.  
995.  
996.  
997. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots"/>
998.  
999.  
1000.  
1001. <p><em>William H. Turner Ph.D. is a sociologist, historian and administrator, and the author of “The Harlan Renaissance: A Memoir of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns.”</em></p>
1002. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/commentary-in-his-tales-of-appalachian-life-jd-vance-ignores-people-like-me/2024/07/24/">Commentary: In His Tales of Appalachian Life, JD Vance Ignores People Like Me</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1003. ]]></content:encoded>
1005. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/commentary-in-his-tales-of-appalachian-life-jd-vance-ignores-people-like-me/2024/07/24/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1006. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1009. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142811</post-id> </item>
1010. <item>
1011. <title>Rural, Recreation-Related Businesses Support Each Other Through ‘Rural is Rad’</title>
1012. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-recreation-related-businesses-support-each-other-through-rural-is-rad/2024/07/23/</link>
1013. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-recreation-related-businesses-support-each-other-through-rural-is-rad/2024/07/23/#respond</comments>
1015. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ilana Newman]]></dc:creator>
1016. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
1017. <category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
1018. <category><![CDATA[Travel/Recreation]]></category>
1019. <category><![CDATA[Yonder Report]]></category>
1020. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=140657</guid>
1021.  
1022. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="469" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?fit=1024%2C469&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=760%2C348&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1296%2C593&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=768%2C351&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1536%2C703&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1200%2C549&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1024%2C469&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1568%2C717&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=2000%2C915&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=400%2C183&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=706%2C323&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?fit=1024%2C469&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1023. <p>In Colorado, a new online database hopes to bring attention and collaboration to rural businesses, primarily those in the outdoor industry. Rural is Rad was started by Kelly Mazanti, TJ Smith, and Robin Hall, who all own small businesses based in rural Colorado. They discovered a shared interest and mutual frustration over growing businesses in [&#8230;]</p>
1024. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-recreation-related-businesses-support-each-other-through-rural-is-rad/2024/07/23/">Rural, Recreation-Related Businesses Support Each Other Through ‘Rural is Rad’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1025. ]]></description>
1026. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="469" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?fit=1024%2C469&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=760%2C348&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1296%2C593&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=768%2C351&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1536%2C703&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1200%2C549&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1024%2C469&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=1568%2C717&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=2000%2C915&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=400%2C183&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?resize=706%2C323&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/35530773263_88593d3eb7_k.jpg?fit=1024%2C469&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1027. <p>In Colorado, a new online database hopes to bring attention and collaboration to rural businesses, primarily those in the outdoor industry.</p>
1028.  
1029.  
1030.  
1031. <p><a href="https://www.ruralisrad.org/">Rural is Rad</a> was started by Kelly Mazanti, TJ Smith, and Robin Hall, who all own small businesses based in rural Colorado. They discovered a shared interest and mutual frustration over growing businesses in rural communities.&nbsp;</p>
1032.  
1033.  
1034.  
1035. <p>The group met during <a href="https://westslopestartupweek.com/">West Slope Startup Week</a>, a conference that brings together startups based in the rural Western Slope of Colorado for a week of networking, lectures, and discussions. They wanted to build something that would continue to bring together rural brands in the outdoor industry and create a space where customers could find these brands in one place.</p>
1036.  
1037.  
1038.  
1039. <p>“We have to support each other because I have found that the people who live in these [rural] places are the most courageous and creative people that I&#8217;ve ever met,” Mazanti said in a Daily Yonder interview.</p>
1040.  
1041.  
1042.  
1043. <p>Mazanti runs <a href="https://buttnski.com/">Buttnski</a>, an apparel brand based in Summit County, Colorado. She sees her role as a business owner in the community as a way to support economic development in a rural county and contribute to a thriving community.&nbsp;</p>
1044.  
1045.  
1046.  
1047. <p>“As a founder, my goal is to build this headquarters of operation for Buttnski in Summit County so that we can employ people and contribute to economic development and become not only an industry hub in our community but also a place where we can help develop how this community grows,” she said.</p>
1048.  
1049.  
1050.  
1051. <p>Rural counties with outdoor recreation opportunities <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/speak-piece-outdoor-recreation-supports-rural-economic-development/2019/02/25/">can attract more residents who have more money than non-recreational rural counties.</a> However, recreational economies also tend to have lower wages and can <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/newsletter/keep-it-rural-the-double-bind-of-outdoor-recreation/">drive up housing prices in a community</a>, which pushes lower-income people to other areas.&nbsp;</p>
1052.  
1053.  
1054.  
1055. <p>Mazanti hopes that Rural is Rad can connect rural business owners and communities to help solve challenges like this.</p>
1056.  
1057.  
1058.  
1059. <p>It can be harder for small brands and businesses in rural communities to gain traction. Rural small business owners <a href="https://www.score.org/sites/default/files/d7_migration/04/Megaphone-Main-Street-Fall2022-Report-Small-Business-Rural-Urban-Divide.pdf">struggle with the lack of access to financing, broadband speeds, and increasing cost of doing business.&nbsp;</a></p>
1060.  
1061.  
1062.  
1063. <p>The Rural is Rad database hopes to address this by bringing rural brands to a larger audience outside of their home communities.&nbsp;</p>
1064.  
1065.  
1066.  
1067. <p>Colorado has a plethora of opportunities for rural businesses through their Rural Opportunity Office including <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8c107cbfe5604ceaa072d3a6ced0f916">the Regional Resiliency &amp; Recovery Roadmaps Program</a>, the <a href="https://oedit.colorado.gov/rural-opportunity-office/rural-data-dashboard">Rural Data Dashboard</a>, and the <a href="https://oedit.colorado.gov/rural-technical-assistance-program">Rural Technical Assistance Program</a>.&nbsp;</p>
1068.  
1069.  
1070.  
1071. <p>“I think if I was trying to do this in any other state, I wouldn&#8217;t have this kind of support or the type of resources and community around me,” Mazanti said.&nbsp;</p>
1072.  
1073.  
1074.  
1075. <p>She sees collaborations with everyone from the statewide governmental organizations to nonprofits like Startup Colorado to small-town chambers of commerce as vital for the success of the Rural is Rad movement. “Colorado is an example, and it&#8217;s a great place to start this kind of a movement.”</p>
1076.  
1077.  
1078.  
1079. <p>Rural is Rad plans to host events and workshops for business owners. The second Rural is Rad week is scheduled to start on Small Business Saturday (November 30th, 2024). This week will highlight rural brands and offer consumers a way to support rural small businesses during the holiday shopping season.</p>
1080.  
1081.  
1082.  
1083. <p>“We can utilize that directory year-round to point people toward these to discover new brands. But then during Rural is Rad shopping week, which happens once a year, that can be an opportunity to further promote these smaller, more unique brands and founders that people may never have heard about,” Mazanti said.&nbsp;</p>
1084.  
1085.  
1086.  
1087. <p>Currently, Rural is Rad’s database features 17 brands from jewelry makers to backcountry bathroom kits to campgrounds. Brands and service providers can join Rural is Rad by filling out a survey on the website.</p>
1088.  
1089.  
1090.  
1091. <p>Mazanti hopes to expand the database to eventually include all of rural America.&nbsp;</p>
1092. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-recreation-related-businesses-support-each-other-through-rural-is-rad/2024/07/23/">Rural, Recreation-Related Businesses Support Each Other Through ‘Rural is Rad’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1093. ]]></content:encoded>
1095. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-recreation-related-businesses-support-each-other-through-rural-is-rad/2024/07/23/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1096. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1099. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">140657</post-id> </item>
1100. <item>
1101. <title>Rural Officials Tell NV Lawmakers They Can’t Keep Up With Flood of Proposed Energy Projects</title>
1102. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-officials-tell-nv-lawmakers-they-cant-keep-up-with-flood-of-proposed-energy-projects/2024/07/23/</link>
1103. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-officials-tell-nv-lawmakers-they-cant-keep-up-with-flood-of-proposed-energy-projects/2024/07/23/#respond</comments>
1105. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeniffer Solis / Nevada Current]]></dc:creator>
1106. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jul 2024 09:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
1107. <category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
1108. <category><![CDATA[Politics and Government]]></category>
1109. <category><![CDATA[repub]]></category>
1110. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142610</guid>
1111.  
1112. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="577" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C577&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C428&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C730&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C433&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C865&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1154&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C676&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C577&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C884&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1127&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C398&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C577&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1113. <p>This story was originally published by the Nevada Current. The federal push to build large-scale renewable energy projects on public lands is in full force, and Nevada’s rural counties fear they may be on the chopping block. As of June, there are over 130 pending applications to build renewable energy projects across Nevada’s public lands. [&#8230;]</p>
1114. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-officials-tell-nv-lawmakers-they-cant-keep-up-with-flood-of-proposed-energy-projects/2024/07/23/">Rural Officials Tell NV Lawmakers They Can’t Keep Up With Flood of Proposed Energy Projects</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1115. ]]></description>
1116. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="577" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C577&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C428&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C730&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C433&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C865&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1154&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C676&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C577&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C884&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1127&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C398&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/abhi-verma-0tDOcSvAIhg-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C577&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1117. <p class="has-text-align-center"><em>This story was originally published by the <a href="https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/07/16/rural-officials-tell-nv-lawmakers-they-cant-keep-up-with-flood-of-proposed-energy-projects/">Nevada Current</a>.</em></p>
1118.  
