Like many American boys in the 1970s and 1980s, Steve Novotney of Wheeling, West Virginia, had a paper route. His bicycle, carting ink-stained sheets of print in bags strapped on the handlebars, has vanished into hazy memory, but there’s still news to deliver. In 2019, Novotney and business partner Erika Donaghy launched Ledenews.com, an online-only […]
Posted inMedia
Review: “Our Towns” Brings Human Dimension to the Forces Shaping America’s Communities
In recent days, President Biden has relied upon a common term when addressing certain news items of the moment. Responding to violence directed against Asian-Americans and a restrictive new Georgia voting law, among other things, Biden has been vehement in decrying them as “un-American.” Yet, many commenters have been quick to note that Anti-Asian activity […]
Posted inMedia
Can the Story of “Our Towns” Help Us Go Beyond Red States Versus Blue States?
Deb and James Fallows spent several years living, researching, and writing in China. Unlike many visitors, they traveled extensively outside of Beijing and Shanghai, China’s largest political, financial, and cultural hubs. What they learned there inspired them to repeat the experience, this time a bit closer to home. The result was the bestselling book “Our […]
Posted inEconomy
White House Outlines Rural Infrastructure Investments within the American Jobs Plan
Billions of dollars for rural America in the American Jobs Plan will go beyond traditional infrastructure like roads and bridges to tackle needs like broadband, housing, and economic development, according to the Biden administration. The spending proposal, which will likely change would provide more than $10 billion for grants and loans to rural or tribal […]
Posted inGrowth and Development
Population Gains and Losses Create Two Americas, and the Difference Is Mostly along Rural-Urban Lines
The overwhelming population growth story of the past 50 years has been the increasing concentration of people in central cities and their suburbs. At the same time, growth has slowed in rural America and in smaller cities. The central counties in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas (those with more than a million people) include just […]
Posted inEducation
Wendell Berry Farming Program: New Farmers Come Closer to Fulfilling Their Dreams
After the death of her mother, Jennifer Palmer realized life was too short not to live on a farm. Now 40, the adjunct art professor is on the cusp of completing the Wendell Berry Farming Program where she’ll receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in sustainable agriculture, and entering into a world of farming she […]
Posted inRural Assembly
Rural Assembly Everywhere Will Focus on Repairing Relationships and Infrastructure
Rural Assembly Everywhere returns April 20-21 with a diverse slate of national and local leaders, rural experts, artists, and civic organizers, including Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Susan Rice. The free, two-day virtual conference will focus on how to repair a divisive and hurting nation. The theme — “Road to Repair” — […]
Posted inGrowth and Development
How Four Rural Towns Are Building Vibrant Communities Through the Tools of Creative Placemaking
In a small town in Minnesota, residents with children kept clamoring for a splash pad, but they were having trouble gaining traction for the idea with decision makers. So one day one of the fathers, an artist, pulled out his tools and began to gather supplies: PVC pipes, garden hoses, lawn chairs. He created a […]
Posted inCoronavirus
New Covid Cases Increase 10% in Rural Counties
Full-page version of map. Michigan and northwest Texas were rural hotspots in the spread of Covid-19 last week. Nationally, new infections increased by 10% in rural counties, the third consecutive week that the new-case count has climbed. Infections last week totaled 49,690. In urban counties, new infections climbed by 6%, to about 425,000. A sharp […]
Posted inMedia
Q&A: Talking “Our Towns” with the Producers of the HBO Documentary Film
Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, a new email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&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 […]