1119.  
1120.  
1121. <p>The federal push to build large-scale renewable energy projects on public lands is in full force, and Nevada’s rural counties fear they may be on the chopping block.</p>
1122.  
1123.  
1124.  
1125. <p>As of June, there are over 130 pending applications to build renewable energy projects across Nevada’s public lands. Most of those projects are in rural counties, where as much as 80% of land is federally managed.&nbsp;</p>
1126.  
1127.  
1128.  
1129. <p>Several rural counties are now asking state lawmakers to establish a policy that would require federal agencies to coordinate all their&nbsp; land use planning and management decisions with state and county governments when considering massive utility-scale energy projects on Nevada’s public lands.</p>
1130.  
1131.  
1132.  
1133. <p>During an Interim Natural Resources Committee meeting on public lands on July 12, representatives for rural governments told lawmakers that the intensity and scale of utility-scale energy proposals they are seeing in their counties will require targeted state policy to support and protect rural economies.</p>
1134.  
1135.  
1136.  
1137. <p>“Rural county government staff across Nevada are under increasing pressure to keep up with rampant increases in both new project proposals on public lands and unprecedented top-down rule making coming out of federal land management agencies,” said Jacob Brinkerhoff, the natural resource manager for the Nevada Association of Counties.</p>
1138.  
1139.  
1140.  
1141. <p>Local officials for Eureka and Lander County told Nevada lawmakers that the flood of clean energy projects they are being asked to review has become a major burden for cash-strapped rural counties with limited staffing. </p>
1142.  
1143.  
1144.  
1145. <p>Lander County’s natural resource manager, Pam Harrington, said she does not have the staff needed to analyze, monitor, and comment on the growing number of utility-scale solar projects proposed in Lander County or their potential impact on the county.</p>
1146.  
1147.  
1148.  
1149. <p>“We’re seeing so many come across our planning committee. We have to figure out what to do, you guys. This is new territory for us, just acres-and-acres-and-acres of solar fields,” Harrington said.&nbsp;</p>
1150.  
1151.  
1152.  
1153. <p>“We’re trying to grapple with this the best we can. And I don’t want to alarm anyone, but we’re stretched thin,” she continued. “I’m actually losing sleep, I’ve never had that in my career.”</p>
1154.  
1155.  
1156.  
1157. <p>Both Eureka and Lander County are in the path of the proposed Greenlink North Transmission Project — a 235-mile transmission line along Highway 50, which is expected to attract more solar projects in the coming years. The transmission project also includes the “Lander Substation” in Big Smoky Valley east of Austin.&nbsp;</p>
1158.  
1159.  
1160.  
1161. <p>Over the last two years, solar companies have applied to build utility-scale solar projects on nearly 27,000 acres of public land in Lander County, as well as nearly 33 miles of additional transmission lines.&nbsp;</p>
1162.  
1163.  
1164.  
1165. <p>Lander County officials say the projects promise to drastically alter the county’s economy, policy needs, and landscape.</p>
1166.  
1167.  
1168.  
1169. <p>“In Lander County, we don’t even have any ordinances on how to dispose of solar panels,” Harrington told lawmakers.</p>
1170.  
1171.  
1172.  
1173. <p>“If there’s a way to avoid blanketing the desert in solar panels as far as the eye can see and into intact landscapes and grazing land, I hope you can help,” she continued.</p>
1174.  
1175.  
1176.  
1177. <p>One issue in Nevada feeding that conflict is the lack of a statewide utility-scale solar plan, said Brinkerhoff, the natural resource manager for the Nevada Association of Counties.</p>
1178.  
1179.  
1180.  
1181. <p>Brinkerhoff said the Nevada Association of Counties is working on legislation that would require federal agencies to notify state and local governments of all actions or plans affecting public lands before the federal agency files a public notice.&nbsp;</p>
1182.  
1183.  
1184.  
1185. <p>During the meeting, Eureka County’s natural resources manager, Jake Tibbitts, urged state lawmakers to be proactive and quickly address federal land use issues rural counties are facing. </p>
1186.  
1187.  
1188.  
1189. <p>Tibbitts proposed amending state policy to clarify that federal agencies are expected to enter formal agreements with local governments in Nevada when considering projects on public land in their county.&nbsp;</p>
1190.  
1191.  
1192.  
1193. <p>Under the <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/InterimCommittee/REL/Interim2023/Meeting/34513">proposed amendment</a>, those agreements would need to include a detailed coordination plan with local governments at every stage of federal agencies planning and decision-making processes, especially when addressing conflicts between local land use plans and federal plans.</p>
1194.  
1195.  
1196.  
1197. <p>“The federal government doesn’t have to follow the state law, but it would provide good public policy of what our state legislature feels is proper coordination,” Tibbitts said. “It doesn’t drive the specific outcome. It just drives the process to try to get to some coordinated solution.”</p>
1198.  
1199.  
1200.  
1201. <p>In recent years, several utility-scale clean energy projects in Nevada have created conflict between rural communities and federal agencies over public land use. Federal agencies are required to seek public comment when considering land use proposals, but the extent to which they need to apply input from local governments is murky.</p>
1202.  
1203.  
1204.  
1205. <p>When it comes to the economy, Eureka County is almost entirely dependent on federally managed lands, said Tibbitts. Nearly all of Eureka County’s employment is in the natural resources sector, including mining, farming, and ranching.&nbsp;</p>
1206.  
1207.  
1208.  
1209. <p>“We are an agriculture and mining community. That’s what we’ve always been reliant on. That’s what built this community, and that’s what continues to prop it up,” Tibbitts said.</p>
1210.  
1211.  
1212.  
1213. <p>But like Nevada as a whole, land in Eureka County is largely administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, leaving the county at the whims of federal land use policy.&nbsp;</p>
1214.  
1215.  
1216.  
1217. <p>“I think we can all move the needle on some of this stuff in a coordinated way,” Tibbitts said. “All of us just need to be willing to put in some time to do it.”</p>
1218. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-officials-tell-nv-lawmakers-they-cant-keep-up-with-flood-of-proposed-energy-projects/2024/07/23/">Rural Officials Tell NV Lawmakers They Can’t Keep Up With Flood of Proposed Energy Projects</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1219. ]]></content:encoded>
1221. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-officials-tell-nv-lawmakers-they-cant-keep-up-with-flood-of-proposed-energy-projects/2024/07/23/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1222. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1225. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142610</post-id> </item>
1226. <item>
1227. <title>Democracy, Arts, and Storytelling Skills Are Featured in August 1 Rural Assembly Everywhere</title>
1228. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-assembly-everywhere/2024/07/22/</link>
1229. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-assembly-everywhere/2024/07/22/#respond</comments>
1231. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Will Wright]]></dc:creator>
1232. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
1233. <category><![CDATA[Arts and Culture]]></category>
1234. <category><![CDATA[Politics and Government]]></category>
1235. <category><![CDATA[Rural Life]]></category>
1236. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142624</guid>
1237.  
1238. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Rural Assembly Everywhere logo" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=706%2C530&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1239. <p>What are the best ways to nurture rural communities? How do perceptions of rural places affect the people who live there? What are the best ways to tell rural stories? The Rural Assembly will explore these questions and more at Rural Assembly Everywhere on Thursday, August 1, from 1-3 p.m. EST. The virtual gathering will [&#8230;]</p>
1240. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-assembly-everywhere/2024/07/22/">Democracy, Arts, and Storytelling Skills Are Featured in August 1 Rural Assembly Everywhere</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1241. ]]></description>
1242. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Rural Assembly Everywhere logo" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?resize=706%2C530&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rae-2024-sticker.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1243. <p>What are the best ways to nurture rural communities? How do perceptions of rural places affect the people who live there? What are the best ways to tell rural stories?</p>
1244.  
1245.  
1246.  
1247. <p>The Rural Assembly will explore these questions and more at Rural Assembly Everywhere on Thursday, August 1, from 1-3 p.m. EST. The virtual gathering will bring together a diverse range of panelists and participants from across the country — all focused on uplifting and understanding rural America.&nbsp;</p>
1248.  
1249.  
1250.  
1251. <p><a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/c/everywhere2024">Registration is now open</a> to all: rural advocates, community leaders, journalists, artists and “everyone, everywhere,” according to the event organizers. Previous online gatherings of the Rural Assembly brought together hundreds of rural leaders, residents and advocates since its first gathering in 2020.&nbsp;</p>
1252.  
1253.  
1254.  
1255. <p>The Rural Assembly is part of the nonprofit Center for Rural Strategies, which also publishes the Daily Yonder.</p>
1256.  
1257.  
1258.  
1259. <p><a href="https://ruralassembly.org/everywhere/">The program</a> kicks off with a discussion about what it takes to nurture thriving rural communities, hosted by Lead for America Co-founder Benya Kraus and Wahpetunwan Dakota artist, writer, and midwife Autumn Cavender.</p>
1260.  
1261.  
1262.  
1263. <p>That’s followed by a Democracy Panel, led by Center for Rural Strategies President Dee Davis&nbsp; and political scientists and authors Kathy Cramer and Hahrie Han. They’ll focus on the state of American democracy, the press, economics, and rural perceptions ahead of the November election.</p>
1264.  
1265.  
1266.  
1267. <p>“We&#8217;re thrilled to continue offering our annual event, Rural Assembly Everywhere, virtually so that we can join together live with our rural friends and neighbors from all around the country,” said Taneum Fotheringill, Rural Assembly’s director of programs and partnerships. “Over the past several years, Everywhere has been a platform to celebrate important work and imagine what&#8217;s possible in our communities.”</p>
1268.  
1269.  
1270.  
1271. <p>The program wraps up with a panel of four arts administrators who will discuss agency in storytelling and community voice. They are:</p>
1272.  
1273.  
1274.  
1275. <ul class="wp-block-list">
1276. <li><strong>Francisco Guajardo</strong>, chief executive officer of the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg, Texas. </li>
1277.  
1278.  
1279.  
1280. <li><strong>Madeline Matson</strong>, executive director of the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco, Washington.</li>
1281.  
1282.  
1283.  
1284. <li><strong>Gwendolyn Trice</strong>, founder and executive director of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center (MHIC), a museum located in Joseph, Oregon. </li>
1285.  
1286.  
1287.  
1288. <li>And <strong>Stephen Gong</strong>, executive director of the Center for Asian American Media. </li>
1289. </ul>
1290.  
1291.  
1292.  
1293. <p>“I look forward to Everywhere because from our evaluation we know that it generates a greater sense of possibility about what communities can do and that people feel a greater sense of belonging and connection both inside and outside of where they live,” Fotheringill said. “These are the antidotes we need in a time when we can so often feel discouraged and isolated.”</p>
1294.  
1295.  
1296.  
1297. <p>Since its inception in 2007, the Rural Assembly has brought together voices from across the country, including government officials, grassroots organizers, funders, and nonprofit and business leaders. It aims to amplify and empower rural people by sharing stories and challenging stereotypes.&nbsp;</p>
1298.  
1299.  
1300.  
1301. <p>This year, participants can also register for post-Everywhere workshops that will bring together the Rural Assembly and its partners and friends.&nbsp;</p>
1302.  
1303.  
1304.  
1305. <ul class="wp-block-list">
1306. <li><strong>Rural Urban Divide Training, August 6 from 2-3 p.m. EST:</strong> Hosted by the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, this training focuses on the origins of the urban-rural divide, and teaches participants how to navigate and lessen the divide; where to find mutual understanding and common ground; and how to build solidarity across cultural and geographical backgrounds. <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZclc--pqD4tH9womZbiMvbDLa-bju-pn5k4#/registration"><strong>Register</strong></a></li>
1307.  
1308.  
1309.  
1310. <li><strong>Beyond the Clock Virtual Happy Hour, August 7 from 2-3 p.m. EST:</strong> Bring a beverage and dive deeper into the stories and lessons from Everywhere at this special edition of Beyond the Clock, co-hosted by the Department of Public Transformation and Voices for Rural Resilience. <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvduqtrzoiEtWRKk_TBImCAZXggMaB08Qj#/registration"><strong>Register</strong></a></li>
1311.  
1312.  
1313.  
1314. <li><strong>Story Circle on Nurturing Thriving Communities, August 8 from 2-4 p.m. EST:</strong> Join facilitator Ben Fink and your neighbors from around the country to share a story from your community and hear from others about what it takes to nurture our communities and why we should. This event has limited space, so register early before the circle fills up. <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqd-6oqzoqH9CnFaocEBGwRi2B14UmkEfT#/registration"><strong>Register</strong></a></li>
1315. </ul>
1316. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-assembly-everywhere/2024/07/22/">Democracy, Arts, and Storytelling Skills Are Featured in August 1 Rural Assembly Everywhere</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1317. ]]></content:encoded>
1319. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-assembly-everywhere/2024/07/22/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1320. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1323. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142624</post-id> </item>
1324. <item>
1325. <title>‘We Are Here With That Insecurity’: Mixed-Status Families Weigh Leaving Iowa</title>
1326. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/we-are-here-with-that-insecurity-mixed-status-families-weigh-leaving-iowa/2024/07/22/</link>
1327. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/we-are-here-with-that-insecurity-mixed-status-families-weigh-leaving-iowa/2024/07/22/#respond</comments>
1329. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Mónica Cordero / Investigate Midwest]]></dc:creator>
1330. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Jul 2024 09:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
1331. <category><![CDATA[Agriculture]]></category>
1332. <category><![CDATA[Immigration]]></category>
1333. <category><![CDATA[Labor]]></category>
1334. <category><![CDATA[Politics and Government]]></category>
1335. <category><![CDATA[repub]]></category>
1336. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=140503</guid>
1337.  
1338. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?w=2339&amp;ssl=1 2339w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=760%2C507&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1296%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1200%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=600%2C400&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1568%2C1045&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=400%2C267&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=706%2C471&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1339. <p>This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest. Having spent more than half her life in Waterloo, Iowa, she has built a life here. It&#8217;s where she met her husband and where her only daughter, who wants to become a sonographer, was born.  That’s why, after a day’s work at an area meatpacking plant, the [&#8230;]</p>
1340. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/we-are-here-with-that-insecurity-mixed-status-families-weigh-leaving-iowa/2024/07/22/">‘We Are Here With That Insecurity’: Mixed-Status Families Weigh Leaving Iowa</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1341. ]]></description>
1342. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?w=2339&amp;ssl=1 2339w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=760%2C507&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1296%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1200%2C800&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=600%2C400&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=1568%2C1045&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=400%2C267&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?resize=706%2C471&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1266-scaled-1.webp?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1343. <p class="has-text-align-center"><em>This story was originally published by <a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/07/04/we-are-here-with-that-insecurity-mixed-status-families-weigh-leaving-iowa/">Investigate Midwest</a></em>.</p>
1344.  
1345.  
1346.  
1347. <p>Having spent more than half her life in Waterloo, Iowa, she has built a life here. It&#8217;s where she met her husband and where her only daughter, who wants to become a sonographer, was born. </p>
1348.  
1349.  
1350.  
1351. <p>That’s why, after a day’s work at an area meatpacking plant, the 55-year-old Mexican-born woman took to Waterloo’s streets Monday. Waving a banner reading in Spanish, “We are the strength of this country,” she protested a new state law that could severely impact her family, she said.</p>
1352.  
1353.  
1354.  
1355. <p>The law, which a federal judge temporarily blocked recently as it is contested in court, would allow Iowa law enforcement to arrest individuals even if they have legal permission to remain in the country. While the woman herself would not be directly affected by the law, her husband could be. He’s an undocumented immigrant who was previously deported and re-entered the country.</p>
1356.  
1357.  
1358.  
1359. <p>She and hundreds of other immigrants took to the streets July 1 in Waterloo, Des Moines and Iowa City to protest the new law. Without the judge’s intervention, it would have gone into effect that day.&nbsp;</p>
1360.  
1361.  
1362.  
1363. <p>&#8220;We are here with that insecurity. We have considered returning to Mexico, even though it would mean truncating all our dreams for our daughter. It&#8217;s a hard decision to even think about and even harder to make,&#8221; the woman said in Spanish. She asked Investigate Midwest not to reveal her name or employer over concerns for her family&#8217;s safety.</p>
1364.  
1365.  
1366.  
1367. <figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/investigatemidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1242-1024x682.jpg?resize=780%2C519&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-746727" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">During a march against Iowa&#8217;s new immigration law, a woman whose husband is at risk of deportation carried a sign that reads, &#8220;We are the strength of this country,&#8221; in Waterloo, Iowa, on July 1, 2024. (Photo by Eric Benson / Investigate Midwest)</figcaption></figure>
1368.  
1369.  
1370.  
1371. <p>Other immigrant workers also are torn between remaining or leaving the state to avoid their own potential deportation or the deportation of their undocumented family members, according to interviews Investigate Midwest conducted with migrant advocacy groups and 10 immigrant families living in Iowa. Most family members requested anonymity over fears their loved ones could be deported if they were identified.</p>
1372.  
1373.  
1374.  
1375. <p>If immigrants leave in large numbers, the economy of this agricultural state, already in need of more labor, could be jeopardized, advocates said.</p>
1376.  
1377.  
1378.  
1379. <p>&#8220;Here in Iowa, the immigrant community plays a very important role in agriculture, construction and service sector health care,&#8221; said Joe Henry, state political director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, a 95-year-old civil rights organization. &#8220;This would really cause chaos in a lot of different industries economically, if this law were to go into effect. It&#8217;s not just the families but also the economy.”</p>
1380.  
1381.  
1382. <div class="wp-block-image">
1383. <figure class="alignleft"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/investigatemidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2022_GovKimReynolds_Headshot_Closeup_Flags_200h-737x1024.jpg?resize=737%2C1024&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-746645" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds</figcaption></figure></div>
1384.  
1385.  
1386. <p>In a press release following the law’s injunction, Gov. Kim Reynolds said the Biden administration is failing to enforce federal immigration laws, allowing millions to enter and re-enter the country without any consequences or delays.&nbsp;</p>
1387.  
1388.  
1389.  
1390. <p>“I signed this bill into law to protect Iowans and our communities from the repercussions of this border crisis: rising crime, overdose deaths, and human trafficking,” she said.</p>
1391.  
1392.  
1393.  
1394. <p>The agricultural industry&#8217;s operations in the country are predominantly dependent on immigrant labor, including undocumented labor. According to the U.S. Department of Labor&#8217;s <a href="https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/NAWS-data-fact-sheet-FINAL.docx-3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Agricultural Workers Survey</a>, nearly 7 in 10 agricultural workers were born outside the United States. Most of these workers are of Mexican origin. More than 40% have no authorization to work in the U.S., and 1% have work authorization through another status.</p>
1395.  
1396.  
1397.  
1398. <p>Iowa, with a <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/iowa-population-change-between-census-decade.html">population</a> of about 3 million people, is home to as many as 75,000 unauthorized immigrants, according to the most recent estimates by <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/16/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/sr_23-11-16_unauthorized-immigrants_5-png/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pew Research</a> Center.&nbsp;</p>
1399.  
1400.  
1401.  
1402. <p>Many immigrants work in concentrated animal feeding operations, meatpacking plants and in corn fields. Iowa produces <a href="https://www.iowacorn.org/corn-facts-faq/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more corn</a> than any other state, and it exports — <a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2023/10/26/graphic-five-states-dominate-nearly-70-of-pork-exports-with-iowa-leading-the-way/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">by far</a> — more pork than any other state.</p>
1403.  
1404.  
1405.  
1406. <figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/investigatemidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1255-1024x682.jpg?resize=780%2C519&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-746723" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Christine Guevara, a psychologist, reads aloud a letter in Spanish from the late 1970s that Salvadoran martyr Monsignor Oscar Romero sent to activist Rosa Marta Zárate Macías, highlighting the cause of migrants in the U.S. in Waterloo, Iowa, on July 1, 2024. (Photo by Eric Benson / Investigate Midwest)</figcaption></figure>
1407.  
1408.  
1409.  
1410. <p>In Waterloo, a rural city with just under 67,000 residents, 7% of whom are Latino, the main industries include John Deere — one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of agricultural machinery — and Tyson, the world&#8217;s second-largest processor and marketer of poultry, beef and pork products.</p>
1411.  
1412.  
1413.  
1414. <p>John Deere; Tyson Foods, which has several meat processing plants in Iowa; JBS, another major meat processor with plants in Iowa; the Iowa Farm Bureau; and the Iowa Corn Growers Association did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
1415.  
1416.  
1417.  
1418. <p>The new law could put a lot of pressure on undocumented workers and their families, said Ninoska Campos, a workers&#8217; rights activist in Iowa City.</p>
1419.  
1420.  
1421.  
1422. <p>&#8220;Cops don&#8217;t know if people have documents, and this law allows someone to be stopped based on their appearance,” she said. “That puts undocumented people at risk.”</p>
1423.  
1424.  
1425.  
1426. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">An Election Year</h3>
1427.  
1428.  
1429.  
1430. <p>Just two weeks before it was set to take effect, a federal judge temporarily blocked Iowa from enforcing its new immigration law, which criminalizes entering Iowa after being deported or denied entry into the United States. If an undocumented person is found, they would be deported under the law.</p>
1431.  
1432.  
1433.  
1434. <p>This judicial intervention followed a challenge by the U.S. Department of Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, the national ACLU, and the American Immigration Council, acting on behalf of the Iowa Immigrant Justice Movement and two Iowa residents.</p>
1435.  
1436.  
1437.  
1438. <p>“Iowa cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent,” Brian M. Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. “We have brought this action to ensure that Iowa adheres to the framework adopted by Congress and the Constitution for regulation of immigration.”</p>
1439.  
1440.  
1441.  
1442. <figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/investigatemidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1274-1024x682.jpg?resize=780%2C519&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-746721" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">During a protest against Iowa&#8217;s new immigration law, which would criminalize being in the state without documentation, Latino families called for &#8220;peace, dignity, and freedom&#8221; in Waterloo, Iowa, on July 1, 2024. (Photo by Eric Benson / Investigate Midwest)</figcaption></figure>
1443.  
1444.  
1445.  
1446. <p>The Iowa law was set to take effect on July 1, during an election year marked by widespread Republican criticism of the Biden administration&#8217;s handling of immigration issues.</p>
1447.  
1448.  
1449.  
1450. <p>Republicans in Congress blocked a bipartisan agreement with Senate Democrats and Republicans that would have brought significant reforms to America’s immigration laws. These reforms included adding essential border and immigration personnel, investing in technology to detect illegal fentanyl, overhauling the asylum system and granting the president emergency authority to close the border when the system is overwhelmed.</p>
1451.  
1452.  
1453.  
1454. <p>Iowa&#8217;s new immigration law also follows in the footsteps of similar legislation <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/18/texas-sb-4-immigration-arrest-law/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enacted in Texas</a> by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott this year. <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/01/oklahoma-gov-kevin-stitt-immigration-bill-hb-4156-what-to-know/73512282007/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oklahoma</a> and <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2024/02/21/republican-legislation-aims-to-crack-down-on-illegal-immigration/72659613007/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arizona</a> have also passed similar laws this year.</p>
1455.  
1456.  
1457.  
1458. <p>Timi Brown-Powers, a Democrat member of the Iowa House of Representatives who participated in the protest Monday, said the governor’s support of the impending law was “all political.”</p>
1459.  
1460.  
1461.  
1462. <p>“This is the governor&#8217;s way to come out to say that she is tough on immigration,” she said. “This immigration bill was her big push to say that she does not stand for immigration, and she&#8217;s going to minimize it in Iowa.”</p>
1463.  
1464.  
1465.  
1466. <p>When asked for comment on that criticism and on families considering leaving the state, Kollin Crompton, the governor&#8217;s deputy communications director, pointed Investigate Midwest to previous comments Gov. Reynolds made about the Biden administration.</p>
1467.  
1468.  
1469.  
1470. <figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/investigatemidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1252-1024x682.jpg?resize=780%2C519&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-746725" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This couple was among hundreds of people who protested in Waterloo, Iowa, to overturn the state&#8217;s new immigration law, which a federal judge blocked from taking effect, on July 1, 2024. (Photo by Eric Benson / Investigate Midwest)</figcaption></figure>
1471.  
1472.  
1473.  
1474. <p>The law has also faced criticism from several Iowa sheriffs, who believe immigration enforcement falls outside their purview and that they lack the resources to effectively implement the law.</p>
1475.  
1476.  
1477.  
1478. <p>Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson <a href="https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/black-hawk-county-sheriff-says-he-wont-enforce-new-iowa-immigration-law" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expressed</a> concerns about the enforceability of the new law, noting the absence of accessible records on individuals&#8217; deportation histories.&nbsp;</p>
1479.  
1480.  
1481.  
1482. <p>&#8220;Emulating someone else&#8217;s problem here in the center of the heartland is a far different cry than emulating somebody&#8217;s problem right there on the border,&#8221; Thompson told CBS 2 Iowa, a local TV station, in May.&nbsp;</p>
1483.  
1484.  
1485.  
1486. <p>He further explained the logistical difficulties: &#8220;This is federal record — ICE information, border patrol information. So all of that is well-intentioned, but the challenge for us is, if it doesn&#8217;t exist, we can&#8217;t create the record.&#8221;</p>
1487.  
1488.  
1489.  
1490. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Living in Fear</h3>
1491.  
1492.  
1493.  
1494. <p>Father Nils Hernandez, pastor of Queen of Peace Parish where the protest began Monday, said the new immigration law keeps the immigrant community in a state of fear.&nbsp;</p>
1495.  
1496.  
1497.  
1498. <p>Hernandez, who also directs the Waterloo Catholic Hispanic Ministry, said he told community members weighing whether to leave the state not to rush their decision. “You don’t have to make a quick decision. Wait and see how things develop. Don’t make decisions quickly,” he said he cautioned them.</p>
1499.  
1500.  
1501. <div class="wp-block-image">
1502. <figure class="alignleft"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/investigatemidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1285-682x1024.jpg?resize=682%2C1024&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-746720" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Father Nils Hernandez at his church, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Waterloo, Iowa, on July 1, 2024. (Photo by Eric Benson / Investigate Midwest)</figcaption></figure></div>
1503.  
1504.  
1505. <p>The Catholic priest, who once was an undocumented immigrant, fled the war plaguing Nicaragua in the 1980s and entered the country by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. On his journey to the U.S., he was deported from Mexico to Guatemala.</p>
1506.  
1507.  
1508.  
1509. <p>He advocates for new immigration reform to create a pathway that offers stability for those living in the shadows, burdened with the stigma of being undocumented.</p>
1510.  
1511.  
1512.  
1513. <p>Hernandez said the federal judge&#8217;s temporary block on the law impacts the stability of mixed-status families, where U.S. citizens live alongside those who lack legal permission to be in the country.</p>
1514.  
1515.  
1516.  
1517. <p>Families interviewed by Investigate Midwest said that their greatest fear is family separation, a significant concern in Latino cultures where extended families — including children, aunts, uncles and grandparents — value living in close geographic proximity.</p>
1518.  
1519.  
1520.  
1521. <p>Family members said Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Kansas were potential destinations to protect them from being separated through deportation.</p>
1522.  
1523.  
1524.  
1525. <p>Fidel Silva, 49, is another immigrant who would not be directly impacted by the law, but he worries about his youngest child and his brother, neither of them have immigration documents. Silva arrived in the U.S. in 1990 and now works at a factory producing boxes in Waterloo that supplies material for meatpacking plants.</p>
1526.  
1527.  
1528.  
1529. <p>“My fear is that one wrong move could jeopardize our little one,” he said.</p>
1530.  
1531.  
1532.  
1533. <figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/investigatemidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Waterloo-immigration-demostration-1245-1024x682.jpg?resize=780%2C519&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-746726" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">During a protest against Iowa&#8217;s new immigration law, Latino families called for &#8220;peace, dignity, and freedom&#8221; in Waterloo, Iowa, on July 1, 2024. (Photo by Eric Benson / Investigate Midwest)</figcaption></figure>
1534.  
1535.  
1536.  
1537. <p>He is now seeking “sanctuary cities” where he can work with peace of mind and potentially obtain a driver’s license.&nbsp;</p>
1538.  
1539.  
1540.  
1541. <p>Angelica Rodriguez, 40, who came to the United States as a teenager, also participated in the march to protest the new immigration law. Despite being protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals&nbsp; — a policy that provides temporary relief to some undocumented immigrants brought to the country as minors — she fears being detained by authorities on the street. As a single mother who has lived in Iowa for 10 years, her primary concern is the possibility of being separated from her four children.</p>
1542.  
1543.  
1544.  
1545. <p>Both Silva and Rodriguez gave permission for Investigate Midwest to use their names.</p>
1546.  
1547.  
1548.  
1549. <p>For the meatpacking worker who carried the “We are the strength of this country” banner, she already lives with anxiety. When her husband comes home later than usual from his shift at a Mexican restaurant, she starts to fear the worst.</p>
1550.  
1551.  
1552.  
1553. <p>“He used to close the restaurant with his colleagues, and sometimes clients arrive at the last minute,” she said. “When it&#8217;s past the time he normally arrives, I start fearing that the police have arrested him.”</p>
1554.  
1555.  
1556.  
1557. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots"/>
1558.  
1559.  
1560.  
1561. <p><em>Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Visit us online at </em><a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/"><em>www.investigatemidwest.org</em></a>.</p>
1562. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/we-are-here-with-that-insecurity-mixed-status-families-weigh-leaving-iowa/2024/07/22/">‘We Are Here With That Insecurity’: Mixed-Status Families Weigh Leaving Iowa</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1563. ]]></content:encoded>
1565. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/we-are-here-with-that-insecurity-mixed-status-families-weigh-leaving-iowa/2024/07/22/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1566. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1569. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">140503</post-id> </item>
1570. <item>
1571. <title>45 Degrees North: Voting, A Love Story</title>
1572. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/45-degrees-north-voting-a-love-story/2024/07/19/</link>
1573. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/45-degrees-north-voting-a-love-story/2024/07/19/#respond</comments>
1575. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Donna Kallner]]></dc:creator>
1576. <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
1577. <category><![CDATA[Elections]]></category>
1578. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=140340</guid>
1579.  
1580. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="684" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C507&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C865&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C513&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1025&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1367&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C801&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C684&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C400&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1047&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1335&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C471&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1581. <p>You may not expect rural convenience stores to stock fresh flowers but some do – at least during the second week of February. Think of it as a community service: Valentine&#8217;s Day can come with steep expectations and deep disappointment when those expectations are not met. This is all fed by the marketing geniuses who [&#8230;]</p>
1582. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/45-degrees-north-voting-a-love-story/2024/07/19/">45 Degrees North: Voting, A Love Story</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1583. ]]></description>
1584. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="684" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C507&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C865&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C513&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1025&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1367&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C801&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C684&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C400&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1047&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1335&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C471&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1585. <p>You may not expect rural convenience stores to stock fresh flowers but some do – at least during the second week of February. Think of it as a community service: Valentine&#8217;s Day can come with steep expectations and deep disappointment when those expectations are not met. This is all fed by the marketing geniuses who turned prom proposals into performative events that seem scripted for the Hallmark Channel. For anyone unable to conceive and execute the perfect Grand Romantic Gesture by 5 p.m. on February 14, thank goodness for truck stop flowers. </p>
1586.  
1587.  
1588.  
1589. <p>What does this have to do with voting? Maybe nothing, for the many people who show up for every election and have long known who they will vote for in November. But it might mean something for those eligible to vote who have not (yet) registered.&nbsp;</p>
1590.  
1591.  
1592.  
1593. <p>I fear there&#8217;s a greater sense of awareness and duty to perform on Valentine&#8217;s Day than on Election Day. With consumer spending of <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/285028/us-valentine-s-day-sales/">$25.8 billion</a>, clearly we are getting the message about Valentine&#8217;s. But even with a projected <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1316510/political-ad-revenue-us/">$15.2 billion</a> that will be spent this year on political ads, between <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/non-voters-poll-2020-election/">35 and 60% of eligible voters may not cast a ballot.</a></p>
1594.  
1595.  
1596.  
1597. <p>They may <em>say</em> they did, even if they didn&#8217;t: The phenomenon called <a href="https://electionlab.mit.edu/research/voter-turnout">social-desirability bias</a> in public opinion surveys helps explain how someone who didn&#8217;t vote may say they did because they don&#8217;t want to be seen as having shirked a civic duty.&nbsp;</p>
1598.  
1599.  
1600.  
1601. <p>People have <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/non-voters-poll-2020-election/">lots of reasons</a> for not registering and not voting. Some think their vote doesn&#8217;t really count for much. Some think it&#8217;s too hard to manage the logistics of voting. Some say, “I&#8217;m just not into politics.” Some feel there&#8217;s no candidate who really represents them. And some are simply paralyzed by the unknowns of the process, the conflicting information they&#8217;ve heard, and anxiety about making a mistake. (That last one also explains a lot of last-minute Valentine&#8217;s purchases more expensive than truck stop flowers.)</p>
1602.  
1603.  
1604.  
1605. <p>It&#8217;s pretty common to put off things that make us anxious. Recently I was in my township clerk&#8217;s office with friends who needed to have advanced care directives witnessed. It&#8217;s something they should have done long before, and they knew that. But they&#8217;ve been stalled at who they might ask to be a secondary designee in case the spouse was unable to act on their behalf. They have no children and no close living relatives and many of their closest friends live far away, so they put off making a decision because it seemed any choice would be imperfect. Now, one of them is facing major surgery. Not having their affairs in order has added tremendous stress to their lives when that&#8217;s the last thing they need. They were so stressed they decided to wait yet again before signing anything.</p>
1606.  
1607.  
1608.  
1609. <p>The phrase I have heard to describe this behavior is, “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/deeppatel/2017/06/16/why-perfection-is-the-enemy-of-done/">Perfection is the enemy of done</a>.” When we idolize an imagined end result that theoretically <em>could</em> be obtained but rarely is, important stuff gets put off because it&#8217;s not perfect.</p>
1610.  
1611.  
1612.  
1613. <p>But sometimes, perfect isn&#8217;t an option. Weddings get rained on. The flower girl insists the groom hold her during the ceremony. The officiant’s microphone doesn&#8217;t work. Small potatoes compared to some of the challenges those couples will face together. Into every marriage fall times when truck stop flowers on Valentine&#8217;s Day (imperfect but <em>done</em>) are <em>incredibly </em>romantic – at least, to two people working together to build a life in the real world.</p>
1614.  
1615.  
1616.  
1617. <p>Unfortunately, I think there are many eligible voters who want the fairy tale and this ain&#8217;t it. So what are their options? Don&#8217;t vote at all? Cast a write-in vote for “Mickey Mouse” instead of choosing from the available candidates? Lodge a protest by voting for a candidate who is unlikely to win but can draw enough votes to impact other candidates?&nbsp;</p>
1618.  
1619.  
1620.  
1621. <p>People who love their country and want to be good citizens but don&#8217;t like their choices might be tempted to hold out instead of “settling” for what&#8217;s on the ballot. The Valentine&#8217;s Day equivalent of that attitude would be <em>the hot air balloon is a no-go, but I&#8217;m sure as hell not buying truck stop flowers.</em> That might sound good in your head, but to others it may just seem like you don&#8217;t care enough to make any effort at all.</p>
1622.  
1623.  
1624.  
1625. <p>Unfortunately, it seems like there&#8217;s more social expectation surrounding a commercial holiday in February than there is surrounding voting in November. Correction: Make that voting in November and every other election for federal, state and local offices.&nbsp;</p>
1626.  
1627.  
1628.  
1629. <p>Votes and non-votes decide who holds the pursestrings in representative government. So every race counts – downballot offices as well as the top of the ticket. I understand the reluctance to cast a vote for someone you don&#8217;t know much about. But few of us personally know the headliners, either. And there&#8217;s something we can do about tha.&nbsp;</p>
1630.  
1631.  
1632.  
1633. <p>Check <a href="https://www.vote411.org/">Vote 411</a>, a nonpartisan election information site sponsored by the League of Women Voters. There you can find information about the duties of different offices and compare responses from candidates about how they intend to perform in that office if elected.&nbsp;</p>
1634.  
1635.  
1636.  
1637. <p>I&#8217;m all for anything that builds an expectation that candidates should understand the job for which they&#8217;re applying and be able to express for the record why they think they&#8217;re qualified and where they stand on issues important to me. I was going to draw a comparison to candidates on dating apps, but then thought of that social-desirability bias and lost momentum.</p>
1638.  
1639.  
1640.  
1641. <p>And yet, I really do think we would all be better off if we felt <em>at least</em> as much expectation to vote as we feel to recognize Valentine&#8217;s (or Halloween or Earth Day or…). And expect voting not only from ourselves, but also from those we love.</p>
1642.  
1643.  
1644.  
1645. <p>Yeah, I stumbled there. The parents of young adults and the adult children of elders are thinking, “Sure – <em>I&#8217;m </em>going to influence this when I can&#8217;t even get them to (fill in the blank)”. Point taken. But maybe we can help remove one perceived barrier – not being registered to vote. That&#8217;s been called <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/561886-whos-not-voting-in-america/">the major reason why Americans didn’t cast ballots</a> in the 2020 presidential election. That&#8217;s right: About 63 million Americans aged 18 years or older had not registered to vote.</p>
1646.  
1647.  
1648.  
1649. <p>So why not make it a holiday? Oh, wait – it is: <a href="https://nationalvoterregistrationday.org/about/">National Voter Registration Day</a> is September 17 this year. Save your 4th of July decorations for celebrating a day of civic unity, a day to set aside differences and celebrate together that we have a system of government in which we have a say. It may not be perfect (ever). But the less perfect it is, well, that&#8217;s kind of on us if we don&#8217;t show up to participate in decisions about how our will is represented. There may not be greeting cards specific to this holiday (yet). But maybe rural truck stops will stock red, white and blue carnations that week in September.</p>
1650.  
1651.  
1652.  
1653. <p>Better yet, don&#8217;t wait until September. Start celebrating now. <a href="https://www.usa.gov/vote-gov">This website</a> can help those you love learn how to register to vote in your state, find your state’s voter registration deadlines, check to be sure they are registered to vote, and update their voter registration if they have moved, changed their name, or changed their political party. <a href="https://www.vote411.org/make-your-plan">This one</a> can help them make a voting plan. Their rural municipality’s clerk can help, too.&nbsp;</p>
1654.  
1655.  
1656.  
1657. <p>Let&#8217;s get it done.</p>
1658.  
1659.  
1660.  
1661. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots"/>
1662.  
1663.  
1664.  
1665. <p><em>Donna Kallner writes from Langlade County in rural northern Wisconsin.</em></p>
1666. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/45-degrees-north-voting-a-love-story/2024/07/19/">45 Degrees North: Voting, A Love Story</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1667. ]]></content:encoded>
1669. <wfw:commentRss>https://dailyyonder.com/45-degrees-north-voting-a-love-story/2024/07/19/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1670. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1673. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">140340</post-id> </item>
1674. <item>
1675. <title>Q&#038;A: Does Urban Planning Work in Small Towns?</title>
1676. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/qa-does-urban-planning-work-in-small-towns/2024/07/19/</link>
1677. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/qa-does-urban-planning-work-in-small-towns/2024/07/19/#respond</comments>
1679. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Olivia Weeks]]></dc:creator>
1680. <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
1681. <category><![CDATA[Growth and Development]]></category>
1682. <category><![CDATA[path finders]]></category>
1683. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142684</guid>
1684.  
1685. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C972&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1176&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1500&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C530&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1686. <p>Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&#38;A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week. [&#8230;]</p>
1687. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/qa-does-urban-planning-work-in-small-towns/2024/07/19/">Q&amp;A: Does Urban Planning Work in Small Towns?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1688. ]]></description>
1689. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C972&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1176&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1500&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C530&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1690. <p><em>Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/path-finders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Path Finders</a>, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&amp;A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/qa-whos-making-black-country-music/2024/03/08/#signup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">join the mailing list at the bottom of this article</a> and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.</em></p>
1691.  
1692.  
1693.  
1694. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
1695.  
1696.  
1697.  
1698. <p>Mahbub Rashid is the Dean of the Architecture school at the University of Kansas. His recent book, <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/monograph/book/113241"><em>Built Environment and Population Health in Small-Town America: Learning from Small Cities of Kansas</em></a><em>, </em>tests whether the most basic principles of urban planning really apply to small towns and rural areas. Shocker: many of them don’t.</p>
1699.  
1700.  
1701.  
1702. <p>Enjoy our conversation about what we miss when we bring an urban sensibility to rural problems.</p>
1703.  
1704.  
1705.  
1706. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="585" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash.jpg?resize=780%2C585&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142686" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1296%2C972&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=760%2C570&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C1176&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1500&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C530&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/simon-ray-7jMiKXL574k-unsplash-1296x972.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@simonbhray?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash">Simon Ray</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/cars-parked-in-front-of-red-brick-building-7jMiKXL574k?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>.</figcaption></figure>
1707.  
1708.  
1709.  
1710. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
1711.  
1712.  
1713.  
1714. <p><strong>Olivia Weeks, The Daily Yonder: So how’d you come to write this book about architecture in small town Kansas? What was the idea for it or what was the beginning of the project?&nbsp;</strong></p>
1715.  
1716.  
1717.  
1718. <p><strong>Mahbub Rashid: </strong>Well, this has been on my mind for quite some time now. I’ve studied the relationship between the built environment and health in hospital settings, in office settings, and also in urban contexts. And since I moved to Kansas, you know, small towns are really not urban areas, but we seem to be very satisfied with the idea that if we study something in urban areas we can just apply those findings to small towns as well. But that&#8217;s often not the case. So I wanted to verify some of the things that we found in urban studies for these small towns. When I had enough data, I thought I had to start writing the book. And it fell right at that time of Covid which really impacted our small town. So that then gave me additional impetus to finish the book.</p>
1719.  
1720.  
1721.  
1722. <p><strong>DY: What were the questions you were trying to answer in your research?</strong></p>
1723.  
1724.  
1725.  
1726. <p><strong>MR: </strong>Well, the first question I wanted to solve is, is there any proper definition for small town or small cities as we understand them? The second question I was asking is, we know that public health is an issue in a small town, but what about population health? These are two very different concepts. And the third question I was asking is, can I take existing definitions for rural areas and see if some of those factors impact the relationship between population health and built environment in these small cities?&nbsp;</p>
1727.  
1728.  
1729.  
1730. <p><strong>DY: So what were some of your top-line findings from those questions? What did you learn?</strong></p>
1731.  
1732.  
1733.  
1734. <p><strong>MR: </strong>One top line finding would be that some of the things that we take for granted in urban areas, of course, seem not to work for small towns and small cities. I&#8217;ll give you an example: In urban studies, we have consistently seen that having parks in cities is a big deal for public health and population health because you can go and do some exercise there. You can release your stress. Green spaces are very helpful for any number of reasons. But in small cities, it doesn&#8217;t seem to be impacting as much as we would expect. There is simply no correlation between having public parks and population health indicators in these cities.</p>
1735.  
1736.  
1737.  
1738. <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-5 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
1739. <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow">
1740. <p>The reason I gather is probably they don&#8217;t need open spaces as much as we need them in urban areas. Second thing is, as infrastructure, public parks are not probably as appreciated and well-maintained as we tend to keep them in urban areas. </p>
1741. </div>
1742. </div>
1743.  
1744.  
1745.  
1746. <p><strong>DY: To me, it seems like the most obvious reason that public parks wouldn&#8217;t have as much of an impact in rural areas or in small towns is that basically every small town has a park, but you don&#8217;t walk to it, you drive to it.</strong></p>
1747.  
1748.  
1749.  
1750. <p><strong>MR: </strong>Exactly. But we tend to take it for granted that having more open space, green areas in cities probably are good for public health. But this is one of the indicators that we didn&#8217;t find to be working in small towns. And of course, what we do in science is validate our intuition.</p>
1751.  
1752.  
1753.  
1754. <p><strong>DY: So did you find any sources of increased public health in these small cities that were different from urban areas?&nbsp;</strong></p>
1755.  
1756.  
1757.  
1758. <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-6 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
1759. <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow">
1760. <p><strong>MR: </strong>Yes. A better indicator is how far your cities are located from big cities. How long does it take to commute to the cities? And density is another factor. I didn&#8217;t find a significant impact of density on the relationship between built environment and population health indicators, which is a very, very big indicator in urban areas. We always talk about how you need to build dense cities in order to keep people healthy. But in these small towns, that didn&#8217;t seem to work.</p>
1761. </div>
1762.  
1763.  
1764.  
1765. <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow">
1766. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="1173" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7.jpg?resize=780%2C1173&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-140688" style="width:232px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=862%2C1296&amp;ssl=1 862w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=506%2C760&amp;ssl=1 506w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1154&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=1022%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1022w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=1363%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1363w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C1803&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=681%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 681w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=1568%2C2356&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C3006&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C601&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C1061&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-scaled.jpg?w=1703&amp;ssl=1 1703w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mahbub-Rashid-7-862x1296.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image courtesy of Mahbub Rashid.</figcaption></figure>
1767. </div>
1768. </div>
1769.  
1770.  
1771.  
1772. <p>Counterintuitively, it seems that having more industrial areas in a small town had a positive effect on the relationship between built environment and population health, unlike in urban areas. In urban areas, we&#8217;ll always say that industrialized areas have a negative impact because they are the polluters. They are the areas where a lot of things happen that are not conducive to public health and population health. But in small towns, having industrial areas seems to have a positive impact. The reason, I gather, is that having industrial areas in small towns means the population has employment and they can go to work. And as a result, their status of living improves, which is very counterintuitive when you think about having more industrial areas in cities.&nbsp;</p>
1773.  
1774.  
1775.  
1776. <p><strong>DY: Yeah, I think it&#8217;s not so counterintuitive if you&#8217;re coming from a small town.&nbsp;</strong></p>
1777.  
1778.  
1779.  
1780. <p><strong>MR: </strong>But most often in the literature, that&#8217;s what we hear people talking about. Having mixed use development, more density, having parks that are better for population health. When I find that not working for small cities, then our intuition kicks in. Oh, that makes sense. But somebody needed to show that. And that&#8217;s what I was trying to do in this book.</p>
1781.  
1782.  
1783.  
1784. <p><strong>DY: And what are the implications of that, that we have these paradigms from studying the built environment in urban places and we often apply them directly to small towns? What effect does that have on these small towns?&nbsp;</strong></p>
1785.  
1786.  
1787.  
1788. <p><strong>MR: </strong>On the policy level, of course, most often our policies are dictated by what we find in urban areas. Because in rural areas, we don&#8217;t have as many studies. So we need to be very careful about that. And at the planning level, of course, urban planning is not really small town planning. There are a lot of people working on city planning in big cities. They have an infrastructure available. In a small town, most often there is no planner.</p>
1789.  
1790.  
1791.  
1792. <p>If a town is big enough, there may be one planner working in the office. But for that planner to think about health and planning relationships seems to be a tall order. So either you seek help from outside or you need to engage the public in the process of improving population health through a built environment. And that&#8217;s why I suggest that traditional planning, as we understand it, land use planning, policy planning that we do in relation to urban planning, does not work in a small town setting. We need to be focusing as much as we can on physical planning, but also what I call community planning. You need to embolden and empower communities to make their own decisions. If they are not participating, probably nothing will happen in those small towns.</p>
1793.  
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1813. <p>This interview first appeared in <strong>Path Finders</strong>, a weekly email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each Monday, Path Finders features a Q&amp;A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Join the mailing list today, to have these illuminating conversations delivered straight to your inbox. </p>
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1853. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
1854. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/qa-does-urban-planning-work-in-small-towns/2024/07/19/">Q&amp;A: Does Urban Planning Work in Small Towns?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
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1861. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">142684</post-id> </item>
1862. <item>
1863. <title>Rural Student Qualifications Don&#8217;t Align with Local Job Markets</title>
1864. <link>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-student-qualifications-dont-align-with-local-job-markets/2024/07/18/</link>
1865. <comments>https://dailyyonder.com/rural-student-qualifications-dont-align-with-local-job-markets/2024/07/18/#respond</comments>
1867. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Fouriezos / Open Campus]]></dc:creator>
1868. <pubDate>Thu, 18 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
1869. <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
1870. <category><![CDATA[Labor]]></category>
1871. <category><![CDATA[Mile Markers]]></category>
1872. <category><![CDATA[repub]]></category>
1873. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://dailyyonder.com/?p=142504</guid>
1874.  
1875. <description><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="701" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?fit=1024%2C701&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?w=1292&amp;ssl=1 1292w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=760%2C521&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=768%2C526&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=1200%2C822&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=1024%2C701&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=400%2C274&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=706%2C484&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?fit=1024%2C701&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1876. <p>Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in Mile Markers, a twice monthly newsletter from Open Campus about the role of colleges in rural America. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox. A few years ago, Sara White moved back to Harlan County, the [&#8230;]</p>
1877. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-student-qualifications-dont-align-with-local-job-markets/2024/07/18/">Rural Student Qualifications Don&#8217;t Align with Local Job Markets</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
1878. ]]></description>
1879. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img width="1024" height="701" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?fit=1024%2C701&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?w=1292&amp;ssl=1 1292w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=760%2C521&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=768%2C526&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=1200%2C822&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=1024%2C701&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=400%2C274&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?resize=706%2C484&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot_2024-07-04_at_1.30.55_PM.jpeg?fit=1024%2C701&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
1880. <p style="font-size:14px"><em>Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in <strong>Mile Markers</strong>, a twice monthly newsletter from Open Campus about the role of colleges in rural America. You can </em><a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-universities-experiment-with-innovation-hubs/2024/06/06/#signup"><em>join the mailing list at the bottom of this article</em></a><em> to receive future editions in your inbox.</em></p>
1881.  
1882.  
1883.  
1884. <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
1885.  
1886.  
1887.  
1888. <p>A few years ago, Sara White moved back to Harlan County, the rural Kentucky community where she was raised.&nbsp;</p>
1889.  
1890.  
1891.  
1892. <p>Her home is coal county. Well, was: The pickaxes are mostly gone. Now, the closest you can get to the glory days is in a rail car shuttling through a former U.S. Steel mine, as the area’s mining history is told by automated displays of coal-dusted mannequins at the tourist trap Portal 31.</p>
1893.  
1894.  
1895.  
1896. <p>White has long known some of the challenges that come up in the region, having spent decades in eastern Kentucky as an education advocate at Berea College and, later, the nonprofit&nbsp;<a href="https://partnersrural.org/?utm_source=mile-markers.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=exploring-rail-cars-and-degree-misalignment-in-coal-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Partners for Rural Impact</a>.</p>
1897.  
1898.  
1899.  
1900. <p>To her, students had limited vision when it came to their future education and career goals: when all you know is what’s in front of you, it’s hard to imagine what else is possible. Most of the professionals here are in teaching or medicine, which makes it difficult to see how students can turn their interests into other career pathways.</p>
1901.  
1902.  
1903.  
1904. <p>“Those are really the only mentors and role models they have,” says White, who works remotely as the Southeast regional admissions recruiter for the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania.&nbsp;</p>
1905.  
1906.  
1907.  
1908. <p>“If you wanted to pursue something artistic, there isn’t a lot of demand locally for that, outside of teaching art. Even in the science fields, it’s really hard to consider being, say, a biologist, when the only person you hear talking about biology is your biology teacher,” White says.</p>
1909.  
1910.  
1911.  
1912. <p>There are other ways her home is changing though. When she was growing up, highschoolers couldn’t wait to get their driver’s licenses, for example. Now, it feels like her nephews and all their friends could care less — and even without cars, their exposure to the wider world is greater than ever.</p>
1913.  
1914.  
1915.  
1916. <p>“They don’t care because they all connect virtually anyway,” she says. “I don’t hear much from them about career planning, but if I do, it’s all about gaming and other virtual stuff.”</p>
1917.  
1918.  
1919.  
1920. <p>Her observations are particularly interesting at a time where many wonder if getting a four-year degree is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opencampusmedia.org/2023/12/07/these-rural-texans-opted-out-of-a-degree-the-community-college-down-the-street-wants-them-back/?utm_source=mile-markers.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=exploring-rail-cars-and-degree-misalignment-in-coal-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">still worth it</a>. The connection between education and career outcomes is especially important for lower-income rural students, who often can’t afford to risk pursuing degrees that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opencampusmedia.org/2023/12/04/in-this-shrinking-mississippi-delta-county-getting-a-college-degree-means-leaving-home-behind/?utm_source=mile-markers.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=exploring-rail-cars-and-degree-misalignment-in-coal-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">won’t pay off</a>&nbsp;in the long run.&nbsp;</p>
1921.  
1922.  
1923.  
1924. <p>What they are exposed to plays a major role in determining the pathways they may choose, whether or not that route best serves them. And rural areas are more likely to have a <a href="https://www.opencampusmedia.org/2024/06/07/amid-a-great-misalignment-a-rural-college-shifts-course-to-stay-relevant/?utm_source=mile-markers.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=exploring-rail-cars-and-degree-misalignment-in-coal-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mismatch</a> between the types of courses available to students and the projected local jobs of the future. </p>
1925.  
1926.  
1927.  
1928. <p>That’s according to the Georgetown University Center on Education Workforce, which found in a recent report that a “Great Misalignment” is occurring across America, with most labor markets needing to shift at least half of their middle-skills credentials programs to accurately match projected local labor demand.</p>
1929.  
1930.  
1931.  
1932. <p>Rural areas are particularly struggling with that mismatch because they tend to have fewer educational institutions, which makes it harder for them to meet broader job-training needs as a result.&nbsp;</p>
1933.  
1934.  
1935.  
1936. <p>Eastern Kentucky is one of the most misaligned stretches in the eastern United States, according to that Georgetown report — to more accurately align with future workforce demand, the darkest-blue counties in these charts would need to shift more than 70% of their credentials programs.</p>
1937.  
1938.  
1939.  
1940. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="475" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=780%2C475&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-142510" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=1296%2C790&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=760%2C463&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=768%2C468&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=1536%2C936&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=1200%2C731&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=1024%2C624&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=1568%2C956&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=400%2C244&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?resize=706%2C430&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1.png?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/unnamed-7-1-1296x790.png?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1941.  
1942.  
1943.  
1944. <p>The Georgetown report relies on 2019-2021 IPEDS data from the US Department of Education, which means it could be missing some of the fast-track and shorter-certification programs that many rural colleges have started offering in fields like construction, welding, and nursing.&nbsp;</p>
1945.  
1946.  
1947.  
1948. <p>Still, the report provides an interesting shorthand for universities and colleges to start assessing whether the programs they offer are well-suited to prepare their students for the types of careers that will be available to them.</p>
1949.  
1950.  
1951.  
1952. <p>It’s a topic that is often on the mind for Heather Davis, the director of transition services at Eastern Kentucky University, which is based in Richmond, a suburb of Lexington that borders this stretch of misalignment.</p>
1953.  
1954.  
1955.  
1956. <p>Davis works mostly with adult learners who have never attended college or transfer students of various age groups. They often joined the military, married young and had a family, or were just forced to immediately enter the workforce.&nbsp;</p>
1957.  
1958.  
1959.  
1960. <p>“Regardless, the narrative is the same: I had a big life event happen, and I put myself and my education on the backburner,” she says.&nbsp;</p>
1961.  
1962.  
1963.  
1964. <p>“Those who do pursue education later are either pursuing a lifelong dream or they’re working in a place that is willing to pay for their continuing education, and they know they’ll be promoted once they get that credential.”&nbsp;</p>
1965.  
1966.  
1967.  
1968. <p>One example at Eastern Kentucky University: The Associate’s of Applied Science in Nursing program, which is “blowing up right now,” Davis says.&nbsp;</p>
1969.  
1970.  
1971.  
1972. <p>Offering a quick path to becoming a registered nurse, the program isn’t just a good example of&nbsp;<a href="https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2023/11/20/eku-nursing-program?utm_source=mile-markers.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=exploring-rail-cars-and-degree-misalignment-in-coal-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">degree-workforce alignment</a>.&nbsp;</p>
1973.  
1974.  
1975.  
1976. <p>It also shows how colleges can assure prospective students that the skills they learn will make them hire-able after graduation: Last year’s cohort reported a 100% pass rate in national licensing exams, compared to the state average pass rate of 77% in 2022.&nbsp;</p>
1977.  
1978.  
1979.  
1980. <p>“If there is a two-year degree that is lucrative here, it’s AASN,” Davis says.</p>
1981.  
1982.  
1983.  
1984. <p>She’s seen similar success for rural students in four-year programs like early childhood education, business, and social work — in fact, the university just partnered with Somerset Community College to start offering a new social work degree an hour away in Pulaski County, one of those rural counties that currently struggles with significant misalignment.</p>
1985.  
1986.  
1987.  
1988. <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
1989. <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow">
1990. <p>“There’s a lot of people in social work who at first didn’t need a bachelor’s degree, and now they do to progress in their careers, so that is a huge need,” Davis says.</p>
1991.  
1992.  
1993.  
1994. <p>Such partnerships between four-year universities and nearby colleges present one option as regions work to address credential misalignment. Hybrid scheduling could also help, as some institutions open programs that only require in-person attendance once a week (or month/quarter), making it easier for rural students to pursue degree programs that may not be offered in their local area.</p>
1995.  
1996.  
1997.  
1998. <p>Regardless, it will need to be an evolving discussion for universities as they try to adapt to a future that is constantly changing.&nbsp;</p>
1999.  
2000.  
2001.  
2002. <p>“We are trying to give more voice to the programs we have that are creating credentials that our service region needs,” Davis says. “However, at some point we’re going to be pretty saturated with people in those jobs, and then we’re going to have to move somewhere else.”</p>
2003. </div>
2004.  
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2007. <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow">
2008. <div class="wp-block-group has-light-gray-background-color has-background"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
2009. <h2 class="wp-block-heading">More Rural Higher Ed News</h2>
2010.  
2011.  
2012.  
2013. <p style="font-size:14px"><strong>A Wisconsin education roadshow. </strong>After higher education reporter Kimberly Wethal found that rural students are <a href="https://madison.com/news/local/education/university/college-access-rural-wisconsin/article_f4b0d886-00f0-11ef-8cb2-97f7d38aabf9.html?utm_source=mile-markers.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=exploring-rail-cars-and-degree-misalignment-in-coal-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">facing numerous roadblocks</a> in pursuing their postsecondary goals, the Wisconsin State Journal decided to partner with the College for Rural Wisconsin and others to host the “<a href="https://www.wausharaargus.com/news-latest/college2u-roadshow-brings-colleges-rural-students-central-wisconsin?utm_source=mile-markers.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=exploring-rail-cars-and-degree-misalignment-in-coal-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">College2U Roadshow</a>” at Nekoosa High School this Tuesday.</p>
2014.  
2015.  
2016.  
2017. <ul class="wp-block-list">
2018. <li style="font-size:14px">Part college fair, part panel discussion with rural students and colleges, the event is a fascinating glimpse of how media outlets and educators can partner to bring valuable information to the areas they serve.</li>
2019. </ul>
2020.  
2021.  
2022.  
2023. <p style="font-size:14px"><strong>Talk with us about Texas. </strong>My colleagues at Open Campus are hosting a virtual webinar on July 16 about the future of higher education in Texas, featuring journalists from our four partner newsrooms around the state. Hope to see you there! <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hO6yqt-sQL6FJaM2WoJ8tA?utm_source=open-campus-dispatch.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=zooming-in-on-student-parents" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Register here</a>. </p>
2024.  
2025.  
2026.  
2027. <p style="font-size:14px"><strong>Hillbillies in higher ed? </strong>In this <a href="https://dailymontanan.com/2024/06/17/hillbillies-in-higher-ed-confronting-anti-rural-bias-in-academia/?utm_source=mile-markers.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=exploring-rail-cars-and-degree-misalignment-in-coal-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">op-ed</a> for the Daily Montanan, University of Puget Sound professor and political economist Emilie Peine writes about using her classes to confront rural stereotypes and bias in academia, dividing deep into how those discussions have challenged assumptions and changed perceptions of rural life.</p>
2028. </div></div>
2029. </div>
2030. </div>
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2045. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="780" src="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=780%2C780&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-84653" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=760%2C760&amp;ssl=1 760w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=706%2C706&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https://i0.wp.com/dailyyonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mile-markers-higher-ed-newsletter-logo.png?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
2046. </div>
2047.  
2048.  
2049.  
2050. <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:60%">
2051. <p>This article first appeared in <strong>Mile Markers</strong>, a twice monthly newsletter from <a href="https://www.opencampusmedia.org/">Open Campus</a> about the role of colleges in rural America.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opencampusmedia.org/category/newsletters/mile-markers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join the mailing list today</a> to have future editions delivered to your inbox.</p>
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2065. <p>The post <a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-student-qualifications-dont-align-with-local-job-markets/2024/07/18/">Rural Student Qualifications Don&#8217;t Align with Local Job Markets</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dailyyonder.com">The Daily Yonder</a>.</p>
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